Nicky Byrne has failed to make it to the ‘Eurovision Song Contest’ final.
The former Westlife star was hoping to fly the flag for Ireland at the annual competition being held in Stockholm, Sweden, with his new single ‘Sunlight’.
He performed the track at the second semi-final on Thursday (12.05.16) as one of 18 acts vying for one of the last 10 spots in Saturday’s grand final.
However, Nicky, 37, failed to secure enough votes for a spot in the final on Saturday (14.05.16) meaning Ireland – which holds the record as being the most successful Eurovision country ever with seven wins in the show’s 61-year history – will not be represented.
Speaking after his elimination, Nicky said: "Obviously I’m disappointed. I really would have loved to represent Ireland at the final on Saturday, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way you want them to."
The UK’s act Joe and Jake will sing their song ‘You’re Not Alone’ – which is being tipped as a potential winner – in the final as the country qualifies automatically due to Britain’s status as one of the founding nation’s of the competition in 1956.
The other automatic entrants are France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Sweden was also given a pass directly to the final after winning the contest last year.
Those six countries will be joined by the qualifying nations; Israel, Belgium, Australia, Latvia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Serbia, Poland and Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Russia, Hungary, The Netherlands, Armenia, Croatia, Malta, Austria, Czech Republic and Cyprus.
Nicky was desperate to get to the final to represent his home country Ireland in what he described as the "Olympics of music".
The pop star – whose debut solo album ‘Sunlight’ was released last week – told BANG Showbiz: "To be out there flying the flag for Ireland is as big as it gets. This event is massive and I’m desperate to win for Ireland."
The ‘Eurovision’ final airs at 8pm on BBC One on Saturday May 14.
Nicky Byrne eliminated from Eurovision Song Contest
