The years after the 2005 win have seen Greece consistently placing in the Top Ten of the score-board, including Sakis Rouvas' return to the Contest in 2009 in Moscow (where he finished seventh). That streak unfortunately hit a road bump last year with Eleftheria Eleftheriou's Aphrodisiac (another catchy ethno-pop rendition, that has become the standard from the Eastern end of the map of the countries participating in the Contest), leaving the country in seventeeth place (and making it the first time since the introduction of the Semi Finals that the country has finished in the Top Ten). This year, Koza Mostra feat. Agathonas Iakovidis is hoping to change that with Alcohol is Free, which contrary to what its title may lead you to believe, is performed in Greek (except for the title line(s). I want to see Greece in the Final, but this song makes me think that the country may end up getting stuck at the Semi Final stage (and making not qualifying for the Final for the first time a real possibility). One thing, though, is a certainty...this song will get the coveted douze points from Cyprus, as it has almost every year of the Contest. Take a look:
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Greece
After debuting in 1974's Brighton Contest and placing a decent 11th, Greece followed up with several withdrawals from the Contest in the 70s and 80s (mostly for political reasons involving Turkey). In the years that Hellenic Republic participated, the country was rewarded with several Top Five and Top Ten finishes. Unfortunately the Greek audience's interest in the contest was very low until Greece surprised even itself with a bronze in 2001 in Copenhagen with pop-duo Antique's (I Would) Die for You. Antique was made up of two Swedish born Greek singers, Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis (their musical paths amicably diverged in 2003, with each artist pursuing solo careers with varying success). Elena eventually took home the trophy for Greece after winning the 2005 Contest in Kiev with the catchy ethno-pop performance of My Number One. In 2006 Athens played home to the Contest, co-hosted by an initially clueless Maria Menounos and Sakis Rouvas, who had scored another third for Greece in the 2004 Contest in Istanbul with Shake It. With these successes the Contest's popularity in Greece spiked, to the point where Eurovision is considered a national affair (both in terms of national selection and the country's actual representation at the Contest. Here's Elena Paparizou's winning live performance from the 2005 Final:
The years after the 2005 win have seen Greece consistently placing in the Top Ten of the score-board, including Sakis Rouvas' return to the Contest in 2009 in Moscow (where he finished seventh). That streak unfortunately hit a road bump last year with Eleftheria Eleftheriou's Aphrodisiac (another catchy ethno-pop rendition, that has become the standard from the Eastern end of the map of the countries participating in the Contest), leaving the country in seventeeth place (and making it the first time since the introduction of the Semi Finals that the country has finished in the Top Ten). This year, Koza Mostra feat. Agathonas Iakovidis is hoping to change that with Alcohol is Free, which contrary to what its title may lead you to believe, is performed in Greek (except for the title line(s). I want to see Greece in the Final, but this song makes me think that the country may end up getting stuck at the Semi Final stage (and making not qualifying for the Final for the first time a real possibility). One thing, though, is a certainty...this song will get the coveted douze points from Cyprus, as it has almost every year of the Contest. Take a look:
The years after the 2005 win have seen Greece consistently placing in the Top Ten of the score-board, including Sakis Rouvas' return to the Contest in 2009 in Moscow (where he finished seventh). That streak unfortunately hit a road bump last year with Eleftheria Eleftheriou's Aphrodisiac (another catchy ethno-pop rendition, that has become the standard from the Eastern end of the map of the countries participating in the Contest), leaving the country in seventeeth place (and making it the first time since the introduction of the Semi Finals that the country has finished in the Top Ten). This year, Koza Mostra feat. Agathonas Iakovidis is hoping to change that with Alcohol is Free, which contrary to what its title may lead you to believe, is performed in Greek (except for the title line(s). I want to see Greece in the Final, but this song makes me think that the country may end up getting stuck at the Semi Final stage (and making not qualifying for the Final for the first time a real possibility). One thing, though, is a certainty...this song will get the coveted douze points from Cyprus, as it has almost every year of the Contest. Take a look:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment