For the first time in five years the public will have a greater say about who will represent Ireland in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest with the Irish entry to be selected on a Late Late Show special early next year.
Further details about the format and extent of a public vote will be revealed in the coming months.
RTÉ today released details of how to submit a song to represent Ireland at the 66th Eurovision Song Contest in Italy in May, 2022.
Ireland first entered the competition in 1965 and has famously a record total of seven wins and is the only country to have won three times consecutively.
However, we have struggled for Eurovision glory since the late nineties and this year’s Irish entry, Lesley Roy with her song Maps, finished last in the semi-final in Rotterdam.
Our continued lack of success has led to mounting calls for an end to RTÉ’s internal selection process and a return to a greater public role in the choice of Ireland’s Eurovision hopeful.
Since RTÉ brought the selection in-house, Ireland has only made the final once, with Ryan O’Shaughnessy and his song Together in 2018.
RTÉ’s Eurovision Head of Delegation Michael Kealy said, "I am very excited by the return of a Eurovision National Final on The Late Late Show and the prospect of giving the public a greater say in selecting our entry for Italy.
"Every year the Eurovision gets bigger and more competitive than ever and given the enormous exposure and huge financial rewards for the winner I’m hopeful that we will attract a very high calibre of songwriter and performer.
"This year’s artist Lesley Roy has gained tens of thousands of fans all over Europe on the back of her involvement with Eurovision and her very strong social media presence. She’s currently on an extensive tour of the UK and Ireland."
Submitting a Song
RTÉ is now inviting accomplished songwriters with a proven track record of success in the music industry to submit a song together with a suitable performer(s) to be considered to represent Ireland.
According to RTÉ’s statement, "All songs must be submitted with an artist(s) already attached, artists must have the talent, drive, and ambition to compete at the highest level before a global audience of over 200 million people.
"Artists putting themselves forward (with a song) must have intrinsic and obvious appeal to the core youth audiences who make up a significant amount of Eurovision viewers and fans."
Entries will then be considered by a panel of music and entertainment industry professionals and Eurovision fans. Selected artists may be invited to audition in the RTÉ studios in Dublin.
A shortlist of songs and artists will subsequently be invited to perform live on television early in 2022 on a Eurovision Late Late Show Special when a winner will be chosen to represent Ireland.
All entries will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
Songs submitted must strictly comply with the rules of Eurovision and RTÉ reserves the right to arrange, produce or otherwise alter any song selected for the purposes of Eurovision.
Songwriters/composers may only submit one song (including co-writes) for consideration. If more than one song per composer is submitted only the first song received will be considered. Songs must be no longer than three minutes in duration. Hopefuls are asked to include a photograph of the performer(s) and a short biog.
Compositions submitted for consideration (lyrics and music) must not have been commercially released and/or publicly performed including online video platforms or social networks, in full or in part, before the 1st September 2021.
In all cases, RTÉ will have the final say on which song and artist will be Ireland’s 2022 entry.
If you would like to submit an entry, it must adhere to the EBU competition rules, a full list of which can be found here.
Entries will ONLY be accepted through the online form.
No entries will be accepted by post, on CD, cassette or any other format. Neither will RTÉ accept links to Wetransfer, Soundcloud, Dropbox or to any other third-party sites such as YouTube or Spotify.
RTÉ added, "Although we wish to encourage and identify promising new talent for the future, this is probably not an opportunity for beginners or people with limited or no experience of performing in public to large crowds."
The closing date for submissions is 6.00pm on Friday 22nd of October 2021.
The Eurovision Song Contest is the world’s biggest live music show and one of the most popular annual television events in the world, reaching over 180 million viewers in Europe with tens of millions more watching on social media platforms worldwide.
Italian rock band Måneskin, winners of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, have gone on to enjoy worldwide chart success since winning the competition, with Zitti e buoni, their winning song, garnering more than 200 million streams on Spotify since their win in Rotterdam.
The band also entered the Top 10 charts in the UK, and have amassed a social media following of 20 million across numerous platforms. The band recently fronted a fashion campaign for Gucci, have graced the cover of Vanity Fair Italia, and their cover of The Four Seasons’ song Beggin' has been certified gold in the US.
