Olly Alexander has had a mixed reaction to his racy Eurovision Song Contest performance.
The British singer, 33, performed his song ‘Dizzy’ alongside a group of backing dancers – his first release under his own name.
The sexually-charged performance saw Alexander get up close and personal with his dancers in a topsy turvy set-up as he sang the song that was described as “perfectly fine” by the Guardian ahead of the competition.
The Brit was supported in the UK by narrator Graham Norton, who described the performance as “terrific” but admitted that he did not know how well it would do because “it is so different to everything else in the contest tonight.”
Taking to Twitter (X) ahead of the performance, Hannah Waddingham was one of the big names who supported the It’s A Sin star and former Years and Years singer.
She posted an animation of herself making a heart and wrote: “COME ON OLLY ALEXANDER!!! LET’S DO THIS!!!!!!” alongside multiple Union Jacks.
He was also cheered on by the official Twitter account of the Labour party, which wished him good luck ahead of the performance.
General reactions to the live rendition of ‘Dizzy’ were mixed.
Some social media users criticised the sexual nature of the performance, which involved a lot of hip thrusting.
Others took umbrage with the set of the performance, with one user comparing it to the set of the bathroom in the Saw horror film franchise.
The singer’s vocals also came under fire.
“The UK Eurovision entry, Olly Alexander, sounds just like me in the shower – when someone opens the tap downstairs and the water gets terribly cold,” remarked one viewer.
But not everyone was so critical and the staging of the performance received particular praise.
“Great performance from Olly Alexander,” wrote one viewer. “Fantastic staging too! Don’t think we have a shot of winning but shouldn’t do as bad as last year at least.”
A second added: “Great job Olly. The dancers and the staging – quite fantastic.”
“Great staging,” agreed a third viewer. “Alright vocals and song for ar Olly. Hope we have this budget next year and hoping we can just get a left hand side of scoreboard finish pls!” [sic]
Ahead of tonight’s competition, which is performed live, Alexander joked that he had a less than one percent chance of winning.
“My odds for winning are at one per cent,” he said. “But that’s fine. It’s better than zero.”
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
