JESC 2018 | Taylor Hynes Will Represent Ireland In Minsk 2018
Although no big surprise. Taylor Hynes has won the national final for Ireland, and will be representing his home country in the Junior Eurovison in Minsk. It was unofficially revealed over a week ago by BTRC, who are the host broadcaster for this years show, but now Éire have confirmed this, by broadcasting their national final. He will represent them with the song, "I.O.U".
The final saw the following six artist participate:
Jessica Doolan – “Aisling” (Dream)
Taylor Hynes – “I.O.U.” – Qualified
Cora Harkin – “Cibé saol atá romham” (Whatever life is ahead of me)
Shaniah Llane Rollo – “Cuimhnigh ar na réaltaí” (Remember the stars) – Qualified
Anna and Ava – “Táimid le chéile” (We are together)
Kerry Ann McCreery – “Tóg mo lámh” (Take my hand)
Last night's proceedings were watched over by three judges. They consisted of Fiachna Ó Braonáin, actress Gráinne Bleasdale, and guest judge Niamh Kavannagh who represented and won for Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993, and also competed in 2010. The semi-finals saw up to five stars awarded to each performer, however, last nights proceedings were different instead the judges decided who would win.
The show was filmed in October, and saw Anna and Ava, along with Tayler Hynes join the four finalists (Jessica Doolan, Cora Harkin, Shaniah Llane Rollo and Kerry Ann McCreery) as wildcards. It was Taylor, and Llane that qualified for the sing off. Ultimately it was Taylor who had won with 2 votes to 1. Both Niamh and Fiachna voted for him.
Check the song out below:
The song was "I.O.U." was written by Taylor Hynes, Niall Mooney and Jonas Gladnikoff. In winning the show, Tyler becomes the first wild card entrant to ever win for Ireland, not directly qualifying from a semi final. This is the second time he has tried representing his home nation. Back in 2016 he previously tried with the song, "Nios Airde".
This year, there will be a record breaking twenty nations competing, all bidding to be Europe's best. This year will see the return of Azerbaijan, Israel, and France, along with debuts from Kazakhstan, and Wales. It will be held on Sunday November 25th 2018 in the Minsk Arena Belarus.
We now have all 20 entries, who is your favourite? Do you like Taylor's song? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
