Michael Rice (singer)

Last updated

Michael Rice
ESC2019-UK (cropped).jpg
Background information
Born (1997-10-25) 25 October 1997 (age 26)
Hartlepool, England [1]
Genres Pop
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
Years active2014–present

Michael Rice (born 25 October 1997) is a British pop singer. He represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel with the song "Bigger than Us", placing in last place at 26th. [2] Prior to this, he won the first series of BBC One's singing competition All Together Now in 2018, and also appeared in the eleventh series of The X Factor in 2014. [1] In 2024, Rice auditioned for the 22nd season of American Idol. [3]

Contents

Career

2014–2018: The X Factor and All Together Now

In 2014, Rice entered series 11 of The X Factor in the United Kingdom. He auditioned for the show with "I Look to You" by Whitney Houston. He was eliminated following the Bootcamp stage. In 2018, he entered the first series of BBC One's singing competition All Together Now ; he went on to win the competition.

All Together Now performances and results
ShowSong choiceScoreResult
Heat 1"Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival 1001st
Final"Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z 951st
"Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen 94Winner

2019–present: Eurovision Song Contest and American Idol

In January 2019, Rice was confirmed as one of six artists competing in Eurovision: You Decide , the British national selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. On 8 February 2019, he won the show with the song "Bigger than Us", written by Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander, and represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision final in Tel Aviv, Israel and came in last position with 11 points.

On the seventh ABC season (or the 22nd overall) of American Idol in 2024, Rice auditioned with the song "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson, [4] receiving 'yes' votes from all three judges: Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. This earned him a golden ticket, advancing him to Hollywood week. [3]

American Idol performances and results
EpisodeSong choiceArtistResult
Audition"Because of You" Kelly Clarkson Advanced

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
UK
Down.

[5]
SCO
[6]
SWE
Heat.

[7]
"Lady"2017Non-album singles
"Bigger than Us"201927358
"Somebody"
"Think of Me"2020
"Breaking Free"
"Falling for You"
(with HalfTraxx)
2021
"Wasted Youth"
"Did You Even Love Me"
"Chasing Shadows"2022
"Boy I Used to Know"2023

As featured artist

TitleYearAlbum
"I Won't Stumble Back"
(Maison & Dragen featuring Michael Rice)
2016Non-album single
"Bruised"
(Power Of Muzik featuring Michael Rice, Asher Knight, Luena Martinez,
Ben Ofoedu & Angels N Bandits)
2018

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Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Chameleon" written by Joacim Persson, Paula Winger, Borislav Milanov and Johan Alkenäs. The song was performed by Michela. The Maltese entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel, was selected through the first season of the music competition X Factor Malta, organised by the Maltese broadcaster Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). The competition concluded with a final on 26 January 2019 where Michela eventually emerged as the winner. The song Michela would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, "Chameleon", was internally selected and released to the public on 10 March.

Georgia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Keep On Going" written by Roman Giorgadze and Diana Giorgadze. The song was performed by Oto Nemsadze. The Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) held the reality television show Georgian Idol in order to select the Georgian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. The competition resulted in the selection of four finalists that performed potential Eurovision songs during the final on 3 March 2019. The results of a public vote exclusively resulted in the selection of "Sul tsin iare" performed by Oto Nemsadze as the Georgian entry, having received 44.13% of the votes. The song was later retitled for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Keep On Going".

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Moldova participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Stay" written by Georgios Kalpakidis, Thomas Reil, Jeppe Reil and Maria Broberg. The song was performed by Anna Odobescu. The Moldovan broadcaster TeleRadio-Moldova (TRM) organised the national final O melodie pentru Europa2019 in order to select the Moldovan entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. 28 entries competed to represent Moldova in Tel Aviv, with 10 being shortlisted to participate in the televised national final which took place on 2 March 2019 after auditioning in front of a jury panel. "Stay" performed by Anna Odobescu emerged as the winner after gaining the most points following the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public televote.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Saturday night entertainment show All Together Now to return to BBC One for second series". BBC Media Centre. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  2. "Eurovision 2019: UK's last-placed entry has score lowered". 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  3. 1 2 Hordon, Daniel (19 March 2024). Foster, Gavin (ed.). "North East man headed for Hollywood after wowing judges on American Idol". Entertainment. The Northern Echo . Darlington, County Durham: Newsquest. ISSN   2043-0442 . Retrieved 20 March 2024. After a rigorous audition process, Michael got to audition before judges…with his episode airing in the States on Sunday (March 17) night.
  4. American Idol (15 March 2024). Michael Rice: Sings Kelly Clarkson's 'Because of You' For His Late Father - American Idol (2024) (Video clip). ABC/Disney . Retrieved 19 March 2024 via YouTube.
  5. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  6. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart: 24 May 2019 – 30 May 2019". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  7. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 21". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
Preceded by
SuRie with "Storm"
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
2019
Succeeded by