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Betting Update; Your Country Needs You with the bookmakers making Jade their 3/1 favourite
Added: (Thu Jan 08 2009)
‘Eurovision: Your Country Needs You’ sees six finalists battle it out for the chance to represent Britain in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Moscow on 16th May. The winner will be decided by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who was asked by the BBC to compose the UK entry for the ’09 competition. The show is designed to boost the country’s poor recent performances in the Eurovision Song Contest, with Britain having had just 1 winner in the last 27 years and the 2008 entry, Andy Abraham’s ‘Even If’, finishing last. Graham Norton takes on hosting duties.
Betting Odds On Your Country Needs You:
The market is currently wide open with no clear front-runner: East-London youngster Jade & former panto performer Mark are currently vying for early favouritism. ‘The Twins’ (Francine & Nicola) are next in with Damien and Charlotte, the youngest of the six, also prominent. Most firms make five-piece band Emperors of Soul the clear outsiders.
Contestants
Jade: Described as ‘Plaistow’s answer to Rhianna’, Jade was offered a 1 in 1000 full scholarship to Sylvia Young Theatre School and was previously signed to Sony BMG with the little-known girl band Trinity Stone. Despite saying she dislikes hospitals, Jade has also appeared in Casualty as well as The Bill: she is disputing early favouritism for the chance to perform in Moscow.
Mark: Welshman Mark has more performing experience than most of the other contestants, having appeared in shows such as Spamalot, High School Musical & Prince Charming in the Bromley panto. He can also name drop better than most as he has also performed with the likes of Westlife, Ronan Keating, Charlotte Church & Will Young as a dancer. Seemingly a favourite with Lloyd-Webber, he is also the front-runner with several firms.
The Twins: Francine & Nicola are identical (the former being born 35 minutes earlier) and they also seem to blubber in tandem, which if recent performances are anything to go by happens a lot. The Yorkshire girls also made to the 2008 X-Factor boot camp so don’t be surprised if you have seen them before and the Sheffield Uni students are prominent in the market.
Damien: Londoner Damien has been performing on-stage from the age of 12 and is currently a resident singer at Ruby Blues & Players in Charing Cross so there is no shortage of experience from the father of one. His dad was actually a professional footballer, having spells at Brighton & Hove Albion as well as Coventry City (under Jimmy Hill), and now Damien may have the chance to perform in Europe himself!
Charlotte: The youngest contender in the competition, Charlotte has something in common with Jade as she graduated from Sylvia Young Theatre School in 2007. Hailing from Harlow, Essex, Lloyd-Webber has so far viewed her as a raw talent which probably explains why she has not been as well supported as some of the other acts in the market.
Emperors of Soul: Julian, Gerod, Leon, Leroy & Fraser were originally a Temptations Tribute Band but could be stars in their own right were they to win YCNY. The bookies don’t rate their chances, most making them outsiders, but the lads from Greater London are impossible to rule out at this stage.
• All prices correct at time of writing.
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