UK Eurovision entry Look Mum No Computer, real name Sam Battle, has faced a wave of criticism after his performance in Thursday's second semi-final in Vienna. The YouTube star, known for his homemade instruments, performed the song 'Eins, Zwei, Drei' in a pink boiler suit, accompanied by dancers in fluffy headwear. Despite already qualifying for Saturday's final as part of the 'big five' plus host nation Austria, viewers were unimpressed.
One social media user wrote: 'Just when you think it's absolutely impossible to get any worse the UK entry has done it yet again! Absolute Trash. Nil points!' Another added: 'Why does the UK do so badly at Eurovision. LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER is another car crash of a performance.' A third posted: 'That was embarrassing for the UK. I will be surprised if we get any points this year.'
However, some viewers defended the act, suggesting it might outperform last year's entry Remember Monday, which placed 19th. One fan wrote: 'I thought the UK Eurovision staging was brilliant. It’s not a radio friendly song, but it sticks in your head because it’s so catchy.' Battle told Eurovision presenter Victoria Swarovski he chose a German title despite it being Eurovision's weakest-performing language, as 'people liked counting to three'.
Elsewhere in the semi-final, five countries were eliminated: Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Armenia, Switzerland and Latvia. Israel's entry Noam Bettan, who qualified on Tuesday, was booed by the crowd during his performance amid protests over Israel's actions in Gaza. Other notable acts included Cyprus's Antigoni, a former Love Island contestant, and Australia's Delta Goodrem, who performed from a gold piano.
