Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Remind me never to become a tipster. In my previous article, I was optimistic enough to think our (UK) entry to Eurovision 2026 would score more points than… well, the one it did.
Of course, as a Brit, all you can do is take it on the chin and laugh. It’s been three years with absolutely zero audience votes, and it seems to have just become a tradition now. The good thing is, despite pouring millions into the contest each year, we don’t take it too seriously. Look Mum No Computer (offstage, Sam Battle) is in high spirits.
‘The most important thing is [that] we all tried our hardest. Regardless of what is against us. Whatever it may be. Gotta keep trying your hardest,’ was the message in the caption of his latest Instagram post. As well as graciously accepting the shattering defeat, Battle seemed to spend the night of the final cheering everyone else on. So, say what you may about him and his music, but there’s no denying he was a good sport, considering the circumstances he ended up in.
Image credit: Eurovision official account, Instagram.
That being said, did the general public look upon Look Mum No Computer with too much disdain?
Absolutely.
In my opinion (as an experimental music nerd), Battle deserved so many more points than what he got. And I know, I know – my family and friends have been saying – ‘Eurovision is geopolitics disguised as a song contest’. Everyone knows that, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that Look Mum No Computer literally made an entire song on an instrument-machine hybrid he made by hand. If that’s not skill and talent – then what is?
What more does the European public want? So many comments have been saying ‘we could send Adele/Ed Sheeran/other British pop artists to represent us, and we’d still get zero points’. With the way Eins, Zwei, Drei performed in the vote, it’s understandable to think that. Pop princess group Remember Wednesday also got zero points from the audience in 2025 – and that was an entirely different genre to Look Mum No Computer.
Maybe the rest of Europe just wasn’t ready for the UK’s techno-pop entry this year. But that being said, other countries with unconventional entries seemed to place high – even winning. Bulgaria’s entry, Bangaranga by DARA, was awarded the highest points by both the public and the jury. But why? Sure, it had a good beat, and a brilliant dance routine, but was it innovative? Was it original? Creative? Skilful? I’m not saying I could create a song like that, or dance amazingly like DARA and her crew, but to me it just felt a little synthetic. It felt almost like a cheaply-inspired K-pop song, with its conventional beat and snappy dance moves.
Though, I guess that’s what the public finds palatable these days, with the rise of K-pop and the steady, stereotypical European love of dance music. I was surprised to see it beat the likes of Finland and Ukraine, though, especially with the jury votes – but it’s not unheard of for the jury to like more dance-style, non-ballad songs: see my previous post for more detailed stats, but I’m talking about the likes of Cha Cha Cha (Käärijä, Finland 2023), Espresso Macchiato (Tommy Cash, Estonia 2025), and Rim Tim Tagi Dim (Baby Lasagne, Croatia 2024).
Image credit: The Independent.
But back to Look Mum No Computer. Whilst I understand taste in music is subjective, and many people didn’t like our entry, it was looked upon way too harshly for what it was. It was likely a mix of the UK having a rather frivolous reputation in Eurovision anyway, the spoken-word and chanting putting the public off, and the ‘cheesy’ nature of the song – but that shouldn’t have completely overshadowed the originality and talent of the music. No other entrant played their own hand-made instrument and had the audience interacting with them directly in a shout-it-back style (a tactic that 2024’s Joost deployed with Europapa‘s ‘hey!’, and 2025’s Miriana Conte used with her performance of Serving ‘[a philosopher’s name that sounds like a bad British swear]’).
Overall, of course, half the vote boils down to a matter of taste concerning the European public – which was a total, catastrophic failure – and half belongs to the jury, who also failed to recognise the musical talent behind the ‘novelty’ entry. It was disappointing, as a UK citizen, to see us come last when our entry was so unique, and had so much soul and passion poured into it.
Well, like usual – there’s always next year.
ira overanalyses 
Leave a comment