Thirty-nine countries are competing with the aim to lift the trophy in Malmö. The fifth country to be introduced is United Kingdom. The country won the contest five times and this year Bonnie Tyler will try to make it six in Sweden.

Basic information

Performer: Bonnie Tyler
Song: Believe in me
Language: English
Music: Desmond Child, Lauren Christy, Christopher Braide
Lyrics: Desmond Child, Lauren Christy, Christopher Braide

The song

Bonnie Tyler sings a moving ballad about love. The singer invites her lover to believe in her and be positive.

You say you don’t believe in signs from up above
And you laugh at the thought of putting your faith in stuff like love
You never see the rainbow you just curse the rain
You say you won’t believe
But it’s just not worth the pain today

That’s all fine if that’s how you want it to be
But if you’re feeling alone and afraid and you can’t breathe

Believe in me yeah
Believe in me yeah
Believe in
The way I look at you
And stand beside you
The way I speak the truth
I’d never lie to you
If you just believe in the things that your eyes can see
Believe in me

The performer

Bonnie Tyler (Gaynor Hopkins) is a Welsh singer. Her first hit single, Lost in France, reached the UK Top 10 in 1976 and she was nominated for Best British Female Newcomer at the 1977 Brit Awards. Soon after, Tyler underwent an operation to remove nodules from her vocal cords which left her with a distinctively husky voice. However, this did not affect her career and her 1977 single It’s a heartache became a hit in both Europe and North America. In the 1980s, Tyler worked with rock music songwriter Jim Steinman. Tyler was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 1984, and was twice nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Female Artist in 1984 and 1986. In the 1990s and 2000s, Tyler has continued to have success in Continental Europe. This year she released her new album Rocks and honey.

The songwriters

Believe in me is penned by Desmond Child, Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide. Desmond Child is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. For nearly three decades, songwriter/producer Desmond Child has reigned as one of music’s most successful creative forces. His list of accolades includes Grammy awards, 70 Top 40 singles, and songs that have sold over 300 million albums worldwide. His collaborations include Bon Jovi, Bonnie Tyler, Selena, Aerosmith, Scorpions, Ricky Martin, KISS, Kelly Clarkson, Dream Theater, Steve Vai, Cher, Rosie Johnson and Alice Cooper.

Lauren Christy is an English singer-songwriter and music producer. She is a part of the writing trio The Matrix. Christy was a member of several bands. Her first band, Pink Ash, consisted of six male members and herself. Her stage name was Susie Reptile. After frantically writing and looking for inspiration from her keyboards, Christy achieved both a publishing deal with EMI and a major label record contract with Polygram Records.

Christopher Braide is an English singer, songwriter, record producer published by BMG Chrysalis and based in Los Angeles. Producer, songwriter and Ivor Novello, ASCAP and Billboard award winner Christopher Braide has achieved considerable success as a songwriter and producer in the UK and the US. He was originally co-founder and co-producer of the rock band Producers with Trevor Horn. Braide has recently produced and written songs for Christina Aguilera, David Guetta, Sia Furler, Paloma Faith, Lana Del Rey and, along with Pharrell Williams produced the US debut full-length by Yuna

The national selection

Bonnie Tyler was internally selected to represent Great Britain in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Malmö.

The United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

The United Kingdom debuted in the second edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. After a break in 1958, the country returned in 1959 and has not missed an edition since making it the country with the most consecutive participations and, along with France, the country with the second most appearances in total. In total, the United Kingdom won the contest five times, finished second 15 times and came third three times and is therefore probably the most successful country ever. However, over the last twelve participations, the UK finished in the top ten only twice and achieved its first three last places in 2003, 2008 and 2010.

Statistics

This will be the United Kingdom’s 56th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. For the 18th time the country is represented by a female solo singer.

UK’s vote in Eurovision

UK and Ireland exchanged most of the points throughout its history in the Eurovision Song Contest. However since the semi-final was introduced in 2004, the United Kingdom gave more points to Greece.

The betting odds

According to oddschecker.com, United Kingdom is currently standing at number 14 in the odds to win the Eurovision Song Contest,

We wish Bonnie Tyler and the United Kingdom the best of luck and a good result in Malmö.

Videos

Preview clip

It’s a heartache

Total eclipse of the heart

Tomorrow another country will be introduced (hint – they won a lot of them!)

Have your say

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