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But if you listen to the studio version and his live performance, you can't say he did anything wrong, he hit his notes, so that means he sang well. If you don't like the song or his voice in general, that is a whole another matter. Nicky did very good, he should be proud of himself because he gave a good performance, I think he should have qualified instead of Georgia at least - they had too much special effects, I couldn't even look at the TV.

Check out those microphone pins, it looks great! https://www.facebook.com/newbridgesi...60692857325173

Somebody filmed the jury performance. I think he was very good - he hit all the notes, was smiley and happy, in the end he moved around the stage etc. There is nothing else he can do. I'm sure this will look different on TV, he looks at the camera a few times, I bet ii will be similar to the Ukraine performance with the camera angles. And yes, I agree that he is probably nervous - everyone is, even my Nina was nervous and she is amazing singer. But maybe Nicky is even more so because of so many negative press about him, I actually feel bad for him because he is so happy and proud to do this. Some people act like only spectacular singers have music career. Have people forgotten about Passenger or Owl City for example? Their voices are average as well, so what? And don't let me start on women: Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Madonna, they are known for being bad live singers. But at the end of the day, even if he doesn't qualify, so what, Ireland hasn't qualified in a while. Just like he is saying, I'm not a savior, But at least he tried and he has a solo album. He won't be crying in his pillow believe me. And I am sure that he will be remembered as a nice guy, everyone likes him over there. I mean, look at what he did, it was in an article: He ordered a special created old style microphone lapel pin made by Newbridge Silver to give to his competitors. Wife Georgina jetted out to Stockholm earlier today with 400 of the pin, which the Westlife star wants to give to everyone who takes to the stage to represent their country. A pal of Nicky’s said:”Eurovision is all about goodwill and competing. Not everyone will make the Grand Final but they will all receive Nicky’s souvenir. “

Excellent! :D

I still don't get why is Russia so hyped up. Yes he peformed well but I found that special effects annoying - it is like Russia is just showing off, the effects have nothing to do with the song - Mans had special effects last year but they at least made some sense and went well with the song. Anyway, I am so happy Nina went through, quite a few Croatians are not very supportive of her so I'm glad she shut all those haters down. However, I think that designer of the dress should be fired... And I also want Nicky to qualify because he is such a nice guy and is so proud and excited to do this. He had 2 very good performances at Irish and Israeli parties so hopefully he will be able to do the same on semi tomorrow.

Nicky performed for Irish fans, it is up on Periscope - he comes on stage at 3:35: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1DXxybjdeQgKM I think this is his best performance, there is no ropey note, he even hit that higher note at the very end. To me, this just shows he is simply inexperienced singer, maybe he wouldn't have those issues now if he had more lead over the years in Westlife. He does get better as he sings more, I actually think he will pull it off on Eurovision.

I think it's hard to judge anything out of just few seconds. Yes he had 1 bad note at 0:41 but the rest sounded ok. Besides, look what the Wiwibloggs team thinks, they have seen the full rehearsal and say his vocals did improve.

Australian's Dami likes Nicky's song, it is in her Top 5: Perhaps the biggest surprise is Dami’s love for “Sunlight” by Nicky Byrne from Ireland. She is eating up the former Westlife star’s safe, radio-friendly pop, telling SBS that “Nicky is a really great singer and he seems really comfortable in his own skin.” Upon finding out Nicky was in Westlife, Dami went on to say, “Oh wow! No wonder – he’ll be one to watch on stage then.”

1 great review from Wiwibloggs guys, the 2 guys in the middle are hilarious :lol:

http://m.independent.ie/entertainment/musi...h-34659790.html I don't get why are media so negative towards Nicky - no one remembers a song on the first listen so since Brian listened to Nicky's song once, this isn't shocking or worthy for headline. When I watch ESC I dont remeber any song either after 20 songs but of course I remember bits once the summery repeats so many times during the voting period.

I mean, the moment he sang the first line it was obvious sound was off because he took out his earpiece right at the beginning. It is a shame because his vocals were really ok actually, the best so far. I really wouldn't blame him on this. I don't want to predict anything, we will see. It is true his chances are slightly bigger now that Romania is out though. And I know that he gets average reviews but it is nice that his video is getting a nice increase in Youtube views - 10K per day. Compare that to poor Mark, this is great. This is giving his career a boost so this is good for him either way. I just want him to sing well, the rest is out of his hands. Even if this flops, it is not like he will ruin Ireland as things are bad for the country in the Eurovision for a while now. At least he will try. By the way, it was Nicky who made a mistake, the album is out 13th of May.

Nicky on Irish Voice Granted the performance wasnt the best but this has nothing to do with him - however, from vocal point of view, he hit his notes, even that "sun" bit in the beginning that was troubling before wasn't bad at all. The thing is, Irish voice is known to have bad live performances, I can't remember 1 guest having a good performance on that show.

Actually, the album is out 6th of May - I think that is even better because it will gain more boost the 2nd week during the Eurovision. He is no. 2 in Ireland, no. 3. in New Zealand and no. 7 in the UK on iTunes pre-order chart - I wasn't expecting that but I guess Eurovision is helping. Of course he will drop in the next few days but it is still a good start. Another clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe...p;v=zckVtaGOl6g He really is excellent at these interviews - positive and charismatic and always so proud and humble that he is doing this.

Nicky getting ready for performance https://rsvpmagazine.ie/nicky-byrne-opens-u...on-performance/

Yeah, there is no way Nicky was like that, this is just a pure hater who would say anything to hurt him. Sunlight hasnt charted as far as I know - no one really talked about it as a single that is out, everyone just kept mentioning it is an Irish entry. So it will be interesting if The Voice will help. I dont think the show is very popular though, I think people are saying this is their last season but I'm not entirely sure. His album is out a day after the semi final, I think this is a smart move to make.

He will be performing on The Voice of Ireland this weekend: http://www.goss.ie/2016/04/65127/65127/ And here are 2 other interviews:

Here is a video in good quality: Yes, he really did improve. I only detected a small mistake in the "sun" around 1:30. He looks confident on stage, nerves are no longer noticeable. I am not worried anymore for the Eurovision performance, he will do fine, the rest is out of his hands. I still can't shake the feeling that the remix version would have been a better choice though... On the side note, some people on Youtube hate him so much that they make up stories, this is just pathetic: You might thought Nicky is a good person from the interviews...but I met him today in person and I'll tell you..his personality is as awful as his singing. For example I told him hi like a normal person would right? And he said 'Get out of my way' literately! Consider that before you vote for this pretty looking guy! Btw he is real short when you see him in real person!

Here is a small interview And a performance, but the sound quality of the video is not that great: He sounded perfectly fine to me, I think he will be alright on the night once the backing singers will sing live with him. Also, I noticed he started alright which was not the case with 2 previous performances.

Sunlight remix - long 6 minutes and radio edit I like it a lot, in some ways I actually think this would have been better version for Eurovision!

He also tweeted about it: https://twitter.com/NickyByrne/statu...67810679144448 Fingers crossed he does a good performance - when I watch him, I always do it with fear because he is so inexperienced in taking the lead. I hope he does good as he did in Ukraine, or possibly even better.

Well, we don't know what he is doing behind closed doors. I am sure he is practicing, he doesn't want to embarrass himself or disappoint the country. A few days ago he finished the album so he is definitely busy, he isn't having his feet up and wasting time. I'm afraid it is a huge ask though. I mean, if Mark from Westlife who had a brilliant debut album couldn't have a hit and sold only 1 000 copies of it, how can we expect Nicky to do better? A guy who didn't have a lot of opportunities to sing in the band. Shane also isn't doing any better, his 2 singles didn't chart. Personally, I think all of that has a lot to do with the fact that Westlife lasted for 14 years, that is so long to start a solo career. I doubt Justin Timberlake or Robbie Williams would have become superstars had they gone solo after 14 years being in the boyband/music industry. But I do agree with you that I also expected at least some promo in February when Sunlight was released as a single, it is baffling that he had only 1 performance on Irish show.

I have spoken to some people on Eurovision sites and they say that promo is not that important, that it is more for unknown amateur performers to gain more experience - the promo doesn't actually give you extra points for the Eurovision, it is the night of the performance that counts. I don't know, I just hope he will at least do some promo in early May as planned. I doubt this is what Nicky wanted because in the beginning he talked how he will go everywhere with the song.

You know what, he deserves to be criticized for the lack of promo. Looking at the pre-Eurovision party and Ireland is nowhere to be seen: http://wiwibloggs.com/2016/03/15/eur...d-when/132720/ Its baffling he won't even appear in London on 17th. What goes in the heads of his team is truly a mystery. :unsure:

Wiwibloggs reviewers gave quite a mixed reaction for the song, it ranges from 3 to 9 - this truly shows it really is all about someone's taste. But ultimately I think 6.1 is a fair score http://wiwibloggs.com/2016/04/12/wiwi-jury...unlight/130631/

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/...ved-728768.html Its a smart move not to get involved in it