Hyper-punk “Ouija pop” musician Bambie Thug will represent Ireland at this year’s Eurovision in Sweden.
The self-styled “Ouija pop” singer won Ireland’s Eurosong contest on The Late Late Show with ‘Doomsday Blue’.
They were a favourite among the national jury and public vote, earning 12 points in each, and earned eight points from the international jury.
Originally from Macroom, Co Cork, Bambie Thug will compete at teh 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, in May.
Speaking after the show, Bambie Thug said they “don’t know how to feel”.
“My words are gone,” they said. “As a lyricist you’d think I’d have more to say but I’m speechless – I’m so excited and I promise I’m going to do you so proud."
Boy band Next in Line secured the most votes among the international jury, but only scored two points in the national jury, eventually coming in second place.
The other Eurovision-hopefuls last night were Ailisha with ‘Go Tobann’ (tied second place), Erica Coady with ‘Love Me Like I Do’ (third place), JYellowL with ‘Judas’ (fourth place) and Isabella Kearney with ‘Let Me Be The Fire’ (fifth place).
The gothic staging combined with the genre-bending song is not a typical choice for Ireland’s entry to Eurovision – but many hope ‘Doomsday Blue’ could break the country’s unsuccessful streak.
Ladies and gentlemen, your Irish #Eurovision entry is BAMBIE THUG! 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🧙♀️🧙♀️🧙♀️ pic.twitter.com/dcEAsTwpyu
— Matthew Joyce (@ItsMatthewJoyce) January 27, 2024
Ireland is now tied with Sweden for most wins at Eurovision with seven victories at the song contest.
There has been growing calls for Ireland to boycott Eurovision due to its inclusion of Israel amid the war in Gaza.
A petition asking RTÉ to boycott Eurovision 2024 has gained almost 3,000 signatures.
Russia was previously excluded from the competition amid the war in Ukraine.
Bambie Thug told reporters at the song contest there should not be one rule for Russia and another for Israel.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said withdrawing from the contest would be “biting off your nose to spite your face”.
