Ireland’s national broadcaster may be suspiciously silent about its Eurovision 2016 plans, but thankfully the country’s past stars are still making some noise. Molly Sterling and Ryan Dolan, the 2015 and 2013 representatives respectively, have both dropped new tracks in recent weeks. And one is even short enough to enter the song contest. Rev up the rumour mill!
Molly Sterling “Fake The Cost”
In Vienna, Molly gave an emotionally sophisticated performance that belied her years. And she continues to intrigue on “Fake The Cost”. The song sees her wade deep into alternative territory. For over five minutes she sings of destruction and lies. Despite heavy distortion, Molly’s vocals are dripping with pain and bitterness. The lyrics are bleak – “how does it feel to own part of my mind” – and, with only a single piano for accompaniment, grab our full attention. But is it all too high concept for us to truly connect? It’s certainly less of an ordeal than the similarly artsy “Locked Box” and “Heart Won’t Suck It” from Georgia’s Nina Sublatti. Still, casual listeners are likely to be left cold rather than chilled. The base ingredients are here, all we need is a little alchemy to bring out the gold.
Listen to Fake The Cost on Spotify.
Ryan Dolan “Uptown Downtown”
By contrast Ryan Dolan’s new single is under three minutes — cue the Eurovision gossip. The track is published by Sweden Songs, the team behind Farid Mammadov’s “Hold Me” in 2013. We know that both Ryan and Sweden Songs worked on an entry for Eurosong 2015. Could this have been rejected in favour of Alex Saint’s “She’s So Fine”? Alternatively, it could be a potential entry for the as yet unannounced 2016 selection. Or maybe none of the above.
Speculation aside, “Uptown Downtown” is a nice boppy number. The atmosphere is light and carefree “life is alright… just live it”. Yet, there’s a little edge, including a dig at consumerism “just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you’re free”. Unlike the similarly named “Uptown Funk”, this isn’t going to win any Grammys or rule the world. But it’s a nice return to form for Dolan. While “Start Again” and “Fall To The Floor” raised important social issues, this feels more authentic to the singer Eurofans first fell in love with.
Listen to Uptown Downtown on Spotify.
@Darren Is that wh the vast majority of eurovision winners don’t end up going to EIC? Before 2014 only 1 act who went to the concert actually ended up in the top 3…
Regardless of who enters for Ireland,in 2016, we will not do well. Ireland has not participated in any preview shows or ESC in concerts since 2013, which is also the last time we qualified. Ireland does not receive the same amount of publicity that other countries in the competition get, who all manage to go to the preview shows and concerts. Most ESC fans and viewers only ever hear Ireland’s entry for the first time live when it is participating in the semi finals. It is all about publicity, which Ireland, or the scrooges at RTE, do not want to… Read more »
Ryan’s song is so cool. I love his voice. Hope we will see him again someday.
Ryan’s vocals seem to have improved and maybe since RTE havn’t announced any Eurovision plans he has entered the UK’s selection 😉