TG4 has just broadcast the fourth heat of the Irish national selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021. The show featured seven candidates but only Julie Cole and Maiú Levi Lawlor will compete at the semi-final stage.
These are the seven entrants that performed at today’s show:
- Julie Cole – “I’ll Be There” (9 + 9 + 8 = 26)
- Kate Skelton – “Grace” (8 + 7 + 8 = 23)
- Maiú Levi Lawlor – “Hold Back The River” (7 + 9 + 8 = 24)
- Victoria Foster – “Shut Up & Dance” (7 + 7 + 8 = 22)
- Ruby Maher – “Hold Me While You Walt” (8 + 9 + 8 = 25)
- Neala Graham – “Lullaby” (6 + 5 + 6 = 17)
- Katie Coyle – “Lost Without You” (7 + 6 + 6 = 20)
Today’s qualifiers were decided by a professional jury panel, made up of Niamh Ní Chróinín, Fiachna Ó Braonáin, and this week’s guest judge Mickey Harte, who represented Ireland at Eurovision 2003. The experts rated the performances from 0 to 10 stars and the top 1 automatically qualified for the semi-final. Then, a sing-off decided the second qualifier after a new voting procedure that included ‘Yes’ and ‘No’.
Remember that this year’s edition is only aimed to select who will sing for Ireland at Junior Eurovision 2021 as the song will be chosen internally by the broadcaster. That’s why Junior Eurovision Éire is being broadcast earlier than ever.
Next week, the Irish national selection will continue with the big semifinal, with eight candidates:
- Sophie Lennon
- Alison McGrath
- Shannon Copeland
- Cora Harkin
- Lilyella Buckley
- Eva Norton
- Julie Cole
- Maiú Levi Lawlor
What do you think about today’s qualifiers? Who was your favourite?