JAMES’ EURO HOPE
CHART topper John Newman hopes his brother James gets a second chance at Eurovision next year.
The Song Contest was cancelled because of coronavirus and John believes his big brother was set to shake up Eurovision with his wellreceived song, My Last Breath.
John told me: “He is absolutely gutted, bless him. I think my brother could have paved the way for more organic and authentic artists to do stuff like that again.
“If he was s**t, I would have thought ‘This was a good thing, not to embarrass himself.’ But it’s not. He’s incredible and the song was amazing. Hopefully he can take positives because he’s had a great reaction for his first song as an artist. Hope for the best they reschedule it because we stand a chance with that song.”
James has been writing hits for stars including Ed Sheeran and Calvin Harris for years but this was his first go as an artist and it coincided with John’s new single Stand By Me.
John laughed: “It was weird, I found out on our Whatsapp family group and was like: ‘S**t, mine is coming out the same day.’ Then I was trending because people thought it was me doing Eurovision, not him.” Stand By Me is a powerful ballad about his wife and the times we live in. However, it’s taken on a whole new life since the UK started self-isolating.
He agreed: “This has been coming a while, not a virus but the sentiment of people slowly drifting apart as the human race.
“But since coronavirus kicked in people have said: ‘We really need this song right now’ in times when we should be looking after each other.
“So if it puts one second of a smile on someone’s face, that is success to me.”