Former Newcastle University student James Newman has kicked off his bid for Eurovision glory, but fans of the annual event are torn on his chances after his first rehearsal.
James, who has penned hit songs for the likes of Rudimental, Calvin Harris and Little Mix, was all set to fly the flag for the UK at Eurovision last year with his song My Last Breath, but the contest ended up being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After a year's hiatus, the world famous extravaganza is back, with it being hosted in Rotterdam, following the Netherland's victory with Duncan Laurence in 2019.
And James has now stepped onto the Eurovision stage for the first time, with just over a week to go until the final, which the UK has automatically qualified for as part of 'the big 5' alongside Italy, France, Spain and Germany.
When it was premiered earlier this year, there was a very favourable reaction to his song Embers but, after his first rehearsal, which saw James joined on stage by backing dancers and two huge massive trumpets, fans are more divided.
Not holding back in the slightest, one Eurovision fan took to Twitter to rant: "i decided to spoil eurovision for myself by watching the rehearsal clips and f***ing hell the uk's staging is hideous," and, also far from impressed, another reacted: "#UK looking at another flop. Rehearsal was dull & low energy."
A third posted: "just seen the UK’s first rehearsal clip and …… we are so f***ing embarrassing," but others were much more enamoured with what they saw.
One enthused: "Sounds flippin AMAZING!! Go James! For a first rehearsal, that was brilliant!!!!!" and another tweeted: "Ok I really like this! There's enough movement and different shots/LEDs to avoid staging being one-note.
"He is SO likeable & has this humble cheekiness that comes across on the camera. For first rehearsal I'm impressed! UK this is good!"
Following the rehearsal, James took to Instagram to thank everyone who'd said "really nice things" about the first rehearsal and said he was looking forward to the second.
