Donna McCaul is looking to represent Ireland at Eurovision again, this time without her brother Joe.
After coming first on You're a Star, the singer and her younger brother were Ireland’s act for the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest.
They performed ‘Love?’ and became the country’s youngest act to ever compete in the contest as they were 16 and 20 at that time.
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Now Donna wants to take to the stage for Ireland again, but with her band in America called Identity Theft The Band.
She told RSVP Live: “In 2005, Joe and I were very young to be brought into the entertainment industry. It all started with You're a Star. That was all very new to us and we had never done anything like that.
“Joe was only 15 and turned 16 before we did Eurovision. He was very young. I was 20.
“I want to do it with the experience I got throughout the years, from doing music, different shows and learning about myself vocally and musically.
“This time around, it would be writing my own song with my band. It’s our own genre that we would want to bring to the stage.”
Donna was inspired by Ireland’s last Eurovision act, Bambi Thug, and how they brought something completely new to Ireland’s submission.
“I absolutely loved what Bambi Thug did last year,” she said. “I think that they did an amazing job. Even out in America, I was showing people the performance and they loved it.”
The singer continued: “There’s going to be high expectations. They don’t want a random song. We have to think outside the box, like what Bambi Thug did last year, that’s why it was so well received.
“I think just any song going in, won’t be received, you have to think outside the box - even with the performance.
“Eurovision has changed a lot. It’s become more about the eye-catching ‘what’s the person doing on stage?’ It’s the performance, it’s not just about the song.
“That’s something that we’re working on. I’ve been showing the band what it is and showing them different countries.”
The song they are putting together aims to show off Donna’s vocals.
“When I started with the band, they loved my vocals,” she said. “They call me ‘Versatile Donna’ and that I could sing the phonebook - I could laugh at that.
“They said we should put together a song that showcases the versatility of my vocals and something that would reach out to all ages.
“I think when it comes to Eurovision, you can’t put an age on your audience - it’s all ages.”
Her bandmates are American and new to Eurovision, but they are very excited to go to Ireland and travel around Europe.
“They are super excited,” Donna shared. “We’re planning a European tour in the New Year. We want to go to Ireland, England and a few of the European countries to get the guys introduced to Europe.”
While her Eurovision debut may have been with her brother, this time around Joe won’t be joining her - however, he has been incredibly supportive of her aspirations.
She shared: “Joe has stepped back from that. He’s teaching music in a college in Dublin. I don’t think he has any interest in going back. I think the first time was enough for him.
“He’s very supportive. He always says, ‘Go for it. It’s your dream’.”
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