Whilst the 71st Eurovision Song Contest is still over a month away, it has already seen its fair share of drama. The EBU (overseeing broadcaster for the contest) voted on improved rules and regulations last December; allowing Israel to remain in the competition and triggering the withdrawal of five countries.
Since 2024, Israel's participation has sparked high controversy due to its war on Gaza. The build up to the 2024 edition saw protests and calls for boycott in the host nation of Sweden and a year later, 2024 winner Nemo returned their trophy due to the "clear conflict" of the country's participation and Eurovision's values.
Despite this, Eurovision remains scheduled, with 35 countries competing in Vienna after JJ's win last year with 'Wasted Love'. The UK have chosen LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER with his song 'Eins, Zwei, Drei'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XR2RvfZ-68
Firstly to note, the title is in German; not English, marking the first UK Eurovision song submission with a title in a foreign language. With 'Eins, Zwei, Drei' easily translating to 'One, Two, Three', that's all the German you need to know — don't worry, as the rest of the song is in English. The UK appears to be gunning for the televote, or public vote, this year, after its two year streak of receiving 'nil points' from audience voters.
Upon first listen of the song, it immediately introduces a deep synth-beat which feels refreshing considering recent UK entries tendency to stick to a radio-friendly-pop style. The music video depicts Sam Battle, the name behind LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER, in an office setting singing of feeling sick of his mundane 9 to 5 job and wanting a change. Dipping a digestive biscuit in a mug of baked beans, he continues to complain until suddenly proclaiming that the only way to make himself feel better is to count in German; an unusual coping mechanism but one that seems to work for him.
Battle rips off his business attire in typical Eurovision-costume-change fashion to reveal a striking red jumpsuit. Coincidentally, he is not the first contestant to simultaneously represent the UK, don a jumpsuit, and also be named Sam, with Sam Ryder finishing in second place in 2022. Maybe the stars will align for the UK once again...
During the chorus, even the set comes alive to reveal a huge modular synth, of his own creation, that Battle plays. Nicknamed 'Kosmo', the instrument features in the majority of his performances as well as many of his YouTube videos. Battle is no stranger to the spotlight having previously fronted the band 'Zibra', but is more widely recognised now for his YouTube channel, boasting over 700,000 subscribers, where he regularly builds and shows off homemade mechanical contraptions alongside his music career content. His most popular video features him playing an organ made out of Furbies.
But will the Furby organ make an appearance in Vienna? Hopefully! If not, the staging is sure to be a treat for the eyes with the UK Fredrik Rydman as their stage director for this year's competition. Rydman was the creative behind the staging for Switzerland's winning song two years ago, as well as Finland's televote magnet 'Cha cha cha' three years ago in Liverpool.
The second verse is full of even more delightfully British references, with Battle seen fixing up a bright orange Mini (his actual car) to make it fly, a fry-up, jam roly-poly with custard, and he even throws some shade towards Brexit: 'And all my pounds they feel counterfeit, I need some euros to counter it'. The second chorus delivers more of the same wonderfully weird rhymes; he even manages to rhyme 'pepperoni', 'okey-dokey', and 'you can owe me' with 'pony', which in this context serves as Cockney rhyming slang for an amount of £25. With the camera cutting from Battle on the synth to then in his flying car, the energy is electrified.
The bridge of the song features repetition of the title in a clever way as to encourage audience participation, a sonic choice that is sure to translate well onstage, and during the final chorus he includes the Eurovision classic: a key change. The set is explosive, with the camera cutting to various frames of Battle in rapid succession with his synth, in his car, and jumping on a desk. The video finishes with Battle flying away in his Mini over the White cliffs of Dover releasing red, white, and blue smoke trails to mirror a Union Jack.
Whilst the track is filled with plenty of amusing niche British cultural references, it is important to not disregard its lyrical content because of its ingenuity. The chorus in particular, when Battle confesses to wanting something to contrast the blandness of his life and realising he needs to let go constraints to fully be free is symbolised at the end of the video where he flies away from his troubles, presumably to Germany. Finally, the lyrics 'Eins, Zwei, Drei' are sure to get the audience, of predominantly German speakers, roaring in Vienna.
Will this be the year the UK finally gets out of its televote slump? I certainly hope so. This year's entry represents something left-field; a much needed change from what is usually sent, and could be the perfect opportunity to diversify our entries for years to come. Battle, for sure, has embraced this opportunity with open arms and a positive attitude; ready for whatever result he gets on the night.
Let's hope for a zwölf punkte, or at least eins punkte, because surely it can't be three nil points in a row, right?
Eurovision 2026 is in May with semi-final one and two being held on 12 and 14 May respectively, and the final on 16 May.
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