You might know her best as Lynda Woodruff, the spokeswoman for the EBU with a special talent for mispronouncing nearly everything, but Sarah Dawn Finer is in fact a singer in her own right. If you didn’t notice, she was the one who sang the stripped-down acapella version of “The Winner Takes It All” at the Eurovision finals this year. You can get a taste of some of her hits on her official website.

Sarah’s definitely been busy lately, as she tells Gay Times magazine in an interview on their music blog: “two tours, released an album, hosted the Swedish Melodifestivalen, TV host at Christmas, Eurovision, Lynda Woodruff, many different concerts and acted in a Swedish motion picture out this Fall.”

And it’s not slowing down any time soon – she’s preparing to release her Swedish album in Norway, doing work for radio, traveling to the UK to write songs with Glen Scott, co-writing songs in Sweden and getting ready to act in a production of Cabaret. Phew!

But of course the question burning on the interviewer’s, and our, mind – what about Eurovision? She’s already gone for representing Sweden at Eurovision in the past, reaching the finals of the 2007 and 2009 Melodifestivalen. Would she do it again?

“No. Not for Sweden. Not any time soon… but I would love to write a song or sing for the UK one year.”

Representing the UK might seem to come out of the blue, but Sarah, a Stockholm native, has British (and American) roots.

“My father is from Bethnal Green, East London. He came to Sweden as a young teenager, so compared to my mom, who came to Sweden from the Bronx in New York at 29, he spoke perfect Swedish by the time I grew up. Both my parents have been a huge influence in my life as people – their language and background, my relatives, and their love of the arts. I go to London and New York at least once a year and it has been that way since I was a child.”

So what do you think – do you want a “half-British, half-American singer for 2015”?

James Longbotham contributed this report from Germany. Follow him on Twitter at @jimk1n.

18 Comments
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Anthony
Anthony
11 years ago

I wouldn’t exactly call Blue’s Eurovision result a complete disaster. If Blue hadn’t messed up their performance, then the UK would easily end up in the top 10 back in 2011.

David Thielen
11 years ago

I don’t think bombing at ESC is bad for UK acts. I think that’s just an excuse for major UK acts to not try. Because losing at ESC would definitely be embarrassing.

Blue failed because they sucked, not because of the low showing.

Alex
Alex
11 years ago

Cascada -is- a big-name chart act. So they haven’t had as big of a hit as Evacuate the Dancefloor since it was released – big deal. They’re entirely capable of charting as high again.

That being said, though, I think it’s accurate to say that bombing at Eurovision has the consequence of bombing one’s career provided that we’re talking about an act from the UK. Why this should be true, I’m not sure, because the UK’s been so incompetent at Eurovision in recent years that you would think people would stop making such a big deal over it.

JulianaESC
JulianaESC
11 years ago

I’d prefer Katherine Jenkins or Lawson for the United Kingdom. But I love Sarah and her voice is amazing.

Pavel
Pavel
11 years ago

Adele will not win cause in this case there will be a couple Adele-sque singers from other countries who may earn a sympathy vote. UK can enter a band like McFly (quite popular and good live) or Franz Ferdinand to try a different route for winning.

Anthony
Anthony
11 years ago

@Angus Quinn, Coming from a massive Cascada fan, this also applies to those outside Europe and not just the UK and across the Continent. Besides, they’re already set to release their first post-Eurovision single later this year. Even though she was also a big name chart act, it didn’t do Bonnie Tyler any favours at Malmö either. Big-name chart acts, past and present, doesn’t guarantee Eurovision success. It may have worked for Anouk and the Netherlands, but it didn’t quite work out for Cascada and Germany this year. If the BBC were to return to the national selection format, I’d… Read more »

Angus Quinn
Angus Quinn
11 years ago

@Anthony I really hope you’re being sarcastic using Cascada as an example of big-name chart acts. They haven’t been a big-chart presence since 2009 in the Continent, and because they bombed in Malmö, failing to meet expectations there is no Tour announcement nor a new album announcement. Blue for the UK dealt with the same in 2011 when they didn’t meet public expectations. Eurovision would be a real career ruiner if you don’t do well, it’s exactly like Blue’s Manager said in 2011 “Blue will be the strong favourite but there is also the possibility they could lose – so… Read more »

Anthony
Anthony
11 years ago

@David Thielen, It would be like putting Lionel Messi in a non-league/fifth tier football club. The UK would either wipe everyone else or run the risk of becoming overhyped.

@Angus Quinn, Cascada’s Natalie Horler mentioned in an interview with Esctoday saying it is “complete nonsense” that the Eurovision Song Contest is a career ruiner for big-name chart acts.

Angus Quinn
Angus Quinn
11 years ago

@David Thielen I think the problem with the UK sending Adele is she wouldn’t actually go…! Eurovision is generally a career ruiner in the UK. I think back when Blue went in 2011 someone in the media summed it up with ‘they’re a strong favourite to win, but there are equally high odds of losing, so why go?’ Blue basically torpedoed their comeback by not winning the Contest in 2011, and that’s put established acts off. It’s also different as it’s not as seriously received in the UK. Don’t doubt the BBC try to get established acts but they normally… Read more »

Alex
Alex
11 years ago

The UK sending Adele would almost be unfair. I don’t think they want to host the contest -that- badly.

David Thielen
11 years ago

Why doesn’t the UK send Adele?

Alex
Alex
11 years ago

Well, it would inevitably be better than anything the UK has tried in recent years (ignoring 2009)…

Padraig Muldoon
Admin
11 years ago

Was it intentional that she looked like an Adele impersonator in her interval performance? She’s a good singer and all but she pales in comparison to Adele.

Zachary Thomas
11 years ago

I thought that might be it. Well no matter the year, I’d LOVE for her to represent the U.K.!

Adam
Adam
11 years ago

I would love if she represented UK, she’s an amazing singer. I think it’s a shame that we in Sweden didn’t send her when we had the chance!

By the way, I don’t think she is going to be in a cabaret, she is going to play Sally Bowles in the musical “Cabaret”, in my hometown 🙂

Anthony
Anthony
11 years ago

@Zachary
All the reports I’ve seen about Sarah Dawn Finer representing the UK points towards 2015. Apparently, she’s too busy for Eurovision on 2014. Well, that’s what I’ve heard anyway.

Zachary Thomas
11 years ago

Would it be for 2015 or 2014? It didn’t seem to clarify which year.

Anthony
Anthony
11 years ago

While it’s a great idea (from her performance at Malmö, she CAN sing live after all!), Sarah Dawn Finer does need to be made aware that if she doesn’t succeed for the UK at Eurovision, she runs the risk of getting absolutely slaughtered as a result. So I think she needs to make a careful decision on that one, but then would the BBC even take notice of all this though.