Olly Alexander suffered a nightmare at the Eurovision Song Contest final on Saturday, with the UK representative receiving no votes from the public for his song Dizzy
Scott Millshas broken his silence on a chaotic Eurovision Song Contest for the BBC – but the presenter made no mention of UK act Olly Alexander.
The Years & Years star, 33, had a nightmare in Sweden on Saturday and received no votes from the public for his song Dizzy. Scott, 51, who was in Malmo to provide commentary for the annual music extravaganza returned to his BBC Radio 2 show today to give a round-up of a hectic week.
While Scott gushed over Switzerland’s “faultless” performance from artist Nemo, he cautiously made no mention of Olly Alexander. Telling his listeners it had been “a long week” he played the winning track by Nemo, which he called “faultless”.
At the start of the show, Scott said: “I’m back from Sweden via the BAFTA, but I promise you that’s as showbiz as it gets for a while… Last week was quite a week.”
Years and Years Olly had come under fire for his dynamic staging – which led to a wardrobe malfunction during the first semi-final – something the singer blamed on his ‘off’ vocals.
Scott’s comments come after the Eurovision Song Contest hit its climax on Saturday night, with the UK scoring a big fat zero from the public vote but managing to secure 46 points from the jury. Olly, famed for his stint in Years & Years, delivered a viral-worthy performance with his track ‘Dizzy’ at Malmo Arena in Sweden, representing the UK.
Despite his impressive singing and dynamic dancing, European viewers were not impressed. The drama escalated after viewers pointed out possible audio issues during Olly’s performance, causing an uproar on Twitter and other social media platforms. Fans reported that there was something wrong with his overall performance following criticism early in the semi-finals.
Undeterred by past setbacks, Olly ‘Dizzy’ gave it his all and received a huge round of applause from his many fans. However, this praise was overshadowed by confusion over apparent audio glitches, with some wondering if the backing tracks did not sound properly.
The audio controversy continued as fans debated whether the mic level was too low or the artist’s mix was too low. Concern spread on social media when one viewer of Another added: “Is it just me or was Olly’s mic refused, what happened?”
Earlier this week, Olly suffered a microphone-related setback after having issues during the semi-finals. Last appearance. Olly admitted he felt “stressed and confused” during Tuesday night’s performance. He spoke to Scott Mills on BBC Radio 2 on Wednesday, hours after the singer aired Dizzy on TV, and vowed to bounce back.
The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 took place on Tuesday, sparking mixed reactions to Olly’s live performance in Sweden. Some BBC viewers criticized the Brit’s lackluster singing during his rendition of “Dizzy,” a song they hope will earn them some respectable points in Saturday’s final.
Fans accused Olly of being “fake” and “out of tune”, but some defended the 33-year-old and blamed his instability on a microphone that came loose and fell during a performance. Some criticized the performance. One Twitter(X) user supported Ollie, writing: “As a PE teacher I know how bad this is,” adding: “Great performance just reinforced!” Behind his questionable singing was a wardrobe malfunction.
The artist told Lorraine Kelly on ITV: “Last night was amazing. It was my first time performing in an arena and on TV.” It was just… yeah, it was great,” he later admitted: “I had a little wardrobe malfunction – my mic pack fell off – so I had to improvise, but okay – it’s live, so that’s it.
Later, when speaking to Scott Mills, Ollie talked about how the issue affected his performance. “It was so nice to play in the semifinals because there’s less pressure and you don’t have to worry about votes or anything like that,” he shared with Mills. Mention of Britain’s automatic qualification to the finals
Continuing his dialogue, he said: “You don’t have to worry about voting but get to experience performing live in the arena with cameras. I did have a slight wardrobe malfunction so I was a bit confused and stressed.” However, Mills reassured him: “It’s good it happened now.”
The conversation then turned towards Olly’s staging. Commenting on it, Mills stoked his enthusiasm by saying some Eurovision fans “are saying it’s the best stage ever! ” To which, Alexander expressed his excitement, saying: “It’s the most rehearsed thing I’ve done. I love it. I’m so, so proud of this performance. It’s very bold, unapologetic and, some may say, risque.”
The Eurovision Song Contest faced major controversy ahead of the final on Saturday night, as they announced a ban on Palestinian flags and symbols at the event in Sweden amidst the ongoing dilemma between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which is currently in its seventh month.
Olly shared his deep emotions about the current global crises amidst his Eurovision preparations. He told The Times, “Obviously there are a lot of things I wish were different. And this is so much bigger than me and Eurovision, it really is. Obviously, I wish there wasn’t a war or this insane humanitarian crisis.”
Highlighting the grim situation in Gaza, where an estimated 35,000 people have died, with around 70% being women and children, the pop star added, “I wish for peace and I have found this experience, at times, extremely… I’ve just felt really sad and distressed. But I still believe it’s a good thing when people come together for entertainment. That’s why I wanted to do Eurovision.”