John Lydon's hopes dashed as Wild Youth to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023
John Lydon of Public Image Limited (PiL) performing on the Late Late Eurosong special. Picture: Andres Poveda
Dublin band Wild Youth will represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool in May.
Their winning song, 'We Are One', was chosen on the Eurosong competition on a Late Late Show special on Friday night, decided by a combination of votes awarded by the public, an international jury and a national jury. The band narrowly defeated 19-year-old Jennifer Connolly's bid, 'Midnight Summer Night'.
Also competing for the chance to represent Ireland on the night was former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon with his band Public Image Limited. His entry, 'Hawaii', was dedicated to his wife of nearly five decades, Nora, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease. He ended up placing fourth on the night.
London-born Lydon is an Irish passport-holder, qualifying through his Cork mother and Galway father.
Donegal songwriter ADGY, Grafton Street busker Leila Jane and Longford duo Wild and K Muni & ND had also been in the running.
Wild Youth's song 'We Are One' was written by band member Conor O'Donoghue and Grammy-nominated songwriter Jörgen Elofsson in Stockholm, Sweden.
The Swedish songwriter was part of the famed Cheiron Studios team in Sweden that produced hits for the likes of Britney Spears, and the 61-year-old has also worked with artists such as Westlife and Celine Dion.
The Irish band have plenty of experience on stage, having toured with Westlife, The Script, Lewis Capaldi and Niall Horan.
The current front man of the group Conor O'Donohoe said people thought they were "mental" to go for the Eurovision, but he was "so happy" they did.
"I'm like shaking," he said, appearing shocked at the win.
"Obviously thank you to everyone who voted for us. We hope we can do the best job for Ireland.
"We hope everyone gets behind the song and we hope everyone gets behind us.
"We have been around for a while and we wanted to take a risk.
"Everyone who performed tonight has a great future ahead of them," he said, pointing to Connolly in particular, who was narrowly defeated for the coveted gig.
Speaking earlier in the night, O'Donohoe said the inspiration for the song "came from a conversation talking about the Eurovision and how everyone should feel free to be themselves".
He also spoke of his mother, who has passed away, being "a huge Eurovision fan".
"She loved the glamour and the styling and everything... it's funny, my dad said to me, your mom would love that you're doing it.
"So I think there's a part of that inside of me as well, doing it and thinking of her."
Wild Youth will perform during the first Eurovision semi-final on Tuesday, May 9. The Grand Final takes place on May 13.
