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6 May 2014updated 09 Jun 2021 11:11am

Could the UK actually win Eurovision this year?

Bookies and the Mirror today have Britain’s entry “Children of the Universe” as third favourite to win the contest. 

By Media Mole

Will this be the year the UK wins Eurovision?

Probably not, but that hasn’t stopped the press widening its eyes (and apparently closing its ears), and getting its pleather leggings in a twist of optimism for Molly, the UK’s entry, who will perform in the contest this Saturday night with “Children of the Universe”.

Molly is now the fastest-moving entry in the betting markets, which are saying that she’ll be in the top three, and the Mirror this morning has listed the song as third favourite. The song has also met feverish optimism from elsewhere in the media. Here’s some singing (hopefully not off-key) of Molly’s praises:

Metro

Her entry, Children of the Universe, is anthemic, powerful with a great hook and strong vocal. It has more than a hint of the musical genius that delivered the United Kingdom’s last win way back in the 1990s. Katrina and the Waves stormed to victory with a similarly anthemic entry, simple by sound and technically in a class of it’s own.

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Molly’s Children of the Universe seems to have captured those principles. The song is likely to score well with the expert juries as well as televoters from Iceland to Israel and everywhere in between.

Digital Spy

There’s no denying that the earworm chant of “power to the people” will strike a chord with certain troubled parts of the continent, but the track can stand on its own merit of being one of the best entries we’ve put forward in years. Will it get Britain interested in Eurovision again? That’s a big ask. But at least we’re finally sending a song that stands a real chance of winning.

 
 Unlike some of Britain’s previous Eurovision entries, Molly is a safe pair of lungs, with a gift for euphoric, swooping choruses textured by a lovely bluesy rasp. 

 BBC

Six months ago she was working part-time in a shop to fund her music career but after being spotted on the BBC Introducing website, 26-year-old Molly Smitten-Downes was asked to write a song for Eurovision. The result is this year’s promising UK entry, Children of the Universe.

Molly said she has had a “really positive reaction” to her song, which features stirring lyrics such as “power to the people”, and predictions are suggesting it should definitely do better than Engelbert Humperdinck did in 2012 – coming a slightly embarrassing 25th out of 26.

 And here’s the video of her entry, ‘Children of the Universe’:

She may be a child of the universe, but whether Europe will adopt her is a different story, despite all the media optimism. Her main competitors are Germany’s Elaiza with “Is It Right”, and Basim from Denmark with, erm, “Cliché Love Song”.

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