Scott Mills has broken his silence on a chaotic Eurovision Song Contest for the BBC - but the presenter made no mention of UK act Olly Alexander.
The Years & Years star, 33, had a nightmare in Sweden on Saturday after receiving no votes from the public for his song Dizzy. Scott, 51, who was in Malmo to provide commentary for the annual music extravaganza returned to his BBC Radio 2 show today to give a round-up of a hectic week.
While Scott gushed over Switzerland's "faultless" performance from artist Nemo, he cautiously made no mention of Olly. Telling his listeners it had been "a long week" he played the winning track by Nemo, which he called "faultless".
At the start of the show, Scott said: "I'm back from Sweden via the BAFTAs, but I promise you that's as showbiz as it gets for a while... Last week was quite a week."
Scott Mills was raving about Eurovision star Nemo from Switzerland (AFP via Getty Images)Reflecting on Eurovision he continued: "In the final it all came down to Baby Lasagne, the Croatian entry and Nemo for Switzerland. They [Switzerland] smashed it." Raving about Nemo's track, The Code, he added: "It was such a good performance, faultless I would say - anything could have gone wrong with him jumping on and off the stage."
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Scott's comments come after the Eurovision Song Contest hit its climax on Saturday night, with the UK scoring a big fat zero from the public vote but managing to secure 46 points from the jury. Olly, famed for his stint in Years & Years, delivered a viral-worthy performance with his track 'Dizzy' at Malmo Arena in Sweden, representing the UK.
Despite his impressive vocals and dynamic dance moves, European viewers weren't swayed. The drama escalated when viewers pointed out possible sound issues during Olly's act, sparking a frenzy on Twitter and other social media platforms. Fans reported that something seemed amiss throughout his performance, which comes after previous criticism in the semi-finals.
Undeterred by earlier setbacks, Olly gave 'Dizzy' his all and received roaring applause from many supporters, with some saying he "smashed it". Yet, this praise was overshadowed by confusion over apparent audio mishaps, leading some to speculate they couldn't hear the backing track properly.
The saga of sound troubles continued as fans debated whether the microphone levels or the artist's mix was too low. Social media was abuzz with concern, as one viewer posted on X: "I think Olly (United Kingdom) mic failed again like it did in rehearsal." Another added: "Just me or was Olly's mic turned down what happened?"
Earlier in the week, Olly suffered a setback related to his mic as he struggled during a semi-final performance. Olly confessed to feeling "stressed and confused" during his performance on Tuesday night. Speaking to Scott Mills on BBC Radio 2 on Wednesday, just hours after his televised rendition of 'Dizzy', he vowed to bounce back.
The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, which took place on Tuesday, saw a mixed reaction to Olly's live performance in Sweden. Some viewers of the BBC criticised the Brit's seemingly lacklustre vocals during his rendition of 'Dizzy' - the song he is hoping will earn him some decent scores in Saturday's final.
Fans accused Olly of being "off-key" and "out of tune", although some defended the 33 year old, attributing his shaky performance to a mic pack that came loose and fell off during the act. In support of Olly, one Twitter (X) user wrote: "As a gym instructor I know how off putting that is," and added: "An amazing performance just got elevated even higher! "
On Lorraine on Wednesday morning, Olly revealed that a wardrobe malfunction was behind his dodgy vocals. The artist opened up to Lorraine Kelly on ITV, saying: "Last night was amazing. It was the first time performing in the arena and on TV. It was just... yeah, it was amazing." He later admitted: "I had a slight wardrobe malfunction - my mic pack fell off - and had to improvise but that's fine - it's live TV, it happens."
Later, when speaking to Scott Mills, Olly spoke about how the issue affected his performance. "It was very good to perform in the semi-finals as it's less pressure and don't have to worry about voting etc," he shared with Mills, mentioning the automatic qualification of the UK for the final.
Continuing his dialogue, he said: "You don't have to worry about voting but get to experience performing live in the arena with cameras. I did have a slight wardrobe malfunction so I was a bit confused and stressed." However, Mills reassured him: "It's good it happened now."
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The conversation then turned towards Olly's staging. Commenting on it, Mills stoked his enthusiasm by saying some Eurovision fans "are saying it's the best stage ever! " To which, Alexander expressed his excitement, saying: "It's the most rehearsed thing I've done. I love it. I'm so, so proud of this performance. It's very bold, unapologetic and, some may say, risque."
The Eurovision Song Contest faced major controversy ahead of the final on Saturday night, as they announced a ban on Palestinian flags and symbols at the event in Sweden amidst the ongoing dilemma between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which is currently in its seventh month.
Olly shared his deep emotions about the current global crises amidst his Eurovision preparations. He told The Times, "Obviously there are a lot of things I wish were different. And this is so much bigger than me and Eurovision, it really is. Obviously, I wish there wasn't a war or this insane humanitarian crisis."
Highlighting the grim situation in Gaza, where an estimated 35,000 people have died, with around 70% being women and children, the pop star added, "I wish for peace and I have found this experience, at times, extremely... I've just felt really sad and distressed. But I still believe it's a good thing when people come together for entertainment. That's why I wanted to do Eurovision."
In a candid chat with the Mirror, Olly revealed his obsessive preparation for the contest, saying, "I go to bed thinking of Eurovision, I dream about Eurovision, I wake up thinking about Eurovision. It's just constantly, constantly in my head. I feel like I've gone through everything that could possibly go wrong, every eventual possibility, it's happened in my head already in one way or another. So I don't know anymore. I'm just overwhelmed."
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