The Czech Republic has but a few appearances at the contest, and has barely seen the grand final, with just one qualification and even then they ended up near the bottom. Suffice to say I think this year could be a very different story as they’ve got something really quite special this year. Can it live up to pre-contest hype and can the man behind their unlikely frontrunner status recover in time from a back injury incurred in rehearsals? Mikolas Josef is at the heart of this entry – he’s the singer, songwriter and producer of his entry and is the creative force behind it. He turned down the opportunity to enter last year with “My Turn” as he felt the song wasn’t right for him. That confidence in knowing what he did and didn’t want to do, even at his young age, seems to be paying off (he also gave up a potentially lucrative career being a male model as he didn’t like the industry).

This entry is easily the most anticipated Czech entry in advance of a contest and he has recently been signed a big international record deal with Sony Music/RCA Records. It’s certainly helped by his excellent grasp of English (his parents are English teachers and he attended the English College in Prague) and a musical family and has followed an independent music career in the last few years.

The song itself is very modern, cool, cheeky, and delivered with confidence and charisma but not arrogance by Mikolas. It really could chime well with both juries and televoters. Mikolas suffered a bit of a mishap in his first rehearsal and injured his back – though he’s reported he’s ready to carry on though we may see him forgo the acrobatics he originally planned. I still think though that we’re on to see the Czech Republic get its best result ever. I don’t think it’s going to win, but I think a top 10 result could be within their reach – and that is way beyond anything they have yet achieved at the contest.

Official music video:

Live at ESPreParty Madrid:

Czech Republic at the Eurovision Song Contest:

First entered: 2007

Appearances (excluding this year): 6

Best result: 25th in 2016

Last year’s result: 13th in semi-final (did not qualify)