Who is the UK’s Eurovision entry this year? All you need to know about SuRie

SINGER SuRie will represent the UK at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

She fended off competition from five other entrants at the BBC’s Eurovision: You Decide 2018 televised event in a public vote and will perform her song Storm at the live final in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 12.

Here’s all you need to know about SuRie.

You are making us proud @surieofficial! ? #EurovisionYouDecide pic.twitter.com/N8TZJUqluN

— BBC Eurovision?? (@bbceurovision) February 7, 2018

SuRie, whose real name is Susanna Cork, lived in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, before moving to London five years ago.

She recently spoke of the impact living in the town had on her in terms of her musical career.

She told the Hertfordshire Mercury: “When I was in Stortford I did literally everything I possibly could artistically. The town was just huge for me, dramatically and musically.

“I was the girl who was always singing in assembly and writing the songs for the Christmas contest and every night of the week I was at the Jenny Myhill School of Dance. I lived for that place.”

So, that went well.

— SuRie (@surieofficial) February 8, 2018

SuRie’s foray into music began in her childhood, when she started writing music at the age of 12. She also performed for royalty, singing for the Prince of Wales as a child soloist.

She started performing at Bishop’s Stortford pub The Half Moon in an Acoustic Club from the age of 14.

In recent years she has provided backing vocals for Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Will Young among others.

SuRie is a classically trained musician, having graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, and she can play the piano.

https://instagram.com/p/BbfsW3znuzG/?utm_source=ig_embed

She has appeared at Eurovision twice before.

She was a backing singer for Belgium entrant Loic Nottet in 2015, and worked as the musical director for Belgian hopeful Blanche in 2017.

In December 2016 she released her debut album, Something Beginning With…, which is available on Spotify and iTunes.

Several months earlier, she released a self-titled EP.

She recently revealed to her followers on Instagram that she got a new puppy at the start of the year.

She shared a picture of the white dog and wrote: “Soooooo fluffyyyyyy. Nevermind new year, new me, how about new year, new PUPPY! How similar do we look though?!”

https://instagram.com/p/BddyooIHOps/?utm_source=ig_embed

SuRie was approached to be a singer by the UK’s Eurovision team around a year after she started writing for other contestants.

She said it was hearing Storm, penned by Nicole Blair, Gil Lewis and Sean Hargreaves, that prompted her to take the chance with it.

She told the Hertfordshire Mercury: “At the last minute, Storm popped up. I heard it and I really liked it — something in it grabbed me — so I said to the team let me have a play around with it, and that’s how I got the gig.

“The track is a mix of piano, ballad and a singer-songwriter mood, which is normally my style, but it really develops and becomes this dynamic, soulful pop party.”