Eurovision 2022: Dua Lipa's team to pick UK's entry into song contest
A music management company representing Dua Lipa will help select the UK's next Eurovision following last year's disappointment.
The UK’s entry for the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest will be chosen in collaboration with TaP music which counts the star among its clients, the BBC has confirmed.
The music company vowed to pick pop talent that will catapult the UK back into the running, after its bottom place humiliation at Eurovision 2021.
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The broadcaster will work with the company, which also represents Ellie Goulding and Lana Del Rey and Ellie Goulding, to make the selection.
The 66th edition of the contest is due to be held in Turin, Italy, next May after the country's entry Maneskin won top place.
TaP has called on the UK music industry to put forward “experienced live performers” for consideration with high hopes of beating last year's ranking.
The chosen song will be released commercially through a partnership with a major label.
In 2019, the BBC scrapped the public vote used to select the UK’s entry, instead opting to give a record label the final say.
The 2021 competition was held in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, after the show was cancelled in 2020.
The UK was handed a crushing defeat as its entry, singer James Newman, was the only one to score zero points from both the jury and public vote, coming bottom on the leaderboard.
Despite the disappointing result, Newman, the brother of singer John Newman, wrote following his defeat: “I want to focus on the positives of this amazing experience.
“I stood on a stage and sang to hundreds of millions of people with a song that I wrote and love.”
Speaking soon after the event, former international trade secretary Liz Truss dismissed the idea the UK’s snub was to do with Brexit and said there was a “fundamental problem” with the way UK acts were chosen for the contest.
She told LBC at the time: “I think we need to have more competition to get the right entrant, I think they need to be more tested with the public.”
Co-founder of TaP Music Ben Mawson said: “We’re really excited to be teaming up with the BBC for this event and will use Eurovision to authentically reflect and celebrate the rich, diverse and world-class musical talent the UK is globally renowned for.
“For many years, we’ve witnessed the United Kingdom not doing as well as we would’ve liked, when pop music is something we usually excel at. The simple fact is it’s time to show what we can do and the wonderful musical talent we have – ultimately we can’t blame politics.”
Lipa said: “I’m a proud Brit whilst also being a proud Kosovan… I’m happy to lend my manager to the cause… I’ll be cheering them on.”
Kate Phillips, controller of entertainment commissioning for the BBC, said: “In the UK our love for Eurovision is as big as ever and we have grand ambitions for the 2022 Contest, so we’re really excited to announce this collaboration that will enable us to tap into some great music talent.”
The managing director for BBC Studios, Suzy Lamb, added: “BBC Studios are proud to once again be producing the coverage of the biggest music competition in world.
“We’re excited to be collaborating with TaP Music. Their expertise in managing world class artists and finding huge international hit records speaks for itself and we look forward to working with them on the UK act and song for the 2022 contest.”
The Eurovision Song Contest is due to take place in May 2022, with the Grand Final confirmed for May 14.