Through our Best of the Bunch series, we gave a recap on the Eurovision entries from 2006 to 2015 and gave you the opportunity to choose your Best of the Bunch. As you may remember, the current Best of the Bunch winners were put into our ‘Ultimate Eurovision’ but it’s time to see which of the latest three entries have remained as your favourites! In our Best of the Bunch: The Trials series, we are going to recap the entries from a certain nation starting with 2016 and continuing through to the latest Eurovision season of 2018. Your job is to simply enjoy the music, and vote for your Best of the Bunch winner!
Today we will be taking a closer look at the latest three entries from the United Kingdom. Being one of the Big 5 nations, the United Kingdom automatically qualify to the final, but despite that, the nation hasn’t been too impressive in previous years. Whether their results are justified or not is up to personal tastes, but we still want to know which of the latest three is your Best of the Bunch! Once we recap the entries, it will be up to you to vote!
United Kingdom 2016
After the questionable entry from Electro Velvet the year previous, it was time for the United Kingdom to change their strategy for choosing their entry, and so a national final was born. You Decide was the format for the public selection, showcasing six artists and their potential Eurovision entries, and it was decided that the duo Joe and Jake would represent the UK. Their song was called You’re Not Alone, an upbeat number with an uplifting message. On stage, the duo emphasised their mateship which created a nice atmosphere, even for those watching at home. Although it was a step up from their previous entry, it still didn’t manage to get off the bottom end of the table, finishing in 24th with 62 points.
United Kingdom 2017
The following year, the same national final format was employed to help choose the British Eurovision act, and the public decided on Lucie Jones. The song chosen was titled Never Give Up On You, and it was a powerful ballad. If we look at the recent history of the UK at Eurovision, their highest result in recent years came from Jade Ewen and her ballad It’s My Time, so perhaps Lucie could have helped the UK break back into the Top 10. At the time, it didn’t feel farfetched, and many fans did expect the UK to finally achieve a Top 10 position however on the night, it just didn’t eventuate, even after a very confident and beautiful performance. In the end, she finished in 15th place with 111 points.
United Kingdom 2018
That brings us to the latest entry from the UK, and once again, You Decide was used by the broadcaster to select the representative. The public decided that SuRie would represent the UK at Eurovision with her song Storm, but it was not her first time at Eurovision. Having been a backing singer at Eurovision before, SuRie had the experience, and it was her time to shine front and centre! On the night, unfortunately her performance was interrupted by a stage invader, but in fighting spirit, SuRie picked the microphone up and soldiered on. Despite an honourable performance, once again the UK found themselves further down the results table. The nation finished in 24th place with 48 points.
So now you’ve seen all three performances, it’s time to vote for your Best of the Bunch!
If you want more Best of the Bunch from the United Kingdom, check out our original series:
If you want to check out who made our Ultimate Eurovision, check it out here: