Ireland is set to pick their Eurovision artist and song this coming friday through the Late Late Show: Eurovision Special, and we were lucky enough to meet with Rachel Goode ahead of the show. Get to know her more as an artist and performer, learn about her love of the 80’s, and most importantly what her song “I’m Loving Me” is all about!
Hello Rachel – we are so excited to speak with you today and learn more about you! Why don’t you give our readers a brief introduction as to who you are?
So I am from a small town called Ballinasloe in County Galway Ireland. I am a singer, with a bachelor degree in music and a masters in Opera performance. Currently studying a masters in Music education also while juggling work as a freelance singer!! I am a complete shopaholic and love fashion and have a certificate in Personal Shopping and Fashion Styling.
Wonderful thank you so much for that background information! And of course, you were just recently revealed as a participant for the Irish national final. What has life been like since the announcement was made?
Since the announcement has been made my phone hasn’t stopped going off between facebook, Instagram , twitter. Social media blew and I am getting lots of messages to do interviews etc so its all great. 🙂 There are lots of articles in papers as well as the internet too. I’m still trying to get back to everyone that has been in contact and I’m so grateful for all the lovely messages and comments I have received. I come from a really tight knit community town and they have been so supportive, everyone is buzzing for me!
That’s wonderful news and I’m glad to hear that the reception has been so positive for you! And I know you have a bit of a history with music – so thinking back to your past, how did you first discover you had a passion and love for music and singing?
I grew up singing, I was always a vibrant child and loved anything to do with dancing and music. I did Irish dancing for 13 years so that was a huge passion of mine, and I sang in my church folk group where I used to get solos. I think I was around 6/7 when I got my first solo singing performance!
At home I used to sing constantly, using my Irish dancing trophies as my microphone and thinking I was a little popstar. I grew up listening to so many genres of music, my parents loved country and Irish folk so that was my roots and my mum loved classical so I used to try and sing that too. It was strange but from a really young age I was able to switch between so many genres from opera to pop, to country. I was an absolute fan girl of the spice girls, and just wanted to be baby spice (though I lacked the blonde hair!!)
Trust me – I think we ALL wanted to be Baby Spice. Ha! According to your YouTube, you love to perform country, Irish folk, and classical music as you had mentioned – how did you end up doing a 180 degree turn for this retro 80’s pop sound?
So as mentioned above my voice always glided through various genres really easily, and as a singer on the road doing gigs and bands etc you have to be versatile and be able to throw your hand at any genre. Although I am at my most comfortable singing those three genres I do sing any genre and my voice is very flexible, I am lucky with this!!! The song was not written specifically with me in mind, but the songwriters approached me to sing the song thinking my voice and vibe would be the perfect fit, and hopefully I have done it the justice it deserves!
I also noticed that your writing team is made up of Thomas Karlsson, Johan Mauritzon, and Joakim Övrenius, who wrote Rafal’s song “The Ride” for Eurovision 2021. What was it like collaborating with them on the track?
They are such lovely people and it has been an absolute pleasure collaborating with them. I am so honored that they chose and wanted me as their singer, I absolutely love the song, I’ve always been a massive fan of the 80s and its one of them songs you just keep wanting to repeat!
I believe that the lyrics of every song tell a story to the listener – can you help our readers understand the message behind your song “I’m Loving Me”?
So obviously everyone knows the importance of loving oneself. What is the saying “you can’t love someone else, unless you love yourself” and this song is all about that journey to finally being free and finally being able to love yourself for who you are and embrace it. It is really uplifting, I don’t think you could listen to this song and feel sad!
Can you describe for us what the preparation process has been like for the Late Late Show – like the rehearsal process, staging preparation, etc.?
The process so far has mostly been via zoom due to covid but I have been meeting with a local choreographer Elaine O‘hanlon here in my town who has been helping me with the staging, while liasing with the songwriters to make sure they are happy and we are all on the same page! It is a little harder due to covid as the team cannot be there for rehearsals.
Choreography – that make me excited to watch the final product! And of course, we all know that the winner of the Late Late Show: Eurovision Special will go on to Eurovision this May. What would it mean to you if you could go to the contest and perform on such a large international stage?
Oh wow, it would be absolutely amazing to win. I have worked so hard for years and years to gain opportunities such as these ones, so if I was to win I would grab it with both hands and totally embrace it. I love my country and would be so honored to represent them in the eurovision. I have watched it ever since I was a child and I am a big fan so to make it to the stage would be a dream come true!
As we close up, for those who want to connect with you ahead of or after the selection– where can they find you and your music?
Yes so I am on all music platforms such as spotyf, itunes etc. My Instagram and facebook pages “Rachel Goode Music” – Twitter Rachel Goode and Youtube Rachel Goode Music.
Last question – is there any message you’d want to share with the ESCUnited readers?
I just want to say thank you ESCunited for having me, I hope you enjoy the song as much as I do!
Well Rachel, thank you so much for taking some time to speak with us, and we wish you the best of luck during the Irish national final!
What do #YOU think of Rachel Goode’s song “I’m Loving Me”? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
