âWeâre a real riskâ: UK Eurovision stars promise not to shy away

About 200 million viewers, 37 countries taking part and cries of âNul Pointsâ on the horizon.
Eurovision fever has been ramping up with Remember Monday announced as the UKâs entry to the worldâs 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.
âOur performance is theatrical,â Holly-Anne Hull tells BBC Newsbeat, as Lauren Byrne adds: âWe havenât shied away from itâ.
Despite the pressure of years of disappointing results for the UK, the trio, completed by Charlotte Steele, have been busy in rehearsals and say theyâre âfeeling goodâ about their chances in Basel, Switzerland.
With the exception of Sam Ryderâs second place in 2022, the UKâs been stuck in the bottom half of the leader board for a decade â even the star power of Olly Alexander couldnât pull the country higher than 18th.
To break out of the rut needs a roll of the dice and Holly-Anne says âwe were a real riskâ.
Not least because they hadnât even written their entry when they found out theyâd be representing the country.
âThat was really scary â finding out we got it and we were like: âBut what do we sing?'â

The song theyâve 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 arenât the only ones feeling confident it could break them into the top half of the leaderboard.
âI think all the evidence points towards a better result at Eurovision this year,â Euro Trip podcast host, Rob Lilley-Jones, tells Newsbeat.
With a country background, Remember Monday can bring something âa little bit different for the UKâ, he says.
âNo other country is doing anything like this at Eurovision this year.â
Lauren says the groupâs love of country can be traced through to their passion for storytelling through music and theyâve 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 Ryderâs 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 theyâd be heading to the 69th Eurovision competition in Switzerland.
âAndrew [Cartmell, the BBCâs head of delegation for the UK] was like: âSo first things first girls, what are you doing in May next year?â,â 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.
âWe just go dead silent and just release so many tears,â Holly-Anne says.
âWe were just sobbing. Itâs so surreal.â
âItâs our version of shoppingâ
Like former entrants Sam Ryder and Mae Muller, they credit TikTok with getting their break.
Theyâve got more than half a million followers on the app with a combined 11.3 million likes across their videos.
âIt really has changed our lives â without sounding too dramatic,â Charlotte says.
âWe 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.â
They thought it was their families who âspent a lot of money on ticketsâ.
âWe walked out on stage and we didnât recognise anyone â it was all new faces.
âIt was that gig that spurred us on to do this full-time.â
Itâs 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.
âWe have been singing for years and years for fun because we adore singing with each other,â says Holly-Anne.
âItâs our version of shopping or getting our nails done.â
They hope that legacy of friendship will be the secret to going the distance in this yearâs competition.
âWe have each other, we are best mates, weâre each otherâs therapists.â
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.
âItâs going to be really exciting to follow their journey all the way through to Switzerland.
âI donât know if Remember Monday are going to win Eurovision, there are so many different things there at play â but I think weâve got a good chance,â he says.
