Performers battle for Eurovision slot

Ireland has thrown all kinds of everything at the Eurovision Song Contest over the past decade, to no avail.

We’ve had peroxide blonde twins, a brother and sister duo, Irish trad, electro-pop… even a stuffed turkey.

Considering our dismal performances since the turn of the century, it’s easy to forget Ireland is still the most successful country in the history of Eurovision, with a total of seven wins and 44 finals.

Now, five acts who want to right this wrong will do battle on tonight’s Late Late Show. The hopefuls are Alex Saint and the MJs, Erika Selin, Kat Mahon, Molly Sterling, and Nikki Kavanagh, and the winner will be selected by a combination of public and regional jury votes.

“This year we’ve gone back to basics,” says RTÉ executive producer Michael Kealy. “We did a call out to songwriters in October and got over 300 entries.”

Zambian-born rapper Alex Saint will perform ‘She’s So Fine’, written by Tony Adams-Rosa, who has been a Eurosong finalist many times before.

“The Eurovision is a brilliant contest and this song is a real winner. I feel this year is the year of the rap,” says Saint.

Longford native and Voice of Ireland contestant Kat Mahon is also in the running with ‘Anybody Got a Shoulder’, written by 1994 Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan, while 16-year-old Molly Sterling from Tipperary is the youngest contender.

According to BoyleSports, however, the favourite to win tonight’s battle is Nikki Kavanagh with ‘Memories’ — the bookies place her at odds of 5/4.

In 2010, Nikki was part of the Irish Eurovision team led by Niamh Kavanagh and, in 2011, she lost out to Jedward in the battle to represent Ireland.

“I’m a huge Eurovision fan,” she says. “I’ve been there before and would love more than anything to go back as lead vocalist representing our country.”

Punters are also backing Kat Mahon, who has won a large fan base via various talent shows, as well as Erika Selin, originally from Sweden, singing up-tempo pop tune ‘Break Me Up’.

The 60th Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Vienna, Austria, on May 23.