Lloyd Webber Makes The Wrong Call for the UK’s Eurovision Hope

I’m still at a loss to explain away the final decision on Your Country Needs You, the United Kingdom’s national final to decide the act we shall be sending to Moscow and the Eurovision Song Contest in May.

The public vote places two contestants in “The Danger Zone” (with not a shot of Kenny Loggins in site – have we finally found someone too cheesy for Eurovision in the Log-meister?), and Andrew Lloyd Webber decides which one to take through to next week, and which one to send away with just their BFH.

Damian and Charlotte were up this week. The former a 30 year old pub/lounge singer that the judges labelled a safe pair of hands. Charlotte is a 17 year old with a serious case of stage fright who’s performance had some rough spots on Saturday night.

Lloyd Webber saved Charlotte, arguably the weaker of the two, because she can “improve on the journey, unlike Damian.”

Err, come again? This isn’t a show about personal fulfilment or reaching honourably for a far away goal. This is melodic combat, toe to toe with the ruskies. (and the rest of Europe, with thanks to Stanley Kubrick).

Time and again, from all the countries that were visited in last week’s show; from commentators, bloggers and writers around the world; the UK have been told that to have a respectable result, we should be taking it seriously, be perceived to be taking it seriously, and not sending amateur acts from talent shows.

We need to send the best of the best, not the rest.

But…

We’ve got our cards now, and we have to play with what we have. The UK has a composer in Lloyd Webber that has a populist touch; in Diane Warren a lyricist who clearly knows exactly how to catch the mind of the public; and in Jade Ewen we have a performer that could capture the mood of the viewing public in the UK and beyond.

Assuming that the UK voting public don’t “Do A Scooch” with The Twins, I think we’ll get to see the river card come May 16th.