Mae Muller: UK Eurovision hopeful on nerves, the warm Liverpool welcome and her European competition
Mae Muller says she can’t wait to get on the Eurovision stage on Saturday night, where she will perform against 25 other countries in a bid to take home the coveted glass microphone.
The UK’s Eurovision hopeful was born in 1997 – the same year the UK last won the competition.
Speaking ahead of the grand final, she told Sky News: “Honestly, I thought I was excited before, but now I’m here, I’m even more excited and I feel like I’m just ready to go now. It’s been so much build-up and now I’m like, ‘It’s basically here’!”
Pic: AP
Jointly hosted by two countries – the UK and Ukraine – for the first time, the show, which is the most watched non-sporting event in the world, is being held in Liverpool, Merseyside.
Muller says: “The support has just been overwhelming. I feel like before I was announced, before the song was released, you can never quite guess how it’s going to go. So, just seeing people enjoying the song and just enjoying Eurovision – I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome.”
As for her Eurovision competitors, she admits it’s easy to forget it’s a competition with the plethora of pre-parties: “I’ve been fan-girling for the past few weeks, that’s all I’ve been doing.
“It’s a very supportive vibe, the energy is really, really positive and everyone’s just like, ‘Oh my God, I love your song!’ It’s just really nice, and I feel like that is what makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable, because everyone else is really supportive of each other.”
A Eurovision fan before being selected to represent her country, Muller admits: “It feels completely new to me – enjoying it from the outside perspective and then being actually in it – it’s like a completely different thing.”
She adds with a smile: “It’s been a journey for sure”.
I Wrote A Song Eurovision dress rehearsal. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett
Discovered on Instagram, she signed to a manager in 2017. Since then, it’s been a whirlwind, releasing two EPs, a debut album and touring with Little Mix.
But despite her rise to fame, she admits she’s still feeling the pressure of performing to hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.
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Muller explains: “Before this, before Eurovision, I actually thought, ‘Oh, I don’t think I get nervous anymore’. All my tour and all my shows – I didn’t really get that nervous feeling. I was just like, ready to go.
“But now, I’m like, ‘I’m feeling quite nervous now’, but I think it’s in a good way – it’s good nerves. I feel like it’s just because I care so much and I want to do everyone proud.
“I think if I get on that stage and just go, ‘Do you know what? That’s the best I could have ever done it’. And I had fun, then I think I’ll be good.”
Good luck Mae!
One thing she’s not worried about is performing in front of a Liverpool crowd: “The Scousers know how to party – 100%! I’ve actually performed here a couple of times before and the crowd have always been some of the best I’ve ever performed to.”
Her catchy dance track – I Wrote A Song – about a cheating ex-boyfriend and inspired by personal experience, stands a good chance of making it into the top 10.
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But nevertheless, dealing with the stress of Eurovision’s long-winded scoring process (votes from each country are delivered remotely by a spokesperson, who awards 12 points to their favourite act, 10 for second, 8 for third, then down to one for the others), can be trying, even for seasoned performers.
Muller says the answer is a simple one: “Tequila,” adding, “after that, I’m just going to try and enjoy the process – and just see those points roll on in hopefully.”
The Eurovision Grand Final is on Saturday at Liverpool Arena from 8pm
Sky News will be in Liverpool with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the contest as it happens
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Om Fahad: Iraqi social media influencer shot dead by gunman on motorbike who posed as food delivery rider – report
A well-known Iraqi social media influencer has reportedly been shot dead in her car by a gunman on a motorbike.
Om Fahad, whose real name is Ghufran Sawadi, was killed outside her home in Baghdad’s Zayouna district on Friday, according to the AFP news agency, citing security officials.
It appears the unidentified attacker pretended to be delivering food to the victim, one security source said.
Om Fahad, who has nearly half a million TikTok followers, became famous for posting light-hearted videos where she dances to Iraqi music.
Six days ago, she shared footage of herself driving in a car and also posing in front of a mirror. They have each been watched hundreds of thousands of times.
The influencer was sentenced to six months in prison in February last year for sharing videos that a court ruled contained “indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality”.
A campaign was launched in 2023 by the Iraqi government to clamp down on social media content which broke the country’s “morals and traditions”.
The interior ministry set up a committee to look for “offensive” clips on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, with several influencers being arrested.
“This type of content is no less dangerous than organised crime,” the ministry declared in a promotional video which asked the public to help by reporting such content.
“It is one of the causes of the destruction of the Iraqi family and society.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Speaking last year, interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan argued the morality campaign has “nothing to do with freedom of expression”.
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In 2018, gunmen in Baghdad shot dead Tara Fares, who was a model and influencer.
After years of war and sectarian conflict following the 2003 US invasion that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq has returned to some semblance of normality despite sporadic violence, political instability and corruption.
But civil liberties, particularly among women and sexual minorities, are still constrained in a conservative and male-dominated society.
R Kelly’s challenge against a 20-year sentence for child sex convictions has been quashed by an appeals court.
The singer was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison, a Chicago court ruled on Friday.
He was convicted in 2022 on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.
In his appeal, Kelly, 57, argued Illinois’ old statute of limitations – which required prosecution of child sex crime charges within 10 years – should have applied, rather than the current law permitting charges while an accuser is still alive.
The appeals court rejected this, labelling it an attempt by Kelly to elude the charges entirely after “employing a complex scheme to keep victims quiet”.
He also argued that charges involving one accuser should have been tried separately from the charges tied to three other accusers due to video evidence that became a focal point of the Chicago trial.
Prosecutors have said the video showed Kelly abusing a girl. The accuser, only identified as Jane, testified for the first time that she was 14 when the video was taken.
The three-judge panel from the appeals court noted jurors acquitted Kelly on seven of the 13 counts against him “even after viewing those abhorrent tapes”.
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In a written statement, Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said they plan to seek a US Supreme Court review of the decision and “pursue all of his appellate remedies until we free R Kelly”.
“We are disappointed in the ruling, but our fight is far from over,” she said.
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