Programme Information

Your country needs you, Jade

Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Saturday 16 May on BBC ONE

• www.bbc.co.uk/eurovision
• Programme copy (Eurovision Song Contest 2009)
• Programme copy (Eurovision – Jade's Story)

Jade Ewen's country needs her and she's more than ready for the challenge – to turn the UK's Eurovision fortunes around. With a song penned by Andrew Lloyd Webber and US Grammy award-winning songwriter Diane Warren, she's hoping to sing her way to Eurovision victory in Moscow this week with It's My Time.

And, as the 21-year-old tells Programme Information's Sarah Ward, she isn't going to let the UK's previous Eurovision history put her off.

"That's always in the back of your mind, but this year definitely feels like a year of change – especially with Andrew's involvement," says Jade. "And even if we don't win, I feel like we will do a lot better than we have done recently."

Earlier this year, Andrew agreed to compose the UK's Eurovision entry and embarked on a nationwide search to find a singer to perform his song at the Contest in May.

Jade, whose mother is partially blind and deaf and whose father is blind, grew up in East London, with her younger sister, Shereen, and brother, Kiel, and won the Your Country Needs You public vote – ahead of sibling act The Twins and Welshman Mark Evans. She's hardly had time to catch her breath since.

"I woke up the other day," laughs Jade, who had previously successfully auditioned for the role of Nala in Disney's The Lion King, in London's West End, "and couldn't believe that this is my life now – it's a really weird feeling. I love it and am so happy, but sometimes I have to pinch myself because I'm just so caught up with everything. And it's only when I sit down and have time to think about it that it really starts to sink in."

One would think that competing to represent your country at Eurovision was pressure enough, let alone performing in front of Andrew Lloyd Webber every week, too, but Jade took it all in her stride.

"To begin with it was more nerve-wracking and definitely challenging, because Andrew is so good at what he does," explains Jade, who was once a member of girl band Trinity Stone. "But he was so supportive, so encouraging and so involved – not only in the shows, but throughout the rehearsal stages, too – and, by the end of it, it felt like a comfort to see him on stage."

Jade is thrilled to be representing the UK and feels her experience on Your Country Needs You has been a good training ground.

"It was like a mini version of what Eurovision is going to be like," she says, "and it was definitely helpful."

Waiting for the final results, however, seemed like a lifetime for Jade, even though it was only a matter of seconds.

"My stomach was doing somersaults and I remember feeling like I couldn't stop shaking," says Jade. "It was completely out of my control at that stage and I just had to stand there and wait to hear what the verdict was going to be. I wanted to tell Graham [Norton] to hurry up!"

This year sees Graham Norton taking over the reins as the UK's commentator, following in veteran broadcaster Terry Wogan's footsteps – who first commentated on the Contest in 1971.

"Graham is so funny," laughs Jade. "He is such a lovely guy and I think it's going to be fun – he's going to be great."

Eurovision will be the biggest audience Jade has performed in front of – something even the best of us would find daunting.

"I've never performed to that many people before and it's almost so big that you can't imagine it. The audience I'll be able to see on the night will be about 15,000, but then there will be about 100 million viewers, too, which is just mind-blowing!"

"I'm going to try in those three minutes to forget everything and just sing the song and worry about it afterwards, because if you start panicking about those things you get distracted from what you're actually meant to be doing."

Jade really relates to the lyrics to It's My Time, so does she think that makes it easier to inject more passion into her singing when the words have more meaning to her?

"Any time you're singing a song, you're telling a story," she says. "So it definitely helps if you can relate to what you're singing because then it becomes believable to the audience. I really enjoy singing the song because I personally think back to my own experiences and my journey and what's happened."

"I'm hoping that Eurovision will be my time to show everyone what I can do. I was completely overwhelmed and excited when I won Your Country Needs You and I'm still running on adrenalin!"

In the run up to the Contest, Jade has been on a promotional tour of Europe.

"It's been quite nice to see the other countries' responses and have their feedback," she says. "You don't expect to be so well-received.

"I'm quite nervous, though, because when I first won I felt like I had months to prepare before Eurovision, but the big day is dawning and there's hardly any time left!"

Jade's whistle-stop tour of Europe also gave her the chance to sneak a peek at some of the other Eurovision entries.

"I've heard a few, and I think they're good," she says. "I don't think it's going to be an easy year. They're very strong contenders.

"It's all so completely different and it will be purely down to the public's taste at the end of the day."

Jade, however, has plenty of support from family and friends to boost her confidence.

"I think friends and family will always tell you you're amazing, because they have to!" laughs Jade. "But there has been a really good response and everyone is really excited.

"I've shot the video for the song, too, and it looks incredible. It was shot in England and part of it was shot in a stately home in Hertfordshire. I'm really happy with it."

An avid Eurovision fan, Jade cites Gina G's Ooh Aah ... Just A Little Bit as the UK entry she loved most, while Céline Dion is another Eurovision favourite.

"Céline Dion has gone on to achieve phenomenal success since winning Eurovision," says Jade. "I think she's a huge inspiration and, hopefully, someone I can aspire to be like."

With one of the country's most successful composers having written her Eurovision song, it seems as if nothing can go wrong in Moscow. The nation will be holding its breath and hoping that it's not only Jade's Time that has come, but also the UK's, as it bids for Eurovision glory once again.