The former leader of the British punk band the Sex Pistols, John Lydon, will not wear the colors of Ireland at Eurovision 2023. The mythical "Johnny Rotten" was beaten Friday by the Irish pop group Wild Youth at the end of a competition that saw six contenders try their luck.
Formed by four young men - Conor O'Donohoe, Ed Porter, Callum McAdam, and David Whelan-, Wild Youth featured the song "We Are One" co-written with Swedish composer Jörgen Elofsson who has worked for Britney Spears and Celine Dion.
Wild Youth was able to convince a committee of Irish experts who ranked it first and the international jurors, who ranked it second.
The young people also won the public vote.
Pass the semi-finals of May 9
This victory thus propels the group Wild Youth, who have already had a series of successes in Ireland releasing their first album in 2017, on the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 to be held in Liverpool, in the north of England.
"We just hope we can do the best job we can for Ireland and make it amazing, we want to give it our all for it and hope everyone supports the song
," singer and frontman Conor O'Donohoe said.
The group Public Image Ltd, formed by John Lydon after the Sex Pistols split in 1978, came in fourth place.
The group relied on a song in which John Lydon pays a moving tribute to his wife, Nora, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease.
"
I have to endure my wife's slow demise and be able to write a song about it and end up being, I think, quite beautiful, that's quite an achievement
," the '66 punk rocker said. years on the Irish public broadcaster RTE.
Last year, Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest ahead of the United Kingdom, which will organize the ceremony on May 13 in Liverpool.
If usually the winning country hosts the meeting the following year, the organizers estimated that Ukraine would not be able to do so due to the Russian invasion.
The semi-finals will take place on May 9 and 11.
Wild Youth, who opened for tours with Westlife, Niall Horan, Kodaline, and Lewis Capaldi, will have to prove themselves at the 9th.