The Shortlist (9) United Kingdom

Who are the big favorites for Kiev? In the next couple of weeks we will highlight some interesting participants, based on the odds they have been given by the bookmakers. This week we are providing a shortlist of countries that lead the board in the second semi final. Today’s report is about the United Kingdom.

Lucie Jones

Lucie Jones rose to fame on the 2009 edition of The X Factor UK, eliminated in a tiebreaker with former Eurovision contestants Jedward. She had a brief career as a model and sang in many musicals, and now is pursuing Eurovision with her song “Never Give Up on You”.

“Never Give Up On You”

“Never Give Up on You” is co-written by Emmelie de Forest, the winner of Eurovision 2013. The song is a love ballad, put to simplistic piano before the revamp. BBC released a revamp of the song along with a music video in March of 2017, featuring more atmospheric sounds while placing Lucie’s voice center stage. Lucie explained that she had several revamps on the table but ultimately chose the current version.

Explaining the odds

The UK has a place secured in the final, and Lucie Jones hopes to bring a good result. According to the bookmakers, “Never Give Up on You” should bring the UK to a 16th place finish. If that happens, it would be up 8 places since last year. Maybe this will finally give the UK the extra push they need to be winner potential. And surely the famous songwriters won’t hurt.