BBC Newsbeat
PA MediaAbout 200 million viewers, 37 countries taking part and cries of “Nul Points” on the horizon.
Eurovision fever has been ramping up with Remember Monday announced as the UK’s entry to the world’s largest live music event.
And with all three members of the group having a background in musical theatre, they know more than most about how to put on a show.
“Our performance is theatrical,” Holly-Anne Hull tells BBC Newsbeat, as Lauren Byrne adds: “We haven’t shied away from it”.
Despite the pressure of years of disappointing results for the UK, the trio, completed by Charlotte Steele, have been busy in rehearsals and say they’re “feeling good” about their chances in Basel, Switzerland.
With the exception of Sam Ryder’s second place in 2022, the UK’s been stuck in the bottom half of the leader board for a decade – even the star power of Olly Alexander couldn’t pull the country higher than 18th.
To break out of the rut needs a roll of the dice and Holly-Anne says “we were a real risk”.
Not least because they hadn’t even written their entry when they found out they’d be representing the country.
“That was really scary – finding out we got it and we were like: ‘But what do we sing?'”
Getty ImagesThe song they’ve gone for, What The Hell Just Happened?, crosses a few different genres, including country, pop and, of course, musical theatre.
It may be risky, but Remember Monday aren’t the only ones feeling confident it could break them into the top half of the leaderboard.
“I think all the evidence points towards a better result at Eurovision this year,” Euro Trip podcast host, Rob Lilley-Jones, tells Newsbeat.
With a country background, Remember Monday can bring something “a little bit different for the UK”, he says.
“No other country is doing anything like this at Eurovision this year.”
Lauren says the group’s love of country can be traced through to their passion for storytelling through music and they’ve already been making waves in the genre.
Last year they were recognised as best trio by the British Country Music Association and have toured the US as well as the UK, racking up hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify along the way.
Rather than a public vote, the entry was chosen by a team made up of UK record labels, publishers, songwriters, BBC Music and BBC Introducing.
They worked closely with Sam Ryder’s manager, David May, in the hope he could find another contender for the top spot.
Since Remember Monday were unveiled as the UK entry, reaction has been largely positive on social media, but after a difficult few years in the competition there is some scepticism too.
Lauren, Holly-Anne and Charlotte found out in December they’d be heading to the 69th Eurovision competition in Switzerland.
“Andrew [Cartmell, the BBC’s head of delegation for the UK] was like: ‘So first things first girls, what are you doing in May next year?’,” Lauren says of the day they found out.
Charlotte received the news while visiting her grandad in hospital while Lauren was parked up at a service station.
“We just go dead silent and just release so many tears,” Holly-Anne says.
“We were just sobbing. It’s so surreal.”
‘It’s our version of shopping’
Like former entrants Sam Ryder and Mae Muller, they credit TikTok with getting their break.
They’ve got more than half a million followers on the app with a combined 11.3 million likes across their videos.
“It really has changed our lives – without sounding too dramatic,” Charlotte says.
“We started posting in lockdown and when we came out we put on a gig, our first one in a long time, and it sold out in like 24 hours.”
They thought it was their families who “spent a lot of money on tickets”.
“We walked out on stage and we didn’t recognise anyone – it was all new faces.
“It was that gig that spurred us on to do this full-time.”
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It’s only been about 18 months since they decided to take the plunge and focus fully on the band but they go back much further.
First meeting at school in Hampshire, the trio used to skip classes to practise instead.
“We have been singing for years and years for fun because we adore singing with each other,” says Holly-Anne.
“It’s our version of shopping or getting our nails done.”
They hope that legacy of friendship will be the secret to going the distance in this year’s competition.
“We have each other, we are best mates, we’re each other’s therapists.”
Remember Monday also marks the first time since a girl group has represented the UK in more than 25 years and podcast host Rob thinks this might give them an edge too.
“It’s going to be really exciting to follow their journey all the way through to Switzerland.
“I don’t know if Remember Monday are going to win Eurovision, there are so many different things there at play – but I think we’ve got a good chance,” he says.
