Olly Alexander's BBC Eurovision entry given damning verdict by former UK winner as they expose flaw

Olly Alexander's BBC Eurovision entry given damning verdict by former UK winner as they expose flaw

WATCH HERE: Olly Alexander takes part in rehearsals for Saturday's grand finale

BBC
Alex Davies

By Alex Davies


Published: 10/05/2024

- 10:13

The 33-year-old will take to the stage in Malmo, Sweden on Saturday night

Olly Alexander's song Dizzy has been given a less-than-favourable verdict from a former UK Eurovision representative.

The Years and Years singer will compete against the likes of bookies' favourites Croatia, Switzerland and many more on Saturday evening but it looks like he could be set to miss out on glory.


According to Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker, who's a fan of Alexander's, she doesn't feel his song will be enough to secure victory for the UK.

Baker herself has experienced the rare joy of UK Eurovision glory after performing with her Bucks Fizz bandmates in 1981.

"I love Olly Alexander’s voice and the production is going to be amazing and I’m absolutely sure he’s not going to get 'nul point', but it’s not a winning song unfortunately," Baker admitted.

"I think his performance will be, his voice will be, but you’ve got to have all three to win and the song isn’t good enough."

Olly Alexander

Olly Alexander is the UK's entry for Eurovision 2024

BBC

Explaining where she feels Alexander's entry has been let down, she added to Heart Bingo: "It’s an easy thing to say that it needs a key change but it does lift a song, and in Eurovision you need it to be really noticeable, so Olly should have put a couple of key changes in there.

"I don’t know why he didn’t," she continued. "You get to the chorus, but there’s no key change! The song doesn’t progress the way it should and that’s a problem."

Baker predicted Alexander would still do enough to avoid propping up the leaderboard in last place, however.

"I think he’ll finish midtable. The jury might keep him in the top five which would be fantastic but the public vote will bring him back down unfortunately," she tipped.

Cheryl Baker and Bucks Fizz

Cheryl Baker and Bucks Fizz won Eurovision back in 1981

PA

Alexander faces an uphill battle to prove Baker and other critics wrong on Saturday evening.

The singer has faced his fair share of controversy since being unveiled as this year's UK entry, facing criticism for performing alongside Israel's entry and coming under fire for his "over-sexualised" routine.

He's been priced by some bookmakers, including bet365, as a rank 150/1 outsider to bag victory on Saturday evening, while the likes of William Hill, Skybet and 888bet have him at a 66/1 chance.

It's something Alexander himself has admitted to looking up, as he told the BBC ahead of Saturday's extravaganza: "My odds for winning are at one per cent. But that’s fine. It’s better than zero."

Cheryl Baker

Cheryl Baker doesn't think the UK will win Eurovision 2024

PA

Croatia's entry Baby Lasagna are currently priced as an odds-on favourite with many bookmakers to see off the competition.

However, they're closely followed by Israel (3/1), Switzerland (15/2) and Ireland (12/1) in the stakes, according to Paddy Power.

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