Mae Muller came into Eurovision riding a wave of positivity.
Sam Ryder ended the UK's losing streak in Turin last year by doing the unthinkable - entering a decent song - and the thinking went: Why not do that again?
Mae obliged with a slick, sassy pop song that echoed recent chart trends. I Wrote A Song had the disco undercurrents of Dua Lipa, the lyrics were memorable.
The public seemed to agree. Mae's song picked up tons of airplay, and more than 8 million streams on Spotify. Bookmakers predicted she'd finish in the top 10. Everyone from Ringo Starr to Lana Del Rey offered their support.
In the run-up to Eurovision, there was negative chatter about Mae's rehearsals. Her vocals were flat, insiders said, and the choreography was wooden.
But on the night, she brought out the big guns. Mae sang better than she'd done all week. Her dance moves were snappy and confident. The audience at the Liverpool Arena were ecstatic...
And then it all went wrong.
Eurovision juries gave the song 15 points. The public awarded her nine. She ended the night in 25th place, out of 26.
Mae Muller reacts to the UK's low score in the Eurovision green room
"Undeserved. Very undeserved," said Eurovision fan Craig Andrew, who watched the horror unfold at Liverpool's Euroclub.
"I thought her vocal was flawless. She was so good on the night, but what can you do?"
"I think it was much better than that, genuinely," agreed fellow fan Gaja Gazdic. "In this crowd, it was very well received.
The first thing to remember is that no-one votes against you at Eurovision, they vote for the songs they like. And if your vibe is hyper-catchy, female-fronted pop, you were spoiled for choice.
Sweden's Loreen won the contest with the supersonic club anthem Tattoo - even though Norway's Alessandra beat her in the public vote with Queen Of Kings, a thunderous pop anthem that was equal parts Lady Gaga and Nordic folklore.
Both of them were stronger singers, with stronger songs, than Mae, and they soaked up a lot of her potential votes.
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