Andrew Lloyd Webber And Diane Warren Team Up For The Sake Of Britain’s Hono(u)r
Last year was a new low for the U.K. in the prestigious Eurovision competition as Andy Abraham’s “Even If” (above) chalked up Britain’s second last-place finish in the competition’s decades-long history. Since the British do generally consider themselves an important part of European musical culture, something had be done to turn the UK’s fortunes around. It’s time to bring in the big guns.
Who would you enlist to write a song to perfectly catch the sound of European pop now? Who else but Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren?
Like Allan Quartermain hiring Tom Sawyer or James Bond calling in his CIA pals, Andrew Lloyd Webber has chosen an American songwriter to write the lyrics for the UK’s 2009 Eurovision entry.
Diane Warren, the songwriter who un-broke Toni Braxton’s heart and Blamed It On the Rain for Milli Vanilli – that is, er, the woman who penned those songs, will help Lloyd Webber in the UK’s bid for Eurovision glory.
“I hope that a song from Andrew Lloyd Webber and me will spell a change of fortune for the UK at Eurovision,” Warren said, possibly while draped in the stars and stripes and eating apple pie. “We will write the best song possible for the event and for the artist.”
Warren obviously knows how to write a hit. After all, she did write this gem for Bad English.
Still, it would seem that even if Lloyd Webber and Warren come up with an emotional ballad for the ages, they might be leaving their masterpiece in the hands of someone not quite qualified for the big stage. Since 1996, the Eurovision entrant has originated from a reality-show competition and while that format did produce the UK’s most recent winner, Katrina and the Waves’ “Love Shine A Light,” it would seem maybe handing the hopes of Britons over to someone whose most prominent musical achievement before was singing backup for Tom Jones on the Jools Holland program might lead to another placing in the bottom rungs. Where is our new Lulu, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, or even New Seekers? People like that Leona Lewis character, right? It’s time to throw some starpower into the proceedings—or at very least, bring back Scooch.
Lloyd Webber enlists US songwriter for Eurovision entry [Guardian]
