Believe it or not, when blogging for EQ Music Blog for many years, I have yet to post about any UK entry at Eurovision. This is crazy… right? However, if I were to share the UK participants in recent memory that I was most invested in. We need to go back to 2011 when Blue flew the flag for the UK with “I Can,” the contest was hosted in Düsseldorf, Germany. Interestingly, Blue were the first UK entry that was decided internally by the BBC. Bearing in mind, in the last few years, the UK has again used this process to select its participants. I feel there has to be some kismet going on that in turn landed the honour with Olly Alexander (ex-Years & Years) this year.
When Years & Years burst onto the music scene in 2014 with “Take Shelter,” I was instantly won over as a fan. Fast-forward to 2024, the former band, frontman Olly Alexander is representing the UK at Eurovision. When taking a closer look, Olly’s entry is similar to when Blue took part in ESC 2011. In that, “Dizzy” came out of Olly’s writing sessions for his upcoming album and not intentionally written with Eurovision in mind.
Written with and produced by Danny L Harle, “Dizzy” translates the intoxicating emotions felt when meeting someone new. That they totally turn our world upside down. In a musical sense, the track is reminiscent of Steps meets with the Pet Shop Boys. An intentional move, since Olly states on the making of “Dizzy,”…
“we were inspired by a lot of music we love from the 80s like Stock Aitken and Waterman, Erasure, Adamski and of course, Pet Shop Boys.” says, Olly
The music video, directed by Colin Solal Cardo, conveys the sensation of disorientation and dizziness in a stylish manner. The clip is precisely what we’ve come to expect of an Olly Alexander project.
I do, of course, wish Olly all the best at Eurovision. Yet, I also hope a pattern I noticed does not emerge. The pattern is this…, Blue were the UK’s entry in 2011 and finished eleventh place. It’s 2024, and Olly is our Eurovision hopeful. Presumably, without me spelling it out, dear reader, you have worked out where I am going with this? And twenty-six finalists in the competition, as well. I will say no more than that but continue to enjoy watching the video and of course, tune into the ESC final on the 11th of May to find out the outcome of Olly Alexander’s bid for the UK for Eurovision glory with “Dizzy“.
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