IRELAND

The Irish entry was revealed on January 13th via the host broadcaster RTE. After many a year of choosing their song using the show 'Eurosong' in its various guises, the 2016 entry and act was selected internally. The song "Sunlight" is to be sung Nicky Byrne.

The song is a fairly uptempo song (by Irish standards) with more than a passing resemblance in places to last year's winning song. It starts off quite sparse in terms of backing music but when the chorus kicks in the bass and drums become much more prominent in the chorus. The chorus is the main selling point of the song. The title is very prominent and punctuated really well in the song, and as an earworm gets in your head very quickly. The second part of the chorus is also really clever with the quick rhymes keeping your attention. The bridge between 2.00 - 2.30 is not the strongest but I figure that they need to bring the song down again in order to drum the end home.

Nicky is a well-known name and face in Ireland, the UK and further afield. Nicky was a member of the pop group Westlife for  well over a decade, however he was mainly seen as one of the ensemble members and not one of those who sang solo. In fact, he no stranger to Eurovision he has given the scores of the Irish vote. In the video he is dressed quite plainly, in black sporting a leather jacket and a slightly rugged James Dean kind of look. The video works well with the silhouettes but not sure if this is the show they will be going for. The style certainly suits the song and again mirrors the more dressed down look Mans showed last year.

I also guess that due to the internal selection this song has gone through that very little will change to either the structure of the song or its production. As I've already hinted the main issue with this production is the strength of Byrne's vocal. This said the verses seem quite straightforward but the punctuation and pitch of the word 'sunlight' needs to be spot on. It would not surprise me if he has a number of backing singers to help create more oooomph specifically for this part. In addition I don't see this being a song that requires dancers but I would expect to see a very visual background.

Of course this was unveiled through a video rather than a live performance so one has to be a little bit more cautious. The fact that Byrne was not an up-front singer for Westlife concerns me a bit. It is probably fair to say he can sing, but can he pull off a solo performance and hold a tune by himself? Part of me fears that he will not and will end up having 5 male backing singers giving him lots of 'help' That said, Nicky has a great personality and I think he will look good and be able to have a great show, no matter the quality of his vocal. He also will have his fame and fan base through Westlife that may well garner more votes than normal. It's not bad - it's not great but it is certainly a song that suggests they are taking the entry and their participation seriously.

ARTIST - Nicky Byrne

SONG - Sunlight

MUSIC - Nicky Byrne, Wayne Hector, Ronan Hardiman

LYRICS - Nicky Byrne, Wayne Hector, Ronan Hardiman