Eurovision rehearsals are just days away, and in the UK, singer Lucie Jones made the traditional guest performance on the The Graham Norton Show before she leaves for Kyiv. Her emotional performance impressed not just the host but also show guests Goldie Hawn, Amy Schumer, Orlando Bloom and John Boyega.
It’s now a tradition for the UK’s Eurovision act to stop by The Graham Norton Show and perform their song, as well as having a chat with Norton, who moonlights as the UK’s Eurovision grand final commentator.
Lucie Jones performed “Never Give Up On You” with dramatic, minimal staging that highlighted her vocal talent and the emotion of the song. She performed in a circle of lights, reminiscent of the staging for Sanna Nielsen’s 2014 performance of “Undo”.
Kyiv here we come! @LucieJones1 performs Never Give Up On You, live on tonight's #GrahamNorton show #Eurovision ???? pic.twitter.com/YpUn27k7kh
— BBC Eurovision?? (@bbceurovision) April 28, 2017
After her performance, Lucie joined Graham Norton for a chat, along with his celebrity guests Goldie Hawn, Amy Schumer, Orlando Bloom and John Boyega. Lucie revealed she wasn’t wearing any shoes for her performance — but for a practical reason. Lucie said she can’t sing when she’s wearing shoes, and blames it on her upbringing in the Welsh hills. And hey, bare feet worked for Emmelie de Forest!
Lucie had earlier shared pics from the show’s taping on social media, including this photo she grabbed with Pirates of the Caribbean star Orlando Bloom.
We’ll next see Lucie this Friday in Kyiv, when the Big Five have their first rehearsals. There we’ll see for the first time what the UK have planned for their staging and how things will look when Lucie performs at the grand final.
The Wiwi Team is on the ground in Kyiv and will bring full coverage of events, including rehearsals, exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes stories.
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Wow – this is stunning. I really think this will be top 5, despite what the betting odds are or those on ESC devoted web-pages. Remember the vast majority of ESC viewers are not die-hard fans and usually haven’t listened to them before the actual contest. We are moved away from gimmicks in the 2000’s, society demands a voice and Lucie’s got it
Lucie’s vocal is so nice. I think the UK and the Netherlands will have the most on-point vocals of the competition. It’s just perfection. The song still feels like it could give something more — I think she was holding herself back just a little to preserve her voice, and maybe they were holding back on staging (obviously it’s a small stage anyway). I’m really excited for the UK at ESC. Three really strong entries from the Top 5 in Italy, the UK, and France (as well as a very sweet effort from Levina). I want wiwi to get Lucie… Read more »
I said the revamp wasn’t as good as the original.
OH BOY, How foolish do I look now having to regret what I said earlier
my personal number 13 (pls consider I think this year only about 15 song are really worth the time)
Lucie is a great singer! She gives texture and emotion to every performance! Off topic: I remember Orland Bloom in “Pirates of the Carribean” many years ago, younger with his hear little longer. He’s still handsome and seems more mature with this look! Love you Orlando! Eurovision madness begins! @William Lee Adams, I wanna thank you, at this point, from the bottom of my heart! You give life to all of us who love and follow this contest! You’re working hard to keep us up to date with everything happening in the Eurovision bubble! Especially now as the rehearsals begin… Read more »
At least this is so much better than Italy overall this is my number 2 this year only behind Austria and I have faith Lucie will bring my country back to top 15 just wish people would appreciate this more as it’s got the best message and lyrics with such a powerful and emotional performer as Lucie is
I really think this should get top 10. If she gets a good draw in the running order, it’s possible.
I watched the show and Lucy gave a nice performance but let’s be honest the UK will unfortunately finish up near the bottom of the leaderbaord. Simply because the song is just not memorable enough. The televotes will be as low as last year because there’s no reason for people to pick up the phone and vote for this in comparison to some of the other songs they could choose from. The song will score nicely from juries but this won’t be enough. The British people and the rest of Europe will know from the beggining that we will have… Read more »
Amy Schumer is vile
People be saying she’s copying Sanna, but I remember when everyone was saying Sanna copyed Lena? Also, this isn’t necessarily the staging for eurovision, the graham norton stage doesn’t have anywhere near as much potential as a eurovision one. Hopefully, with some improved staging the UK won’t flop as much as previous years. (This staging isn’t the worst either? most people won’t remember the staging of other countries from a random year, why not use they tried and tested?)
She did fantastically well and should be super proud. Wish the BBC could give a bit more budget to staging though! Also wish she would hold the high note at the end.
Undoooo my sad… Déjà vu much??
Her vocals are out of this world. With the right staging she can be a suprise top10 hit
The vocals are great, but the staging won’t be. As Robyn noted, Sanna already did the cone of lights thing three years ago. It seems that no-one in the BBC’s Eurovision bubble has any imagination.
Wait until Kyiv. The staging at Graham Norton is not done by BBC Eurovision but by the show. It will most probably have better different staging next week. So every one calm down.
I watched this last night. 🙂 Lucie looked beautiful and is an excellent singer. But, I can’t help but feel that the song falls a bit flat. I’m genuinely worried about the UK’s result after seeing this performance. Also, after the performance, Graham Norton seriously thanked Lucie for representing UK this year and told her that she was “very brave” to represent the UK. I don’t know whether Graham was alluding to the Brexit situation or the general Eurovision situation, but he knows how tough it is to be a UK representative at Eurovision – perhaps he knows that it’s… Read more »
Purple Mask, it’s not so much the UK’s attitude, but the BBC’s. I am not sure if that attitude will be broken in my lifetime. I am not convinced that those choosing our entry have much idea of what it takes to actually win the contest. One hopes they are taking notice of what Italy have done this year. Norton is now part of the problem, the contest is principally seen as his vehicle.
Unfortunately I agree with you.
The added problem is that I don’t see any other British broadcaster wanting to take Eurovision away from the BBC in the foreseeable future. Without that competition, there will be no incentive to improve. 🙁
Graham Norton rips Eurovision to shreds every year when he embarasses the respective UK entry that they’re “so brave” because “no one cares” or “the BBC doesn’t want to pay for it anyway”. He told Joe and Jake (who are so lovely) not to win the competition and basically that they were mugs for doing it. I like Graham, he is extremely witty and seems like he has a kind heart, but he mocks UK Eurovision acts and is part of the problem for the UK attitude to ESC. He could be so much better and engage people with his… Read more »
Oh I agree with you all. Terry Wogan – god rest his soul – was hilarious , for a while. I think he’s trying too hard to be Terry. When Terry left it was a missed oppourtunity to have taken it more seriously. The whole thing is too tongue-in-cheek. BTW i want Jay Aston to read the UK points, she’s still stunning now.
You’re all missing the point. The majority of the British public have no appetite for a ‘serious’ Eurovision. They watch it for humerus commentary and to laugh at the songs whilst having a Eurovision-themed party, and the BBC knows this. If the BBC changed tack and portrayed Eurovision as a serious musical event with significance, it would fall flat here.
The commentary can still be funny for those parties; it doesn’t have to be derogatory towards the contest. There’s a difference. I like Graham Norton, but sometimes he does push the crowbar a little too far.