It’s a bittersweet ending for the song that was to be Ireland’s entry in Eurovision 2020. The contest may be cancelled, but Lesley Roy’s song “Story of My Life” has debuted at No.12 in the Irish Homegrown Top 20 chart.
The chart — compiled by the Official Charts Company — tracks the popularity of tracks by Irish artists. This week’s chart is topped by ex-One Direction singer Niall Horan and his new single “No Judgement”.
But in at No.12 — just short of making the top ten — is Ireland’s Eurovision star Lesley Roy and her song “Story of My Life”.
Lesley shared the good news with her fans on Instagram, writing, “Wow we got a top 20 folks! So happy to see SOML is still going strong! We all need a little fun song during this!”
The chart position reflects the local enthusiasm behind the song. When “The Story of My Life” video was released, it soon became the No.1 trending video on Irish YouTube. The song also received support in the Irish media, with many believing it would prove to be Ireland’s best Eurovision entry in years.
“We can be triumphant again”
Earlier in the week, Lesley expressed how she was feeling after the disappointing news that Eurovision 2020 had been cancelled.
She wrote, “I entered Story of My Life into the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 to spread the message that we can overcome difficulties in life and we can be triumphant again. We have to continue to believe in ourselves and stay uplifted especially when we feel knocked down.”
THISISPOPBABY theatre director Philly McMahon — who had been working on the staging for Lesley’s song — also shared his feelings.
We are totally devastated! The dream was not to be this year. If you liked our vibe w/ #StoryOfMyLife, reach out to @lesleyroyreal – tell her how brilliant she is. We were cooking up some serious magic together. Sadly the #Eurovision is cancelled this year. #ImOnTeamIrelandESC https://t.co/VSc07robnb
— Philly McMahon (@McMahonPhilly) March 18, 2020
He wrote, “We are totally devastated! The dream was not to be this year. If you liked our vibe w/ #StoryOfMyLife, reach out to @lesleyroyreal – tell her how brilliant she is. We were cooking up some serious magic together.”
Irish broadcaster RTÉ has tentatively confirmed its participation in the next edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Head of Delegation Michael Kealy said, “RTÉ looks forward to continuing to engage with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and our broadcasting colleagues throughout Europe on Eurovision and the competition in 2021.”
What do you think? Are you excited by the chart placing? Would you like to see Lesley Roy return to represent Ireland at Eurovision? Tell us your thoughts below!
Ireland has a tiny music industry- to come top 12 one week of the Irish artists on the charts is nothing to write home about. The song was a flop and would have been dumped in the ESC semis.
Hopefully a totally new act for Ireland …
A performer who can sing live .. Lesley is a lovely lady but she wouldn’t make it past the semis
RTE should definitely get ThisIsPopBaby back for our 2021 entry. I was really interested to see what they could do at ESC.
I wouldn’t be sad if Lesley didn’t come back next year, but I wouldn’t be mad if she didn’t.
ThisIsPopBaby was probably our true entry this year and o was really looking forward to seeing what they could do
Now let’s be careful here. Is this a sign of how good the song is or how dated the Irish charts are. As bad as the UK chart scene is I can’t imagine this song ever doing well. I would prefer listening to this than hearing that appalling yelling Cappaldi bloke.
The UK charts are ridiculously bad. All faux rappers and maybe a Billie Eilish song from last summer – that’s it.
You basically just described modern mainstream music, what’s wrong with that, it’s what the younger generation (ie, me) enjoy listening to
It’s what people listen to because it’s what they’re spoonfed by limited radio playlists and a lack of imagination. Most people aren’t actually music fans, so they listen to what’s easily available – celebrity is what’s important, not the art.
Surely you don’t like Lewis and Ed…. they cater for easy listening bores.
I find both of them and there songs really annoying, but the rap stuff is actually quite good
So pleased for Lesley, she deserves it!
I hope she gets another chance and wants to do it again in 2021.