Wild Youth will represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, however they failed not qualify for the first live semi-final, hence they have withdrawn from the competition.
Ireland was one of five countries to be voted out, along with Malta, Latvia, Azerbaijan, and the Netherlands. In the meanwhile, Norway, Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Sweden, Moldova, Czechia, and Finland all won.
The ensemble played We Are One, but it wasn’t quite enough, and leader Conor O’Donohoe wasn’t happy about it. The 25-year-old, who performed in a stunning gold sequined costume, expressed his dismay in a since-deleted Instagram post, according to LADbible.
The publication reported that the caption read: ‘We did everything we could. Michael Kealy [Ireland broadcaster RTÉ’s Eurovision Head of Delegation] was amazing.
‘But the truth is they never give Ireland a chance. Sorry if we let you down, we tried our best,’ he concluded.
Although the outcome was not what they had hoped for, Michael expressed his satisfaction with the group’s contribution to the tournament.
‘We are extremely proud of Wild Youth – they put on a brilliant performance and were fantastic representatives for Ireland.’
Ireland’s Eurovision commentator Marty Whelan also praised the group saying: ‘Everything was absolutely perfect, they were fantastic.’
While live on Irish channel RTÉ One he added: ‘There’s things I want to say, there’s things I want to share. You can probably get it from the tone of my voice, what I’m thinking, that this is… Ugh, this is just such a shame.’
Ireland has not reached a final since 2018, when Ryan O’Shaughnessy performed ‘Together’ and finished in 16th place with a total of 136 points, but despite this, Ireland holds the record for the most Eurovision wins by a single country, with seven first-place finishes.
Sweden, on the other hand, might match it if they win the competition.
The second Eurovision semi-final is due to air on Thursday at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
