The UK made its decision for Eurovision 2017 earlier than usual in January, with Lucie Jones winning Eurovision: You Decide 2017. By bringing the selection forward, the BBC has allowed themselves plenty of time to rework her song, “Never Give Up On You”. The result of the revamp has just come out, along with the song’s official music video!
Lucie Jones — “Never Give Up On You”
The revamp builds on what the song originally did right and adds to them. There’s a real sense of atmosphere through the instrumentation now: it feels a lot less “musical theatre”, certainly. In particular, the final chorus now stands out much more than previously.
The lyrics — written in part by Emmelie de Forest, of course — haven’t changed, which means it still feels true to the song the UK public chose.
Most importantly, Lucie’s vocals are still the focus of the song. They’ve always been the best part of the track and it’s good to see that hasn’t been taken away from gimmickry. She’s great at emoting the song both live and in the music video, a simple affair which sees Lucie in different shots, bathed in and out of lights.
Lucie looks to have a busy few weeks ahead of the contest as well. She’s now confirmed to appear at both the London and Amsterdam pre-parties, which the UK is fast becoming a staple of.
There’s also the little matter of the press: Lucie already did the rounds following her victory, appearing on BBC Breakfast to brush off any Brexit fears. We’ll no doubt be seeing her on the Graham Norton Show prior to the contest as well, to have a chat with the UK’s commentator.
What do you think about the new version of “Never Give Up On You”? Do you think that it’s going to improve Lucie’s chances in Kyiv? Shout out all of your thoughts on the wiwibloggs app — available on iOS and Android — or in the comments section below.
Of course they had their chance and declined. My point really was that we should stop trying to find a “Eurovision” song to represent the U.K. and just send one we can enjoy regardless of the result. I don’t personally think this song is melancholic I think it is flat, monotonous and overwrought with simplistic and cliche lyrics. It will suffer in comparison to the Bulgarian entry which really shows how this sort of song should be done. My prediction as I said is moderately well on the juries (top twenty) but plummeting down the board on the public vote.… Read more »
@Patrick: I was at the UK National Final on the upper level (the Circle). There were no boos on our level, but I wasn’t down on the floor, so it’s possible that we just didn’t notice it. (Plus Emmelie’s group was up near where I was anyhow.) The song is very beautiful and melancholy; it reminds me more of classical music. It brings a musical diversity to the contest that chimes in very well with this year’s theme. When Wiwibloggs starts to do their Wiwi Jury reviews in April, I will post my full musical analysis here. I do understand… Read more »
Thank you – that’s not the UK I recognise. Please be clear that my comment was about the song not Ms Jones (though some of the gurning – sorry emoting- and fake lisp doesn’t add much.) This song is not reflective of British pop music , hence it hasn’t troubled even the lowest reaches of our charts. It was booed when announced as the national winner, how do we expect other countries to vote for it.
Patrick wrote: “It is beyond abysmal. Overwrought dreary and depressing.”
I write: Politically, doesn’t it chime in perfectly with how the UK is doing right now? 😀
Lucie is stunning live, by the way.
It is beyond abysmal. Overwrought dreary and depressing. May do moderately well with some juries but will be a big fat nil points on the public vote plunging it to the bottom right of the score board. I have never loathed a U.K. Entry as much as this which given our recent national embarrassments is saying something
Wow. They’re really listening to the fans. Such a good balance in this revamp.
Top 5 for the UK?
I prefered the first version. It had a simple, atmospheric touch. Sadly, now it’s all gone too pompous. When the song was good enough to win the British final in the first place, why change it? It all seems too calculated. It went from good to bad.
BAD REVAMP
My top 39:
https://youtu.be/WqQ60h_77c8
Much improved!!!
Mario’s Eurovision 2017
https://eurovision2017blog.wordpress.com/
Y’know, I’d be surprised if the UK’s selected performer didn’t appear at their own Eurovision pre-party. o.O
I see that the U.K. are using eurovision as a means of diplomacy and they feel putting effort into their song will win them points with Sweden and Germany regarding a favourable Brexit deal :p
this is no brexit song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpxV9xuqLeA
I really like this revamp. It gave the song the little extra push it needed to become one of my favourite ballads this year. Go Lucie!
Lucie had the same problem as Timebell from Switzerland. Her voice on recording sounds really nie, but live it’s screamy and losses all charm, bringing the song down. Still I think Lucie can make it to top 15 for UK, due to weak competition.
Very good, but I already liked it before.
Let’s hope UK gets staging right for ONCE.
I don’t think Eurovision voters care about Brexit actually! not everyone in Eurovision is in the EU anyway! I think it’s a strong song and will do well especially if most ballads get knocked out. Then it will stand out.
People reaching so hard to make this about Brexit SMH.
@Neely: With the possible exception of Josh Dubovie, all of the examples you have listed consist of minor tweaks to the audio track. Lucie’s entry has been re-orchestrated, re-styled, and given a completely new visual concept in the video: that’s what I mean about a “re-vamp.” (You can’t really blame me for forgetting Josh Dubovie anyhow, considering how bad that entry was! :D) @TheRainFromAbove: How is this the Brexit song? “Never Give Up On You” appears to be a song about never giving up on your partner, which is the exact opposite of what is happening through Brexit (end of… Read more »
So Emmelie De Forest only co-wrote the lyrics???????
Much ado about nothing.
This is a commendable effort coming from the UK, at least now it comes of as somewhat current. I guess they are in the right path, slowly but surely
I still love it! It’s so beautiful!
The strongest song from the UK since Jade Ewen. The revamp works well and with good staging – preferably akin to the stunning black and white look at the end of the video – this should deliver great, and long awaited, results for the UK.
this is BREXIT song, Thank you and have a great lifi without us!
I liked the song before but this revamp is much more impressive! But I think that it’s Lucie and her live performance which will make it successful at the grand final. Love her <3
I hope UK will sing lately in the final and they may have a chance of top 5 with this.
I hated the song before, but the revamp is GOOD 😀 Very atmospheric, I like it A LOT.
It’s official: Hell had indeed frozen over because the UK may slay the pack this year!
I totally enjoy the revamp more than the original. More haunting, more modern and a very refreshing ballad that is unlike any other ballad for this year’s Eurovision (Finland’s may also count)
Not so sure whether UK will finish in the top 10 but if that is how to finish in the top 10, it is now. Just try not to give this a horrible staging when Eurovision hits Kiev.
I can’t believe I’m saying this about the UK in Eurovision, but the UK actually has a chance of winning the contest with this revamp.
they know the strength of the song is how stripped back it is and the revamp has found the right balance between simplicity and over-the-top production. good job.
@Purple Mask This is far from the UK’s first ever revamp after the national final. Surely no one forgets the disaster of 2010 and Josh’s ‘That Sounds Good To Me’ which a worse revamp for the compilation album and then a slight improvement for the single release and contest. The contest versions for Jessica Garlick, Javine and Andy Abraham, whilst not remixed or revamped drastically, still have a slight but discernible variation on the versions released on Radio 2 prior to their respective national final entries. Even Scooch’s Flying The Flag has a variation to the NF radio play version… Read more »
@EsCaddict – Thank you! “Harsh” was the word that escaped my vocabulary whilst I was commenting earlier.
It’s decent. That’s all I can say
I can’t say I like it more than 2015’s Electro Velvet, though. At least not in good faith. They’re about on the same level, but electro swing has a groovy edge. :3
Whoever did the visual effects for the music, they sure abused the CC Particle World preset on Adobe After Effects.
I have now watched Lucie’s video. By the way, this is the first time that the UK has ever publicly re-vamped its Eurovision entry after initial release. For a first-ever revamp, it’s quite impressive. The styling and the look of the video are good and arty – I particularly like how Lucie pleads from the darkened long-shots. Perhaps the most debatable point is her vocal recording quality, which unfortunately (in my opinion) was compressed down on the big notes to avoid hitting the sound “limiter.” I know other musicians and critics prefer it this way, but being raised on the… Read more »
Oh. My. God. They took a great song and made it perfection! I was shedding tears, and I’ve never done that for any Eurovision song bar “A Monster Like Me,” my all-time favorite. UK is bringing the fire this year!!!!! And to think I dismissed their selection this year as being terrible without giving any of the songs a chance!
The revamp is better because Lucie’s harsh vocals are softened in the mix. I hope they don’t return on stage. They hurt my ears.
The song remains the same & it is just an ordinary song. Too bad they didn’t change the lyrics. I cringe everytime I hear about dancing through the storm. Enough with the “dancing in the rain” metaphor. It is over used.
FABULOUS. TOP 3
Maarten, we are the United Kingdom, not just England!! Very sore subject to British people, and I mean, I’m English. The English love the Welsh and Northern Irish…and the Scots if Andy Murray wins in the tennis 😉
Thank you United Kingdom for being my bright spot of the day. Just for the record, I think ALL FOUR countries made the wrong decision tonight. Lithuania didn’t have much to pick from and I kind of like Norwegian song. But Sweden and Iceland are such a disappointment. They could have been in my top 5, but are mid 20s instead. Serbia also brought a generic song and yeah, that French re-vamp didn’t do them any favors. So, thank you Lucie for having such an awesome song and cementing yourself into my top 5 this year.
Can they please now prepare a dreamy stage performance? ALSO: Lucie already did the rounds following her victory, appearing on BBC Breakfast to brush off any Brexit fears. We’ll no doubt be seeing her on the Graham Norton Show prior to the contest as well, to have a chat with the UK’s commentator. —-> This is 0 promo though. The song needs exposure in big TV shows which unfortunately are on ITV. BBC needs to push this on BBC Radio 1 and 2 and various TV shows. Anyway, the song is nice but i feel weird about this version as… Read more »
Love this song. The lyrics are the best part, they could have done anything with the backing track! But they have given it another layer. Strong vocals live. Ok video. Good luck Lucie. UK 2018.
The revamp really helps the song but I still do not like her voice.
Still, this might have managed to get it into the top 20.
sad that even Claudia unveiled a revamp and video but wiwibloggs doesn’t acknowledge it… ????
Indifferent between the versions, still one of my favorites. I do hope they choose the right styling for her (Hint: put-up hair and pink lips).
This revamp is well done. I like it more now.
Brits have so many great pop ballads in their music history! But this is not one of the greatest!
Dah. I am not of the ones who dislike changes or even language shifts, but this revamp feels sooo underwhelming for me 🙁 The UK was my fave entry this year together with Italy. Not anymore 🙁 I adore Lucie since the X Factor and her amazing live performances, I still remember her singing Leona’s “Footprints in the Sand” and “My little Valentine”! She’s amazing! Her song as well! But while some parts of the revamped version are somehow better (like the beginning), then the lost lost its charm and tragic tone.. All I hope, and I’m sure of, is… Read more »
Good job England. This song had potential and thank god they did deliver something better with the revamp. Her vocals will bring this song to a higher level for sure. No 0 points this year. 🙂
For the record :
Wikoria was having vocal problems during the week, and couldn’t even sing at all at the closing rehearsals – they used a full pre-record – so considering that, I think she did amazingly well. A true professional.
Anyway, Lucie and the UK…yeah, the electronic moody backing track is kind of at odds with the more traditional power ballad style of the vocals. Weird.
It may be the rum having watched the Swedish final (good job Robin) but this gave me the chills, in a good way. I really like this new arrangement. The vocal sounds a little sterile at times, but I know Lucie can deliver the goods live. This could be the best result for the UK since 2009.