STAR'S PRIDE
Olly Alexander breaks silence after Eurovision embarrassment – as his dad speaks out after criticism
Viewers said Olly was 'sabotaged'
OLLY Alexander has broken his silence after his shocking Eurovision defeat last night - as his dad defended him after a backlash over his performance.
Eurovision fans were left devastated when Olly failed to win over the public with his song Dizzy.
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The 33-year-old former Years & Years singer got zero points from the public vote.
His efforts at the Malmo Arena in Sweden on Saturday scored just 46 points from the juries.
Swiss group Nemo topped the leaderboard and went on to be crowned winners of the 2024 competition.
Nemo won with song The Code, an operatic ode to the singer's journey toward embracing their nongender identity.
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A gracious Olly congratulated his Eurovision rival as he finally returned to social media on Sunday afternoon.
The star shared a photo of Nemo and wrote over the top: "Nemo!!!! You did it!!
"I’m so so proud of you it's been such an honour to be on this journey with you. You broke the code!!!"
Olly came a disappointing 18th with his performance of Dizzy, which included a troupe of dancers kissing on stage and performing topless around him.
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"I enjoyed every minute of it," his proud dad, David Thornton, told the BBC after the performance.
"To me it's a real surprise the public didn't sort of connect with that song, though the juries gave it a really good score."
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David continued: "This is going to be a fantastic learning experience for him, he's had a wonderful time out there.
"It is just one more step in wherever he's going to go next."
Backlash
The artist and It's A Sin actor also faced criticism for his "weak" and "off-key" vocals.
UK viewers noticed the sound quality wasn't up to his usual standard, with some speculating that he had been "sabotaged".
At one point Olly was seen touching his earpiece - after viewers complained earlier on in the night about sound blunders.
"Great staging, but terrible sound production. #Eurovision #UK" one wrote.
"Hmm why is the sound different for #ollyalexander #uk? #Eurovision2024 #eurovision," added another.
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Another said: "What is wrong with the sound suddenly #EUROVISION sabotage."
Despite the technical issues, commentator Graham Norton said that it was one of the best stage set ups that the UK had ever had.
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