Dublin 21 January 2022
Irish Broadcaster RTÉ have revealed the sixth and final Eurosong 2022 participant. Miles Graham’s “Yeah We’re Gonna Get Out of It” is the last hopeful competing to represent the Emerald Isle in Turin. The song, written by Graham, Justin Broad and Paul Herman, is intended as a message of hope to anyone in a repressed social position.
Listen below:
The reveal sparked an internet debate, however, with fans from the Unofficial Eurovision Discord pointing out that the lyric video posted on Miles’s official YouTube channel showed a cartoon of George Floyd next to the lyrics, “we’ll make sure you’re gonna breath” [sic]. Floyd is the African American man whose death via suffocation by police in Minneapolis in May 2020 sparked much of the recent Black Lives Matter protests. In memory of Floyd, and many others like him, “I Can’t Breathe” was a slogan used by BLM protesters. Many found the use of the man’s image in the video to be disrespectful and opportunistic, especially coming from a white performer.
After the debate began, the lyric video was made private and re-uploaded with the animated image of Floyd’s face blurred out.
UPDATE: The video has been amended and the George Floyd image has been blurred in the video. pic.twitter.com/eWTmFX7fnC
— ESC Discord (@ESCdiscord) January 21, 2022
Eurosong will air on 4 February as a part of the popular Late Late Show. During this show, the six finalists will bring a live rendition of their song and a winner will emerge victorious. This is the full line-up:
- Rachel Goode – “I’m Loving Me”
- Brendan Murray – “Real Love”
- Janet Grogan – “Ashes of Yesterday”
- Brooke – “That’s Rich”
- Patrick O’Sullivan – “One minute, one kiss, one promise”
- Graham Miles – “Yeah, we’re gonna get out of it”
RTÉ are hoping to break an unsuccessful streak at Eurovision. Ireland has qualified once in the past eight contests, with Sarah McTernan and Lesley Roy placing in the basement of their semi-finals.
Which is #YOUR favourite Irish contender? How do #YOU think Ireland will do in Turin? Let us know in the comments, on social media or on our forum HERE.
