We continue our Eurosong 2023 interview series with massive Eurovision fan and Wild Youth keyboardist and vocalist Conor O’Donohoe.
Eurovision fans may remember Conor from his infamous tweet to RTE Head of Delegation Michael Kealy, asking if he could write Ireland’s 2023 Eurovision entry, and have Wild Youth perform it. That dream became a reality when the Eurosong finalists were announced on January 9th. Prior to their Eurovision campaign, Wild Youth has toured with Zara Larsson, Niall Horan, and Kodaline and have released two EPs and countless singles.
Hello there Wild Youth welcome to ESCUnited! We’re excited to get a chance to get to know you a bit better before Eurosong takes place on February 3rd – how are things going on your end ahead of the live show?
Hello, everything is good. We’ve been rehearsing hard, and staying healthy.
I read that Wild Youth formed as a band back in 2016 – how did you first meet, and how did you settle on your band name?
It was actually like 2017, I’m not sure we could count 2016 as being a band haha. The name came to me on a flight and I sent it into our what’s app group and nobody hated it so there we were, wild youth was born.
Rapid fire question time – you’ve been tapped to produce a Eurovision cover album and you all get to decide the track list. What are some songs that you’d pick to put on the track list?
Niamh Kavanagh In your eyes, Daði og Gagnamagnið, Maneskin, Sam Ryder, Chanel slomo. Johnny Logan, Mickey jo Harte.
A set of songs, I’d love to see your approach to them! And when you aren’t doing music, what do you do in your spare time?
I love fashion, and also I try and train, training is essential for my mental health.
How would you describe Wild Youth’s music and sound to our readers? Are there any other artists that influence or inspire you musically?
I think our “genre” is pop rock, but we like to push boundaries and try different styles. Elvis, nirvana, prince, Shania Twain, Taylor swift, Coldplay.
And we have to talk about how you basically manifested this experience, since you tweeted Michael Kealy back on June 3rd asking to write a Eurovision 2023 entry for the band. When you got the official call, how did you react?
It felt amazing, after tweeting it really picked up momentum so I really wanted to be selected so it was really cool.
What would you say has been the most fulfilling part of the selection process for you as an artist so far?
The most fulfilling is getting selected , and meeting new people and being involved in the excitement around if all.
Sadly we both know that despite being the “winningest” country in Eurovision, the country has struggled in Eurovision over the last 10 years, only qualifying twice. What do you think it’ll take to get Ireland back into the final and how could your entry achieve that?
I think maybe trying a band would be really cool. It’s been such a long time. And I believe if it was us that was chosen we could put on a performance that could get us to the final.
For those who want to connect with you ahead of or after the selection– where can they find you and your music?
On every streaming platform, Spotify, YouTube, etc.
In closing, do you have a final message you’d like to share with the readers of ESCUnited?
Just that we honestly really really want this. We want to do everything it takes to achieve huge success in Liverpool, so please if you can vote for us on February 3rd.
Wild Youth will compete against five other artists during the Irish national selection on Friday February 3rd on the Late Late Show. The winner of the national selection and Ireland’s next Eurovision act will be selected using a combination of national televote, and a split national and international jury vote.
Are #YOU team Wild Youth? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
