The UK’s entry for the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest will be chosen in collaboration with a global music management company, the BBC has confirmed.
The broadcaster will work with TaP Music – which counts Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey and Ellie Goulding among its clients – to select a song and act to represent the UK.
The 66th edition of the contest is due to be held in Turin, Italy, in May and TaP has called on the music industry to put forward “experienced live performers” for consideration.
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— BBC Eurovision🇬🇧 (@bbceurovision) May 22, 2021
The chosen song will be released commercially through a partnership with a major label.
In 2019, the BBC scrapped the public vote used to select the UK’s entry, instead opting to give a record label the final say.
The 2021 competition was held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the show was cancelled in 2020, and won by Italy’s rock band Maneskin with their song Zitti E Buoni.
The UK was handed a crushing defeat as its entry, singer James Newman, was the only one to score zero points from both the jury and public vote, coming bottom on the leaderboard.
Despite the disappointing result, Newman, the brother of singer John Newman, wrote in an Instagram post: “I want to focus on the positives of this amazing experience.
“I stood on a stage and sang to hundreds of millions of people with a song that I wrote and love.”
"ROCK N ROLL NEVER DIES!" CONGRATS ITALY! The winners of #Eurovision 2021 🎉 pic.twitter.com/RneZ1NpcRt
— BBC Eurovision🇬🇧 (@bbceurovision) May 22, 2021
Speaking soon after the event, former international trade secretary Liz Truss dismissed the idea the UK’s snub was to do with Brexit and said there was a “fundamental problem” with the way UK acts were chosen for the contest.
She told LBC’s Nick Ferrari: “I think we need to have more competition to get the right entrant, I think they need to be more tested with the public.”
Co-founder of TaP Music Ben Mawson said: “We’re really excited to be teaming up with the BBC for this event and will use Eurovision to authentically reflect and celebrate the rich, diverse and world-class musical talent the UK is globally renowned for.
“For many years, we’ve witnessed the United Kingdom not doing as well as we would’ve liked, when pop music is something we usually excel at. The simple fact is it’s time to show what we can do and the wonderful musical talent we have – ultimately we can’t blame politics.”
Lipa said: “I’m a proud Brit whilst also being a proud Kosovan… I’m happy to lend my manager to the cause… I’ll be cheering them on.”
Kate Phillips, controller of entertainment commissioning for the BBC, said: “In the UK our love for Eurovision is as big as ever and we have grand ambitions for the 2022 Contest, so we’re really excited to announce this collaboration that will enable us to tap into some great music talent.”
The managing director for BBC Studios, Suzy Lamb, added: “BBC Studios are proud to once again be producing the coverage of the biggest music competition in world.
“We’re excited to be collaborating with TaP Music. Their expertise in managing world class artists and finding huge international hit records speaks for itself and we look forward to working with them on the UK act and song for the 2022 contest.”
The Eurovision Song Contest is due to take place in May 2022, with the Grand Final confirmed for May 14.