Wild Youth (band)

Wild Youth are an Irish pop band formed in Dublin in 2016, consisting of members David Whelan, Conor O'Donohoe, Ed Porter and Callum McAdam. They represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song "We Are One".[1][2]

Wild Youth
Wild Youth in 2023
Wild Youth in 2023
Background information
OriginDublin, Ireland
Years active2016–present
Members
  • David Whelan
  • Conor O'Donohoe
  • Ed Porter
  • Callum McAdam

Career

Conor O'Donohoe and David Whelan have been friends since childhood, and recorded covers together before the band's formation, having started making music after O'Donohoe suffered an accident which left him bedridden for several months.[3] The duo founded Wild Youth alongside drummer Callum McAdam (formerly of Bipolar Empire) and guitarist Ed Porter (formerly of Leaders of Men) in 2016 in Dublin.[4]

The members write and produce their songs alone. Their debut single, "All or Nothing", was released in May 2017, with a music video following on 22 June.[5] A number of tracks were released after it, which became hits in Ireland. Following its success, the band opened for Niall Horan,[4] Lewis Capaldi and Westlife. In 2019, their first mini-album, The Last Goodbye, was released.[6] The Last Goodbye debuted at number five on the Irish Albums Chart.[7][8]

They participated in Eurosong 2023 with the song "We Are One". They came in first place with 34 points and thus they represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. They performed the song in the first semi-final on 9 May, but failed to qualify to the grand final.[9]

In 2023, the band cut ties with their creative director Ian Banham following the emergence of transphobic, anti-vaccine and xenophobic comments he had made on Twitter. Lead singer Conor O'Donohoe posted that he "felt sick" reading the comments, and in a statement, the band stated that "Wild Youth is a band that stands for unity and kindness", and that Banham would not be "on or near [their] team" for Eurovision.[10][11][12]

On 6 August 2023 the band was accused of performing while intoxicated at the Ballygar Carnival. The carnival organizers released a statement on 8 August in support of the band.<[13]

Discography

Mini-albums
List of mini-albums, with selected details
Title Details
The Last Goodbye
  • Released: January 2019
  • Format: CD, digital
  • Label: Imperfectly Perfect Records

Singles
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
IRE
[14]
"We Are One" 2023 93

References
  1. "Ireland: Wild Youth are selected for Liverpool with 'We Are One'". Eurovision TV. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. "John Lydon loses out on Eurovision selection as Wild Youth chosen to represent Ireland. Eurovision". The Guardian. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  3. "Ireland's Wild Youth: "We wanted an anthemic song"". Eurovisionworld. 15 April 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  4. Power, Ed (7 February 2019). "Ireland's next big thing on playlist pop and lessons learned touring with Niall Horan". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  5. "Wild Youth's New Music Video". Hot Press. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  6. "Wild Youth". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  7. White, Jack (1 February 2019). "Wild Youth's debut EP The Last Goodbye makes Top 5 debut on the Official Irish Albums Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  8. "Ireland's Wild Youth have crashed out of Eurovision at the semi-final stage". Journal. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  9. "Disappointment again for Ireland at Eurovision as Wild Youth fail to qualify for final". RTÉ News. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  10. Duncan, Charlie (25 April 2023). "Eurovision hopefuls 'cut ties' with director after 'transphobic' tweets". PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  11. Mouriquand, David (26 April 2023). "Irish Eurovision act fires creative director after anti-trans posts". euronews. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  12. "Eurovision 2023: Ireland's Wild Youth cut ties with creative director after transgender posts". BBC News. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  13. Kelly, Briain (12 August 2023). "Ballygar Carnival organisers reach settlement with band Wild Youth". Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  14. "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 11 February 2023.


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