escYOUnited
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United Kingdom UNITED KINGDOM 2021 - James Newman - Embers
- Thread starter escYOUnited
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It's in BMG's best interests (and the BBC's) to promote the song and throw money at it so that they can keep the contract over the coming years.
The ideal scenario is the BBC has BMG (or multiple labels) put together a high quality national selection in the next few years after some respectable showings at the contest that get artists interested again. But I may be dreaming...
The ideal scenario is the BBC has BMG (or multiple labels) put together a high quality national selection in the next few years after some respectable showings at the contest that get artists interested again. But I may be dreaming...
VikingTiger
Well-known member
When almost all the songs are out I actually think the UK may reach a top 10 this year - if they can get the stage show together. This will probably get quite a few jury votes as well as televotes. Embers is not a favourite of mine, but a male voice with brass will stand out this year.
Chrisiam
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I feel that a UK version of Melfest whilst possibly a tad optimistic isn't too unlikely of a thing to happen. It all really depends on how well the song and Newman and the Label end up doing commercially out of this. Newman doesn't need to win the contest. Hell, one could argue he doesn't even need to get out of the bottom five. He just needs the song to become a big enough hit financially that BMG will be willing to do this again next year.
In the ideal yet realistic scenario for them would be that Newman gets a top 15-10 finish, the single gets a decent post-Eurovision bump, gets good airplay through out the summer and the contest raises Newman's profile enough that he's next album sells decently well in the UK and Europe. Newman's presence at the contest inspires other up and coming artists with BMG and their smaller labels to considered making their interest known for next year. Either out of a newfound respect for the contest or a simple desire to sell more records.
I mean its not impossible to believe that a UK Melfest like show could happen, its just going to take a while to get there. And as to whether that happens really depends on how well or not Newman and whoever might come next does. Like I said last year, I am less concerned as to what happens this year, but what happens with the next contest and if we are going to keep having BMG helping to select the act or if the Beeb is just going to shrug their shoulders and go back to their own selection or not.
In the ideal yet realistic scenario for them would be that Newman gets a top 15-10 finish, the single gets a decent post-Eurovision bump, gets good airplay through out the summer and the contest raises Newman's profile enough that he's next album sells decently well in the UK and Europe. Newman's presence at the contest inspires other up and coming artists with BMG and their smaller labels to considered making their interest known for next year. Either out of a newfound respect for the contest or a simple desire to sell more records.
I mean its not impossible to believe that a UK Melfest like show could happen, its just going to take a while to get there. And as to whether that happens really depends on how well or not Newman and whoever might come next does. Like I said last year, I am less concerned as to what happens this year, but what happens with the next contest and if we are going to keep having BMG helping to select the act or if the Beeb is just going to shrug their shoulders and go back to their own selection or not.
I don't know if that was written anywhere here, but
The staging will be done by Jerry Reeve and Tom Denning who have created and choreographed for John Legend, Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift.
source:
escxtra.com
The staging will be done by Jerry Reeve and Tom Denning who have created and choreographed for John Legend, Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift.
source:
🇬🇧 BBC unveils “Embers” staging team – ESCXTRA.com
The producer behind the BBC’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, Lee Smithurst has announced the team that will be behind the staging for the United
SwedishFailurez
Banned
I'm warming up to this one and the score is upgraded to 
.
Even if the "Embers" is still not outstanding, but being the most competitive UK entry since Blue's "I Can" is absolutely a feat. The song somehow feels a lot like the Czech entry because "Embers" have that carefree positive energy that makes this easy to dance to. If Reeve and Deening nail the staging, and James delivering a damn good live performance, I can imagine the UK stealing some jury points from Sweden.
I think however that a ton of market research and years of preparations are required before a "UK Melfest" will be a reality. BBC has to know what their domestic Eurovision audience actually is and why they keep watching the contest despite being seemly neglectful to it (maybe especially to the UK as a participating country).
1. Do the British watch Eurovision in hopes for their UK representative to be competitive?
2. Do they just watch the contest for being a "cringe reality show about Europe" like what the British media likes to call it?
3. Or do the British people primarily follow Graham Norton's commentary when watching the grand final?
4. Maybe a mixture of the three above?
All these points should be carefully researched by the BBC delegation when considering a proper NF with an actual domestic following. Ironically, The British music scene itself seems to be the hardest market to break even in with a UK Eurovision entry.
.Even if the "Embers" is still not outstanding, but being the most competitive UK entry since Blue's "I Can" is absolutely a feat. The song somehow feels a lot like the Czech entry because "Embers" have that carefree positive energy that makes this easy to dance to. If Reeve and Deening nail the staging, and James delivering a damn good live performance, I can imagine the UK stealing some jury points from Sweden.
It depends on how the contest will be received by the British media if BMG or other labels gonna invest more in the collaboration with the BBC delegation. If the British people are willing to buy James Newman's song despite being a Eurovision entry, the door is open for new/smaller artists not afraid to participate.
I think however that a ton of market research and years of preparations are required before a "UK Melfest" will be a reality. BBC has to know what their domestic Eurovision audience actually is and why they keep watching the contest despite being seemly neglectful to it (maybe especially to the UK as a participating country).
1. Do the British watch Eurovision in hopes for their UK representative to be competitive?
2. Do they just watch the contest for being a "cringe reality show about Europe" like what the British media likes to call it?
3. Or do the British people primarily follow Graham Norton's commentary when watching the grand final?
4. Maybe a mixture of the three above?
All these points should be carefully researched by the BBC delegation when considering a proper NF with an actual domestic following. Ironically, The British music scene itself seems to be the hardest market to break even in with a UK Eurovision entry.
Morty
Well-known member
Realized I hadn't posted here yet, and I should.
With the UK, I have no expectations when it comes to Eurovision, as I very rarely like the UK entries. Last year was no exception, My Last Breath was a big "meh", and when I saw that James Newman was back this year, I barely bothered to listen to Embers when it was released. But wow! I'm not into that whole "wig-snatching" thing going on, but this would be my "wig snatched" moment of Eurovision 2021, I was NOT prepared for this. Embers is awesome, and even tho this has turned out to be a very strong year (maybe even stronger than 2020, despite Little Big missing), Embers is firmly stuck in my top 10. For me, this is the best British ESC entry since 1996!
, and I hope this does really well in the final.
With the UK, I have no expectations when it comes to Eurovision, as I very rarely like the UK entries. Last year was no exception, My Last Breath was a big "meh", and when I saw that James Newman was back this year, I barely bothered to listen to Embers when it was released. But wow!
I'm not into that whole "wig-snatching" thing going on, but this would be my "wig snatched" moment of Eurovision 2021, I was NOT prepared for this. Embers is awesome, and even tho this has turned out to be a very strong year (maybe even stronger than 2020, despite Little Big missing), Embers is firmly stuck in my top 10. For me, this is the best British ESC entry since 1996! , and I hope this does really well in the final. seagull
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Hello everyone, I hope you are all keeping well in mind and in body in these extraordinary times...
Isn't it bliss to not automatically want to slam your own country for incompetence? This is a bit of a bop isn't it? With decent staging, it's going to have energy and hopefully stand-out amongst some other, more mature songs on the night with any luck.
I liked ‘Children of the Universe’ a lot and am still furious at the BBC for how they wrecked that. I like to think that I’m fair. I would say out of the 21st century, 2002, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017 are the only songs with any business in the Finals with Bonnie and Joe and Jake being borderline, could go either way. Yes, SuRie did us proud on the night, but ‘Storm’ wasn’t really competing, it was taking up space in the Final Azerbaijan would have had from Semi 1 otherwise.
I hate to say it, but I suspect the BBC achieved what they wanted to do, beat Ireland in 1997 and then send a good entry that didn’t embarrass us in 1998. After that, they didn’t care, and it shows given the huge gulf between Imaani and Precious the very next year. They basically collectively gave up after 2003 and the UK bought into the “it’s just politics” garbage and sent a collective FU with Scooch in 2007. The selection process this whole century has been a clusterf**k, forget last year.
In short, I don’t think it’s just about getting the right package for that particular Contest. It’s about continuing on a positive trajectory.
2015 – we were 24th with a dreadful entry. The Delegation made changes.
2016 – we were 24th with an okay entry. We had an alright entry and alright NF whose format had the support of the last UK winner (who you'd expect would know something about the Contest).
2017 – we were 15th. We booked The Vamps as the interval act in the NF (suggesting the NF was going to be at least a bit credible), we transformed our staging and made improvements to the BBC Back Office.
2018 – we were 24th again because we had a weak song.
If a broadcaster can’t sustain improvements or seem to have an answer for getting out of the doldrums (for example, send Hooverphonic and presumably do something about your staging), then they are getting nowhere and don't expect to ever win. Every single time we have a better year (2003, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017), it is immediately followed by massive regression. On-paper, this partnership with BMG looks promising, convincing an artist like James Newman to perform as well as write a song (maybe learning from the JOWST debacle). Hopefully, BMG will be able to offset at least a little bit, the BBC's urge to self-destruction a little bit. This is not going to transform quickly and requires a long-term investment of effort. The proof will be in the eating in 2022 and 2023, a better result this year perhaps, but if it's back to normal next year then there hasn't been anything learned at all.
Hey, maybe we should take a gamble, at least offer to go into the Semis, even if the rules don't allow us to do that, as a gesture of goodwill? Given Lucie and likely Molly, based on their Final points and placing, mathematically would have qualified had they been asked to, this probably does too. At worst, a few years of NQ would either shame the BBC into action or decide to end our involvement altogether and quite frankly, as much as I don't want us to withdraw, either option is preferable to wasting everybody's time, effort, and money with no-chance entries like we have been doing quite a lot this century.
Isn't it bliss to not automatically want to slam your own country for incompetence? This is a bit of a bop isn't it? With decent staging, it's going to have energy and hopefully stand-out amongst some other, more mature songs on the night with any luck.
I liked ‘Children of the Universe’ a lot and am still furious at the BBC for how they wrecked that. I like to think that I’m fair. I would say out of the 21st century, 2002, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017 are the only songs with any business in the Finals with Bonnie and Joe and Jake being borderline, could go either way. Yes, SuRie did us proud on the night, but ‘Storm’ wasn’t really competing, it was taking up space in the Final Azerbaijan would have had from Semi 1 otherwise.
I hate to say it, but I suspect the BBC achieved what they wanted to do, beat Ireland in 1997 and then send a good entry that didn’t embarrass us in 1998. After that, they didn’t care, and it shows given the huge gulf between Imaani and Precious the very next year. They basically collectively gave up after 2003 and the UK bought into the “it’s just politics” garbage and sent a collective FU with Scooch in 2007. The selection process this whole century has been a clusterf**k, forget last year.
In short, I don’t think it’s just about getting the right package for that particular Contest. It’s about continuing on a positive trajectory.
2015 – we were 24th with a dreadful entry. The Delegation made changes.
2016 – we were 24th with an okay entry. We had an alright entry and alright NF whose format had the support of the last UK winner (who you'd expect would know something about the Contest).
2017 – we were 15th. We booked The Vamps as the interval act in the NF (suggesting the NF was going to be at least a bit credible), we transformed our staging and made improvements to the BBC Back Office.
2018 – we were 24th again because we had a weak song.
If a broadcaster can’t sustain improvements or seem to have an answer for getting out of the doldrums (for example, send Hooverphonic and presumably do something about your staging), then they are getting nowhere and don't expect to ever win. Every single time we have a better year (2003, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017), it is immediately followed by massive regression. On-paper, this partnership with BMG looks promising, convincing an artist like James Newman to perform as well as write a song (maybe learning from the JOWST debacle). Hopefully, BMG will be able to offset at least a little bit, the BBC's urge to self-destruction a little bit. This is not going to transform quickly and requires a long-term investment of effort. The proof will be in the eating in 2022 and 2023, a better result this year perhaps, but if it's back to normal next year then there hasn't been anything learned at all.
Hey, maybe we should take a gamble, at least offer to go into the Semis, even if the rules don't allow us to do that, as a gesture of goodwill? Given Lucie and likely Molly, based on their Final points and placing, mathematically would have qualified had they been asked to, this probably does too. At worst, a few years of NQ would either shame the BBC into action or decide to end our involvement altogether and quite frankly, as much as I don't want us to withdraw, either option is preferable to wasting everybody's time, effort, and money with no-chance entries like we have been doing quite a lot this century.
theditz83
Veteran
Not a major surprise since they are the "official radio station of the Eurovision Song Contest" but BBC Radio 2 has confirmed that Embers will be added to its "A" Playlist from Saturday 20th March. 
Iker
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When I first listened to the song I was unimpressed but today I was humming and singing parts of this song on my own at different times of the day! And it took a while for me to realize that it is the British entry for this year that I am humming and not some other song that I have stumbled on the radio. This one stuck to me more than most of the British entries and it feels warm.
Iker
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Yeah I have the same question lingering around the UK. But it is their most palatable entry for me since 2016 or 2014 but it is still not what they should aim for in my view. I have the same problem with your country - Spain, also big and populous that could have tried bit harder. I mean Manel Navarro, what the hell was that?!
Mimmon
Veteran
If UK is even considering sending KSI I would love him in some kinda duet or be a trio
I am not big fan of KSI song but this could do well
I am not big fan of KSI song but this could do well
njdevils94
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Daniela went for a casual look to review Embers.
lasse braun
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why the motherland of pop can't send us a quality song?
nearly every year is lousy - 2021 sounds so cheap,like10000 times already heard and the brass (WTF?) were bought in sweden.
the only song from UK in this century i can remember in a positive way is children of the universe.
sorry UK - the points are only for the good memories from 60s-90s.
nearly every year is lousy - 2021 sounds so cheap,like10000 times already heard and the brass (WTF?) were bought in sweden.
the only song from UK in this century i can remember in a positive way is children of the universe.
sorry UK - the points are only for the good memories from 60s-90s.
rasmuslights
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why the motherland of pop can't send us a quality song?
nearly every year is lousy - 2021 sounds so cheap,like10000 times already heard and the brass (WTF?) were bought in sweden.
the only song from UK in this century i can remember in a positive way is children of the universe.
sorry UK - the points are only for the good memories from 60s-90s.
I like Embers, but still it's still not a top 10 potential at all and I doubt James will deliver the song live. And yes 2014 was the only entry from them that actually felt very representative of UK.
nofuxCZ
Well-known member
Easily the best UK song since... I don't even know?
And they seem to be promoting it a lot, I keep getting ads for it on Facebook
And they seem to be promoting it a lot, I keep getting ads for it on Facebook
I would love to see KSI do it and I think he may actually agree to do it. It'd help his profile internationally but it'd also be a HUGE boost promotionally for Eurovision in the UK if he was to go
GianlucaTomoe
Banned
UK outside Eurovision: amazing singers destined to domestic and international success, like Anne-Marie, Raye, Rita Ora or Freya Ridings.
UK in Eurovision: ...Joe and Jake, Michael Rice and James Newman.
The question is not even "who?", it's "why?". But we know the answer already.
UK in Eurovision: ...Joe and Jake, Michael Rice and James Newman.
The question is not even "who?", it's "why?". But we know the answer already.