My Last Breath

Last updated

It was going to be me in this tundra kind of thing on top of a big cube that was going to look like it had water projected into it.

And I was going to be stood on top of it with a 3D girl projected into it and we’re going to interact from the outside. I was going to come down from the cube and all the water was going to flood out so it looked onto the screens and it was going to be this crazy thing happening.

Critical reception

"My Last Breath"
James Newman - My Last Breath.jpeg
Single by James Newman
from the EP The Things We Do
Released27 February 2020
RecordedJanuary 2020
Length2:35
Label BMG
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Adam Argyle
James Newman singles chronology
"High On Your Love"
(2019)		"My Last Breath"
(2020)		"Enough"
(2020)
Music video
"My Last Breath" on YouTube
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Evening Standard Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]

My Last Breath received mixed reviews from music critics. In his review for The Times , Will Hodgkinson considered that there "are no disastrous lapses into kitsch, but not much character either" in the "disappointingly tasteful" song, and judged that it is "simply too boring to win." [6] Jochan Emblay of the Evening Standard dubbed it a "nailed-on nil points" and a "by-the-numbers slog of woah-oh balladry," although conceded that it had a "fairly catchy" hook and "would be fine" as an album track. [4]

Louis Staples of The Independent gave the song a scathing review, describing it as "what would happen if a River Island pleather jacket, an X Factor winner's single and your uncle's midlife crisis had a child together" as well as "the MP3 embodiment of that co-worker who needs at least four pints to develop a personality at after-work drinks." [7] The Guardian 's Alexis Petridis was also unimpressed, describing it as "serviceably bland," and added that while the song "wouldn't sound out of place on the Radio 2 playlist," it wouldn't "stand out on the Radio 2 playlist"; he also questioned Newman's decision to represent the UK at the competition, given his success as a songwriter, asking "are you possessed of some crazed, masochistic desire to give a succession of brave smiles to camera and half-heartedly wave a little union jack on a stick as Belarus gives the UK a desultory deux points and we’re left for dust on the leaderboard by North Macedonia?" [5]

Others reacted more positively. Joe Anderton of Digital Spy described it as "a perfectly solid radio-friendly tune to launch a solo career with," although added that "it remains to be seen if it's got the drama to really stand out in the competition." [8] BBC music reporter Mark Savage noted that when played on Radio 1 between tracks by Harry Styles and Dua Lipa, "it didn't sound like his show had been hacked," concluding that "it doesn't feel like a winner but nor does it feel like an embarrassment. And that, at least, is progress." [2]

The song did, however, get relatively positive reviews in alternative programming in some countries. The Austria's ORF aired Der kleine Song Contest in April 2020, which saw every entry being assigned to one of three semi-finals. A jury consisting of ten singers that had represented Austria at Eurovision before was hired to rank each song; the best-placed in each semi-final advanced to the final round. [9] In the first semi-final on 14 April, "My Last Breath" placed fourth in a field of 14 participants, achieving 66 points, with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 10. [10] The song also unsuccessfully took part in Norddeutscher Rundfunk's Eurovision 2020 – das deutsche Finale but it fared well in Sveriges Television's Sveriges 12:a on 14 May, placing in both its jury and televote top tens. [11] [12]

Track listing

Digital download [13]
No.TitleLength
1."My Last Breath"2:35

Charts

Chart (2020)Peak
position
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100) [14] 15
Scotland (OCC) [15] 23
UK Singles Downloads (OCC) [16] 23

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
Various27 February 2020 Digital download, streaming BMG [17]

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References

  1. ↑ Santos, Pedro (27 February 2020). "James Newman to represent United Kingdom in Eurovision 2020". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  2. 1 2 "James Newman to represent United Kingdom in Eurovision 2020". BBC News. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  3. ↑ Slater, Jack; Dickinson, Sophie (2021-03-11). "Who is James Newman, the UK's Eurovision 2021 entry?". Metro. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19.
  4. 1 2 Emblay, Jochan (27 February 2020). "James Newman's Eurovision song review: UK's 2020 entry is a nailed-on nil points". Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  5. 1 2 Petridis, Alexis (27 February 2020). "James Newman: My Last Breath – UK Eurovision 2020 entry is serviceably bland". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  6. 1 2 Hodgkinson, Will (27 February 2020). "James Newman: My Last Breath review — Eurovision entry that's simply too boring to win". The Times. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  7. ↑ Staples, Louis (27 February 2020). "The UK's bland Eurovision song sounds like a River Island pleather jacket, an X Factor winner's single and your uncle's midlife crisis". The Independent. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  8. ↑ Anderton, joe (27 February 2020). "Eurovision 2020 UK representative announced by the BBC". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  9. ↑ "Mr. Song Contest proudly presents – Der kleine Song Contest am 14., 16. und 18. April in ORF 1" (in German). ORF. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "Iceland Wins Der kleine Song Contest Semi-Final One". Eurovoix. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  11. ↑ Dahlander, Gustav (3 April 2020). "Klart för Eurovision-vecka i SVT" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television . Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Eurovision 2020 special public broadcasting plans". European Broadcasting Union. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "My Last Breath - Single by James Newman". Archived from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-03– via music.apple.com.
  14. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 202030 into search. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  17. ↑ "My Last Breath by James Newman". Amazon Music. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
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