11 May 2023 , 17:25
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"Infectious" Mae Muller has the power to win Saturday night's grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest, according to Richie Anderson.
The singer-songwriter is currently hoping to win the annual competition while representing the UK with her hit, I Wrote A Song and has taken the nation by storm.
Just one year after spaceman Sam Ryder shot to the top of the leaderboard, narrowly missing out on winning to Ukraine, BBC Radio 2's Richie Anderson praised Muller ahead of her performance.
Speaking to the Mirror, Anderson gushed over the "fantastic" songstress, years after seeing her support Little Mix on tour.
BBC star Richie Anderson has made it no secret that he's a fan of Mae Muller (Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/Getty I)
Mae Muller is hoping to win for the UK (Getty Images)The former Strictly Come Dancing star said: "I mean, what Sam [Ryder] did last year was incredible, he lit the fire again for everybody.
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"It feels like we're in the build-up to the World Cup, it's such a wonderful thing seeing 31 countries and learning about so many different people and cultures.
"It's great that there is such a heightened interest in it this year and long may it continue because Eurovision is the best thing."
Richie joked that while his mum isn't a huge Eurovision fan, she "can't wait" and knows every lyric to Mae's song.
Praising Muller, Richie exclaimed: "Her vocals are amazing, she can sing and dance at the same time, she's just a good-time girl."
But Richie believes that the whole of Europe will instantly fall in love with the singer.
Richie believes that Mae's persona and song are "infectious" (PA)
Mae will perform "I Wrote A Song" during Saturday night's grand final (SplashNews.com)Despite working at Radio 2, Richie hadn't been informed who the UK's contestant was, instead, he heard "whispers" throughout the corporation and says the BBC keep it top secret – similar to securing the Crown Jewels, he joked.
Ahead of the grand final, Richie stated that fans instantly fall in love with Mae Muller as it appears she's "having the time of her life" when she's on stage, adding: "She looks like somebody who you could bump into on a night out and do the routine with her like she just looks like she's enjoying herself so much.
"And on top of that, it's a great song and she sings it really well."
Sam Ryder placed second for the UK in 2022 (Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)Following years of the UK having some questionable representatives in the past, Sam Ryder appears to have completely changed this, with Richie saying: "Sam is so infectious and Mae is exactly the same, she looks like the cat that's got the cream."
The UK are hosting this year's ceremony, despite Ukraine winning last year due to the ongoing war fighting for freedom against Russia.
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Richie said: "We just want to do the best job for Ukraine, we're hosting because of the unfortunate circumstances going on there at the moment.
"So we just want to do Ukraine proud, we want to do the Eurovision fans proud, we want to do Mae Muller proud and Sam Ryder."
Ahead of the competition kicking off, Richie had a countdown calendar on his kitchen fridge and struggled to contain his excitement.