Following the cancellation of last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, all roads lead to Rotterdam this May for Eurovision 2021.
Dubliner Lesley Roy, singing Maps, will perform in this, the first semi-final, live from the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is set to be the 65th edition of the competition. The contest will be held in The Netherlands following the country’s victory in 2019 with Duncan Laurence’s Arcade. The Netherlands were due to host the 2020 contest before it was cancelled due to the pandemic. It will be the fifth time that the Netherlands has hosted the ESC.
Lesley Roy said: “I’m thrilled to see through this project and represent Ireland at Eurovision 2021 with Maps. I’m so happy with the song and so passionate about it and Eurovision. I’m working each day towards representing Ireland in whatever version of Eurovision goes ahead in May. It’s a true honour and I want to have the best time I possibly can on the stage for Ireland. This has been a year in the making and I’m thrilled to finally get it out there for everyone to hear. Maps was specifically written for Eurovision. It’s heartfelt, it’s uplifting, and I hope people love it.”
Michael Kealy, Head of the Ireland Delegation for Eurovision 2021, said:
“I’m really excited about the release of Lesley’s song, Maps, today. It was unfortunate that she didn’t get the opportunity to compete in Eurovision last year, but I’m delighted that we are back with a song we feel is even better. Lesley is absolutely focussed on getting to perform on stage in Rotterdam, and I believe that this song is going to do really well with Eurovision fans worldwide.”
Maps, an up-tempo and rousing number, was written and produced by Lesley, along with Eurovision producer Lukas Hallgren (She Got Me, 4th place ESC 2019), Philip Strand (producer/songwriter Normandie, Deepend), and Emelie Eriksson, (Stockholm based songwriter at Baggpipe Studios). The video for Maps, directed by Ais Brady, was shot against the stunning backdrop of the Wicklow mountains.
Ireland is scheduled to perform in the first semi-final at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday, May 18th, at the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena, with the final taking place on Saturday, May 22nd.
Contact: Jennifer O’Brien, Head of Press Ireland Delegation, Eurovision 2021: Jennifer.OBrien@rte.ie 087 4019161
Semi-final running orders
https://eurovision.tv/story/semi-final-running-orders
Health and safety protocol details for Eurovision 2021: https://eurovision.tv/mediacentre/release/EBU-covid-19-health-and-safety-protocol
About Lesley Roy:
Lesley Roy Singer/Songwriter from North County Dublin Ireland. Lesley got her first record/publishing deal at the young age of 14. From there she worked through her teens writing and recording and crafting her sound until coming to the attention of Jeff Fenster in Jive/Sony records. Lesley quickly signed with Jive Records and began a three-year journey
working on her debut album Unbeautiful. Lesley soon caught the attention of Max Martin, who had worked closely with Fenster and Jive on creating the Britney, Backstreet and Nsync notorious sound.
Lesley began working primarily with Max on creating a very specific pop/rock sound. Lesley not only wrote with Max but also worked closely with Dr.Luke, Diane Warren, Desmond Child, Katy Perry, Dave Hodges to name a few. Unbeautiful sold over 380,000 copies early in its release and had a top 40 single In the U.S with Unbeautiful.
After the release and tour of her own album Lesley transitioned into toplining for other recording artists . She lived between Nashville and Los Angeles writing for major US and international recording artists as well as film and TV. Adam Lambert, Medina. Miss Montreal, Deorro, Jana
Kramer to name a few.
Lesley has in recent years started performing as an artist again and has played Coachella main stage with DJ Deorro on a track he heard of hers “ Tell Me Lies” which he remixed and released on his album “Good Evening”.