Katrina and the Waves singer Katrina Leskanich has praised the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest UK entry Sam Ryder but revealed why she doesn’t think he’ll win this year. The 62-year-old joined Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary on Friday's This Morning to reminisce about her time in the annual song competition and talk about the upcoming final on Saturday.
Katrina and the Waves, perhaps best known for their hit track 'Walking on Sunshine', were the last UK winners of Eurovision 25 years ago when they performed 'Love Shine A Light'. Katrina recalled how winning the show, changed her life "forever".
When asked about this year's UK entry, the American singer said there was a lot of "love" for Sam Ryder. "Guess what people are feeling the love for Sam," She said: "Do you know why because he looks like a Viking! He does he's got that Viking vibe". Alison asked: "Do you think he could win then this year?".
"No, he can’t win," Katrina replied: "No, he won’t win. The Ukraine is going to win. You say it is political, it is political – but it can be a heartfelt political vote. We need to give it to the Ukraine, come on". Adding of Sam: "I mean the song sounds great, he looks fabulous. What more do you need?".
There's been a wave of support for the UK's entry Sam, a TikTok star who found fame singing popular song covers on the social media platform, and he's currently ranking second in the booking's favourite to win, with Ukraine in top spot. He will be the 22nd act to go on stage on Saturday, May 14 live from Turin, Italy, out of 25 acts.
Katrina explained on ITV's This Morning that they never expected to clinch the title in 1997, because everyone kept telling them they wouldn't. "It was such a hoot," Katrina said of the experience adding: "Everybody kept saying you're never going to win it. So we didn't feel there was any pressure. We went back to the green room and the champagne was a flow and we thought let's just enjoy it!".
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV and ITV Hub. The Eurovision Song Contest airs on BBC One from 8pm on Saturday, May 14.
