British and Irish media report that the BBC is in talks with Blue singer Duncan James and Take That singer Gary Barlow for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest entry for the United Kingdom. Barlow is named as a composer while James might perform the song is Oslo. It would be the first time ever for the UK that both song and performer are chosen internally.
Gary Barlow became famous as a member of the boygroup Take That. He also wrote and produced many of their songs, among them their most successful single Back for good. As a solo performer, he had a series hits, among the UK number one singles Forever love and Love won't wait. He also worked as a poducer and songwriter for other acts, among them Delta Goodrem, Blue and Lara Fabian, who had represented Luxembourg in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest.
Duncan James became famous as a member of the boygroup Blue. In 2004, he started his solo career with the single I believe my heart, which was a number two hit in the United Kingdom. His first album Future past was released in 2006. It was a major success in Italy, where it reached number two in the album charts. He would not be the first member of Blue heading for the Eurovision Song Contest: Antony Costa finished second in the 2006 UK national final with Beautiful thing.
In 2009, the United Kingdom was represented by Jade Ewen, who finished fifth in the final with It's my time. It was the first top ten palcing for the country since 2002.