The BBC today revealed that 13 year-old Freya Skye will be representing the United Kingdom at the Junior Eurovision Song contest being held in Yerevan, Armenia, in December, with the song Lose My Head.

Freya developed a love of singing after receiving a karaoke machine as a present when she was five. During lockdown, the singer-songwriter took the opportunity to release her debut single and write more songs, including I Love The Way, which featured on BBC Introducing. In her spare time Freya enjoys cuddling up with her dog Ruby and watching movies, teaching herself the piano and following her favourite football team, Tottenham Hotspur.

The Buckinghamshire school girl found out she had been chosen to represent the UK when she was taken by her parents to a London theatre on the pretext that she needed to do one more audition.

Instead she was surprised by West End performer, Lucie Jones, who broke the news that she had already been selected to go Armenia. Freya is a big fan of Lucie, who represented the UK at Eurovision in 2017.

Freya says: “I couldn’t believe it when I found out. I was not expecting it at all, it still doesn’t feel real that I’m going to be representing the UK. I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to be a part of something so exciting. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so I’m going to go and give it my everything and I hope to do the UK proud.”

Freya was unveiled as the UK entrant exclusively on BBC Breakfast earlier this morning when she appeared on the sofa with presenters Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt.

She was selected from a host of talented youngsters by CBBC and BBC Studios Entertainment and Music. Lose My Head is a powerful and energetic song written by Jack Hawitt, Amber Van Day and Deepend* about friendships, moving on and leaving the past behind.

Patricia Hidalgo, Director of BBC Children’s and Education, says: “Freya is an amazing talent and she immediately stood out. Her voice is incredible so we knew she would be able to showcase such a big song. She’s also a very special, self-effacing young lady who will be a great ambassador for the UK.”

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest is being broadcast on the BBC for the first time in the competition’s history. The contest for youngsters aged between nine and 14 will take place on Sunday, 11 December 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia, following Maléna’s winning performance in 2021 with Qami Qami. It will be broadcast simultaneously on BBC One, CBBC and BBC iPlayer.

Suzy Lamb, MD of Entertainment & Music at BBC Studios, says: “The Entertainment team at BBC Studios are proud to be working with CBBC, finding our entry to Junior Eurovision and Freya is perfect to represent the UK. From the moment she walked into her first audition it was evident she had a genuine star quality and lights up the room. Her talent coupled with our incredible pop song Lose My Head means we are very excited about the contest in December in Armenia.”

The winner will be determined by national juries and global online voting. Visit junioreurovision.tv for updates.

For the latest information on the United Kingdom at Junior Eurovision 2022, follow @CBBC on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.

Commissioned by CBBC and simulcast on BBC One and iPlayer, the BBC’s Junior Eurovision coverage is a BBC Studios production. It is commissioned by Patricia Hidalgo, Director BBC Children’s and Education and Sarah Muller, Head of BBC Children's Commissioning & Acquisitions 7+. The Executive Producer and Head Of Delegation is Lee Smithurst. Suzy Lamb is the MD for BBC Studios Entertainment and Music. The Commissioning Editors for the BBC are Melissa Hardinge and Nick Hall.

To watch/embed Freya Skye’s video, visit junioreurovision.tv

Notes to Editors

• Jack Hawitt is a London-based artist, songwriter and producer. His credits include working with Ava Max, Jonas Blue, Pharrell Williams, Megan Thee Stallion and R3HAB. As an artist, Jack has racked up over 20 million streams. London-based singer-songwriter Amber Van Day has racked up more than 250 million streams. Dutch DJ Deepend, led by Falco van den Aker, has racked up over half a billion streams. Deepend has supported David Guetta on a sell-out European tour and collaborated with artists including Sam Feldt, Robin Schulz, JP Cooper and James Blunt.

• The Junior Eurovision Song Contest began in 2003. The contest was based on a Scandinavian song festival for children, Melodi Grand Prix Nordic.

• The first contest was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in November 2003. Sixteen countries competed, with Croatia's Dino Jelušić taking the title with his song Ti si moja prva ljubav (You Are My First Love).

• Over the years, a total of 39 countries have competed in the competition.

• The UK first took part in the inaugural Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark. The first UK representative was Tom Morley with the song My Song For The World, which finished in third place out of 16 participating entries, achieving a score of 118 points.