Michael Rice (born 25 October 1997) is an English singer. He represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel with the song "Bigger than Us". Prior to this, he won the first series of BBC One's singing competition All Together Now in 2018, and also appeared in the eleventh series of The X Factor in 2014. In 2024, Rice auditioned for the 22nd season of American Idol.
Career
2014–2018: The X Factor and All Together Now In 2014, Rice entered series 11 of The X Factor in the United Kingdom. He auditioned for the show with "I Look to You" by Whitney Houston. He was eliminated following the Bootcamp stage. In 2018, he entered the first series of BBC One's singing competition All Together Now; he went on to win the competition.
All Together Now performances and results Show Song choice Score Result Heat 1 "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival 100 1st Final "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z 95 1st "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen 94 Winner
2019–present: Eurovision Song Contest and American Idol
In January 2019, Rice was confirmed as one of six artists competing in Eurovision: You Decide, the British national selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. On 8 February 2019, he won Eurovision: You Decide with the song "Bigger than Us", written by Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander, and represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision final in Tel Aviv, Israel and came in last position with 11 points.
On the seventh ABC season (or the 22nd overall) of American Idol in 2024, Rice auditioned with the song "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson, receiving 'yes' votes from all three judges: Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. This earned him a golden ticket, advancing him to Hollywood week. He was not seen singing again during the Hollywood rounds however, and was eliminated during the final judgment alongside another British contestant competing by way of visa: former The X Factor series 15 runner-up, Scarlett Lee.
American Idol performances and results Episode Song choice Artist Result Audition "Because of You" Kelly Clarkson
Discography
Singles As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album UKDown. SCO SWEHeat. "Lady" 2017 — — — rowspan="12" "Bigger than Us" 2019 27 35 8 "Somebody" — — — "Think of Me" 2020 — — — "Breaking Free" — — — "Falling for You"(with HalfTraxx) 2021 — — — "Wasted Youth" — — — "Did You Even Love Me" — — — "Chasing Shadows" 2022 — — — "Boy I Used to Know" 2023 — — — "Because of You" 2024 — — — "Turning Tables" — — —
As featured artist Title Year Album "I Won't Stumble Back"(Maison & Dragen featuring Michael Rice) 2016 rowspan="2" "Bruised"(Power Of Muzik featuring Michael Rice, Asher Knight, Luena Martinez,Ben Ofoedu & Angels N Bandits) 2018
References