Olly Alexander breaks silence on Eurovision performance and reveals what went wrong on stage
Olly Alexander has broken his silence following criticism of his performance at the Eurovision Song Contest semi-final in Sweden. The singer took to the stage on Tuesday, 7 May to belt out a rendition of Dizzy - the song he will perform at the Eurovision final on Saturday, 11 May.
Olly's performance got mixed reactions from BBC viewers, with some questioning his vocals. However, he's now explained what went wrong during the performance.
Speaking on Lorraine on Wednesday, 8 May, Olly, 33, addressed the backlash and explained how a "wardrobe malfunction" had caused an issue for him on stage. He spoke to presenter Lorraine Kelly via video link while in Sweden.
Lorraine told him his track Dizzy is a "banger" and admitted: "I would have loved to have been in that [music] video." Olly was all smiles as he cheerfully told the presenter: "Thank you Lorraine, you are welcome to join me on stage if you want."
Lorraine went on to brand Eurovision a "huge thing", with Olly saying: "The whole Eurovision experience is wild. Last night was amazing. It was the first time performing in the arena and on stage."
He then revealed: "We had a little wardrobe malfunction and had to improvise but that's fine - it's live TV."
Olly's performance on Tuesday divided fans. Among the flurry of comments on social media, one fan expressed disappointment: "Had high hopes for the UK @Eurovision this year with Olly Alexander but it sounded a little ropey at the semi-final just now on @BBCRadio2," while another viewer simply remarked, "#eurovision Shockingly poor singing there from Olly Alexander."
Not mincing their words, a third critic took a further dig adding: "#EURO2024 sorry but I don't think much of #OllyAlexander Dizzy UK entry. Set and production poor."
Meanwhile, fans were buzzing with excitement over Olly's Eurovision performance, with one fan gushing on social media: "I just love Olly Alexander... GREAT staging... #ESC2024," while another praised: "Olly's performance was SO professional. It was like watching a music video. Best staging of the year #unitedkingdom."
The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place in the Malmö Arena on Saturday, 11 May following semi-finals on 7 and 9 May. The UK last topped the Eurovision scoreboard back in 1997 with Katrina And The Waves' anthem Love Shine A Light.
