Ireland’s Eurovision 2022 entry Brooke has said that she’s more excited – and more nervous – to perform on the song contest than she ever was during her stint on The Voice UK.
Before heading to this Thursday’s second semi-final, Brooke won Ireland’s national Eurosong competition, facing off against fellow homegrown talent including former X Factor contestants Brendan Murray and Janet Grogan.
Her upbeat pop song That’s Rich was voted the country’s top pick to compete, but there’s no guarantee that it will make it to the grand final – Ireland has only qualified three times in the last 10 years, and not once since 2018.
Therefore, it is hoped that Brooke will have what it takes to break the nation’s Eurovision rut, with the singer-songwriter admitting that the pressure feels more intense than it ever did on ITV’s popular singing programme.
“I was never really that nervous on The Voice. That’s only because I had no expectations of myself whatsoever. I was only starting out in the industry,” she told RadioTimes.com and other press.
“I didn’t know if I was good enough to be in that position. And I suppose what I worked on the two years after The Voice was building my music and building my future career, so I just started writing lots of music.”
Brooke competed on season 9 of The Voice UK under her full name, Brooke Scullion, where she ultimately placed third with US singer Meghan Trainor as her coach. Blessing Annatoria Chitapa would go on to win that year.
“So this time, it’s a lot more pressure and I’m a lot more excited about it,” continued Brooke. “Only because I have expectations for myself now and I know what I’m capable of. And I feel like this is a big pressure for that.
“And if I’m able to withstand this pressure and do the performance that I know I’m capable of then I’m well fit for this industry. This is a test for me and my ability.”
She added: “So hopefully, all going well, I can qualify for Saturday and I think I’ll just levitate after that – I’ll just take flight.”
You can listen to Brooke’s Eurovision entry below.
Eurovision 2022: Semi-Final 2 airs on BBC Three at 8pm on Thursday 12th May 2022.
Viewers in the UK and Northern Ireland can vote via phone or app to see Brooke qualify for the Grand Final on Saturday 14th May (airing on BBC One and RTE One).
You can also listen to all of this year’s Eurovision songs on TIDAL, while the full album of tracks is available on CD and vinyl now.
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