Ireland: Eurovision interest from Nathan Carter

by Jessica Weaver 1,698 views

One of the biggest country singer’s in Ireland currently, Nathan Carter, has spoken out about the possibility of representing his country at a future edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

With RTÉ having confirmed their participation in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest to ESCToday, a mechanism in order to determine the next Irish representative it set to be decided in the upcoming months. But with a 3-year non-qualification streak, what would be the best selection method for the nation in 2017?

One option could be Nathan Carter following his recently shown interest in the competition. Speaking recently on 2FM’s Breakfast Republic, Carter revealed:

I got a lot of requests at this year’s [Eurovision] from fans […] I think one of the acts that was performing from a different country apparently looked a bit like myself and was singing a bit of a country song.

If the right song came along and I was free, I guess I would do it.

Born and raised in Liverpool before moving to Ireland at the age of 18, Carter first hit the music scene in 2007 following the release of his debut album, Starting out. The release of his version of Wagon wheel in 2012 launched the country singer to national stardom, with his same entitled album peaking at 6 in the Irish charts.

Having released a total of 7 studio albums to date, Carter is currently one of the biggest stars on the country and Irish music scene, having recently won 2 out of a possible 5 awards at the 2016 Irish Country Music Awards. Do you think Carter would be a good Eurovision choice for Ireland?

2016 saw the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ opt for an internal selection, the first since 2007, in order to select their entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest following a 2-year non-qualification streak. Selecting former Westlife singer Nick Byrne alongside his song entry Sunlight, Ireland failed to qualify for a third time running, finishing in 15th position in semi-final 2.