Katrina from Katrina & the Waves almost penned the UK’s 2020 Eurovision Song Contest entry with her latest single, I Want To Love Again.
The singer, who won the contest in 1997 with the epic Love Shine A Light, originally penned the song for close pal Samantha Fox, after her partner Myra Stratton lost her cancer battle in 2015.
Speaking to Retro Pop about the track, which appears on the star’s forthcoming album, Hearts, Loves & Babys, she says: “I knew how she was suffering when she lost Myra, and I knew that she was going to be coming up with a new album and I just said, ‘Can I write you something for it?’ and she said, ‘Yeah, that’d be great’.
“So I sat down, I kind of put myself in her position, but then I also put myself in the position of losing somebody and just wanting to be ready, being ready to love again.”
Sam planned to make a dance record, so the Walking on Sunshine hitmaker tailored the track to her specification. However, when she switched things up and went in a new, rockier direction, Katrina was left with the song at her disposal.
“I thought, Well, this could be a great Eurovision song,” she explains. “So when I heard that BMG were going to be choosing the Eurovision songs for the UK, I got the song ready and sent it to them, and they said, ‘We love this. We’re going to shortlist it for Eurovision 2020.
“Then it came to the crunch. And they’d come across James [Newman, the UK’s 2020 Eurovision entry]. And James said, ‘Yeah, but obviously, I’m going to write my own song’… Which I do not blame them,” Katrina continues.
“So it kind of bounced I Want To Love Again back into my lap. And I just thought, Okay, I’m gonna put it on this album, and it’s going to be great.”
Hearts, Loves & Babys, also featuring lead single Drive, is out August 28th. Pre-order here.
