Today the eyes of music lovers around the world would have been on Rotterdam, host city for the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. But with the coronavirus pandemic causing devastation all around the world, organisers were left with no choice but to cancel the event for the first time in the history of the competition.
The lack of a proper contest this year has afforded fans the chance to look back at the best moments from Eurovisions past, and with that in mind, SM Entertainment is speaking to some of the most memorable performers from the last few years.
Here we chat to Ryan O'Shaughnessy, who represented Ireland in the 2018 contest with 'Together', a beautiful love song that also made Eurovision history by featuring the first same-sex couple in a performance.
Hi Ryan! You've just come back to Ireland from Los Angeles - how was the journey?
"Well, my VISA was up and I got a letter from the US government saying 'I hope you enjoyed your stay but you have to leave'. Unfortunately I had to book a flight home and come back to Ireland. I recorded a vlog for my YouTube channel about the whole journey. The first flight I took from LA to Chicago was packed, I wasn't really expecting that. My anxiety levels were through the roof. And then at the end of the flight everyone just stood up as if nothing was happening and there was no pandemic. There was no protocol, so I stayed in my seat for as long as I could until there was space to get out safely. It was quite nerve-wracking. I had to stay in a hotel as well - but fair play to the hotel, everything was clean and completely sanitised. I've been back a couple of weeks now and I'm not getting any symptoms so I think I might have dodged it."
How are you finding the lockdown in general? Are you feeling more creative?
"Absolutely, I feel a lot more creative and have taken a lot more time for myself. Cooking, I'm doing a lot of exercise, I'm actually meditating a lot more than I would normally. It's definitely having a positive effect on me with my mental health and my physical wellbeing. On the creative side of things I have been doing a lot more and focusing on my projects. I've organised a virtual writing camp with people all over the world, and the reaction's been brilliant."
Looking back at your time on Eurovision in Lisbon and specifically when it finished, did you get a case of post-Eurovision blues?
"100%. It was such a hectic project. I was creative director, performer, songwriter, so I was really heavily involved in the whole process, so at the end of it it was kind of like 'it's over now'. Everyone left. I stayed in Lisbon for a couple of extra days with my girlfriend and my two good buddies who were there, but I did have this kind of comedown and a little bit of an anti-climax. That happened over the course of about a month. The way I dealt with it probably wasn't healthy - I went out and had a few drinks and partied. After about a month I had to check in with myself and say 'right, that project is over and we've got to move on to the next thing'. But there's no real aftercare - no-one can really prepare you for it. I think there should be something there to help people."
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Your performance with the two male dancers was so poignant and well-executed. How did the idea for that come about?
"I was actually on tour in the States when the gig came up to go to Eurovision. The song was written the year previous and it was actually written for a different artist as well, so the song was chosen and I was asked to sing it - but I basically said to the powers that be that I'd do it as long as I had a little bit of control in how the whole project is portrayed. I'd seen Irish entries in the past and for me it was not something I wanted to get involved in if I was going to be coming out of an exploding cake or something blase and extravagant.
"The idea kind of came up one night when I was talking to some friends about having two dancers but having two males. It kind of represents what Eurovision is all about - it's all about togetherness and being who you want to be. So that was the main drive and focus for the project. We had an amazing choreographer, Ciaran Connolly, who's done all of the choreography for the Spice Girls' tours, then when I got the two dancers Alan and Kevin involved it all clicked. I wanted a classic vibe of the piano and guitar, then mixing in with the dancing on stage. I wanted it to be tasteful, I didn't want it to be extravagant.
"It was a super enjoyable project and nice to be given the free reign to portray something a little bit different. Ireland was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage through a public vote, so that was a nice representation of what we're about as a country."
With a couple of years distance on Eurovision now, how do you look back at the whole experience?
"It was a whirlwind, because there were a lot of different aspects to it and I got to meet so many different people from all over the world. It was a really super positive experience. I can't believe it's two years ago! The team I had that year were incredible... it lives with everybody as this fond moment and we're all still involved with each other."
How do you feel about this year's contest being cancelled?
"There's nothing we can do about this right now and as I said, I'm feeling more creative and others are too, so there's definitely a ton of positives coming from this. My heart does go out to all the Eurovision fans who put their salary towards getting to Eurovision for the few weeks it's on. They really invest themselves, their time and their money into that couple of weeks at that time of year. They live for it. But hopefully they can see that it's an important thing for everyone to just stay away from each other for now. I've been on the phone with some friends here in Ireland who have loved ones who are dying from this virus. So calling off Eurovision this year is just a necessity."
Obviously things are still all up in the air at the moment but what's coming up next for you?
"I have a single coming out on May 29 called 'Lucky One'. I've cleaned up my YouTube channel and have been putting out a lot of videos, but my main focus now is the single that I think will resonate with people at this time."
Follow Ryan on Twitter @Ryan_Acoustic
Neil Wilkes
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