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NORWEGIAN SINGER EMMY has been selected as Ireland’s contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest after winning tonight’s Eurosong competition.
The 24-year-old was chosen through a combination of the results of a national jury, an international jury and a public vote after performing in The Late Late Show’s Eurosong Special on RTÉ tonight.
She performed her song LAIKA Party to the jury, a studio audience, and people watching around the country.
The song, she said, was inspired by Soviet dog Laika. Laika was the first dog in space in 1957.
Speaking after her win, she said, “I’m just in shock, thank you so, so much.”
When asked by host Patrick Kielty whether she thinks she can follow in the footsteps of last year’s finalist Bambie Thug, EMMY replied: “I really really hope so, I hope I can make you proud. Thank you guys.”
EMMY’s act received 34 points, while Samantha Mumba’s song My Way came in second with 26. Bobbi Arlo, a Wicklow singer, came in third with 20 points.
The six Eurosong finalists who sang on the programme tonight and their songs were Samantha Mumba (My Way), Reylta (Fire), Adgy (Run into the Night), EMMY (LAIKA Party), Bobbi Arlo (Powerplay) and NIYL (Growth).
The Late Late’s panel was made up of last year’s act Bambie Thug, television presenter Donal Skehan, radio presenter Laura Fox, and dancer Arthur Gourounlian.
Eurovision 2025 is due to be held in Basel, Switzerland in May.
Ireland’s act in last year’s competition, Cork singer Bambie Thug, came sixth in the final – the highest result for Ireland since 2000, when singer Eamonn Toal came in the same place.
From 2019 to 2023, Ireland had failed to qualify for the final of the international competition.
Despite jointly holding the record with Sweden of having the most Eurovision wins, Ireland has not won the contest in almost 30 years. Eimear Quinn won in 1996 with her song ‘The Voice’.
Last year’s Eurovision was mired in controversy over the participation of Israel. The European Broadcast Union (EBU) faced calls internationally for Israel to be excluded from the competition due to the country’s war in Gaza.
Protests were widespread in Malmö, Sweden, where the competition was held, and numerous contestants, including Bambie Thug, spoke out against Israel’s participation and the EBU.
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