UK's Eurovision entry Sam Battle explains why he won't be singing in English at tonight's final
One of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 finalists will not be entertaining viewers in his native language.
Sam Battle, also known as Look Mum No Computer on the music scene, is representing the UK tonight (May 16) with his tune 'Eins, Zwei, Drei', which translates to 'One, Two, Three' in German.
Asked by RadioTimes about his unconventional decision to sing in German - Sarah Engels performs at the latest Eurovision on behalf of Germany, singing 'Fire' - the Lincolnshire-born artist revealed that it's all to do with his personal life.
"I think I've probably spent more time in Germany than any other country except for the UK, be it working on music, meeting people, or playing shows," Battle replied.
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"So it's certainly inspired by spending a lot of time there."
Whether or not this is a good move for the electronics-heavy artist is something that only time will tell. Could Eurovision's UK voters be put off by this incongruence?
Battle went on to further explain of the thinking behind 'Eins, Zwei, Drei': "I had the chorus and then came up with the verses, and it was like, 'How do they merge together?'
"Nothing really worked, and I thought if only there was a language I could count in that would make me feel better on a Eurovision stage. It just made sense."
The same publication then questioned Battle on what separates himself from previous UK entrants in this illustrious and colourful competition.
"There's a different style to the music. We've always had a run of very good pop songs but sometimes they haven't translated well to points, though they're still very good songs.
"We've gone for a different tactic with this one. It's different because it's just a little bit more tongue in cheek," he said.
The grand final is being stationed at the Wiener Stadhalle arena in Vienna, Austria, and begins at 8pm BST on BBC One.
Another of this year's Eurovision trophy hopefuls is soap star turned singer Delta Goodrem, who's flying the flag for Australia.
During an interview with Metro, the 41-year-old opened up about her fight with Hodgkin lymphoma, which she was diagnosed with shortly after the success of debut album Innocent Eyes.
Goodrem's subsequent surgery left her with a paralysed tongue.
"When I woke up I realised there was nerve damage," she recalled. "I actually had a flight booked for the UK – this was 2018 – but I ended up having to go to ground and go to speech therapy. I didn't have any idea when it was going to get back to normal. It could be three months or three years.
"I understand that everybody has their challenges and that just happened to have been one of mine. But yes, it was definitely a challenging time."
As for the opportunity to clinch Eurovision glory, she told The Independent that it's 'truly an honour'.
"Eurovision is one of the most iconic global music stages, and to represent Australia is something I feel incredibly proud of," shared Goodrem.
"There's a real sense of excitement – it's a moment to connect, to share music, and to bring a piece of Australia to the world."
Topics: Music, Eurovision, TV
Dan Seddon