BIMM London’s Raya Tipped for Eurovision
BIMM London graduate, Raya will be putting her best foot forward at this month’s ‘Eurovision: You Decide’ selection show, as she looks to represent the UK in Lisbon, Portugal later this May.
On Wednesday 7 February, the gifted singer will go head-to-head against five others on BBC Two at the iconic Brighton Dome, where legends ABBA won the song contest back in 1974.
Raya – whose list of boasts include providing backing vocals for Hurts, dancing with Little Mix and appearing in the ITV drama Mr Selfridge, – will be hoping to win the vote with her dance-inspired track ‘Crazy’, which was co-written by fellow BIMM graduate Samir Salah Elshafie.
In an interview with the BBC, Raya admitted that she feels nervous but up for the challenge. She told the show’s producers:
“I’m excited, nervous but also up for the challenge. It will be such a great honour to represent the UK at Eurovision.”
Giving her take on the energetic pop song, the hotly-tipped singer-songwriter – who is also a DJ – told the BBC:
“It’s extremely catchy and upbeat with a really fresh and commercial feel. It’s all about that new guy or girl who you can’t get out of your head no matter how hard you try.”
In the end, the public will decide who appears in Lisbon later this year. So, what did our experts make of Eurovision’s past entries? Look out for our knowledgeable BIMM Brighton students sat down for a series of Gogglebox-style interviews ahead of the show.
Speaking to BIMM about the featurettes, BBC producer Gemma Hodson, said:
“This year we wanted to look more at the deconstruction of a Eurovision song. We came to BIMM because you have incredible songwriters on the verge of pursuing their career in music. They’ve got so much knowledge and so much love for what they do. So why not show them a few songs and see if they can tell us what makes a good or a successful Eurovision song?”
The guests included graduates Rachel Clark and Elshay, who critiqued gave first-hand insight into the production, staging and performance of each song. No doubt they’ll be impressed with Raya but also BIMM Dublin grad Ryan O’Shaughnessy, who will represent Ireland in May.
This year’s Eurovision is really hotting up with plenty of fierce competition coming out of the UK; nevertheless, it looks like it could be a BIMM invasion. We’ll be watching Eurovision: You Decide closely when it airs on BBC Two on Wednesday 7 February to see if Raya makes it through. Good luck!
