Marty Whelan, a secret judging panel and Riverdance: it's the Late Late Eurosong Special

We went behind the scenes of tonight's Late Late Show Eurosong 2022 Special where Ireland will choose this year's Eurovision entrant

Pictured at The Late Late Eurosong Special studio ahead of Friday night’s show is host Ryan Tubridy, with the six Eurosong hopefuls Rachel Goode, Brooke Scullion, Miles Graham, Brendan Murray, Patrick O'Sullivan and Janet Grogan. Picture Andres Poveda

I’m on set at the Late Late Show, where tonight Ireland’s six Eurovision hopefuls will take to the stage to battle it out for a chance to represent the nation at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

“We're doing something that we wanted to do for a long time, which is to bring the Eurovision national song contest back into the hands of the people of Ireland,” explains host Ryan Tubridy.

“It means that people feel more ownership and feel more pride, and certainly feel more entertained.” Tonight, in what could be described as a mini-Eurovision, viewers at home will have the opportunity to cast their vote for their favourite song and help to decide who will fly the Irish flag at the final in May.

Ryan Tubridy, with the six Eurosong hopefuls.

The winning song will be chosen by the combined votes awarded by a public vote, an international jury and a studio jury.

A giddy Marty Whelan, who will be acting as Green Room Commentator this evening, is looking forward to the show. The best thing, he says, is that if we don’t win the competition proper then “everyone can blame each other at the end of this.” The hosts remained tightlipped about who would be occupying the four Studio Jury chairs tonight, but promised it would be a good surprise.

And what would an Irish mini-Eurovision be without a halftime performance? Well, tonight the Late Late Show is pulling out all the stops, with a performance from Riverdance, who first wowed audiences with a spine-tingling routine at Eurovision back in 1994.

What can we expect tonight?

On the night we see live performances by the six competing artists: Rachel Goode, Brendan Murray, Janet Grogan, Brooke Scullion, Patrick O'Sullivan and Miles Graham.

The chosen winner on Friday night will go on to represent Ireland at the competition in Turin, Italy in May, with Ireland drawn to perform in the second semi-final of the competition, bidding to qualify.

Who are the finalists?

Eurosong hopefuls Miles Graham, Brendan Murray, Janet Grogan, Patrick O'Sullivan, Brooke Scullion and Rachel Goode. Picture Andres Poveda

Patrick O'Sullivan - One Night, One Kiss, One Promise  

“I think the public is going to love my song because it's a really nice balance of that storytelling and a narrative that our Ireland has done so well within the past. It’s also tempo feel to it and it's modern and contemporary.” 

Accomplished singer and performer Patrick O’Sullivan graduated in 2015, Patrick immediately went on to star in the European premiere of Carrie – The Musical in London’s West End.

Janet Grogan - Ashes of Yesterday 

“Ashes of Yesterday is all about rebuilding yourself up after disappointment, to not let self-doubt or others bring you down. The message is so powerful and encouraging, especially after the tough few years everyone has had. I want to uplift people and if I can do it while representing Ireland, that would be a dream come true."

Singer Janet studied popular music at Ballyfermot College of Further Education, Dublin. This is not Janet’s first experience with Eurovision as she accompanied Nicky Byrne in 2016 and Ryan O’ Shaughnessy in 2018 as a backing vocalist.

Brendan Murray - Real Love 

“My song is about not realising what was in front of you, the whole time and coming to that realisation that you should have said what you thought a long time ago. It's a beautiful song that I hope people connect with at home.” 

A member of Irish boyband HomeTown from 2014 – 2016, you might also remember Brendan from the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv, where he performed Dying To Try.

Miles Graham - Yeah We’re Gonna Get Out Of It 

“I really love the song. I think it's really fresh and it's something different. It's a song that's a little bit different that I think can stand out among the rest.” 

Singer/songwriter Miles Graham, originally from Clondalkin in Dublin, made his TV debut on The Late Late Show in 2018, with his song Let it Shine. He has since released several dance collaborations (Don Diabo, L’Tric, Tom Budin) as well as the EP All The Right Things.

Rachel Goode - I’m Loving Me 

“My song is about that journey of loving yourself and finding, feeling free and happy in yourself, which is exactly how I feel right now in my life. So it really resonates with me and I think it would be something really different for Ireland.” 

Rachel is no stranger to the stage and has performed in many of Ireland’s major venues including the National Concert Hall and Bord Gais Energy Theatre.

Brooke Scullion - That’s Rich 

“I incorporated a lot of eighties elements in my song and mix it up with modern contemporary elements. I love the song, It’s getting a good response from international countries. And I feel like it's going to bring us into a new era, especially for Ireland.” 

As a finalist of The Voice UK in 2020, Brooke wowed the judges and viewers with her performances on the show, duetting with Ella Eyre and mentored by Grammy award-winning coach and singer Meghan Trainor.

As Ireland still holds the record for most Eurovision wins, Marty Whelan cautioned that there’s no magic formula to winning the competition. From capturing the audience in a special way to creating a catchy song, even the most unpredicted can win. Here’s hoping, however, that 2022 will be Ireland’s year of success once again.

The Late Late Eurosong Special, RTÉ One, Friday, February 4th at 9:35 pm