The distinguished composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber talked to the Radio Times recently, giving his opinions as to why the United Kingdom is no longer considered a force to be reckoned with and no longer dominates the contest as in times gone by. The issue of racism has already been up for discussion within the BBC, with the broadcaster concluding that it has found no evidence whatsoever to substantiate such claims. Lloyd Webber however, is not convinced. He refers to last year's British entrants Blue with I Can - a well established band with a considerable reputation and fanbase, who, despite a costly stage show and contemporary sound failed to achieve as good a placing as anticipated.
Lloyd Webber also spoke of his personal experiences, when he accompanied the BBC and Jade Ewen to Moscow in 2009, where the singer brought the United Kingdom their best placing in seven years, coming fifth with the dramatic ballad My Time. Ironically, Ewen herself is of mixed heritage. He claims to have been asked prior to his departure for Moscow "Why have you bought a black artist?" Lloyd Webber also believes that Ewen deserved a higher placing, stating that "At the press conference in Moscow I was asked "Why have you brought a black artist?", to which he replied "because she is the most talented star we had and I think she is a major, major star." Lloyd Webber does not beat around the bush in addressing the subject, stating that in the majority of western Europe, a black singer is no problem for the majority of televoters, but ultimately Ewen performing My Time could ultimately have cost the United Kingdom the first place that year: "If you're talking about Western Europe - Germany, fine; France, fine; Spain, fine; Greece, fine; Scandinavian countries, fine...but Ukraine? Not so good. Well, it doesn't mean that we would necessarily have won that year but we could have come second."
Whether Ewen could have provided serious competition for the landslide victory that Alexander Rybak experienced with Fairytale is doubtful at best, because, let's face it, he was unstoppable. As for the results of Andy Abraham and Josh Dubovie, perhaps Lloyd Webber should look at the obvious factors and not take the convenient argument of racism. Abraham was an artist who had hardly experienced a pinnacle of commercial success prior to the concert. Although he gave a more than competent performance, the song Even If itself was average at best and pretty unmemorable. These factors, combined with the worst conceivable draw were probably enough to put the nail in the coffin of Abraham's chances in 2008. Dubovie was yet another artist with relatively little stage experience singing an under par song by faded 80's dance maestros Mike Stock and Pete Waterman. The performance was catastrophically out of tune, nervous and amateurish. Therein lies the explanation for Dubovie's last place with That Sounds Good To Me in 2010.
Lloyd Webber also spoke of his personal experiences, when he accompanied the BBC and Jade Ewen to Moscow in 2009, where the singer brought the United Kingdom their best placing in seven years, coming fifth with the dramatic ballad My Time. Ironically, Ewen herself is of mixed heritage. He claims to have been asked prior to his departure for Moscow "Why have you bought a black artist?" Lloyd Webber also believes that Ewen deserved a higher placing, stating that "At the press conference in Moscow I was asked "Why have you brought a black artist?", to which he replied "because she is the most talented star we had and I think she is a major, major star." Lloyd Webber does not beat around the bush in addressing the subject, stating that in the majority of western Europe, a black singer is no problem for the majority of televoters, but ultimately Ewen performing My Time could ultimately have cost the United Kingdom the first place that year: "If you're talking about Western Europe - Germany, fine; France, fine; Spain, fine; Greece, fine; Scandinavian countries, fine...but Ukraine? Not so good. Well, it doesn't mean that we would necessarily have won that year but we could have come second."
Whether Ewen could have provided serious competition for the landslide victory that Alexander Rybak experienced with Fairytale is doubtful at best, because, let's face it, he was unstoppable. As for the results of Andy Abraham and Josh Dubovie, perhaps Lloyd Webber should look at the obvious factors and not take the convenient argument of racism. Abraham was an artist who had hardly experienced a pinnacle of commercial success prior to the concert. Although he gave a more than competent performance, the song Even If itself was average at best and pretty unmemorable. These factors, combined with the worst conceivable draw were probably enough to put the nail in the coffin of Abraham's chances in 2008. Dubovie was yet another artist with relatively little stage experience singing an under par song by faded 80's dance maestros Mike Stock and Pete Waterman. The performance was catastrophically out of tune, nervous and amateurish. Therein lies the explanation for Dubovie's last place with That Sounds Good To Me in 2010.
