With Mae Muller announced as the United Kingdom’s Eurovision entry, the countdown to see if the country can emulate Sam Ryder’s victory last year has begun.
On Thursday morning, the singer from London was announced as the performer that will perform in Liverpool in two months.
The 25-year-old artist will compete in the long-running song competition with the tune I Wrote A Song.
Although Ryder just lost out on winning the competition the first time around, finishing second earned the UK hosting honours as it was considered too hazardous to hold in winner Kalush Orchestra’s native country owing to the continuing Soviet invasion.
Tickets for the grand final, which will be held in the 11,000-seat Liverpool Arena, have been in great demand, selling out in less than a half-hour earlier this week.
The BBC will broadcast Eurovision 2023, which will be hosted by singer and Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon, Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham, Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, and returning favourite, comedian and talk show host Graham Norton.
Yet, in case you haven’t heard much about Mae, here are some further insights about the act picked to represent the United Kingdom.
Who is Mae Muller and where is she from?
Mae, who was born and reared in Kentish Town, began creating music when she was eight years old.
She went to Fine Arts College in Belsize Park and afterwards worked in a tavern during the day so she could follow her musical interests.
Mae was found and signed by her manager after uploading several recordings on SoundCloud in 2017.
She also appears as a youngster in Mika’s Grace Kelly music video.
What is her Eurovision song and where can I listen to it?
Mae co-wrote I Wrote A Song with Brit-Nominated songwriter Lewis Thompson (David Guetta, Joel Corry, and Raye – Bed) and Karen Poole, who has written for Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen, David Guetta, and Alisha’s Attic.
It has previously been published on the official Eurovision YouTube page, but it will be aired for the first time tonight at 8:55pm on Eurovision 2023: Meet the UK Act on BBC One and iPlayer.
Mae was also born in 1997, the year the UK won the competition for the last time, with Katrina and the Waves’ Love Shine a Light chosen the best song and performance of the year.
What other songs has she written?
After Hours, the musician’s debut EP, was released in 2018, followed by Honestly, which was published later that year.
The following year, she released her debut studio album, Chapter 1.
She also toured with Little Mix in 2019.
Mae collaborated with Swedish artist collective Neiked and American rapper Polo G on the 2012 tune Better Days, which charted in the top ten in the United States and was performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
She’s had huge streaming success with her music, with her 2022 hit I Just Came To Dance being streamed more than 2.5 million times on Spotify as of March 2023.
The Eurovision Song Contest airs Saturday, May 13 on BBC One.