Samantha Mumba calls for axe of Late Late eurosong special
Pop star Samantha Mumba said the song contest to choose Ireland's Eurovision entry should not be staged on The Late Late Show.
The teen 'Gotta Tell You' singer, now 42, yesterday indicated the RTÉ chat show is not the best venue for the Eurosong competition, saying it 'deserves its own [show]' and 'ideally' should be in a venue that is 'set up, even sound-wise, for musicians'.
'Because I don't think [a television studio] is the set-up,' she told the Brendan O'Connor Show yesterday. Samantha Mumba peforming on The Late Late Eurosong Special. Pic: Andres Poveda
Mumba said she stands by her criticism of the Eurosong judging panel and was a 'bit surprised' at the amount of coverage her comments got.
Mumba criticised the panel − made up of choreographer and Dancing with the Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian, 2FM broadcaster Laura Fox, cook and TV presenter Donal Skehan, and singer Bambie Thug − following The Late Late Show Eurosong Special on February 7, where she came second with My Way.
Norwegian singer Emmy won with Laika Party. In an Instagram post in February, Mumba thanked supporters and expressed pride in her performance. In a later post, she said she felt 'strongly' that the judging panel 'were dismissive of all the contestants'. EMMY performs Laika Party at Trinity College Dublin. Pic: The Late Late Show via YouTube
Donal Skehan responded that he stood by his role and the feedback he gave on the night, saying his comments were 'never personal'.
RTÉ had also said at the time that it was 'extremely grateful' to the Eurosong judging panel for 'their professionalism, their insight, integrity, and good humour'.
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