Michael Rice (singer)

Michael Rice
Background information
Born (1997-10-25) 25 October 1997 (age 27)
Hartlepool, England[1]
GenresPop
Occupation
  • Singer
Years active2014–present

Michael Rice (born 25 October 1997) is a British pop singer. He represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel with the song "Bigger than Us", placing in last place at 26th.[2] Prior to this, he won the first series of BBC One's singing competition All Together Now in 2018, and also appeared in the eleventh series of The X Factor in 2014.[1] In 2024, Rice auditioned for the 22nd season of American Idol.[3]

Career

2014–2018: The X Factor and All Together Now

In 2014, Rice entered series 11 of The X Factor in the United Kingdom. He auditioned for the show with "I Look to You" by Whitney Houston. He was eliminated following the Bootcamp stage. In 2018, he entered the first series of BBC One's singing competition All Together Now; he went on to win the competition.

All Together Now performances and results
Show Song choice Score Result
Heat 1 "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival 100 1st
Final "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z 95 1st
"Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen 94 Winner

2019–present: Eurovision Song Contest and American Idol

Rice in Moscow (Crocus City Hall) in 2019

In January 2019, Rice was confirmed as one of six artists competing in Eurovision: You Decide, the British national selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. On 8 February 2019, he won Eurovision: You Decide with the song "Bigger than Us", written by Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander, and represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision final in Tel Aviv, Israel and came in last position with 11 points.

On the seventh ABC season (or the 22nd overall) of American Idol in 2024, Rice auditioned with the song "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson,[4] receiving 'yes' votes from all three judges: Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. This earned him a golden ticket, advancing him to Hollywood week.[3] He was not seen singing again during the Hollywood rounds however, and was eliminated during the final judgment alongside another British contestant competing by way of visa: former The X Factor series 15 runner-up, Scarlett Lee.

American Idol performances and results
Episode Song choice Artist Result
Audition "Because of You" Kelly Clarkson Advanced

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
Down.
[5] 		SCO
[6] 		SWE
Heat.
[7]
"Lady" 2017 — — — Non-album singles
"Bigger than Us" 2019 27 35 8
"Somebody" — — —
"Think of Me" 2020 — — —
"Breaking Free" — — —
"Falling for You"
(with HalfTraxx) 		2021 — — —
"Wasted Youth" — — —
"Did You Even Love Me" — — —
"Chasing Shadows" 2022 — — —
"Boy I Used to Know" 2023 — — —
"Because of You" 2024 — — —
"Turning Tables" — — —

As featured artist

Title Year Album
"I Won't Stumble Back"
(Maison & Dragen featuring Michael Rice) 		2016 Non-album single
"Bruised"
(Power Of Muzik featuring Michael Rice, Asher Knight, Luena Martinez,
Ben Ofoedu & Angels N Bandits) 		2018

References

  1. ^ a b "Saturday night entertainment show All Together Now to return to BBC One for second series". BBC Media Centre. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Eurovision 2019: UK's last-placed entry has score lowered". 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b Hordon, Daniel (19 March 2024). Foster, Gavin (ed.). "North East man headed for Hollywood after wowing judges on American Idol". Entertainment. The Northern Echo. Darlington, County Durham: Newsquest. ISSN 2043-0442. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024. After a rigorous audition process, Michael got to audition before judges…with his episode airing in the States on Sunday (March 17) night.
  4. ^ American Idol (15 March 2024). Michael Rice: Sings Kelly Clarkson's 'Because of You' For His Late Father - American Idol (2024) (Video clip). ABC/Disney. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart: 24 May 2019 – 30 May 2019". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 21". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
Preceded by
SuRie with "Storm"
 United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
2019 		Succeeded by