Star ‘relieved’ to unveil Eurovision entry song
Olly Alexander has said it is “such a relief” to release his single Dizzy which he will perform at Eurovision, with some critics saying it may be “enough to get the judges’ heads spinning”.
The Years & Years singer, 33, will perform the danceinfused track for the UK during the international song competition in Malmo, Sweden, on May 11.
Alexander and British producer Danny L Harle wrote the pulsing electropop song about experiencing such an “overwhelming rush” of emotion for someone that it “turns your world upside down”.
Reflecting on how he was feeling after the song made its radio debut on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, Alexander said: “It's such a relief – so happy.”
He added: “Now it’s getting closer to the date it’s starting to feel real and it’s good. I feel like I've got less anxiety now because it's real.
“There’s nothing else in the world like Eurovision, it's so unique and I'm just excited to be taking part.”
Good Omens actor Michael Sheen, who was also on Ball's breakfast show, said he hoped he could dance in the background of Alexander's performance, to which the singer replied: “That would be great, that might get me a few extra votes.”
Discussing what he will wear for the performance, Alexander revealed it was still in the planning stages but that it will be “something fabulous”.
Alexander has said he and Harle were inspired to write
the song by music from the 1980s that they love, including from London pop duo Erasure, British DJ Adamski and the Pet Shop Boys.
“The song is about an overwhelming rush of love that you have for somebody and so much so that it makes you dizzy, turns your world upside down,” he explained to presenter Ball.
Critics have given mixed reviews of the track so far, with
some hailing it as the UK'S ticket to success while others were unsure that it hits the right mark.
The Times' chief rock and pop critic, Will Hodgkinson, awarded the track a full five stars as he feels it is “the best entry we've had in years”.
He described it as a “supercatchy hi-energy disco smash that has real innovation in its burbling production” which also has “pleasingly nostalgic
shades of classic Eighties synth-pop: Erasure, Soft Cell and, yes, the Pet Shop Boys”.
The Telegraph's music critic, Neil Mccormick, was more reserved on the track, giving it three out of five stars.
He said: “It is not nul points for Dizzy, but I just can’t see it as a take no prisoners banger to put Britain back on top of the Euro pile.”
Alexander has previously scored five top 10 UK singles and two number one albums with his band Years & Years.
He has also starred in a number of TV programmes, including It’s A Sin on Channel 4, which saw him receive a Bafta nomination for his role as Ritchie Tozer.
Pop singer Mae Muller represented the UK last year at the Eurovision Song Contest, held at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena, and came second-to-last with I Wrote A Song.
There’s nothing else in the world like Eurovision, it’s so unique