James Newman releases the United Kingdom's 2021 Eurovision Song Contest entry Embers
James Newman has released Embers, his entry that will represent the United Kingdom at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest.
BBC Radio 2 had the world exclusive first play of BRIT Award-winning songwriter James' second Eurovision track this morning (March 11); James was due to fly the flag for the UK last year with My Last Breath before the contest in Rotterdam was cancelled. Listen to Embers below:
"I wanted to write an upbeat and positive song that people could have a party to," said James. "It’s about the spark between people who love each other. Just because you don’t see the people you care about all the time, doesn’t mean that spark isn’t there."
The songwriting and production team behind Embers have been involved in two Top 5 singles so far in 2021, and two Number 1 albums in 2020.
Writer Conor Blake penned Paradise alongside Meduza and Dermot Kennedy, a Number 5 hit in January, and also involved is composer Danny Shah, who worked with Kylie Minogue on her eighth chart-topping album DISCO, which made her the first female artist to claim a Number 1 album in five consecutive decades.
MORE: Where every UK Eurovision entry has peaked on the Official Singles Chart
Embers' producers Billen Ted aka Tom Hollings and Samuel Brennan are also artists in their own right, and are challenging for this week's Official Singles Chart top spot with Wellerman, their collaboration with Nathan Evans and 220 Kid.
The brass section on the track was put together by Swedish arrangers Mattias Bylund and Magnus Johansson, who composed instrumentation on The Weeknd's Number 1 album After Hours, and have worked regularly with Max Martin.
The 2021 Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Rotterdam, kicking off on May 18 with the final on Saturday, May 22.
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FERNANDO COLINO
Great choice and probably it will be noticed among all those ballads...Con is the usual UK backlash among ESC watchers, I still don't know why...I wish UK entry all the best and all my support
AB
Andrew Brown
I've been a critic of our song choices for many years but this is the best since Blue in 2011. Is it a winner? However i'd sooner sooner lose with a good song than a bad.
thierry henon
Not a bad song but NOT GOOD ENOUGH for the Eurovision..We will end up last... again!
BleeUK
Great banging tune for the UK, now What we got to do (I know Radio 2 played this, Just after 11am once and Radio 1 Just after 1415), we need the spins from all major UK Radio Stations and need Frequently Spins/airplay all the time, that what has been missed over the decades, it not the songs, it just how it been treated to the world before the show, to showcase and radio is so powerful, Hopefully from this point each year we need to get on board many weeks to months before the show, so it gets in the charts, on radio, played, taged and than gets people singing anywhere!