On Friday she delivered an emotional performance of her song “Never Give Up On You” en route to winning Eurovision: You Decide — the UK’s Eurovision 2017 selection show.
And on Monday morning Lucie Jones remained as poised and personable as she was at the contest during an interview on BBC Breakfast — the BBC’s flagship morning news programme with Dan Walker and Louise Minchin.
The UK last won @Eurovision in 1997 – can this year's entry @LucieJones1 win over the hearts of European voters in May? #esc2017 pic.twitter.com/hiMoJ2EhCr
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) January 30, 2017
When asked about the result, the Legally Blonde: The Musical star confessed that she didn’t think the contest was hers for the taking (even if the bookies had her down as the front-runner for several days).
“It was crazy,” she said. “I had a very clear name in my head on who I thought it was going to be, and when Mel [Giedroyc] didn’t say that, I genuinely thought she made a mistake. And then I realized it was me.”
She brushed aside questions about political voting and the suggestion that Brexit would hurt her chances at the contest.
“To be honest, I’m looking forward to going, being part of an event that is globally unifying. It’s all about unity and including everyone. What a great year to be an ambassador for our country. And I’ll do what I can to try and make us proud.”
UK #esc2017 hopeful @luciejones1 joins @mrdanwalker & @louiseminchin on the sofa pic.twitter.com/Bf7cZ0oCLq
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) January 30, 2017
But she isn’t letting the pressure get to her. She’s used to it. After all, the musical theatre starlet — who has also performed in RENT — is used to big crowds.
“This is my job and I do this every day, maybe not on that scale.”
“If I was to sing now for you guys, I’ll probably feel more nervous because you’re so close to me and you can see everything that I’m doing. There’s different pressures with different things and I’ll just deal with it when I get there.”
Congratulations @luciejones1 (and @emmeliedeforest). You gave your song life and you won #EurovisionYouDecide! pic.twitter.com/JuLpNyfk3X
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 27, 2017
Louise: Have you been a big fan of Eurovision?
“I’ve always watched Eurovision. We used to have sleepovers when I was a kid. I remember then getting older, we go to Eurovision parties with friends. I think lots of my friends will be getting more involved this year than they have done in previous years, which is great.”
Dan: You’re going to be singing the same song at Eurovision, but you’re going to be tinkering with it slightly. How you’re going to change it?
“The public have been calling for slight changes, that’s the great thing about social media… Everyone’s loving the song which is great and they’re loving my voice, which is flattering and wonderful to hear. But we’re definitely listening to people when they’re saying they want slight changes. The record companies and the BBC are looking into it, so we’ll see.”
Louise: And it’s written by a former winner, so they know what they’re doing.
“Emmelie de Forest won the show a few years ago and she’s fantastic. She came along on Friday and I met her as a fan, which was really nice for me. Hopefully, she’s got some insight knowledge that will maybe give the UK a good result this year.”
Dan: You’re a positive person, can you put all that to one side when you’re performing and representing the UK this year rather than what’s going on in the past? (Referring to the UK’s run of poor results)
“You have to, it’s like being in a theatre show. You have to go on stage every night, forgetting what happened the night before because sometimes things go wrong. And that’s fine, each performance in its own and this is a [Eurovision] performance of a lifetime for me. You can rest assured that I’m going to give it absolutely everything.”
As usual the UK have sent out a rubbish entry.
People are obsessed with the U.K. – they’ve still won more than almost every country & come 2nd more than anybody. Yes in recent years they have done badly and send average songs but other countries send worse songs / worse singers and still rank higher… A mixture of neighbourly voting / diaspora / shared tv / shared radio stations / cross country promo causes that – not that the uk is lots worse than them. And people love to big up Russia like it is amazing at Eurovision – last few years it has sent good songs, but they… Read more »
Eurovision shouldn’t be affected by political issues and situations in any way! I don’t believe Brexit will have any impact on the results for UK.
However, UK isn’t famous for having good results at the contest.
The UK are lucky because this year the contest is in Kyiv, and so they aren’t competing in an EU country. The song is better than the previous two efforts and Lucie is the first performer of perhaps the last 8 years whose had professional success recently, even if it’s in musical theatre. In 2013 and 2014 the UK were undone by underwhelming performances. Lucie will elevate rather than deflate in Kyiv.
It’s the Brits themselves who think that they did so badly in recent years because Europe hates them. No, it’s because the songs were so bad. And this year is no different, unfortunately.
@Polegend Godgarina : ”If the most unpopular country of Europe, Russia, managed to get points…”
Russia is not the most unpopular country in Europe, only inside ESC bubble.
Why would it affect the results? I wished for Brexit from Sweden but that doesnt mean im going to vote for UK this year.. people who refuse to vote for their fav because of politics are just too retarded.
bless her heart.
I love her attitude- she’ll be a great representative in May! I’m happy to hear that she’s tweaking the song because I could see it doing really well if there’s more drama and building in the song
Well in the past 5 contests the UK has averaged 21.8th place, let’s call it 22nd. 24th in the last 2 years in a row. So unless the UK comes last or 2nd to last, Brexit had no effect lol
How would it affect the results? The UK hardly got any bloody points before Brexit!
“Everyone’s loving the song” … hmm, really?
It needs more oomph to stop it being quite so dull, so I’m glad they’re open to tweaking it.
Oh thank goodness they’re looking into tweaking the song!
I’m just happy she said the BBC are looking into tweaking the song because of public demand!! With better production and good staging, this could be a good year for the UK. Not a win but maybe left hand side of the scoreboard. But it’s all down to the BBC (as always) to put the effort in to get it to that level.
Don’t you worry about that bit Purple Mask. Lucie said the team at RENT have been very supportive and they’ll do what they can to ensure she gets the best of both worlds.
I’m slightly worried about Lucie’s commitments. I hope she and her manager are okay with juggling “Rent” with Eurovision – that’s a real tough clash. Best of luck.
Smart girl. If the most unpopular country of Europe, Russia, managed to get points from every single country last year, with the minimum being 3 points from the Netherlands, then the Brits should stop whining about their poor showings. Send good songs, and you’ll have the results. Unfortunately, this year likely won’t be the case, so I expect tantrums in May.
It might affect how knows ? Look at Norway I’m sure they won the year after voting to not join the eu ? Plus everyone still hates Russia so at least if we do get a backlash from Europe we aren’t alone haha
Should read : People of all creeds…
The contest is a family show. It’s not a mostly young liberal audience…people of creeds watch the show. Celebrate diversity!
The Brexit would affect which results?
Every year they flop! And no exception for this year
Brexit might or might not impact the result, but what will impact is the song and the presentation of it. And quite frankly the song is bland and dull! Don’t expect any top 10 here..
And Brexit? Well, a young mostly liberal diverse audience. You figure the maths..
What utter nonsense, the burgers of Europe and the jurors don’t give a flying fig about Brexit, some even applaud the UK for it. It’s the usual nonsensical hype that makes news stories out of nothing.
And when I suggested the same thing, everybody here jumped on me. I received abuse and insults… and now, even Brits themselves discuss this. Of course it will affect the results. Duh.