EUROVISION has turned our great musical nation into a laughing stock, with years of dodgy vocals, cringeworthy outfits and plenty of nul points.
But three West End stars are hoping to turn around the United Kingdom’s losing streak.
Pop trio Remember Monday has been officially unveiled as this year’s entry with their song, What The Hell Just Happened?
And the crucial element that has got Brits excited?
They can actually sing!
Charlotte Steele, Lauren Byrne and Holly-Anne Hull will fly the flag in Basel, Switzerland, on May 17 as they become the first girl group to represent the UK since 1999, when Precious sang Say It Again, finishing in 12th place.
The band, who met more than a decade ago in college, said: “What The Hell Just Happened is exactly how we’re feeling right now!
“It’s all very surreal.
“Our friendship goes so far back, and we definitely never imagined that we’d be doing anything like this.
“When you’re a kid and people ask you what you want to be when you grow up, an absolute classic is, ‘I wanna be a pop star’.
“So the fact that we’re getting the chance to live that dream as three best friends is just wild.
“We’re going to be the first girlband to represent the UK since 1999, which feels like such a crazy honour.”
Promising fans a blistering performance, they added: “We’re going to bring loads of fun, energy and hopefully do something that you won’t have seen before on the Eurovision stage.
“We honestly can’t wait to experience this with all of the other incredible artists from around the world, and hopefully make everyone back at home feel proud.
“This is really the music World Cup and we’ll do our best to bring it home.”
The trio, originally called Houston, met in sixth form at Farnborough, Hampshire, in 2013, when they were in the same performing arts class.
They later gave themselves the name Remember Monday because it was the day they had free periods at school, so would have spare time to sing together.
But Holly had a brush with fame years earlier when, aged 13, she won a Disney Channel talent show called My Camp Rock.
It led to her being signed by Disney, but she was then dropped.
After creating the group, the three best pals entered The Voice UK in 2019 and made all four judges — Jennifer Hudson, Tom Jones, Will.i.am and Olly Murs — turn in their blind audition with a rendition of Seal’s Kiss From A Rose.
They reached the quarter finals and were mentored by Jennifer, who was so confident in their abilities, she kept in touch and invited them on to her US talk show last year.
She even predicted they were going to “blow completely up over here in the States”.
But in the 12 years since the trio formed, they have all had separate careers on stage.
Career in country music
Holly has performed in West End productions of Phantom Of The Opera and Les Miserables, while Lauren has starred in Six: The Musical and Matilda.
Charlotte made her West End debut aged ten as Jane Banks in a production of Mary Poppins.
She later worked as a choreographer and vocal coach, before becoming the deputy head of a performing arts college.
However, all three quit their careers in 2023 to try to make Remember Monday a success — and hope Eurovision will be their big break.
Last year, they played their first sellout tour at intimate venues around the UK and they have amassed more than 500,000 followers on TikTok.
Over two EPs and 12 singles, the band has forged a career in country music, citing influences including Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton and Alison Krauss.
But their Eurovision entry is more rooted in pop than fans might have expected.
This is really the music World Cup and we’ll do our best to bring it home.
Remember Monday
They perform impressive three-part harmonies on the kooky track, which is all about waking up after a wild night out.
The pop tune has already drawn comparisons to both Abba and Chappell Roan, who is at No1 in the charts right now with her single Pink Pony Club.
They wrote the song with duo Billen Ted — who have worked with Little Mix and Anne-Marie — as well as Thomas Stengaard, who previously wrote Denmark’s 2013 Eurovision winner, Only Teardrops, for Emmelie de Forest.
However, the pals, who released the music video for their song yesterday, have a tough fight on their hands.
Bookmakers William Hill last night gave them odds of 20/1 to win, while Ladbrokes was less optimistic, offering 33/1.
Sweden are currently the favourites, even though they will not crown their act until this evening.
There are just two days to go before all of the competing nations must reveal their songs.
In with a chance
By Howell Davies
AS Eurovision entries go, Remember Monday’s track is anything but a safe choice.
The bold, bolshy What The Hell Just Happened? is a Seventies pop pastiche with a touch of Chappell Roan thrown in to drag it into the 21st Century.
And with tempo and key changes throughout, it sounds like three songs sewn together to make something unforgettable – whether that’s because people love it or hate it.
We have tried run-of-the-mill pop songs for years, with poor results, so going all-out with a tune like this is brave.
In the chorus – which will get stuck in your head soon enough – they belt out: “I’m clutching my pearls like, ‘What the hell just happened?’. No clue, but I liked it.”
I think viewers will say the same.
It’s a strong song with powerful harmonies, and if they sing it like this on the Eurovision stage, we’re on to something good.
★★★★
Remember Monday made their desire to be the UK’s Eurovision entry clear in 2023 when they shared a video of themselves covering Sam Ryder’s second place song from the previous year, Space Man, with the caption: “Hey, get us on Eurovision!”.
But it’s a brave move following a rough few years for the UK at the contest.
Last May, Olly Alexander came 18th in Malmo, Sweden, with Dizzy, while Mae Muller was second last in Liverpool in 2023 with I Wrote A Song.
Last year, there were political rows over Israel’s inclusion, which led to large-scale protests in Malmo, where the show took place.
The Dutch act Joost Klein was also disqualified hours before the grand final over an alleged backstage incident involving a photographer.
He did not face charges.
Winner Nemo said they felt “very alone” during the contest, while Olly said he needed therapy to deal with the fallout from the event.
However, organisers have since announced a series of new well-being measures, including no-filming zones, a code of conduct for the acts and a welfare producer.
Sounds like they’re getting in tune with the contestants’ needs . . .
25 YEARS OF PAIN – THE WORST UK ENTRIES
1999: Precious – Say It Again
After winning in 1997 and coming second in 1998, it was a disappointment when Precious ended up 12th – but things were only going to get worse.
2003: Jemini – Cry Baby
The duo’s pitchy performance landed the UK in last place with the dreaded nul points for the first – but not the last – time.
2007: Scooch – Flying The Flag (For You)
This entry was camp as Christmas and was based on four flight attendants, but failed to impress and ended up 22nd out of 24.
2008: Andy Abraham – Even If
X Factor’s singing refuse collector gave the UK its second last place finish on the leaderboard with his cringe worthy dad pop.
2010: Josh Dubovie – That Sounds Good To Me
We were back at the bottom for a third time with another naff and cheesy entry.
2019: Michael Rice – Bigger Than Us
After a string of finishes near the end of the leaderboard, this completely forgettable mid-tempo track put us in last place once again.
2021: James Newman – Embers
He struggled to sing and dance on stage and it ended up being a mess – landing zero points for the second time in UK Eurovision history
2023: Mae Muller – I Wrote A Song
This painting by numbers pop track failed to make an impression on Europe, ending up 25th out of 26 entries.
