Johnny Logan Eurovision 2017 RTE Ireland Eurovision Cheap Nasty

He’s a man synonymous with Eurovision and he’s not happy. Speaking to The Sun, Johnny Logan — the only singer to win the contest twice — hit out at the Irish selection process for Kyiv, branding it “cheap and nasty”.

His comments come after Louis Walsh — the man charged with selecting Ireland’s song — said he’d love for Johnny to write Brendan Murray’s entry.

Louis_and_Brendan_Murray_LLS_Set_Eurovision_2017
Louis Walsh with Ireland’s Eurovision 2017 singer Brendan Murray

But the “Hold Me Now” hitmaker is having none of it.

“I like Louis but he knows I would never have anything to do with our Eurovision entry the way it’s currently being done by RTÉ. Because at the moment, it’s cheap and nasty — that’s how it seems to me.”

Asked what he thought of Walsh’s involvement, Logan claimed to be not surprised:

“I’m not surprised. They seemed to have tried everything else at this stage.”

Do like the Nordics

Like every Eurovision fan, Johnny wants the Irish broadcaster RTÉ to take matters seriously. One suggestion he offers is for Ireland to do like the Nordics and run a multi-week selection show.

“RTE should have a show running for several weeks like they do in Norway, Sweden and Denmark to find a song for Ireland.”

He also wants the station to invest in new talent.

“RTE should go down to the BIMM music college and find the best new songwriters to come up with songs.

Johnny is rarely shy to share his views, and over the years both Jedward and Ireland’s old Eurosong format have felt the sting of his tongue.

RTÉ prepares for “Stockholm”

In response to Logan’s criticisms, RTÉ issued a statement which was published by both The Sun and the Irish Indpendent.

“RTE is not in a position to invest in a series dedicated to a National Song Contest to select an Irish entry for this year’s Eurovision.

By appointing Louis to help select a song, RTE can put all of the resources available into the production of the act for the stage show in Stockholm and, of course, get the benefit of the many years of experience Louis has.”

Yes, you read that right — Stockholm. Either that’s a misprint or RTÉ really don’t care.

Ireland at Eurovision

While Ireland is well known for their seven Eurovision victories — including their 1990s dream run of four wins in five years — their recent Eurovision entries haven’t been as successful.

In the past decade, Jedward have given Ireland its best results, placing eighth in 2011 and 19th in 2012. Ireland has otherwise placed last in the grand final twice and failed to qualify for the final five times.

Most recently, broadcaster RTÉ took a break from their usual Eurosong national final and internally selected former Westlife singer Nicky Byrne. His upbeat song “Sunlight” wasn’t a hit with viewers, and placed only 15th in its semi-final.

In December, Irish broadcaster RTÉ revealed that music mogul Louis Walsh had handpicked former Hometown member Brendan Murray to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2017.

His song has yet to be revealed.

What do you think of Johnny Logan’s “cheap and nasty” comments? Is he right? Let us know in the comments or react using the new wiwibloggs app.

FOLLOW ALL our IRELAND EUROVISION 2017 NEWS.

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Gerry OBrien
Gerry OBrien
7 years ago

Worst song ever. Watch it crash. I’ve nothing to do with music or RTE. But have chosen winners for years. This song is an absolute disgrace. Tuneless, unchallenging and embarrassing. Using the loss of great talent in a year that was sad and bad for music lovers. Shame on RTE. What has happened to Mr. Walshes supposed eye and ear for talent? Gone to the bogs!!!

Donna Vey
Donna Vey
7 years ago

@Padraig: 🙂 😉

Colin
Colin
7 years ago

I really want to see Ireland having a good song and qualifying for the grand finals. The thing is, this year the competition will be stiff, especially in the ballads department. Malta, Georgia, Albania, Slovenia and Finland also have ballads which need to qualify from the semis and none of them are bad. The biggest outstand among them is Finland and they are the only ones for which I am fairly certain will qualify. Everyone else is uncertain. So is Ireland if they indeed go with a ballad. They need an outstand. They don’t need just a solid song. They… Read more »

Jonas
Jonas
7 years ago

Frau Von Storch said “Irish people are so lovely, but their taste in music is quite poor…Their music scene these days is pretty bad”. Not true. The Irish music scene is healthy and thriving. Take a look/listen at the shortlist for the RTÉ Choice Prize for best Irish album of the year. All Tvvins – IIVV (Warner Music) Bantum – Move (Self Released) Wallis Bird – Home (Mount Silver / Caroline International) The Divine Comedy – Foreverland (Divine Comedy Records) Lisa Hannigan – At Swim (Play It Again Sam) Katie Kim – Salt (Art For Blind Records) James Vincent McMorrow… Read more »

Wilander
Wilander
7 years ago

Pull out! As an exasperated Irish fan, I no longer have any faith in RTÉ. I am expecting a fourth successive NQ this year. Everything about the RTÉ Eurovision team is stuck in the past, from commentator, HoD, and chief mentor Louis. As a station RTÉ is always several years behind. TG4 has done a really good job with limited resources for Junior. It’s time to either make an effort or pull out. Do a ‘Luxembourg’ and live on your past glories. Farcical and unacceptable that a musically oriented country like Ireland doesn’t qualify most years. Rant over and good… Read more »

AngieP
AngieP
7 years ago

First of all, we don’t have a clue about the Irish entry (except for the artist)! Second, I get the impression Ireland doesn’t really care about Eurovision! And it’s not about winning. They could at least send a decent song. The last good song I remember was “Lipstick” in 2011! Apart from that, about the reference to a national selection process like in Scandinavia (especially Sweden), this is nonsense! Why should Ireland do sth like MelFest for example? It won’t improve the quality of the songs! If the songs are bad, a selection process won’t help! They can have at… Read more »

Donna Vey
Donna Vey
7 years ago

“His song has yet to revealed.”

Either that’s a misprint or Padraig really doesn’t care. 😉

Leo M
Leo M
7 years ago

RTE don’t really have a club about Eurovision any more so it is proabably a good thing Louis Walsh is on board Apparently they had over 300 song submissions so there is bound to be a few good few songs in there I really hope they pick something really good and not a typical Eurovision song for Brendan Murray I really hope Ireland are back in the final this year

Ron
Ron
7 years ago

RTE let the cat out of the bag a bit by referring to money being an issue. Last year’s effort looked like it was done on the cheap and as if they spent even less money than the previous year. Nicky Byrne was an RTE employee and the staging looked bargain basement. One wonders if they even paid him a fee to compete. This year’s entry will live or die by how good or bad the song is, it’s as simple as that. I’d like to see a return to the national final next year but they simply have to… Read more »

Justin K.
Justin K.
7 years ago

@Robyn Oh, definitely! Jedward to work even harder at both Düsseldorf and Baku than they probably ever did before that; they had some incredible staging and props, which is really what Eurovision is all about. Unlike Jedward, I’m afraid Brendan Murray won’t stand out as much. Jedward had a cultivated personality and they stood out from the get-go—we can easily mention them by name and not by country or song. Depending on what gets chosen, I’m just afraid he might get lost amongst Nathan Trent, Manel Navarro, and the other young, pretty attractive, solo guys with a guitar (hahaha, that… Read more »

Abel
Abel
7 years ago

@ Robyn Gallagher – They are fixated on Ireland’s golden run from 20 years ago. This makes them think they are naturally good at Eurovision and any poor results is down to “political voting” This is so right and can be said about other countries too, we only have to look at winners from 20-30-40 years ago that are not winning anymore. They think ”they are naturally good at Eurovision” hahahahahahahaha. And they can see what songs were successful in recent years, but they still have only one thing in mind : to copy their own success even if it… Read more »

Tomas Patrick Davitt
Tomas Patrick Davitt
7 years ago

As an exasperated Irish superfan – I find everthing in this article to be SPOT ON – especially Johnny and robyn’s comments. The UK and Ireland have had a horrendous approach to Eurovision the last few decades – send an outdated formulaic song which represents their outdated view of a rapidly developing competition. the whole thing comes across as extremely lazy and condescending. And when we get a terrible result, as Robyn said, the public blame it on political voting which again is a baseless and outdated view. This is despite the fact that other than Jedward, none of the… Read more »

Eve
Eve
7 years ago

”Westerners” are so funny when say that they lose because of ”neighbour” voting, guys send a good song for a change and people will vote for you!

Mark
Mark
7 years ago

EuroDrama!!!

ESC84
ESC84
7 years ago

Playing with numbers was quite good in recent year, but it did not go to final…
While jedward did, I wouldn’t be surprised if Irish think ESC is a joke..

Alex
Alex
7 years ago

Maybe RTE can’t afford a selection enduring over three weeks. But they could easily PUT MORE SONGS in their national final (when they have a public selection show) and remove the useless, outdated jury commentary. Let there be a jury like in other national selections – all they need to do is vote! Save the rest of the time for the music.

Alexa Diheart
Alexa Diheart
7 years ago

He is right to be fair. But also why would you want him to write a song? He’s quite outdated now. However as many have stated, Louis was the one who apparently sourced Jedward’s entries and the 2011 one did quite well. The 2012 one came top 10 with the televoting… so I wouldn’t rule them out just yet.

Mar
Mar
7 years ago

Does Johnny Logan make it his business to badmouth RTÉ and the entire Irish Eurovision team every single year? Because it feels like he does. It’d be hella funny if the Irish delegation actually showed up in Stockholm in May, but it’s obvious they’re not the only ones not up to date on current Eurovision affairs, since Denmark and Norway have had one night National Finals for some time now. Also, when will people realize that Melodifestivalen works in Sweden beacuse it is a pop music powerhouse? It’s not like just any country can replicate it. I’d sooner die than… Read more »

Justin K.
Justin K.
7 years ago

@Robyn

I’m only worried since Jedward already had a massive personality, and I would think there wasn’t much more coaching they needed that they didn’t get at The X Factor. I would think Brendan needs a little more guidance in appealing to the audience.

I totally agree with the songs, though. Ireland’s been choosing songs that would have done well 20-30 years ago, but it’s not quite up to what the recent winners (or high placers) have been releasing.

Jonas
Jonas
7 years ago

A verse in the Irish language might be nice. What have they got to lose?

You say “provided he can”, but he could learn it phonetically – like Sandie Jones, who sang the only Irish entry actually in their own language, in 1972. She didn’t understand a word.

Fun fact, trivia fans.

Vladimir P.
Vladimir P.
7 years ago

The RTE people don’t even seem to know where Eurovision is being held this year

James
James
7 years ago

RTE can’t produce its own song contest yet TG4 did exactly that for Junior Eurovision.

Justin K.
Justin K.
7 years ago

@Purple Mask: Oh, my mistake! At least Shayne Ward has done decently after his win. Still, I don’t think Louis Walsh has done a good job so far—letting him sing “Hold Me Now” on The Late Late Show was a bit of a shove underneath the bus, don’t you think? He sounds a bit closer to Janet Devlin (even in terms of pitch), so he would have done better with a female song (or a song he can make his own, cause I honestly can’t imagine anyone without a stronger, deeper voice singing that); although none of the successful Irish… Read more »

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
7 years ago

@Jonas: I feel similar about the UK and Lucie Jones’s song this year. Maybe add some strings from the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the re-vamp… one can hope. 🙂

Jonas
Jonas
7 years ago

Grr, I meant to say “their” very own…

#Grammar

Jonas
Jonas
7 years ago

At the very, very least they could utilize there very own RTÉ Concert Orchestra (Eurovision veterans), and organize a quality backing track with a quality arrangement and real instruments. That might especially suit a ballad.

Sunlight sounded like it had been whipped up on some by-the-numbers music-making app on a laptop…which of course it had.

beccaboo1212
7 years ago

Now listen – Ireland’s gotta pick something that would at least allow Brendan to take the International Exhibition Centre by storm, whether its a ballad or a dance track. So I’m predicting that it’ll be a mid-tempo song.

Jonas
Jonas
7 years ago

To be completely fair, Ireland only has a population of 4.5 million and the national broadcaster reflects that in its budget. Sweden has 9 million, twice that. Ireland has definitely punched above its weight over the years, but to still hold them to that high standard seems a little harsh.

Still, you’d think they’d get it right one year if only by fluke.

Darren
Darren
7 years ago

Ha! RTE always use the same excuse for the fact that they send utter crap. Putting the effort into a stage show that we just know will be the repeated formula that we’ve seen even before….filling the stage with the six piece pub band. Simple facts are, RTÉ just don’t care, and they haven’t done in a very long time. We don’t know Brendan Murrays song yet, but honestly, I’m Norbert holding out hope. RTE is a joke broadcaster, not just with ESC but with everything!!! The fact that they think ESC 2017 is in Stockholm just sums up everything… Read more »

Jonas
Jonas
7 years ago

Well, he’s not wrong. It’s not a matter of resources, it’s just a matter of priorities and where they choose to allocate them. It’s a vicious cycle – the more the bad results continue, the greater the apparent lack of interest and bad reputation. RTÉ are selling off half their land (estimated value €50 million), so that should be good for a national song contest next year. Failing that, they could simply change their attitude (cost-free!) – and approach a half-decent songwriter or artist and pitch the Eurovision as the great platform that it is. By portraying Nicky Byrne and… Read more »

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
7 years ago

@Justin K: Thanks for that. Just a small correction (hardly worth mentioning) – Louis Walsh did win The X Factor once, with Shayne Ward in Season 2. That was so many years ago now! :O

Justin K.
Justin K.
7 years ago

Louis is a bit like Pete Waterman—he was really good in his prime, but he’s fallen out of touch recently. Isn’t he the *only* judge to have not won The X Factor despite being one all that time? I wouldn’t even count Girls Aloud since he didn’t manage them for a majority of their career, but I will tip my hat off as he’s probably the one who chose “Sound of the Underground,” which is still quite fresh. RTE probably doesn’t care as much as they should looking at their press release and lack of attention to detail. The UK… Read more »

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
7 years ago

Thank you for this article, Padraig. 🙂 Johnny Logan is, of course, absolutely correct. However, RTE have basically admitted that they don’t have the resources to stage a Melodifestivalen-type song competition. Would there even be a demand for it in Ireland? I wonder. (Feel free to voice opinions here. – I would particularly love to hear from some Irish fans about this story.) Of course, it’s not too disimilar to the problems that the UK’s BBC is having; the important difference being that the UK is a “big five” member and does contribute towards the contest financially, at least for… Read more »

Matt
Matt
7 years ago

Well in my opinion, I think every Eurovision country should give it’s best because they can! But they obviously don’t want to win so they send bad songs. And even when there are good songs in national selection jury choses the worst one and public vote doesn’t really matter at the end and people just spend their money for nothing.