Mikey aims for Eurovision
SWORDS LADS TO BACK SINGER AND DANCING ON ICE STAR
Boyzone singer Mikey Graham, who recently took part in 'Dancing on Ice'.
A POPSTAR will be flying the flag for Fingal as he aims to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest, with two Swords men in support.
Boyzone's Mikey Graham will perform 'Baby, Nothing's Wrong' at the Eurosong final next month, a song he co-wrote with local musicians Yann O'Brien and Scott Newman.
And Mikey, who lives in Man O'War, is the bookies' favourite to win The Late Late Show special and secure his place in the semifinals of Europe's premier singing competition.
A jury chaired by another local Eurovision star, Linda Martin, selected five songs from nearly 300 entries, which will be performed live on RTÉ on Friday, March 5th, and the winner will be decided by a 50% regional jury vote and 50% public televote.
It's another chapter in a remarkable career for Mikey, who sold 10 million albums with Boyzone and has also appeared in a number of acting roles.
Equally as comfortable in his home studio, Avalon, he has always had a passion for songwriting and met Yann and Scott in 2004 through mutual friends.
Based on their shared musical passion, the trio started a Dublin-based music production company and they continue to work on numerous projects together.
28-year-old singer-songwriter Yann is a classically-trained guitarist, while Scott (30) is a classically-trained pianist, singer and songwriter and both are highly regarded in the music industry.
Other entries include 'Does Heaven Need Much More?', cowritten by journalist John Waters, who was the man behind Dervish's 2007 efforts, as well as 'It's For You', which will be performed by former Eurovision winner, Niamh Kavanagh.
However, Paddy Power have made the Fingal boys their 4/6 on-favourites to book their place in the semi, with the grand final taking place in Oslo on Saturday, May 29th.
'Mikey will definitely be a big hit with the voting public, but Niamh Kavanagh is a real threat,' Paddy Power spokesperson, Sharon McHugh said. ' With a powerful voice and a Eurovision win already under her belt, she can't be discounted.'
Despite the big names vying for the coveted slot in Norway, Ireland remain an outside bet to win Eurovision for the eighth time, at odds of 33/1.
- Robin KIELY
