Can-Linn Interview: “We have chosen the clothes and the staging”

We last spoke to Can-Linn back in February. Since then a lot has happened. They won the Irish Eurosong, witnessed a Euro-diva meltdown and their front-woman, Kasey Smith, has become one of the main contenders for “Eurovision’s Next Top Model“. It’s been an eventful few months. Time for a catch-up!

The group are busy fine-tuning their performance for May, but luckily Padraig, our Irish correspondent, managed to nab the lovely Kasey for a quick chat. In the interview below she discusses the Irish final, plans for Copenhagen and shares her top beauty tips.

First off, a massive congratulations on winning Eurosong. Well done! Victory must have been all the sweeter following your defeat to Ryan Dolan last year. How does it feel to be finally heading to Eurovision?

It’s an amazing feeling to represent your country. We can’t wait to have the craic in Copenhagen and show the world why the Irish are the best party goers!! This year we feel that we have a very good song and also a great performance. We are gonna show the audience that we can sing a great pop song mixed with traditional elements.

At Eurosong you won both the jury and public vote. Does that give you added confidence?

Absolutely, it was an added bonus. We didn’t have as much promo as some of our competitors but we always felt we had a great song. We delivered what was asked of us on the night. And our mentor Hazel Kaneswaran did her homework with what a Eurovision song really is. This year we are also gonna give a great show.

Unfortunately, in the days following your win most of the media focus was on the feud between Linda Martin and Billy McGuinness rather than your performance. Did you find this frustrating?

We were not involved in the feud thankfully. It was ironic though that our winning song was about Ireland’s rise from the darkness and coming into the light. Then it was marred by the spat and so much negativity. It was a great campaign and every mentor did their best for their act so the emotions were raised on the night.

How are preparations going for Copenhagen? What has the experience been like so far?

The prep is so exciting. We were in RTÉ the following Monday after our win!! No rest for the wicked. We are making our performance bigger as the stage is five times the size as our RTÉ stage. We are keeping all our Irish elements. We have chosen the clothes and the staging. We are all getting very excited but the rest is TOP SECRET!

Last time we spoke you described Can-Linn as being all about the act. However, some people are still a little confused by the concept. Are you essentially the Florence to Can-Linn’s Machine?

That’s a great way to put it! Well done Padraig. We may just rob that description. Can-Linn is the concept of adding traditional Irish elements like fiddle , bodhrán and whistle to a great catchy pop song and finishing it off with high energy Irish tap dancing. When Hazel came to me with this song I couldn’t pass this opportunity up. I can’t wait to sing it to 130 million people.

As we all know, Eurovision is primarily a song contest, but your good looks have not gone unnoticed. You’re currently one of the favourites in our “Eurovision’s Next Top Model” poll. Have you ever considered modelling?

I have considered it before. I was approached in Ireland already as I have already got a huge portfolio from my Wonderland days. My first priority is my singing career, so I’ll stay focused until I get the Eurovision competition under my belt.

The ladies (and some of the men) on team Wiwi are quite interested in your beauty regime. Do you have any secrets to share?

Thankfully I’ve got great Irish genes. I do love my days without make-up and just my Biofresh skincare face creams, as these products have no toxins or parabens. I drink at least two litres of water a day. On my make up days I use Mac and Warpaint cosmetics.

What sort of image are you going for in Copenhagen? Will it be similar to Eurosong or are you planning on shaking things up a little?

We won’t give too much away but we are keeping the traditional elements. We are running with the theme of the song – darkness into light. This is a huge message to our friends around the world that there will always be brighter days. For every up there is a down, but the hard times in our lives teach us great lessons. I have been there and I always came back stronger than ever.

Ireland’s recent track record at Eurovision has been mixed. In the last decade only Brian Kennedy and Jedward have broken into the top 10. Do you think there’s any particular reason for the relatively poor results?

We don’t have a lot of countries surrounding us to help out with the votes. But we hope on the night that the people will choose the song they feel is the best. I think this year we have a great chance. Whatever happens for us, we are delighted to fly the flag for our country and everything after that is a bonus.

We’ve asked our readers to send in some questions too. Fiona and Dezyree are both curious about the staging. How is it going to transfer from the tiny Late Late studio to the gigantic B&W Hallerne arena? Are there going to be any major changes?

There will be a lot more movement. I am going to interact more with the audience as I had to be very still in RTÉ as there was not much room for the dancers. We are looking forward to move around the stage.

Arianna wants to know if you think Heartbeat’s distinctive Irish sound will help it score well in the contest?

Yes. I believe when you send a song to represent your country you must hear and see all those elements. We added the Irish dancing as people recognise our dancing from 20 years of Riverdance, which started at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. We are also known all over the world for our great pop music so it’s only right to add them all together.

Lewis asks who do you see as your biggest competition in this year’s contest?

There are a lot of very good songs this year, but if we were to choose we would say that the Swedish, Spanish and the UK songs are very catchy. But we won’t know till the night of the performance.

Nick wonders whether you have any sort of lucky charm?

We don’t have a lucky charm but we believe “what is for you won’t pass you”. So if it’s fate we will do well, if not it’s someone else’s time. We will always be involved in music.

Do you have a message for the readers of WiwiBloggs.com?

We wanna say a huge thank you to everyone on Wiwi that has supported us all the way from our first Eurosong campaign. We plan to give it the best shot we can. We hope on the night we won’t let you all down. Love and light to you all. xxxx

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us again. We look forward to seeing you perform in May. Best of luck.

Thanks again – Kasey and Can-Linn

Related Links

• Follow Can-Linn (@can_linn) and Kasey Smith (@kaseykaysmith) on Twitter
• Like Can-Linn and Kasey Smith on Facebook
• Heartbeat Lyrics — Can-Linn Feat. Kasey Smith

Padraig Jude contributed this report from Ireland. Follow him on Twitter at @PadraigJude. And while you’re at it, like our Facebook page to stay up-to-date with the latest Eurovision news and gossip.

Photos: Can-Linn