Jedward kept up hyper act in documentary

Date Published: 11-Jun-2012

They can’t sing, they can’t dance, they dress awful and yet they are sitting on a small fortune but it still doesn’t excuse RTE for doing a behind-the-scenes Eurovision programme on Jedward, who just played to the cameras like they always do.

There is no way in the world that two 20 year old could spend every day of their lives as hyper as we see them on screen. They would simply collapse with exhaustion. So we can only assume that when they are away from the cameras, they are completely different people. I sincerely hope that this is all an act. If not, I worry.

On Thursday night, having switched over to RTE2 in the hope of seeing that superior US legal drama series The Good Wife, my worst nightmares were realised on discovering that the channel were actually showing a programme about Jedward and their preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest. Why would anyone want to make such a thing?

Seemingly the twins have captured whatever remaining imagination exists in RTE as they seem to be popping up more often than Westlife used to . . . and that was hard enough to take. There isn’t a week when they are not in your face and that is not a very palatable experience.

One would assume that RTE were overcome by their own hype about Jedward that they decided that a kind of documentary, inspiringly entitled Jedward’s Eurovision: Part Deux, would be shot in the aftermath of the National Song Contest in the foolish expectation that they would do well. The fact that they finished in the bottom half dozen did not dissuade RTE from showing this rubbish.

We got a glimpse going through their dance routine, and they played to the camera; we saw them rehearsing the water feature for the song, and they played to the camera; then we saw them going through their vocals, and they again played to the cameras and even when they were getting their hair washed, they played to the cameras.

This wasn’t really a fly-in-the-wall look at what went on in the run up to the Eurovision finals, it was stage-managed on their behalf in that they never let down the guard at any time.

They acted their way through what was purported to be a ‘warts and all’ account of their trip to Azerbaijan and meeting their rather naïve fan club along the route. The sight of young girls running and screaming after cars and busses occupied by these to less than talented duo was frightening to say the least.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.