"Doomsday Blue" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Bambie Thug | ||||
from the EP Cathexis | ||||
Released | 13 October 2023 | |||
Genre | Electro-metal | |||
Length | 3:03 | |||
Label | Self-released | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Tylr Rydr | |||
Bambie Thug singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Doomsday Blue" on YouTube | ||||
Eurovision Song Contest 2024 entry | ||||
Country | ||||
Language | English | |||
Finals performance | ||||
Semi-final result | 3rd | |||
Semi-final points | 124 | |||
Final result | 6th | |||
Final points | 278 | |||
Entry chronology | ||||
◄"We Are One" (2023) | ||||
Official performance video | ||||
"Doomsday Blue" (First Semi-Final) on YouTube "Doomsday Blue" (Grand Final) on YouTube |
"Doomsday Blue" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Bambie Ray Robinson,known by their [a] stage name,Bambie Thug. Self-described as "an electro-metal breakdown",it was written by Robinson,Olivia Cassy Brooking,Sam Matlock,and Tylr Rydr. The song was self-released on 13 October 2023,as part of their first extended play,Cathexis. The song represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024,where it finished in sixth place at the final with 278 points. It marked the first time since 2018 that Ireland had qualified for the final.
The song was met with a heavily divided reaction amongst Irish society,becoming a highly polarising song between various political and social groups in Ireland. It was met with praise from numerous past Irish contestants and media personalities,who remarked that the song was more unique than past Irish Eurovision entries. However,it has been derided by numerous Irish conservative personalities,claiming it was pushing LGBTQ+ ideologies amongst Irish society,along with viewing the song as a detriment to Ireland's national culture,particularly its Christian heritage. "Doomsday Blue" drew commercial success,becoming Robinson's first charting song in their home country.
"Doomsday Blue" was composed by Bambie Ray Robinson,Olivia Cassy "Cassyette" Brooking (who also provided uncredited backing vocals),Sam Matlock,and Tylr Rydr. In interviews given out by Robinson,Robinson claims the song is about heartbreak,deception,and the pain of unrequited love,describing it as "explosive" and "hard-hitting" but also "sweet" and "soulful". [1] In an interview with ESCBubble,they said that the song was originally written in Wembley. They explained that whilst writing the song with Rydr,they intended to include as many different genres as possible,describing the song as "genre-defying". [2] They described the song's composition as a mixture of alternative rock,pop,and jazz. They also described the song as "an electro-metal breakdown" that shows their music style and performance,including using a variety of genres and "switching things up" at the end of the song. [2] The BBC's Mark Savage described the song to be "about having [one's] potential overlooked,and the marginalisation of the queer community". [3]
The song's lyrics feature numerous "spells",including the Aramaic incantation "Avada Kedavra",a phrase popularised by the Harry Potter franchise,in which it is used to refer to the "Killing Curse",a curse that causes instantaneous and painless death. In a post on Twitter,Robinson stated that,as a non-binary person,they were "not a fan" of J. K. Rowling due to her views on transgender topics,but instead a "fan of being clever with language". [‡1] [4]
According to Robinson,they initially applied for Eurosong 2024 to "curse out" memories of being raped in May 2023 by an unnamed acquaintance,around three weeks before they were set to make their debut festival performance. [5] When applying for Eurosong,they decided that out of the songs they had considered,"Doomsday Blue" worked best for Eurovision and the Irish audience. [2] On 11 January 2024,Robinson was officially announced as a participant in Eurosong 2024. [6]
An accompanying music video was released on 8 March 2024,and was produced by Dublin-based production company CAMP. According to Robinson,they initially intended for the video to be "very dark" but relented after hearing that children liked their song,instead making it "a little more cutesy,spooky and comedic". [7] The music video features a young witch writing in a "blaze bible" to cast a boyfriend,later transferring into a "candy-coloured dream world" that Robinson claims was inspired by the colours of the transgender flag. The boyfriend later ends up turning into a creature with the world breaking down,signalling the start of a toxic relationship,and for Robinson,"how quickly a situation can turn unsafe [for queer people]". [8]
To further promote the song,Robinson confirmed their intent to participate in several Eurovision pre-parties throughout the months of March and April,including Pre-Party ES 2024 on 30 March, [9] the London Eurovision Party 2024 on 7 April, [10] and Eurovision in Concert 2024 on 13 April. [11]
"Doomsday Blue" has drawn praise from numerous past Irish Eurovision entrants. Johnny Logan,who won Eurovision for Ireland in 1980 and 1987,stated in the Sunday World that he believed the song could win the contest,praising the song's uniqueness and staging visuals. [12] Ireland's 2022 entrant,Brooke Scullion,also believed that the song could win. [13] Multiple beat reporters have also praised the song;Rita Dabrowicz,a writer for the indie music review site Vanadian Avenue,praised the song,stating beliefs that "[Robinson] will bring a hell of a spectacle with them that surely will be remembered for a long time." [14] Ed Power,writer for The Irish Times ,praised the song as a "sugar-and-spice mix of pop and industrial metal [that] will undoubtedly land with a splash in Malmö." [15] Power later wrote that he thought that the song was "a thrilling throwback to Ireland's pre-Christian heritage." [16]
Numerous conservative personalities and groups have criticised the song and Robinson. Hermann Kelly,leader of the far-right Irish Freedom Party,posted a tweet comparing Robinson to 2008 Irish Eurovision entrant Dustin the Turkey and calling the song "woke nonsense [typical] of the Irish Establishment" that "celebrat[es] Satanism". [17] By 6 February,over 2,000 people had signed a petition calling to disqualify Robinson from competing at Eurovision on the basis of "[Robinson] making a mockery of [Irish] national culture." [18] Two days later,Father Declan McInerney,an Irish Catholic priest,also heavily criticised the song and Robinson,stating in a sermon that "the poor devil can neither sing nor dance",while also claiming that Robinson was trying to push "certain orientations" on the Irish public and declaring that "[Ireland] is finished as a country". [19] Tony Wilson,a writer for British Christian magazine Premier Christianity ,admitted that while he thought Robinson had good intentions writing the song,he wrote that "how the lyrics support this theme is beyond me... We should all be concerned when the occult is normalised." However,he also criticised the Catholic Church,stating that "Christians need to acknowledge that this movement has been spurred on by the serious past failings of Christendom... The Church has been guilty of abuse and repression. We are witnessing something of a backlash to this." [20]
Amongst other news outlets,reception to the song has been mixed. In a Wiwibloggs review containing several reviews from several critics,the song was rated 5.97 out of 10 points, [21] earning 26th out of 37 songs on the site's annual ranking. [22] Another review conducted by ESC Bubble that contained reviews from a combination of readers and juries rated the song 14th out of the 15 songs in the Eurovision semi-final "Doomsday Blue" was in. [23] Vulture 's Jon O'Brien ranked the song 15th out of 37,acknowledging that it could struggle to qualify from the semi-final. However,he concluded,"while the screamo verses will be nails-down-chalkboard to some,its pastoral-folk chorus is this year's Eurovision at its prettiest". [24] ESC Beat's Doron Lahav ranked the song 16th overall,praising the uniqueness of the song compared to past Irish Eurovision entries. [25]
Ireland's national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) broadcast a Eurosong 2024 special episode of The Late Late Show on 26 January 2024, to select the Irish entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. This edition was the eighth iteration of the national final in this format. The winning song was selected via a combination of international jury, national jury, and public voting, with each group having a third of the total vote. [26]
"Doomsday Blue" was announced to compete in Eurosong 2024 and premiered on 11 January 2024 on an episode of The Ray D'Arcy Show broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. [6] It was drawn to perform second. [27] In the final, Robinson came in third with the international jury, scoring eight points. However, Robinson was able to win both the televote and the national jury votes, securing two sets of 12 points, combining for a total of 32 points. The total was eight more than the second-place finishers; Ailsha, with "Go Tobann", and Next In Line, with "Love Like Us". As a result, the song won the right to perform as the Irish entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. [28] [29]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 took place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May, and the final on 11 May 2024. During the allocation draw on 30 January 2024, Ireland was drawn to compete in the first semi-final, performing in the first half of the show. [30] Robinson was later drawn to perform fourth in the semi-final, behind Lithuania's Silvester Belt and ahead of Ukraine's duo of Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil. [31]
For the Eurovision performance of "Doomsday Blue", Sergio Jaén was appointed as the staging director. [32] The performance featured the heavy use of smoke along with a circle of candles. [33] Robinson wore a Mariusz Malon-designed black outfit adorned with antlers, with an accompanying male dancer performing "balletic choreography" around Robinson. [34] [33] [35] Midway through the performance, Robinson removes the black outfit, revealing an outfit inspired by the colours of the transgender flag. [36] Robinson was originally slated to wear line makeup that featured the message "ceasefire" and "freedom for Palestine" in Ogham as a medium of support for a ceasefire amongst the Israel–Hamas war. [37] However, according to Robinson, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) forced them to remove the message, only allowing the message "crown the witch" to be displayed. [38] [39] Robinson, who considers themself pro-Palestinian, also faced numerous calls to withdraw from the contest due to Israel's participation in that year's contest; they rejected it, stating that withdrawing "would mean one less pro-Palestinian voice at the contest". [40] "Doomsday Blue" finished in third, receiving 124 points and securing a spot in the grand final. [41] [42] The qualification was the first for Ireland since 2018. [43]
Robinson performed a repeat of their performance in the grand final on 11 May, with the notable exception that at the end of their grand final performance, Robinson proclaimed, "Love will triumph over hate!" [44] The song was performed in tenth, ahead of Estonia's duo of 5miinust and Puuluup and before Latvia's Dons. [45] After the results were announced, Robinson finished sixth with a total of 278 points, with a split result of 142 points from the juries and 136 points from televoting. [46] Regarding the former, the song managed to receive one set of the maximum 12 points from Australia. No sets of 12 points were given by the televote; the maximum given was 10 points by the United Kingdom. [47]
After the contest, Robinson expressed frustrations with the EBU, stating that they were still "waiting for an official update" regarding the line makeup they were forced to remove. They later added, "The EBU is not what the Eurovision is. Fuck the EBU. I don't even care anymore. Fuck them". [48] However, when responding to their high finishing position, they praised themself and fellow non-binary contestant Nemo Mettler, who won the contest. They further stated, "the world has spoken [and] the queers are coming, non-binaries for the fucking win". [49]
Digital download/streaming [‡ 2]
Digital download/streaming – Intimate version [‡ 3]
Chart (2024) | Peak position |
---|---|
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [50] | 40 |
Greece International (IFPI) [51] | 12 |
Ireland (IRMA) [52] | 23 |
Latvia (LaIPA) [53] | 13 |
Lithuania (AGATA) [54] | 9 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [55] | 86 |
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) [56] | 60 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [57] | 64 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [58] | 77 |
UK Singles (OCC) [59] | 67 |
UK Indie (OCC) [60] | 13 |
Country | Date | Format(s) | Version | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 13 October 2023 | EP track | Self-released | [‡ 2] | |
22 April 2024 | Intimate version | [‡ 3] |
Ireland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since making its debut at the 1965 contest in Naples, missing only two contests since, in 1983 and 2002. The current Irish participant broadcaster in the contest is Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Ireland shares a joint record total of seven wins with Sweden, and is the only country to have won three times consecutively. Ireland has finished second four times, while Sweden has done that just once.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Waterline" written by Nick Jarl and Sharon Vaughn. The song was performed by the duo Jedward, who had previously represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 where they achieved eighth place with the song "Lipstick". The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2012 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Five songs faced the votes of five regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Waterline" performed by Jedward as the Irish Eurovision entry.
Belgium participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Love Kills" written by Jukka Immonen and Iain James. The song was performed by Roberto Bellarosa, who was internally selected by the Walloon broadcaster Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF) in November 2014 to represent the nation at the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. The song was selected through the national final Eurovision 2013: A vous de choisir la chanson!, which was organised by RTBF and featured three songs. In the final on 16 December 2012, "Love Kills" was selected as the winning song via the votes of an expert jury and a public televote.
Croatia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Mižerja" written by Goran Topolovac. The song was performed by the group Klapa s Mora, which was selected internally by the Croatian broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) on 11 February 2013 to represent Croatia at the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. Their song "Mižerja" was presented to the public on 27 February 2013 during a live streamed press conference.
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Only Love Survives" written by Wez Devine and Ryan Dolan. The song was performed by Ryan Dolan. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2013 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. Five songs faced the votes of five regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Only Love Survives" performed by Ryan Dolan as the Irish Eurovision entry.
Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Alcohol Is Free", written by Elias Kozas and Stathis Pahidis. The song was performed by the band Koza Mostra featuring Agathonas Iakovidis. The entry for the 2013 contest, which took place in Malmö, Sweden, was selected through a four-participant national final entitled Eurosong 2013 – a MAD show. Due to budget cuts facing the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) at the time, the selection process was a organised by a private music channel, MAD TV.
Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "An me thimasai" written by Andreas Giorgallis and Zenon Zindilis. The song was performed by Despina Olympiou, who was selected by the Cypriot broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) in February 2013 to represent Cyprus at the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. The Cypriot song, "An me thimasai", was presented to the public on 14 February 2013.
San Marino participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, held in Malmö, Sweden. The Sammarinese national broadcaster Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV) internally selected Valentina Monetta with "Crisalide (Vola)" to represent the nation in the contest. Monetta had previously represented San Marino at the 2012 contest, placing 14th in the semi-finals. The 2013 entry was promoted through the creation of a music video, a promotional tour that included stops in London and Amsterdam, and interviews to the press in the lead up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. San Marino performed second in the second semi-final, held on 16 May 2013, and placed 11th, receiving 47 points and failing to qualify for the grand final. However, this marked the nation's best placing to this point.
Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Rise Up", written and performed by Freaky Fortune and featuring RiskyKidd. The Greek entry was selected through the four-participant national final, titled Eurosong 2014 – a MAD show, which was developed by interim Greek broadcaster Dimosia Tileorasi (DT) and organised and produced by the private music channel MAD TV.
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Croatia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "My Friend" written by Jacques Houdek, Tony Roberth Malm, Siniša Reljić, Arjana Kunštek, Ines Prajo and Fabrizio Laucella. The song was performed by Jacques Houdek, who was selected internally by the Croatian broadcaster Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) on 17 February 2017 to represent Croatia at the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. His song "My Friend" was presented to the public on 2 March 2017 during the radio programme Svijet diskografije broadcast on the HR 2 station.
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