It is expected that the five acts that will compete in the Irish national final for Eurovision 2013 will be announced very soon!

 

From ESC Xtra:

Over the coming weeks RTE are expected to drip-feed the names of the five acts who will participate in the Eurosong final and earn the right to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.

 

The five mentors were announced back in November and they are:

- Mairéad Farrell – Radio and television presenter.

- Shay Healy – Songwriter and performer,.

- Mark McCabe – Radio DJ and producer.

- Niall Mooney – Songwriter

- Stuart O’Connor – Producer

 

The final will take place on 22 February in the RTE studio as part of the Friday night chat show “The Late Late Show”. It is understood that X Factor judge, Louis Walsh has a close association with at least one of the acts, sparking media interest that members of ex-boyband Westlife could be involved. The main favourites with the bookies are:

 

• Shane Filan (former member of boyband Westlife ) is 4/1

• Leanne Moore (one of the acts tipped by many, including some of our editors) is 5/1

• Damian McGinty (Irish actor who appears in hit US show Glee) is 6/1

• Rebecca Creighton (X-factor contestant and backing singer of Jedward) is 6/1

• Melanie McCabe (X-factor contestant from 2011 & 2012) is 8/1

• Sharon Condon (former member of Wonderland and who has been previously linked with Eurosong) is 9/1

• Nikki Kavanagh (runner up to Jedward in 2011 and tipped by many) is 10/1

 

A host of other names who have previously been covered in past editorials on escXtra include You’re A Star winner Lucia Evans at 20/1, winner of the Irish version of The Voice Pat Byrne (whose odds have gone from 16/1 to 25/1) and Imelda May, the rockabilly chic back in the business after the birth of her daughter is an outsider at 66/1.

 

As well as Shane Filan, former Westlife member Mark Feehily has also been mentioned at odds of 25/1 , although it is thought that Mark is taking a break from the music business so his chances of entering the competition are unlikely . Brian McFadden (former Westlife singer) and Nadine Coyle (Girls Aloud) are the most unlikely names to appear on the list of rumoured artists.

 

There had previously been a strong rumour that former X Factor Winner Shayne Ward, who is from an Irish Travelling family could participate, although in past weeks these rumours have been quashed as he is now confirmed to be taking part on ITV’s annual reality TV skating show “Dancing on Ice” .

 

It'd be great to see Rebecca, Melanie or Nikki in the national final!! :D

Edited February 22, 201312 yr by Ryan.

That post is SLAYING me with the sheer STAR POWER OVERLOAD

 

And by SLAYING I mean NONE OF WHAT I JUST SAID

I cannot wait to see what horrors we inflict on you all this year.

As much as I dislike Westlife, I'd totally be behind Shane being in this. I've nothing against Leanne Moore, but judging by that THING she sang for us last year (something about ecstasy?) then I'd rather she didn't enter.

 

Also, MARK MCCABE AS A MENTOR?!?!?!? Legend!

According to ESC Forum, the following 3 participants are confirmed:

 

Melanie McCabe (Máiread Farrell)

Aimée (Mark McCabe)

Zoë Bohorquez (Niall Mooney)

 

Melanie!! :wub: I hope its true!

Just Youtubed Aimée and it's actually the singer who sang at my uni's Mental Health Week last month! :o I only realized this because I recognized the guy on guitar! :lol:

 

I hope we have some good songs this year and that we end up sending a song that at the least stands a chance of qualifying to the final.

Aimée has a wonderful voice, I would love if she or somebody like her represented us at eurovision.

 

To be honest one of my main hopes for this year is that our act gets some backing singers that aren't rubbish. Either that or somebody who can do like Nadine Beiler for Austria and perform on their own.

 

Does anyone have any videos of Zoe Bohorquez? I looked her up but she seems to be nowhere.

 

edit: Apparently Shay Healy is mentoring a duo of Rachel Murphy & Donna Taggart (it might be just a rumour though)

 

 

I like them but it'll all come down to the song.

 

and then there's an unknown solo singer. (who'll probably be from westlife and then run away with the vote.....)

Edited January 18, 201312 yr by Sabrewulf

Sabre, this is Zoe Bohorquez:

 

 

Her artist page is here.

 

 

On a side note: Andrew Mann from Eurosong 2012 ("Here I am") was just on The Voice and was really good. :o

We wont find it til Eurosong now, its usually mid February isnt it?

Around then, yeah. They'll probably air them on Radio 1 a few days before like they usually do. Quite looking forward to seeing the artists and what songs they have. I'd really like us to do well again!

Apparently we'll hear the songs on February 7th.

I heard a different date but whatever mate

The 5 entries in the Irish national selection are as follows! They will be released on 7th February with the national final on 22nd February.

 

Zoë Alexis Bohorquez - “Fire”

(Mentor: Niall Mooney, Composers: Lauren White, Niall Mooney, Willie Weeks)

 

Ryan Dolan - “Only love survives”

(Mentored by Stuart O’ Connor, Composers: Wez Devine, Ryan Dolan)

 

Aimee Fitzpatrick - “Crashing down”

(Mentored by Mark McCabe, Composer: Robert Grace)

 

Inchequin - “Son Kez/The Last Time”

(Mentored by: Shay Healy, Composers: Hugh O’Neill, Sinead Bradley, Tevfik Kulak)

 

Kasey - “Kiss me there"

(Mentored by Mairead Farrell, Composer: Drax)

 

Read more here: http://escxtra.com/2013/02/eurovision-contenders-announced/

Edited February 6, 201312 yr by Ryan.

Okay, just spent a little while listening to these artsits. Best bunch of singers we've had in a LOOONG time. RTÉ finally taking it seriously? Obviously it all depends on the songs but it's looking promising so far. They're gonna be on Radio 1 tomorrow @ 3pm.

Inchequin is the one I'm most afraid of at the moment. They're supposedly a celtic band, I hope it wouldn't be Dervish all over again.

 

I'm going to guess, purely based on what I've heard that it'll be Inchequin Vs Aimee Fitzpatrick battling it out to win. Maybe Zoe Alexis might be in with a shot depending. I bet Zoe could be one of the better performers.

 

Kasey being a former member of Wonderland sends alarm bells ringing in my head. Since they're usually put in girlbands because they can't deal on their own.

 

Ryan Dolan I haven't a clue, he's a complete unknown quantity right now.

Edited February 6, 201312 yr by Sabrewulf

Inchequin is half-Irish, half-Turkish, so the chances of it being a Dervish disaster are slim. But most of these 'traditional' bands tend to get 'lost' in arenas and are more suited to cosy pubs.

 

From what I've been listening to, all of the contestants can hold a note. I know the voice isn't that important in Eurovision but if the song is good then we could get a good result. Aimée has the best voice there but she'll sink into the background if the song isn't good enough.

 

Zoe looks promising. I just hope the song is good!

 

Inchequin - “Son Kez/The Last Time”

 

Jesus. This is all over the place! The traditional bits are amazing but the rest is really bland!

Aimee Fitzpatrick - “Crashing down”

 

Her voice is lovely! This is really nice but I'm not sure if it's instant enough to get peoples' attention. Jury catnip but not sure if the televoters would appreciate it.

Zoë Alexis Bohorquez - “Fire”

 

The chorus is good but the verses are a tad boring. I think this is a song that needs a good stage performance in order to get somewhere. Without that then it doesn't amount to much.