She was one of the names rumoured to be in the mix. And now it’s official — Lesley Roy will sing for Ireland at Eurovision 2020. Her song is called “Story Of My Life”.
Lesley Roy “Story Of My Life” (Ireland Eurovision 2020)
“Story Of My Life” — Songwriters
“Story Of My Life” was co-written and co-produced by Lesley herself, along with Nashville writers Robert Marvin, Catt Gravitt and Tom Shapiro. Her trio of songwriters have worked with artists ranging from Ilse DeLange to Kelly Clarkson.
Lesley says “We wanted something uptempo and triumphant, which centres around overcoming your difficulties in life and getting back up again”.
Speaking in the official press release, Ireland’s Head of Delegation Michael Kealy says “We are extremely excited about Lesley Roy and this year’s Irish entry, Story of My Life. The song is fresh and uplifting, it’s a banger, and we are very much looking forward to working with Lesley and THISISPOPBABY in preparation for our performance on the biggest music stage in the world in Rotterdam in May.”
Music Video
The official music video is directed by Kate Dolan. Lesley describes the shoot as fun — “[Kate] came up with a treatment that would work in showing the triumphant energy that here we are shining bright and ready to have fun. It completely captures what I wanted to create in the song. Kate understood that it wasn’t supposed to show people being angry or sad, but show that we can and we will defy them, rise up and throw a massive dance party to celebrate! She also cast individuals that truly did have their own story. Kate stayed true to the song and I think it will really shine through in the video.”
Who Is Lesley Roy?
Currently living in New York’s East Village, Lesley Roy is originally from Dublin. Roy is relatively unknown in her homeland, although she achieved modest success with her debut album Unbeautiful in 2008. Released by Jive/Sony Records, the LP was executively produced by the renowned hitmaker Max Martin.
However, since then, Lesley has focused more on songwriting. She’s penned tracks for artists such as Adam Lambert (“Pop That Lock”), Miss Montreal (“I Am Hunter”), Medina (“Waiting For Love”) and Jana Kramer (“Goodbye California”).
Recalling her early Eurovision memories, Roy says:
“I’m very lucky that I am from the era of Niamh Kavanagh, Paul Harrington, Eimear Quinn, Riverdance years. I feel like the back to back years watching it live from the Point Depot with Gerry Ryan hosting and the explosion of Riverdance left a very deep impression on me as a kid. I definitely made a mental note that this is something I would love to do for Ireland when I grew up. I think I have a very high standard of what a Eurovision song should be because of those memories and that definitely informed the type of song I would send.”
Looking forward to her own Eurovision journey, she adds:
“My mindset for the coming months is to train, rehearse, prepare, perform, execute and hopefully bring Eurovision glory back to Ireland once again.”
Ireland at Eurovision 2020
Ireland’s Eurovision 2020 process began in the autumn when RTÉ invited established songwriters and artists to submit a song for consideration. Together with the broadcaster’s dedicated pop music radio station 2FM, the delegation came up with a shortlist. And from this “Story of My Life” was selected.
Once the song was picked, acclaimed theatre and events production company THISISPOPBABY came on board to work on staging and the entry’s creative direction.
“Story Of My Life” will receive its live TV debut on Friday’s edition of The Late Late Show on RTÉ One. However, Lesley will actually perform the song for the first time on Thursday evening at Dublin’s The George. The song will be performed yet again at Mother on Saturday, also in Dublin.
What do you think of Ireland’s entry? Is it a return to form for the Emerald Isle? Let us know in the comments below.
The live performance of the song on the Late Late Show was a strong one. This song will have impact on the stage. Voters will remember this performance and it will get votes. The live performance brings a new dimension to the song. I agree that the video is very Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson but live it is like a different song.
Last year Keiino had a dated late 90s steps style but it was still a fantastic song. It’s ok to have a style to your song as long as it’s fun like this one is. People hating it because it reminds them of all the songs they loved 10 years ago. Such a weak complaint in my opinion.
Also many televoters and jurors don’t even care if a song sounds ‘dated’ or not. Look at how well Norway and San Marino did in the televote last year.
Wow, cool entry
It will all come down to the stage performance for this song. Ireland though have a tendency to ruin their songs with lackluster stage performances.,
Oh this is potentially big – like a PINK song be yourself good lyrics and good melody good club sound – if people cannot hear this too bad you should not be here!!
Quite a nice song.
Katy Perry released her new single today which was a ballad and I couldn’t stop thinking “How the heck does Ireland’s Eurovision entry sound way more Katy Perry than the actual Katy Perry?!” This is so late-2000s/early-2010s pop music and I can’t stop loving it. Yeah, I’m definitely kind of a sucker for that kind of music, like c’mon it was one of the best ages for pop music in the entire world with names like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Ke$ha and many others. Songs that you aren’t meant to take seriously at all and just… Read more »
Not one to build hype but the amount of views it’s getting on YouTube is quite good. Lesely has played at coachella etc so her preformance should be ace and with thisIsPopBaby staging this could so finish top 10!
Ireland should withdraw, they’re so lame in Eurovision. That country should have never won 7 editions of this festival. I would love UK to leave the contest too, but I guess EBU needs their funding.
What a silly comment to say Ireland should never have won 7 times. You have to judge every entry on its own merit and songs like ‘In your Eyes’, ‘Hold Me Now’, ‘The Voice’ and ‘Rock and Roll Kids’ are very credible winners. There are other entries from Ireland that finished second and could easily have been winners throughout the years. Judge a song and an entry first and foremost from year to year and not a country.
Maybe you should withdraw hun ………. Glad you took time to watch and listen to the video though haha
What an ignorant comment.
– maybe you are too young for club scene !!
Very generic and forgettable
Oh well I can’t get it out of my head lol
Really, I don’t even remember how the song goes???
The problem was the hype beforehand. Everyone was listening to see how it compared to loreen seeing it was built up as the new euphoria. I was disgusted when i heard it this morning. The hype completely undermined the first listen. It is a actually a good song when u hear the song in its own right and not compare it to something it’s totally not like! I think I’ll represent Ireland next year…. coronavirus permitting!
Remember the majority of voters will be hearing it in May fir the first time without any hype. ESC fan opinions who follow the competition all year round) vary from voters on the night.
It is silly that one person referenced Euphoria and then the song gets criticised because of a comparison. Are we comparing every entry to Euphoria? Obviously not so why the Irish entry? A reporter talking to the creative director of the Irish entry referenced Euphoria in terms of stage production not the song and we have not seen the stage production yet.
Just dreadful again!! Who chooses these songs? Many songs have been revealed now, and on the whole I thinkit is a very poor year. The stand out songs for me are Lithuania, Georgia Ukraine and Switzerland…everything else meeeh
It’s very Katy Perry and much better than what Ireland did send over the last couple of years. It’s not wow but I kinda like it, and there are much worse songs in the competition than this one. So not a bad job Ireland, not bad at all
The song is good, but expectations > reality. bad communications strategy, sorry
Where are the Ireland’s good old times? An amazing country with such heritage, and now this!
Thank you Lesley Roy, songwriters and RTÉ. This song has really cheered me up during dark times. Thank you so much.
The dark times of the past 24 hours? Lol
“No, but yeah, but no, but yeah, but no, but yeah, but it ain’t none of your business innit.” 😛
Another drama queen
I would love to like this song, I would love to support Ireland but… I don’t know, it leaves me kinda cold. It’s clear they wanted this to be energetic and catchy but it’s not. My feeling is that even if this qualifies, this will place somewhere between 15th and 26th in the final. Wait and see.
This could become this years guilty pleasure…
I don’t mean this as a criticism, but how does this fit in with the “Rising Act” thing or whatever it was? If she released an album twelve years ago and the song is written with Nashville hitmakers, then it’s hardly a rising act. ELM would have fitted that bill better.
When 13 years old divas complain that song sounds “teenage” ?
By the way, I love the vibe of this song! Very catchy! It definitely stands out! Ireland, Ukraine, Israel ans Croatia sound very different than the rest and I think they should qualify very easily!!
Honestly it has grown on me this afternoon. So easy to enjoy and simple. It has that nostalgic and feel good flavour. Positive vibe. It does not feel pretentious. Well done Ireland
Honestly, to me, song and style aside, this verges on silly, girlo pink bait. The only redeeming aspect is that she’s queer herself but it just doesn’t come from a personal place. You have to take me through some sort of pain if I am to partake in your joyous and explosive affirmation of self. No one is born defiant, middle fingers up out of the womb. There’s just not much of a story here and that makes RTE’s attempt to address the LGBTQI+ feel cheap. What’s left is a high energy track, that is almost too energetic and a… Read more »
LGBTQ+ is just a tiny part of it. The singer is married to a woman and the video shows people of all creeds and backgrounds. Sure queer culture and identity is evident, but it’s much more inclusive than that and can be applied to anyone.
That is not inclusiveness. It’s pink baiting. Showing different people on a music video doesn’t make you inclusive. This is 2020.
And it’s pink baiting because she’s a woman?
It looks to me like you are just looking a any reason to criticise this, but your criticism has no grounding.
Ok. I’ll spend some more time on this because I am in the right mood. Queer artists and drag performers are underpaid and under-represented. They will take any job they can and that is fine for those reasons. That doesn’t mean that including them is a selfless, celebratory act of generosity. That critique might not apply to Lesley’s case because we still don’t know what she’s doing on stage or under what circumstances the video was made, her entry, however, WAS as a matter of fact marketed as a sincere dedication to the queer community and is being pushed partly… Read more »
My least favourite irish entry in many years. This sounds like an american teenager movie soundtrack. Something One Direction would sing actually…
I actually really like it I’m proud of my country for once
Nothing to be proud of I’m afraid. There are other things Irish to be proud of, this song is not one of them. That said Long live Ireland!
You see? Teasing and overhyping are not any good! Ireland’s entry was supposed to kick UK’s ass… meh!!! I agree that K Perry and P!nk’s early days still sound fresh to mirror them. I can’t be sure about Ireland qualifying this year.
Not teasing or hyping at all did Ireland no good last year. What do people want? They said we hurt our entry by making it sound like we didn’t care last year by staying completely silent. So we tried hyping this year. People still saying we’re hurting our entry, this time by hyping. There is no middle ground with some esc fans. There is always a problem and you can’t fix it. Its frustrating.
OH GOD ANOTHER BALLA-
wait wat
What do the irish press say about this? UK will beat this 100%
As an Irish person, I can assure you that the comment made by the radio DJ that it is better than the UK was made in friendly banter. This isn’t the general consensus of the entire country, just some friendly banter that exists here. Said in jest, due to the friendship, connections and shared history between UK and Ireland.
The fans seem to be really reading too much into this.
I loved Irish entries in 2018 & 2019, and I listen to them to this day. I don’t think this will be the case this year.
A great disappointment from the green Island.
I don´t like it at all. I have big Katy Perry vibes, and that means no compliments – that Person is very cheap for me.
Americavision Song Contest ? No, thanks !
Ireland 1/10
I think this more than lived up to the hype if I’m honest. Truly is a banger and after only one listen I remember the chorus and I enjoyed it. The pop rock style and the nostalgic feel I think is what has me so drawn to it. My potential winner this year, well done Ireland! 🙂
I like the Puppet on a String reference near the start.
Just noticed that now too actually
Clever!
Really liking this! An ecstatic, fresh, hella cool pop-rock song that is Ireland’s best entry since “Lipstick” (studio speaking) I’m praying Lesley Roy gets the correct staging she deserves, really wanna see the Emerald isle in the grand final as a lovely surprise like 2 years ago. “Story of My Life” does sound like a 2008-11ish radio hit but that era already feels nostalgic for many people so it’s a good thing in a retrospective way, I’m actually glad that virtue signalling q*eer band with what sounded like a Years & Years leftover track was not the entry as speculated,… Read more »
Virtue-signalling? Okay.
I hope ELM are back next year.
First off yes’s it hasn’t lived up to the hype but it’s still a pretty good song. Totally get the KATY Perry/ Avril Levinge comparisons but some of the criticism here is harsh. I think among all the ballads, and with a great stage show Ireland are in with a chance of qualifying.
The overhype hasn’t made Ireland any favor, but this is a cute uplifting pop song that plays surprisingly well the nostalgia card. Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, early Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne, Disney Channel… name your reference. For me, it’s clearly intentional the idea of being retro, but I can’t blame those who feel it’s dated, because it’s chanelling years that aren’t that far in the past. I just think the track needed a “breathing moment” and that they burried Lesley’s voice under too much production. But I’m curious to see it on the big stage.
I wanted to comment now, but you basically said it all for me, Sabrina. It will depend largely on whether it will come off as cute or overwhelming in live performance. And no, it’s not like Euphoria. 🙂
Glad that we agree, Colin! It seems Ireland is putting a lot of hope on how THISISPOPBABY will stage it. I say they have the song for creating a bang, but the song is already very energetic, they should be careful about not making it too frenetic. I hope they get ir right, Eurovision would benefit a lot from an Irish renaissance.
“…it’s chanelling years that aren’t that far in the past.” This is an excellent point!!!
Though this could work both ways, right? There could be people thinking “why should I vibe with it if it’s not the kind of music I listen to anymore?” and others thinking “This makes me happy because it’s the kind of music I used to party with when l was younger!”. The beauty of Eurovision is how wide is its audience.
True. The dated thing may be an issue for some jurors (many jurors aren’t even that in sync with current music trends), but most viewers won’t care about it as long they like the song, the performer, the staging… Also, the concept of dated may be very subjective. We usually say this about things in styles we believe should stay in the past.
Italy is good this year.
Haha your comment is out of place I laughed for a couple of minutes
Nothing special to say….
I miss the ethnic sounding ireland. this is so average so it will never qualify. Sad for Ireland, the irish hype was false.
It’s impossible to please people. They tell us we need to change what we send because it’s not working. We change what we send and suddenly everyone is disappointed we didn’t send the same thing we always send. What do people want?
Do you think ireland really want to be in esc , i have my doubts. This song will never qualify, there are many ways to go. For example something ethnic like ukraine, something like Germany, something like Swizerland. Ireland is SOOOOOO bland. I like Ireland ,but its 0% special.
Ethnic like Germany hahaha, as if germans consider their entry “ethnic”
No. Ethnic like Ukraine , a real good pop song like germany .
What matters is Locals. And they don’t expect anything in particular from any country in particular. Trying to send something to please fans or even juries is not the best method I’d say. Personality and believe in what you are doing is the best way
Your JESC song was fantastic.
Since you asked, more of that please.
The P!nk comparisons have to stop. Not even P!nk herself would release an abysmal track like this. Not in 2020, her younger pop-rock years in 2002 or any other time period. Not as a B-Side or Bonustrack either. Avril and Kelly however would. Demi Lovato would. Miley too.
SF1
Why don’t we take “Proud” from last year, add a dance track and dumb down the lyrics. Ok, that sounds good. Let’s do that Ireland.
We’ll see what will happen. Actually this reminds me a mix of Katy Perry and P!nk . With a good staging this entry could surprise us in a good way.
Who doesn’t love a bit of nostalgia?! I kinda like this, yeah it’s dated and the kind of song I wish Sinead Mulvey had gone with in 2009 (even though et cetera is a massive guilty pleasure) . But overall it’s a happy song that makes you feel good when you listen to it so who really cares if it’s not current to the day
This was supposed to be better than the Uk; hmm although I wasn’t crazy about our song at the beginning, I can actually say I think the British entry is a little better, sorry Ireland just my opinion..
I find it disappointing.
So it’s not bad it’s an okay so song, but wasn’t this hyped to be as good as Euphoria, when really honestly speaking it’s an old Taylor swift song at best. I mean very catchy, it could be remembered, but as I thought it was very hyped when it’s an okay song..
Shall we swap songs Ireland? You can have our dirge and we’ll have this banger
Early 2010’s Taylor Swift. This is in no way modern or holds the same quality production level as Euphoria.
Pass.
Better than expected for sure, but as others say its dated. Semifinal 1 is tough but I wouldnt rule it out of qualifying
Some say dated. I say nostalgic. The sound of my childhood. Just like others of older generations like things that sound 80s.
Euro fans: ewwww too many ballads I’m gonna fall asleep watching. We need more uptempo songs
Also euro fans: ewww a pop song it’s so outdated and boring.
It’s nice enough but it will probably fail to qualify. Why are broadcasters hyping up their entries so much this year only to dissapoint? France is by far the best example of this and I really hope that North Macedonia and Bulgaria don’t follow this pattern as well.