Olly Alexander “truly grateful” for Eurovision support, calls getting zero points “iconic”
Olly Alexander has expressed his gratitude after competing in Eurovision 2024, saying that receiving zero public points was “iconic”.
The Years & Years frontman represented the UK with his song ‘Dizzy’ at this year’s competition, which took place in Malmö, Sweden. He finished 18th out of 25 countries – earning 46 points from the jury, but none from the voting public.
Nemo clinched victory for Switzerland at Eurovision 2024 with their track ‘The Code’. It marked the nation’s first win since 1988, as well as the first-ever non-binary winner of Eurovision.
Writing on Instagram last night (May 14), Alexander congratulated the “amazingly talented and the sweetest, kindest person” Nemo on their win while reflecting on his own Eurovision journey.
“Honestly I don’t know where to even begin with this whole experience, I’m going to be processing things for a long time!” he wrote.
“For now I just want to say I am so proud of the performance and my team, everybody absolutely smashed it and gave it their all to bring the vision to life!! I met so many talented wonderful people on and off the stage and I’m really thankful we were able to support each other throughout.”
Alexander added: “Though we may have received NIL Points from the voting public – which I shall be claiming as iconic! – I’ve also seen a lot of love and I’m truly grateful, thank you.”
You can see the post below.
Alexander’s message comes after his dad said he was “surprised” that the singer earned zero points from the public. However, David Thornton explained that competing in the contest had been a “fantastic learning experience” for his son.
“I enjoyed every minute of it,” he continued. “To me it’s a real surprise the public didn’t sort of connect with that song, though the juries gave it a really good score.”
Thornton added: “He’s had a wonderful time out there. It is just one more step in wherever he’s going to go next.”
In the semi-final, some fans suggested that Alexander’s vocals had been “weak” and “off-key” after his mic pack fell off mid-performance.
During an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine, Alexander said: “I had a slight wardrobe malfunction – my mic pack fell off – and had to improvise but that’s fine. It’s live TV, it happens.”
Earlier this month, the singer broke down in tears during an interview when addressing the controversies relating to Israel’s participation in this year’s Eurovision.
Alexander said he supported “a ceasefire, returning the hostages, the safety and security of all people in Gaza. All the Palestinians and the people in Israel” – whether or not he participated in Eurovision “isn’t going to make a difference to those things, so that’s why I’m still doing it”.
“I believe it’s good to come together with music,” he explained. “I’m still hoping to enjoy some aspects of it.”
Israel’s controversial Eurovision entrant Eden Golan was booed during her live performance. Her song ‘Hurricane’ earned 323 points from the voting public (the second most in the competition), and 52 from the jury.
Eurovision ratings plunged this year amid boycott calls and several controversies, it has been reported.
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Tom Skinner
NME
