Eurovision Song Contest 2023

How very dare people turn around and joke and mock him over a camel toe. For people to notice it, they would have had to zoom in on him and pause it to notice such a thing.

My focus was on the performance and not on his crotch and camel toe. They gave it their best and they were good. There was a powerful display on that stage from them.

I thought the song was ok. Forgettable but better than some that went through. Our staging let us down. I could see from the beginning that it looked very staid and not very dramatic. It didn’t get better. I really think nowadays people aren’t really paying attention to the thing full time. I suspect most of what catches people is the quick voting reminder snippets and the staging helped the other songs in this regard. RTE should be embarrassed. They should have the people to choreograph and creatively stage the entry. . What I saw was something put together by people doing the bare minimum to get the job done.

The problem is with RTÉ. RTÉ operate like we are in the late 90s to early 00s. Everything they do is so outdated, clunky and cheap. No way on earth would RTÉ send the likes of what qualified to Eurovision. We send stuff that would do well in the early 00s. We roll out the likes of Linda Martin and Louis Walsh to choose our entries. Unless RTÉ is scrapped or modernised for the 2020's we will have this discussion after failing to qualify annually.

How in the hell, in the weeks leading up to it, did anyone not see him wearing it and suggest he just wear a shirt and pants or something?

When I saw Lesley Roy having a nervous breakdown running to keep up with a bunch of paper cut outs and Brooke's dancers wearing Penneys pyjamas I knew we were fecked in the long run.

How can anyone take this **** seriously? The song after Ireland (Croatia was it?) was unintentionally funny it was so bad. And went thru.

Tonight was the first time in a good few years I bothered to watch any of it. Think I'll be gone for a few years again now.

Yeah not sure what country they are but I think they followed us but yeah, camp super Mario bros and really the ding was S H I TE. It really wasn’t far off what we sent with Dustin. That crap robbed a more deserving act a final place.

Some of Irelands biggest songs that's played nearly everywhere is wagon wheel and Galway girl. Something that you linked to would be too hard on the ears of many Irish and it would be too bold.

I think tge problem with RTE is that they’re in bed with promoters and management. I had an inkling at the time of the national final that the plan always was for Wild Youth to be the anointed act. It struck me as a back room deal done with a record company or management. Exposure for a few other more promising artists and John Lydon was put in as a straw horse to mobilise the younger ones to vote for their boys just to hammer the message home. One of the jury was from Sony Musuc I think as well. That didn’t sit right with me. Until we get away from this circle jerking we’re pretty much doomed to send the same shîte year after year with no change.

I remember watching on TV one year - and they did a trick where you could tune a Radio in as well and listen in Stereo! :)

Stereo was very rare in TVs until maybe late 90's.

Yes, that's the problem, we need the balls to say to hell with what's popular in Ireland, send something a bit mad and unique that people all over Europe will remember.

Dustin?

Novelty, but not comedy taking the mickey out of the competition. Something that isn't a bland, run of the mill pop song. To my mind there are two ways to win it.

Option A, send something with novelty factor, but that's a good song in it's own right. Like rock/metal with a trad element, some lyrics as Gaeilge, druid costumes. Think Lordi but with a good female vocalist, more traditional ancient clothing than Warhammer costumes and some trad elements.

Option B, write a song that people everywhere actually like and want to listen to. A la Euphoria. That's a lot harder.