There are many ways to present Mae Muller. The most factual: she is a 25-year-old British singer-songwriter and performer and will represent the UK at Eurovision in May. The most marketing: “A strong voice for a disillusioned generation”, according to the press release. The most outrageous: she is “a left-wing activist hating Boris Johnson and having declared that he did not deserve a bed in intensive care while he was fighting for his survival”, according to the very serious (right-wing) daily of overseas The Telegraph. The newspaper, which featured the singer on its front page last weekend, unearthed tweets from three years ago.
On April 8, 2020, while the then Prime Minister was hospitalized in London, Mae Muller tweeted: “I feel no pain for Boris Johnson. Yes he is human, yes he has children, but so are hundreds of other people who have died as a result of Tory politics. [le parti conservateur auquel appartient Johnson]. Occupying a bed in intensive care when you are not on an artificial respirator (…)? No, my guy. »
She continued: “The nurses whose praises you sing in your speeches are the same as those whose social benefits you have chosen to reduce (…) they are the same who do not have the means to access uniforms. protection and who are literally dying because of you. Boris does not have my sympathy and never will. »
“If the BBC thinks imposing its left-wing candidate will get us back into the EU…”
The Telegraph quoted other messages, in which Mae Muller expresses her dislike of the Conservative Party in more or less flowery terms. “Nasty leftist insults,” indignant Lee Anderson, spokesman for the Tories. The latter criticizes the BBC, which is organizing Eurovision in Liverpool this year, for having lacked “common sense” in choosing this singer to represent the United Kingdom.
“If the BBC thinks that imposing its own left-wing candidate will get us back into the European Union, well, it should think twice,” insisted Lee Anderson, proving the ability of the musical competition to stir up political passions. MP Craig Mackinlay meanwhile called the artist’s remarks “rude and unpleasant” and believes that they represent the “norm” among the opinions of BBC staff. David Jones calls her “talented” but suggests that she “be a little more human” to hope for a long career.
As of this writing, Mae Muller has not officially responded. Three days before the controversy (or rather the storm in the teacup) broke, she was answering our questions, via Zoom, from a London studio. Red Adidas tank top over a white T-shirt, long brown hair let down, she was at ease, a laugh always ready to arise at the turn of a sentence. Not really the profile of the undercover agent recruited to overturn Brexit with a few vocals, rather that of the good friend artist, who has the good taste not to take herself too seriously.
At 9, she played in a Mika clip
“I had a girl crush”, a crush on a girl, she confides to us when we talk to her about her flirtatious tweets, for fun, to Noa Kirel, who will represent Israel at Eurovision. “She is so talented and stunning! I like his song. We are going to go out together in Liverpool and maybe we will become great friends! imagines Mae Muller. She also likes La Zarra, who will sing for France – “I find her very cool, she is such a boss! –, the Austrians Teya and Salena – “their song Who The Hell is Edgar? is very clever” – and the Spaniard Blanca Paloma. “In truth, I am a fan girl with everyone”, she assures. We almost forget that she will not be in the audience but on stage during the final on May 13.
That night she will sing I Write a Song, a breakup song. In the lyrics, which she co-signed, she says that rather than insulting her cheating ex in public or “tearing [sa] Benz,” she channeled her anger into writing a song. “I wanted my message to be empowering. I didn’t go into the studio to write a hit, but something that makes people feel good, says Mae Muller. When we go through a difficult period, we easily get bogged down in it. I lived it. There, I took those negative emotions and turned them into something positive. How can I be the best version of myself right now? By writing music. »
Music, she fell into it very young, or almost. At 9, she passed for the first time in front of the cameras for the clip of Grace Kelly, Mika’s tube to which she gave the reply. “I remember it perfectly. He put me at ease straight away. For me, it was magical to be on a set, to see everyone busy, I found it captivating. I thought to myself that I liked that feeling. As far back as I can remember, music has always been essential to me. »
Good rankings
At the age of 8, she wrote her first texts, but her songs remained contained between the four walls of her room for a long time. It was by posting certain songs on Soundcloud in 2017 that she was spotted. Between 2018 and 2020, she released three EPs. A business card that allowed him to perform the first parts of Little Mix in 2019 and to do a featuring on Better Days from the Neiked collective, which was a hit in Anglo-Saxon countries in 2021 and was overused on TikTok.
With I Write a Song, Mae Muller found a place the week of its release in the top 40 best sellers in the UK. Unheard of for a local Eurovision song for a bunch of years. “I was over the moon seeing that she was entering the rankings so quickly. It meant that people liked this song and it spoke to them. That’s all I asked. »
One month before the contest, she emerges in ninth place among the favorites to win Eurovision, according to the bookmakers. “I don’t look at the predictions, but other people do and come and talk to me about it. Of course, I want to rank well, but I don’t want to get distracted. I prefer to focus on giving the best possible performance, so that I can say to myself: “I’ve never been better and I couldn’t have done better.” »
“I want people to get up and dance”
Mae Muller will therefore defend the British chances at home, a year after the place of runner-up obtained by his compatriot Sam Ryder. However, she does not allow herself to be overwhelmed by the pressure. “Since second place last year, people here are more optimistic than before about Eurovision. The energy is really different, I can feel it. I think it will make my experience even more exciting. I’m more excited about it all than nervous. »
His time on stage in Liverpool will involve “choreography”. “I want to feel like I’m at a party and people are having fun listening to me, gaining confidence, whether they’re in the room or on their couch. I want them to get up and dance. Except, perhaps, Boris Johnson.