Bigger than Us (Michael Rice song)

"Bigger than Us"
Single by Michael Rice
Released8 March 2019
Recorded2018
Length2:58
LabelSpinnup
Songwriter(s)
Michael Rice singles chronology
"Bruised"
(2018) 		"Bigger than Us"
(2019) 		"Somebody"
(2019)
Music video
"Bigger than Us" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
English
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Finals performance
Final result
26th
Final points
11
Entry chronology
◄ "Storm" (2018)
"My Last Breath" (2020) ►

"Bigger than Us" is a song written by Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, Jonas Thander, and John Lundvik and performed by Michael Rice. He performed the song at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, and came in 26th place. The song was chosen on 8 February 2019 at BBC's national selection show Eurovision: You Decide.[1] The song was used as the theme music for the Pride of Britain Awards 2019 and 2020.

At Eurovision

Main article: United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

Eurovision: You Decide

The song was chosen at Eurovision: You Decide by the British public and three judges selected by the BBC. After receiving confirmation from the three judges, Michael won the final, beating Jordan Clarke with the song "Freaks" and Kerrie-Anne with the song "Sweet Lies".

The song was originally chosen for Melodifestivalen 2019 to be performed by Swedish singer-songwriter John Lundvik, however Lundvik decided on another song and entered "Bigger than Us" to Eurovision: You Decide as a songwriter.[2]

Lundvik won Melodifestivalen 2019 with his song "Too Late for Love", and competed against "Bigger than Us" in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.[3] Lundvik finished 5th.

In Tel Aviv

As the United Kingdom is a member of the "Big Five", the song automatically advanced to the grand final, which was held on 18 May 2019 at the Expo Tel Aviv in pavilion 2.

Grand Final

The song finished 26th with a total of 11 points in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 grand final in Tel Aviv, becoming the 4th act from the United Kingdom to finish last in the grand final.

Critical reception

Charlotte Runcie of The Daily Telegraph approved of the choice of song for the United Kingdom's Eurovision entry, praising Michael Rice's vocals and calling the track "a perfectly respectable Eurovision-friendly power ballad with a key change. Nothing special but, crucially, nothing embarrassing."[4]

Charts

Chart (2019) Peak
position
Scotland (OCC)[5] 35
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[6] 8
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[7] 27

References

  1. ^ "Eurovision 2019: Why Michael Rice believes he can break the UK's losing streak". BBC News. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  2. ^ "SVT tvingade John Lundvik att byta låt". Aftonbladet. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  3. ^ Eriksson, Hedvig (2019-03-09). "John Lundvik vann Melodifestivalen". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  4. ^ Runcie, Charlotte (8 February 2019). "Eurovision: You Decide, review - A fun, slightly shambolic show that finally picked the right song". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 21". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 May 2019.