UK: the BBC open for entry submissions for Eurovision 2018

Do you think you have a winning song for Eurovision? If so, the British broadcaster would like to hear from you. With a post on its official website, the BBC announced it is now open for submissions for its national selection, Eurovision: You Decide. 

2018 will be the third year in a row that the British entry will be selected through the Eurovision: You Decide format. Like in previous years, there will be two routes for sourcing entries.

One route will be the call for public submissions that was announced today (so, if you think you have got what it takes, now is your chance). Publicly submitted entries will be assessed and shortlisted by a panel made up of members of official UK Eurovision Fan Club OGAE UK.

‘The ESC in Lisbon 2018 promises to be yet another fantastic show and I’m determined that we, the UK, are able to build on our excellent showing of 2017 thanks to Lucie Jones’ superlative performance of the powerful ballad, Never Give Up On You.’

Record Industry Executive and Music Consultant for the BBC, Hugh Goldsmith

The second route will be through the British music industry and ‘leading professional songwriters’. This second route will be under the supervision of Record Industry Executive and Music Consultant for the BBC, Hugh Goldsmith, who stated:  ‘the ESC in Lisbon 2018 promises to be yet another fantastic show and I’m determined that we, the UK, are able to build on our excellent showing of 2017 thanks to Lucie Jones’ superlative performance of the powerful ballad, Never Give Up On You. To this end I am, again, looking for songs with emotive lyrics, memorable melodies and brilliant productions. However, success at Eurovision can also be about originality and the element of surprise. So, please also send us your songs if they are creatively fresh, brave and a little bit different!”

So attention to performance, lyrics, memorability, production as well as originality is what the BBC is looking for. As Guy Freeman, Editor for BBC Special Events and Formats, noted, candidates ought to have in mind that they their entry ought to resonate with both millions of television viewers at home as well as the national juries of competing countries.

Do you think you have what it takes? If so, the rules can be found in the BBC’s official post.

This year, the winner of Eurovision: You Decide was Welsh singer Lucie Jones, who went on to achieve fifteenth place and 111 points for the UK in Kyiv. Her entry, Never Give Up On You, was co-written by Eurovision 2013 winner Emmelie de Forest.

You can watch Lucie Jones performing Never Give Up On You as well as answering our Would You Rather? dilemmas in the videos below.

For more exclusive videos, you can subscribe to our official channel on YouTube.

Source: bbc.co.uk, Eurovisionary
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