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Ireland: Brooke elevates the advice to focus on yourself

08 May 2022 at 12:25 CEST
Ireland's Brooke - WIDE EBU / Corinne Cumming
Representing Ireland at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest is Brooke, and she brings with her to Turin one of the Contest’s most upbeat party-starters – ‘That’s Rich’.
Brooke performing That’s Rich representing Ireland in the second rehearsal EBU / Corinne Cumming

Derry girl Brooke is excited to be here. And it’s not just the opportunity to represent her country that is giving her thrills aplenty; it’s the fact that her staging has been scaled up by quite a few levels since she first got to perform That’s Rich at the Irish national final back in February. She’s had plenty of practice when it comes to performing the song live since then, as she took full advantage of all the invites that came her way during Eurovision pre-party season.

If I hadn’t gone on the Eurovision pre-party tour, then I wouldn’t be as fit for this now. The jump from The Late Late Show to this is insane. But at least I got to use an LED screen on the stage at the Tel Aviv pre-party. So my confidence just grew and grew the whole way through, and if I hadn’t had that experience, I don’t know what I’d be doing right now – I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now, I’d be having a panic attack backstage! But I love it. Seeing the fireworks and the pyro – it’s a dream come true. I’m feeling really grateful and really happy.

📺 Watch: Brooke – That’s Rich (Official Music Video)

The grand-scale glow up of her performance is something that Brooke is obviously looking forward to bringing to us live. And she has high hopes for how the TV audience might respond to it, when we finally get to see it.

I feel like we’ve elevated it to a point now where it’s going to be really really fun for everybody to watch. It’s three minutes where you can just detach, laugh at the lyrics – cos they are funny, the lyrics – and just really enjoy it, because it’s going to be a fun performance. And hopefully that translates well to the people in the arena and to the audience watching at home, too. I think we’ve done a really good job, and hopefully it’s lived up to people’s expectations.

Brooke from Ireland getting ready for first rehearsal EBU / Andres Putting

It sounds like the performance itself is going to be enough to engage the masses, but the title of her song, That’s Rich, might not be a phrase which is all too familiar to some viewers not as well versed in the English language. Brooke is on hand to clear up any confusion, however!

‘That’s Rich’ doesn’t mean anything about money. It’s an Irish saying – it means hypocrite. And I think it’s a really good line. I wrote it in my notes on my phone. It’s the first song I ever wrote and I didn’t want it to be too personal. It’s just a song where you’re saying you don’t wanna waste your time on anybody, just focus on yourself. You have to just really really appreciate being alone and in touch with yourself, cos that’s when you’re gonna be the most happy.

An artist’s road to the Eurovision Song Contest is an intense one, with a lot of preparation involved, and a lot of scrutiny to navigate – before they’ve even reached the host city. As a result, a performer can end up learning a lot about themselves along the way. Brooke’s journey to represent Ireland on the international stage started a long time ago; what are the three things she would say has impressed her the most on this particular path?

I’ve been impressed with myself that I got here. Out of everyone that could have represented my country, it was me. I’m impressed by my team, too; they are fantastic. My dancers have become my friends and I get so much comfort from them. And I’m impressed by my family and friends and how excited they are for me. They gave me such a great send off, it was a fantastic day.

📺 Watch: Brooke – Enough (Eurovision House Party)

That warm Derry send-off has set Brooke on her way to competing in the Second Semi Final of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. You can tune in to watch her perform That’s Rich for Ireland on Thursday 12 May.

📺 Watch: All 40 Songs Official Recap

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