Sam Ryder

The eyes of The World are on you. You've just placed second to last in Eurovision. What do you do?

If you're Mae Muller , you put on a brave face for the outside world and making light of The Loss .

The 10-second clip, captioned " when someone asks me how well I did at Eurovision" - Ends with the 26-year-old miming " ask me another question".

But it wasn't the whole story.

" When I made that TikTok I was still spiralling" Mae tells BBC Newsbeat.

Finishing in 25th place, a year after UK entry Sam Ryder almost won The Contest , had left Mae upset and hurt.

" I was like, 'Oh My God , My Life is over', " she says.

" But I knew I had to address it in My Own way. "

Mae says it was part of her coping mechanism, an attempt to own The Narrative about That Night in Liverpool back in May.

" I didn't Want It to be a 'doom and gloom moment' because I can't deal with people pitying me, " she says.

" The Second I did that, everyone laughed it off with me and it highlighted it's not The End of The World . "

Reflecting on The Contest she now chooses to Focus On the support she received.

" I really felt people were on my side, " she says.

" I had so much fun with the fans and despite the pressure, I was able to be myself. "

She's also proud of how her entry - I Wrote a Song - went down outside the Eurovision arena.

It picked up tonnes of airplay, More Than eight million streams on Spotify and landed in the UK Top 10 .

" When that happened I had to force myself to take it in, " says Mae.

" I was in a bit of a cloud but I'd wanted it for so long, so I had to give myself those flowers. "

Mae says she loves writing songs, describing it as a way " to process emotions and feelings".

But even though her Eurovision entry was about doing just that, the demands of The Contest meant she had to press pause.

" I had no time to write so I didn't write a Song for six months, " she says.

" I didn't have the mental capacity because it was so all-consuming. So I was like I'm going to put writing on the back burner and just Focus On what's in front of me. "

Luckily for Mae her new Album - Sorry I'm Late - was already in the bag. Initially due for release in March, her team had to postpone it after she became the UK's Eurovision entry.

It's a decision she says has helped her in the Long Run .

" After Coming Out of Eurovision, it meant I wasn't twiddling my thumbs. I had a whole Album to promote so we had to keep going".

If you're a fan of UK pop, you might be able to Pick Up on some of Mae's influences, including Lily Allen .

She says The Singer 's Alright Still was her favourite Album Growing Up , one she " listened to on repeat A Million times".

And like Lily, Mae's songs feature candid and comedic lyrics.

" Once I started writing My Own , that's kind of what I wanted to do. And also naturally what kind of came out.

" I now want My Songs to be conversational and something you and Your Friends would would say to each other, " she says.

The release has been a long time coming, so much so, Mae says she can't believe it's actually happening.

" It feels very real, but it doesn't feel real. I'm so proud of it and just excited to know that people are gonna listen. "

And now that The Album is out, she's keen to " get back into the studio".

" I've missed that. So I'm ready to get into the creative vibe again, " she adds.

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Source of news: bbc.com