For most 25-year-olds, the idea of performing live in front of millions while carrying the hopes of the country on their shoulders would be a waking nightmare.
But Mae Muller, who will represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest final on Saturday, has a secret weapon: Rylan Clark.
“He’s been a real source of support for me, from the very beginning,” says Mae, who will be performing her self-penned track, I Wrote A Song.
“He’s always said, ‘no matter what happens, we’re in your corner, we’re backing you’.”
Eurovision host Rylan, 34, who has split from husband Dan Neal, wasted no time in taking Mae under his wing and whisking her away for a boozy night out in Liverpool on Sunday, where they danced to previous Eurovision acts at EuroClub to calm her nerves before the big night.
“I feel like I’m part of the Eurovision family more than ever now. That was like my rite of passage, I’m like, OK, it’s happening now,” says London-born Mae.
“Every time I see him, whether we’re in a crowded pub just having fun, he always asks me if I’m alright. And it’s in a way where he’s actually checking in, which is really nice.”
And Rylan will be by her side whatever the result on Saturday night.
“We’ve got to celebrate somehow, and I feel like Rylan is probably one of the best people to celebrate with, so I will definitely be out on the town afterwards,” she laughs.
Mae will be hoping to avoid ‘nul points’ at the very least.
“I feel positive, I think I’m in top 10 territory,” she says.
“That’s doable and I’d be very, very pleased. Obviously, top five is the creme de la creme. I really believe in the song and we’ve all worked really hard on the show. Let’s go! I’m going to say top 10. We’re manifesting it.”
Mae has been writing and performing her own music for six years, but says being picked as the UK’s entry has been the most intense time of her life.
As well it would be: the stakes are high after Sam Ryder last year came runner-up in the song contest with Space Man, pulling the country back from years of floundering at the bottom of the right-hand column of the points scoreboard.
Beaten by Ukraine ’s entry, rap group Kalush Orchestra - who returned to the frontline 48 hours after their win to defend their country from Russian aggression - Sam restored the UK’s hopes of winning Eurovision and has set Mae in good stead for 2023.
“Even before I was announced, Sam reached out and said, ‘Mae, I’ve just heard the news, congratulations!’ and was really obviously positive, as he always is,” she recalls.
“He sent me a voice note giving me some advice, and his main thing was ‘just enjoy it’. Sounds so simple but it’s so busy, it’s a whirlwind and you’re getting pulled in a few different directions, so it’s easy to let it pass you by. He said to just take each day as it comes and enjoy it, because it really is amazing.”
One person Mae is desperate to hear from is Harry Styles, since revealing her pre-show ritual is always to sip tea out of her Harry mug. “I’ve not heard from him yet - I’d be screaming from the rooftop if I had. But there’s time! You’ve still got a few days, Harry, if you want to wish me luck…”
Mae found herself in hot water last month when old tweets of hers from 2020 resurfaced. In one, she criticised then-prime minister Boris Johnson during his Covid battle, which read: “Taking up a bed in intensive care but you’re not on a ventilator and in ‘high spirits’? Nah mate.”
Another, discussing free school meals and nurses’ pay, read: “I hate this country.”
Mae, who insists both posts were taken out of context, says not even the furious backlash has put her off speaking her mind.
“I think it’s such a privilege, especially as a young woman, to be able to speak my mind and have an opinion,” she says defiantly. “It’s actually a real luxury to have that. I know a lot of people that follow me are younger, and a lot of young women follow me too. So I think it’s great for them to see that you can be outspoken and say what’s on your mind, and that’s okay.”
Ahead of her performance on Saturday, Mae has received a few top tips from some of our former Eurovision stars:
Sam Womack
Long before she was Ronnie Mitchell, ex-EastEnder Sam Womack was singing her heart out for Britain with 1991’s Eurovision entry, A Message To Your Heart.
She managed a respectable 10th place, but has only now learned a vital lesson: to celebrate it for what it was and be proud.
“I was a bit embarrassed of my performance, so I thought I didn’t really want to remind people I was part of it!,” she says of the past 32 years. “It was in Rome that year and we had no earpieces, so I was completely out of tune.
But Sam’s now changed her tune, and is embracing the full Eurovision experience by performing her track in a Liverpool club as part of this week’s celebrations.
“I’ve been asked every year since doing it to be involved,” adds Sam, 50. “But because of Ukraine, I thought it was a really important time - and I have family from Liverpool so it was a nice connection. Those lyrics are [still] burned in my mind.”
Sam, who’s a big fan of Sam Ryder’s “infectious joy”, did however warn that the pressure is huge on the night.
“When you get there, you realise how seriously most people take it,” she says. “There are huge teams around each entry. The scale of it is daunting, I was terrified - I was only 19, just a baby. It was a bit like those naked dreams, where you go out and you’re like, ‘Everyone’s looking at me but I don’t know what I’m doing!’.”
Bonnie Tyler
There was a total eclipse of the art in 2013 - as the music icon that is Bonnie Tyler was overshadowed by other countries’ novelty acts.
Bonnie, 71, somehow came just 19th with her track Believe In Me despite her legendary status - which just shows how unpredictable the night can be.
She says: “Some of the judges, they said to me: ‘We love you, Bonnie!’ But they still didn’t vote for me!”
But Bonnie thinks will be very different for Mae.
She tells us: “This year I think we are in with a great chance with Mae Muller, she’s written a great song and I wish her lots of luck”.
Sally Ann Triplett
West End star Sally Anne Triplett is one of just four UK singers to compete twice.
The 61-year-old came third in 1980 as part of group Prima Donna, with their song Love Enough For Two and two years later came seventh with new group Bardo.
She says: “It’s a great privilege to be part of Eurovision history - not just once but twice.
“But it is really nerve-wracking, so my advice to Mae is just to enjoy it, don’t think about what could be, just be in the moment. Don’t overthink!”
It might have been Prima Donna’s own fault they lost out to Johnny Logan at The Hague in 1980. She admits they were up partying with his band the night before.
“We all ended up singing around the piano with his band, and they were joking, ‘Let’s get Prima Donna drunk so they can’t sing’,” she laughs.
Aeone Watson
Aeone Watson came fourth under her stage name Vikki with her 1985 entry ‘Love Is....’
She was beaten by Norway, Germany and Israel during the contest in Gothenburg, Sweden. But the reactions of her fellow runners-up left her much amused.
Now an LA actress and singer, Aeone, 64, recalls: “Germany were odds-on favourite. As the votes were coming in, they looked more and more grumpy, so by the time Norway actually won and they came in second, they were not happy at all - so much so they were not seen at all at the after party and left very early the next morning.
“Hours later, I remember standing in line to board the plane behind one of the guys from the Israeli group. I decided to congratulate him on coming third, to which he responded sharply ‘There is only one winner - nothing else counts’! Clearly, that put me in my place!”
Their behaviour’s inspired her advice to Mae: “Try not to take things too seriously,” she says. “Enjoy the experience. Be yourself and don’t worry about it being a competition. Have as much fun as possible. You are fabulous! We are all proud of you.”
Nicki French
Nicki French represented the UK in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2000 with the catchy number ‘Don’t Play That Song Again’.
The 58-year-old from Carlisle had previously had a top five hit with a cover of Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart, but she came a respectable 16th in Eurovision
(and first in a Eurovision special of The Weakest Link).
She's now performing across the week, taking part in different events in Liverpool’s Eurovision Village - and she even has a Eurovision covers album available on energiserecords.com. [MUST KEEP]
She tells Mae: “Enjoy it, do your best and expect the unexpected. You never know what will happen at Eurovision. When I was in Stockholm, I suddenly heard someone in another dressing room strumming their guitar and singing our song. It was the German contestant Stefan Raab! They thought they were on their own! There is such a warm community. Everyone from everywhere wants everyone to do well.”
