Nicky Byrne has been having plenty of Plopps as his nerves increase ahead of his 'Eurovision Song Contest' semi-final performance.
Nicky Byrne
The former Westlife singer is Ireland's official entry in the annual competition with his new single 'Sunlight' and he has started to get the butterflies ahead of his showdown in Stockholm, Sweden, next Tuesday (10.05.16).
Whilst in the Scandinavian country, Nicky has discovered local chocolate bar Plopp and he's been eating them to stay relaxed.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, he laughed: "I just these chocolate bars over here in Sweden and they're call Plopp! It's seems very apt to how I'm feeling!
"I've had a few bars of Plopp, there's caramel in the middle of them, they taste a bit like the barrel in a box of Cadbury's Roses. My manager, would you believe, found a large bar of Plopp. He gave me the bigger one and said, 'As we're getting hearer the semi-finals the Plopps are getting bigger!' "
After launching a solo career, Nicky decided he was going to put himself forward for 'Eurovision' to try and take the prize as a proud Irishman, although he knows it will no easy feat to win.
Although he's always been a fan of the TV music extravaganza - narrated by Graham Norton on BBC One - the 37-year-old pop star never realised just how big an event it is.
Nicky - whose debut solo album 'Sunlight' was released on Friday (06.05.16) - said: "Let's be honest it's a big ask to win. I always knew it was a big deal, but since I've been here, I've realised just what a huge animal it is, it's like the Olympic Village. The arena is huge. I compare it to the music Olympics, or the music World Cup.
"There's no bigger platform or opportunity to go and represent your country in music. There is pressure but I hope on the night of the semi-final I can enjoy it, it's something I've done for the best part of 20 years and I've got three minutes to go sing and deliver and hope people like the song. But there are no guarantees, even with the Westlife fan base out there. I just want to get through the semi-finals and make it to the final to represent Ireland."
The first semi-final is on Tuesday, starting at 8pm on BBC Four and the second semi-final is on Thursday (12.05.16), also at 8pm on the same channel.
The 'Eurovision' final airs at 8pm on BBC One on Saturday May 14.
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