Lesley Roy has announced on Twitter that her Eurovision 2021 entry, “Maps”, will be premiered at 09:35 CET during the RTÉ 2FM Breakfast show with Dorieann & Eoghan tomorrow (25 February). The video clip will be released shortly after, at 10:00 CET.
Tomorrow evening, Lesley will perform the song live for the first time on RTÉ One’s The Late Late Show, which will be broadcast from 22:35 CET. Lesley was due to represent Ireland at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, before it was cancelled, and therefore was invited back to sing again this year.
Reaching an even wider audience?
Ireland’s 2021 entry has been written and produced by Lesley Roy, alongside Philip Strand, Normandie, Deepend, Emelie Eriksson and Lukas Hällgren – who some people may already know as the producer of Switzerland’s 2019 entry, “She Got Me”.
After announcing the entry’s release date last week, Lesley said that she thinks “Maps” will be “even bigger than Story of My Life” – her Eurovision 2020 entry.
I’ve been on working on new material 24/7 and this song was clearly the strongest out of all the demos. I believe that it is bigger than Story of My Life, and will reach an even wider audience. I am just so excited to finally get my shot on the Eurovision stage after months and months of work.
– Lesley Roy, speaking last week
Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest
Ireland debuted at the contest in 1965 with Butch Moore. He finished in 6th place with “Walking the Streets in the Rain”. Ireland didn’t take long to score their first victory – in 1970, with Dana’s “All Kinds of Everything”.
Ireland have had a very successful run of results over the years – including seven wins, four runners-up and a third place finish. Their most recent win was in 1996, with Eimear Quinn’s “The Voice”.
Since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004, Ireland have made eight finals including two automatic qualifications in 2004 and 2007. In Tel Aviv, in 2019, Sarah McTernan represented the nation with “22”, which finished in last place in its semi-final, with 16 points.
Last year, Lesley Roy was set to represent Ireland with “Story of My Life” prior to the contest’s cancellation in March.
Are you going to be up early tomorrow to hear Lesley’s entry released? Do you think “Maps” will be a good entry?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.