United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005


The United Kingdom was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 by "Touch My Fire" performed by Javine. The song was written by Javine, who also composed it with John Themis.
Javine Hylton was born on 27 December 1981 and as a youngster enjoyed listening to her mother's collection of soul and reggae albums. At the age of 10, she was offered an arts scholarship. Modelling and appearances in pop videos followed before winning the coveted role of Nala in the West End production of Disney's The Lion King at the age of 19. The role was incidentally later played by the British 2009 entrant Jade Ewen. In 2002 Hylton took part in the ITV show ', but missed out on a place in the winning band, Girls Aloud. She later established herself as a solo UK R&B singer before taking part in '.

Before Eurovision

''Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up''

Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. Six acts competed in a televised show on 5 March 2005 held at the BBC Television Centre in London and hosted by Terry Wogan and Natasha Kaplinsky. The winner was selected entirely through a public vote.

Competing entries

The BBC collaborated with Sony Music UK in order to select six finalists to compete in the national final. An additional five entries were provided to the BBC for consideration by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors who ran a songwriting competition amongst its members. The five competing songs were announced on 1 March 2005. Among the competing artists, Gina G represented the United Kingdom in 1996, coming eighth with "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit".

Final

Five acts compete in the televised final on 5 March 2005. A public vote consisting of regional televoting, online voting and SMS voting selected the winner, "Touch My Fire" performed by Javine. Each region awarded 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 points to their top five songs. An additional set of votes were the results of the online vote, which had a weighting equal to the votes of a single region. Celebrities delivered these results in a deliberate echo of the Eurovision Song Contest itself. The SMS vote was awarded based on the percentage of votes each song achieved. For example, if a song gained 10% of the SMS vote, then that entry would be awarded 10 points.
A panel of experts provided feedback regarding the songs during the show. The panel consisted of Bruno Tonioli, Jonathan Ross, Natalie Cassidy and Paddy O'Connell.
DrawArtistSongComposerTelevoteInternetSMSTotalPlace
1Javine"Touch My Fire"Javine Hylton, John Themis806301161
2Tricolore"Brand New Day"Jon Cohen, Jem Sharples, Stuart Pendred, Scott Ciscon36418584
3Gina G"Flashback"Gina G, Zuriani, Richard Adlam1424205
4Andy Scott-Lee"Guardian Angel"Lee Ryan, Rob Persaud34819613
5Katie Price"Not Just Anybody"Misfits 6012291012

At Eurovision

At the final of the Contest, the song received 18 points and finished in 22nd place. The spokesperson who revealed the United Kingdom's votes for other countries was Cheryl Baker, part of Bucks Fizz which won the 1981 Contest for the United Kingdom.

Points awarded by the United Kingdom

Semi final

Final

Points awarded to the United Kingdom