ENTERTAINMENT
Stavros Flatley has come second in Britain’s Got Talent’s Champions Final.
The British-born, Greek-Cypriot, father-son dance duo was voted second on Saturday night’s “Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions Final” who were looking for the ‘ultimate champion’.
The likeable pair, Demi Demetriou and son Michalakis (nickname ‘Lagi’) excitingly engaged the studio and got the judges on their feet. Their routine was backed by the world-famous Mikis Theodorakis, “Zorba the Greek” music.
The routine over, senior Demetriou said to the judges and audience, “You’re all Greek now!”
The two-minute routine was fired-up with Cypriot dancers to compliment the act, which included Anthony Komodikis and Kiri Pitt.
Family and friends, including wife and mum, Karen Demetriou waved Cyprus flags. Listeners told LGR that they felt uniquely proud of seeing the Cypriot-patriotic colours at such a huge television event.
Demi Demetriou, 51, bounced onto the stage in character of the usual Riverdance music, only for Lagi, 23, to ‘cut it off’ and announce: “Let’s do this Greek style.”
He then told his dad: “Teach them to dance!”
Demi happily obliged, demanding that everybody in the studio gets up on their feet as Zorba the Greek started playing.
Stavros Flatley were Britain’s Got Talent finalists in the third series of the show, ten years ago in 2009.
Speaking after their energetic performance, judge David Walliams told them, “This is interpretive dance, it’s an interpretation of what dance is, and it was great you involved all of us actually.”
Simon Cowell agreed, with the 60-year-old telling the pair: “You just make us feel-good. In this country we just want to feel good and that is what you have just done.” Alesha Dixon echoed the sentiment, saying, “You made us smile, you made us feel good. What more can I say, I love you”.
Amanda Holden summarised the pair’s legacy with, “You are the heart of Britain’s Got Talent! You make my heart sing!”
In the end, the winners were dance duo Twist and Pulse. Ukrainian sand-artist Kseniya Simonova came third.
From LGR’s point of view, we thank Demi and Laki for the fun. The duo have often said it’s just a “fun jokey act” but one that we think, has always managed to extract that joyful, feel-good factor.
Article written by London Greek Radio
The British-born, Greek-Cypriot father-son dance duo had the crowds screaming on Saturday night during “Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions” with judge Simon Cowell equally impressed.
Wembley Arena had a slight resemblance to a Eurovision-style ‘green room’, with Cypriot flags being waved by their devoted fans.
An aging Simon Cowell poured praise on dad Demi Demetriou and son Michalakis (nickname ‘Lagi’), before slamming the golden buzzer for the pair.
Each of the judges has one golden buzzer, as do hosts Ant and Dec – it gives them the power during auditions to give acts a direct route through to the semi-finals.
Stavros Flatley were Britain’s Got Talent finalists in the third series of the show, ten years ago in 2009.
Speaking after their energetic performance, judge David Walliams told them, “This for me is what the show is all about. Ordinary people getting up and having a go.”
Alesha Dixon branded them the most iconic act in talent history. Simon agreed, with the 60-year-old telling the pair: “I will never forget that moment when you guys came out and I was thinking, ‘‘What the bloody hell is this?”
He added, “Like tonight, the same thing happened. The crowd went crazy. I’ve wanted to say this to you for years. I’ve really wanted to thank both of you for everything you’ve done, and there’s one way I can do this…”
Simon then rose to his feet and smacked down the golden buzzer, sending the crowd – and probably everyone watching at home – into total meltdown.
Overcome with emotion, Demi responded saying, “Whenever you need us forever, we’ll be there! If I have to get on this stage in a mobility scooter!”
‘Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions’ airs Saturday nights on ITV.
Article written by London Greek Radio
Stath Lets Flats, Channel 4’s British-Cypriot comedy, written by and starring Jamie Demetriou, is to return for a second series this month.
Jamie Demetriou plays an imbecilic lettings agent working at ‘Michael & Eagle Lets’, a dodgy London lettings agency run by his father, Vasos, (Christos Stergioglou).
Demetriou’s real-life sister Natasia Demetriou plays his fictional sister ‘Sophie’ and as the show progresses, it’s actually endearing to see their sibling relationship.
The loosely-coined “British-Cypriot comedy” is a lot more than the sum of its parts; its far less indulgent about portraying Greek-Cypriots, or the “community” for that matter. This may be because all of the action revolves around the off-beat, quirky characters [a lot of whom are non-Greek-Cypriots].
The six-part series is a lovely take on the ‘madness’ of the current property market, with the ensemble cast ‘explaining’ it. Jamie said, “The community [Greeks/Cypriots] has a different way of putting it; I think it’s characters… are flamboyant, wonderful, funny, caring characters- there all about family and love.”
During a visit to LGR, Star-of-the-show, “Stath” AKA Mr Demetriou said, “London Greek Radio has been playing in my house since I was a foetus”, noting LGR’s long-time role in celebrating Greek-Cypriot music and culture.
The siblings are hoping that the audience will find it relatable because there are a few tacit observations to what it is being Greek/Cypriot.
“We are on London Greek Radio and I think that’s so relevant because so many have made a life here, and they’re Londoners so the character of Stath encapsulates it. He talks in a London accent with a bit of a ‘Greek twang’ to it, which a lot of people have, and I hope a lot of people can relate to that.” Jamie told listeners.
The second series will also see a return for Katy Wix who will reprise her role as Stath’s infuriatingly competent colleague Carole, with Alastair Roberts as his more amenable colleague, Al.
The action will pick up from where we left it at the end of series one with Stath having been denied the manager’s position by his own father.
In series two, he and the rest of the team will be forced to work under his arch rival Julian (Dustin Demri-Burns) – and re-think his life goals. Sophie will be searching for a new direction after failing at Dance College and publicly denying her feelings for Al.
Fiona McDermott, Head of Comedy at Channel 4, said: “We did originally say no to this, but he just kept turning up, trying to get into the building. Sometimes it’s just easier to give in isn’t it? In all seriousness, we’re thrilled to back Jamie and this gem of a show again.”
Ash Atalla, the managing director of Roughcut TV which makes the show, added: “So happy to be going again on Stath Lets Flats. Jamie is a star. And we’ve all felt the pain of terrible flat viewings, so this is our revenge.”
Jamie Demetriou penned the scripts for series 2, with Robert Popper serving as the script editor. The executive producers are Ash Atalla and Jamie Demetriou.
Series two of ‘Stath Lets Flats’ premieres on Monday 19th August at 10pm on Channel 4.
Article written by Tony Neophytou
Hollywood actor and filmmaker Nicolas Cage arrived in Cyprus this month to begin filming his new movie, “Jiu Jitsu.”
The film, from Dimitri Logothetis, will be shot entirely in Cyprus.
“Jiu Jitsu,” a sci-fi martial arts movie, will involve Nicolas Cage having to fight against a super-strong alien which comes to Earth on a mission to destroy. The cast includes Frank Grillo, Alain Moussi, Rick Yune, Marie Avgeropoulos and JuJu Chan.
It will be the first high profile production under recent incentives aiming to establish Cyprus as a filming destination under the name Olivewood.
The €24.6 million film will be shot entirely in Cyprus, taking advantage of a programme that gives productions the option to choose between cash rebate or tax credit, and also benefit from tax discounts on investments made on equipment and infrastructure. The cash rebate programme is a rebate of 25-30 percent on eligible expenditure.
The film’s producer and director Demetris Logothetis told CyBC TV that he already has plans to shoot a second film on the island written by Gary Scott Thompson of Fast and Furious fame.
The entire film will be shot in two Cypriot villages near the capital of Nicosia.
The villages of Mammari and Lympia will host the crew of the production team, and their surrounding landscapes will provide the entire backdrop of the movie.
The area of Mammari is home to some breath-taking limestone caves, something that makes it ideal for shooting this type of movie, with its dramatic themes of an alien takeover.
According to reports, the filming on Cyprus will last for approximately three weeks.
Cage received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance as an alcoholic Hollywood writer in Leaving Las Vegas (1995).
Here’s to many more movies made in OLIVEWOOD… so very Cypriot!
Article written by London Greek Radio
Actor William Baldwin, who is currently in Cyprus to film ‘S.O.S. – Survive or Sacrifice’, which is being shot in and around Limassol said he loves the island.
Filming started earlier this month. It is a production by Atladium, which began operations in Cyprus in 2017 and specialises in feature films, television series and other video productions.
Altadium said the project was made possible due to the support from ‘The Initiative of Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency – Film in Cyprus’. With an aim to attract investors to its audiovisual industry, Cyprus launched “Olivewood” last year.
Speaking during a news conference in Limassol, Baldwin said he always wanted to visit the island as one of his best friends lives here. His stay was only a few days but “I definitely want to come back for more time,” he said. On a break from filming, he told Cybc he loved the food and had eaten lobster at a restaurant in Limassol.
The actor said that from his personal experience, the tax relief scheme the Cypriot government applied for the development of the audiovisual industry was expected to significantly boost the local economy and tourism.
Producer and actress Marianne Rosset, who is also in the film, and her husband Vitaly Rosset, expressed their satisfaction that they were contribute to the development of the film industry at the local level and to the promotion of Cyprus abroad through ‘S.O.S. Survive or Sacrifice’.
“We want to show how perfect Cyprus is for producing films,” they said.
The film, directed by Roman Doronin, is expected to be released by the end of 2020.
According to the script, two sisters, Kate and her younger sister – Liz, arrive at a seaside resort. At the hotel, they realise that the hapless Liz has left her passport at the airport. The sisters quarrel. Liz stays in the hotel room while Kate goes out for dinner, alone.
At a bar, Kate meets a travel blogger – Michelle, and her buddies: a local entrepreneur – Andreas, and a tourist – Nick. Andreas offers the two lovely ladies an unscheduled, impromptu ride on his tourist hot-air balloon.
As the result of a freak accident, the wind carries the balloon far out to sea. Their cell phones are out of range, and the gas canisters won’t last long. If they ditch in the sea everyone will drown.
A thunderstorm is approaching, and sharks begin to circle in the water below, but that’s not all: unbeknown to Kate, back on land, her hotel apartment has been burglarised, and little Liz has become an unwanted “material witness”.
The films cast includes, in addition to the well-known American actor, Jeannine Kaspar, Zach Rose and actors from Cyprus such as Christopher Greco, Andreas Aroditis, Maria Ioannou, Szymon Piotr Jedrziczyc, Alena Salimianova, Philip Konstantinos, Christos Christopides and Maria Panaseti.
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Cyprus’ Tamta and Greece’s Katerine Duska compete in the Eurovision Song Contest Final on Saturday at Tel Aviv Expo both countries made it via the semi-finals this week.
Cyprus sings in the number #11 slot, Greece #13 in the running order of 26 tonight.
Eleni Foureira was confirmed as a special guest interval act, last year’s Cyprus runners-up; she takes part in a tribute segment to former Eurovision entries.
The UK’s entry Michael Rice, with ‘Bigger Than Us’ is set to perform #16 in the line-up.
LGR’s Eurovision guru Tony Neophytou said, “Cyprus and Greece qualified and that is a great achievement, for patriotic reasons; Eurovision is increasingly competitive, and this year is no exception”.
Cyprus’ qualification streak continues for a fifth year, long may this continue. Greece made a strong comeback to the final following last year’s shock exit at the semis.
Tamta, performs infectious-catchy ‘Replay’ track, up-tempo pop-banger with a horns-fuelled chorus. Tony says, “The brass, or instrumental parts, are the biggest asset to this song, and no doubt gives it a slight edge.”
‘Replay’ shot to number one on the London Greek Radio, (LGR), Airplay Chart this month.
The song’s composer Alex Papaconstantinou, aka Alex P, was the man behind Eleni Foureira’s ‘Fuego’ – last year’s unlucky runners-up in the competition. He collaborates on the tune with Sweden-based songwriters, Geraldo Sandell, Viktor Svensson, Albin Nedler and Kristoffer “Bonn” Fogelmark.
The Greek pop singer struts the stage and the choreography is slick and on-point, with Sweden-based dancers Lamin, Kenny, Niklas and Benjamin.
Sacha Jean-Baptise, the creative woman behind ‘Fuego’, is in charge of the staging, and no doubt elevating the good modern radio-ready song.
Cyprus’ qualification streak continues for a fifth year, long may this continue. Greece made a strong comeback to the final following last year’s shock exit at the semi-finals.
Katerine Duska with mid-tempo pop ballad, ‘Better Love’. Another relevant and radio friendly, lovely melodic track.
Tony’s view is that “the songstress has a unique and distinctive voice and doesn’t hold back. ‘Better Love’ features strong vocals and that trademark soulful rasp, with melodic hooks swirling beneath the orchestral drums.
She nails the live vocal in the routine, especially the long high-note as the track climaxes, which earns high marks, with expert jurors.
Canadian-Greek indie-pop artist Katerine Duska co-writes Greece’s entry, ‘Better Love’ with Greek-British musician Leon of Athens and Scottish songwriter David Sneddon.
Reviewing the performance, Mr Neophytou said, “Katerine is in an ‘Edwardian’ frock with her ballerinas and her fencers on stage to tell the story, which is aesthetically pleasing. Flowery prop on stage, girls in yellow-frocks, it is pop-art, that’s brave staging, as it asks the viewer to interpret the elaborate stage, and indeed, focus on quite a few things.”
Tony looks at a few other contenders…
Netherlands with Duncan Lawrence ‘Arcade’, is a well-crafted ballad, with a genuine and sincere vocal. The type of slow-song which cuts to the soul. In March, after a 41 songs marathon, Tony picked out The Netherlands and Italy, as potential front-runners.
Italy (Mahmood, ‘Soldi’), is a hip hop track, sung in Italian, with a line in Arabic. The song is about his dad who walks out on him as a child; there’s a sad, moody feel to it; incredible good beat, with catchy refrains and peak moments in this well-made song.
Switzerland with (Luca Hänni, ‘She Got Me’) a “ethnic” pop song with exciting ‘clarinet’ breaks, and infectious beats.
Sweden, John Lundvik with ‘Too Late For Love’ and gospel-choir, very polished staging, catchy song, Sweden’s the usual Top 5, or there-about for years.
Azerbaijan (Chingiz, ‘Truth’), ethnic and modern fusion, just think of Greek-pop Laika, it’s sort of like that, Azeri-style. Some wicked effects his ‘body’ descends during the break-down part; digital robots, laser surgery on his broken heart, visually gripping.
Australia with Kate Miller-Heidke’s song, ‘Zero Gravity’, infuses operatic style with a pop beat. It covers a dark subject: her post-natal depression after giving birth to son Ernie. Kate, and two dancers are flying on poles above the ‘earth’ and is eye-catching staging.
Russia with Sergey Lazarev ‘Scream’, a dramatic ballad, is composed by Dimitris Kontopoulos and the man behind the creative staging is Fokas Evangelinos both Eurovision veterans. The stage with mirrors/holograms, multiple images each aspect and emotion of his personality. In short, a strong Greek team is behind it, with the same people as the 2016 second-placed Sergey entry.
The Eurovision Song Contest Final airs tonight on BBC1 at 8pm GMT.
London Greek Radio wishes Cyprus and Greece the very best of luck in the competition.
Article written by Tony Neophytou
Cyprus’ Tamta and Greece’s Katerine Duska have qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest’s final following a high-energy semi-final in Tel Aviv.
Australia, Iceland, Belarus, Serbia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, San Marino and Slovenia will also compete in the 26-strong event on Saturday.
A total of 17 international acts took to the stage on Tuesday night but only 10 moved on to the final following a 50-50 vote split between the public and music experts jury.
This result means Cyprus’ qualification streak continues for a fifth year, long may this continue. Greece made a strong comeback to the final following last year’s shock exit at the semi-finals.
Tamta was the opening act with infectious-catchy ‘Replay’ track, an up-tempo pop banger, that’s current and radio-friendly. The song builds to a horns-fuelled chorus with a thumping bass-line. LGR’s Eurovision guru, Tony Neophytou says, “The brass, or instrumental parts, are the biggest asset to this song, and no doubt gives it a slight edge.”
‘Replay’ shot to number one on the London Greek Radio, (LGR), Airplay Chart this month.
Georgian-Greek singer, Tamta Goduadze, 38, agreed to do the Eurovision gig last December and fulfilled a long-time ambition to participate in the event.
The song’s composer Alex Papaconstantinou, aka Alex P, was the man behind Eleni Foureira’s ‘Fuego’ – last year’s unlucky runners-up in the competition. He collaborates on the tune with Sweden-based songwriters, Geraldo Sandell, Viktor Svensson, Albin Nedler and Kristoffer “Bonn” Fogelmark.
Tony believes, “Both entries were qualifying worthy; with strong production, catchy hooks, melody, creative and thoughtful staging, exciting camera-work, with credible performers to support the entries.”
The Greek pop singer worked the stage with a cutesy charm; whipping up excitement in the crowd at Tel Aviv Expo. The choreography was on-point, with Tamta, centre and front of stage with dancers Lamin, Kenny, Niklas and Benjamin from Sweden.
Sacha Jean-Baptise, the creative woman behind ‘Fuego’, is in charge of the staging, and no doubt, the slick routine, elevated, a good, modern radio-ready song.
Katerine Duska came on number 16 in the line-up, she performed mid-tempo pop song ‘Better Love’. Another relevant and radio-friendly track which, the reviewer believes “the song has hit-potential that goes far and wide. It forges the idea that Greek music has multi-versatile styles, genres, sub-genres, with this lovely, melodic indie-pop track.”
Canadian-Greek indie-pop artist Ms Duska co-writes Greece’s entry, ‘Better Love’ with Greek-British musician Leon of Athens and Scottish songwriter David Sneddon.
Tony’s view is that “the songstress has a unique and distinctive voice and doesn’t hold back. ‘Better Love’ features strong vocals and that trademark soulful rasp, with melodic hooks swirling beneath the orchestral drums.”
The stage act is colourful with blossoming flowers, pinks and purple-like tulips. Greece have no camera-effects or tech gadgets as part of the show, instead a song, Katerine interprets with an honest and sincere vocal.
Reviewing the performance, Mr Neophytou said, “Katerine is in an ‘Edwardian’ frock with her ballerinas and her fencers on stage to tell the story, which is aesthetically pleasing.”
The Greek pop industry should continue to invest in good, quality acts, and for sure it is scratching the surface. Tony believes, “Cyprus and Greece have a wealth of song-writing talent, that could put their foot forward at Eurovision. The composers, producers, that write high-impact, ethnic pop songs, every-day hits, that are extremely popular on LGR, would no doubt be rated pretty high at Eurovision, with creative staging”.
UK residents could not vote in this round but will be able to during the 18-act second semi-final on Thursday and the final on Saturday.
The Eurovision Song Contest Final is broadcast on Saturday 18th May on BBC1.
London Greek Radio wishes Cyprus and Greece the very best of luck in the competition.
Article written by Tony Neophytou
The Eurovision Semi-Final 1 airs on Tuesday 14th May at 8pm UK time with Cyprus and Greece competing among 17 countries. The aim is clear-cut: a Top 10 finish guarantees qualification to the final on Saturday.
As Eurovision week begins at the Tel Aviv Expo in Israel, Cyprus and Greece are well-fancied ‘favourites’ in the first semi-final to qualify. Katerine Duska is slightly edging it at 2/1 ‘first favourite’ to win the semi-final for Greece. Both countries are Top 12 to win the Eurovision outright and seize the 2019 trophy.
Tamta and Katerine Duska have entered the London Greek Radio [LGR] official Air-Play Chart this month. The tracks, ‘Replay’ and ‘Better Love’ are proving popular with listeners, which reflect their cross-over potential, as hits and radio-friendly songs.
Cyprus is opening the first semi in slot number one, officially launching Eurovision this year.
Tamta performs ‘Replay’, an up-tempo dance track that has a horns-fuelled chorus with a thumping bassline. LGR’s Eurovision guru, Tony Neophytou says, “The brass, or instrumental parts, are the biggest asset to this song, and no doubt gives it a slight edge.”
Georgian-Greek singer, Tamta Goduadze, 38, agreed to do the Eurovision gig last December and fulfilled a long-time ambition to participate in the event.
The Greek star who is very popular in her hometown, could be quite popular in Tel Aviv.
CyBC chiefs felt that the Georgian-born singer was right for this year’s contest as the up-tempo tune compliments Tamta as a singer and performance-artist, comprising that “complete package”.
The song’s composer Alex Papaconstantinou, aka Alex P, was the man behind Eleni Foureira’s ‘Fuego’ – last year’s unlucky runners-up in the competition. He collaborates on the tune with Sweden-based songwriters, Geraldo Sandell, Viktor Svensson, Albin Nedler and Kristoffer “Bonn” Fogelmark.
Sacha Jean-Baptise, the creative woman behind ‘Fuego’, is in charge of the staging and “it looks like it will no doubt be an elevated, good, modern radio-ready song”, according to Mr Neophytou. Tony has had a sneak-peak of the rehearsal footage and the Cypriot staging “is on-point, very slick, and professional. It appears that many disciplined hours, weeks and months has clearly gone into this and they hope it will pay-off.”
He added, “It’s a slick black, white and blue presentation with smart camera work and quick shot changes. Tamta is the pop-star oozing confidence, sexiness and a cute smile; front and centre of the stage, with four dancers Lamin, Kenny, Niklas and Benjamin from Sweden.
“It is street-dance, choreographed and rigorous, for three minutes, which are highly entertaining. Tamta is in a white and black outfit, black pleather boots snaked all the way up to her thighs; with a nice Eurovision “trick” of a costume-change adding a dynamic element to the stage show.
“For the “replay” lyric, we get the repetitive camera tricks as we see in Tamta’s music video, with some smoke pyrotechnics for the final chorus of the performance.”
Canadian-Greek indie-pop artist Katerine Duska co-writes Greece’s entry, ‘Better Love’ with Greek-British musician Leon of Athens and Scottish songwriter David Sneddon.
Tony Neophytou’s view is that “the songstress has a unique and distinctive voice and doesn’t hold back. ‘Better Love’ features strong vocals and that trademark soulful rasp, with melodic hooks swirling beneath the orchestral drums.
Her soaring vocals and catchy chorus give the tune that feel of a “competitive” package and a possible game-changer, as Greece embarks on a comeback to the Eurovision final, after a shock exit at the semis last year.
Tony continued, “The pop-art staging is colourful, with flowers blooming and romantic overtures that suit the song.”
Katerina said, “I’d like to keep it [the song] open to interpretation”. Tony added that the song has great-depth lyrically. “It’s a mid-tempo track, ethereal that in essence, is about purist and unconditional love”, Mr Neophytou concluded.
One interesting theory behind the inspired-staging, suggests a painting of renaissance from “Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch.
Reviewing the performance, Tony Neophytou said, “Katerine is in an ‘Edwardian’ frock with her ballerinas and her fencers on stage to tell the story, which is aesthetically pleasing.”
Backing-vocalists Erasma Markides and Eleni Ponzantzidou, along with dancers Dimitra Vlachou and Fania Grigoriou complete the line up for Greece.
The Eurovision first Semi-Final airs on Tuesday 14th May at 8pm on BBC4.
The Eurovision Song Contest Final is broadcast on Saturday 18th May on BBC1.
Tamta performs in the running order of 17 at slot number #1. Meanwhile, Ms Duska is at #16 second to last.
London Greek Radio wishes Cyprus and Greece the very best of luck in the competition.
Article written by Tony Neophytou
Cypriot broadcaster CyBC confirmed in December that Greek star Tamta would fly the flag at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Georgian-Greek singer, Tamta Goduadze, 38, ticks-off Eurovision on her wish-list; that’s right a song contest she has thought about doing for absolute ages. Tamta came agonisingly close to achieving it – not once, but twice and denied the chance which is lucky for Cyprus as she said ‘Yes!’ to the Cypriot proposal this year.
The pop up-tempo track ‘Replay’ is very current and very radio-friendly.
Her catchy song reigned number one on the London Greek Radio, LGR, Official Air-Play Chart this month.
It’s very upbeat, very infectious horns-fuelled chorus with a thumping bassline. The brass parts are a big asset to the song and no doubt gives it a slight edge.
CyBC chiefs felt that the Georgian-born singer was right for this year’s contest as the up-tempo tune compliments Tamta as a singer and performance-artist comprising that “complete package”.
The song’s composer Alex Papaconstantinou aka Alex P was the man behind Eleni Foureira’s ‘Fuego’ – last year’s fantastic runners-up in the competition. He collaborates on the tune with Sweden-based songwriters Geraldo Sandell, Viktor Svensson, Albin Nedler and Kristoffer “Bonn” Fogelmark.
The music video is portraying Tamta within a very urban and industrial context, that seems to fit accurately the modern song. It’s very slick and well-made, with Greek director Giannis Michelopoulos piercing together a lot of fast-paced shots and costume changes. If you blink, you will miss Tamta alternate a street-wise lass, to “dominatrix”, and casual-girl-next. The pop-idol is playing the role of an enchantress who’s spinning ‘a man into a state of infatuation’. A fun act/entry oozing that “sexiness” x-factor, so on trend with a particular type of pop-genre now.
Sacha Jean-Baptise, the creative woman behind ‘Fuego’ last year is in charge of the Cypriot staging and no doubt will help to elevate Tamta’s staging and song on the left side of the scoreboard.
Tamta starts rehearsal week at the Tel Aviv Expo which hosts Eurovision this month. The singer confirmed four dancers will join her on stage, all-Swedish professional dancers, Lamin, Kenny, Niklas and Benjamin and no doubt will give it that strong visual element to compliment the track. It’s slick, stylish, with tight and creative camera-work, that helps create that strong visual impact on stage.
Cyprus is opening the First Semi-Final in slot number #1 with a show-stopper routine to officially launch Eurovision this year.
Cyprus has qualified to four-consecutive finals and Tamta is hoping to emulate that success, with a well-deserved fifth-finalist. The Cypriots have a great form and one that is a very proud achievement for the country.
At the time of writing, Cyprus are virtually neck-and-neck with Greece ‘first-favourite’ to win the Semi-Final. It is a Top 10 ‘seventh’ to win Eurovision, and seize the 2019 trophy. The nation is somewhat a “Eurovision power-house” lately so it’s a winner in our books; and it puts to the centre, and forefront, Cypriot and Greek pop music to a huge audience.
LGR’s Tony Neophytou said, “The Top 10 is potentially theirs; a competitive line-up this year. The Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia’s comeback with Sergey Lazarev. Interestingly their composer is Dimtris Kontopoulos with fellow-Greek Fokas Evangelinos staging Russia’s effort with Eurovision pedigree under their belt.”
Cyprus competes in the Eurovision First Semi-Final which airs on Tuesday 14th May at 8pm GMT.
She performs in the running order of 17 at slot number #1.
The Eurovision Song Contest Final is broadcast on Saturday 18th May at 8pm GMT.
London Greek Radio wish Tamta and the Cypriot delegation the very best of luck in the competition.
Article written by Tony Neophytou
Canadian-Greek indie-pop artist Katerine Duska co-writes Greece’s entry, ‘Better Love’ with Greek-British musician Leon of Athens and Scottish songwriter David Sneddon.
Greek broadcaster ERT confirmed earlier this year that Ms Duska would fly the Greek flag at the Tel Aviv Expo for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Israel.
Montreal-born singer-songwriter, Katerine, 29, has recorded the song in London with producer and friend Phil Cook.
Greek ERT TV bosses formed a working committee to choose the act for this year. Chairman Dimitris Papadimitriou labelled Katerine (translated), “A Greek artist and talent with immense quality and one that is strongly indicative of indie-pop music.”
‘Better Love’ features strong vocals and that trademark soulful rasp, with melodic hooks swirling beneath the orchestral drums. This is a very original choice in terms of a Greek Eurovision entry and it’s a song that is uplifting and anthemic.
The well-constructed tune is a very strong competitor this year with a catchy chorus and hooks, which excitingly build-up as the three-minute song captivates.
The songstress has a unique and distinctive voice and she doesn’t hold back in this year’s Eurovision line-up. Katerine provides a strong vocal hook on top of an anthemic chorus to ‘Better Love’ and the vocally-impressive singer excels in her performance.
The mid-tempo track is current indie-pop and radio-friendly; one that has already entered the London Greek Radio, (LGR), playlist.
The ‘Better Love’ which the song refers to is the eternal quest for a higher love, one which is deep, unconditional and unapologetic. The lyrics about love and empowerment most people and no doubt the listener can relate to it on some level.
Her soaring high-notes combined with strong melodic hooks give the tune that feel of a “competitive” package and a possible game-changer, as Greece embarks on a comeback to the Eurovision final, after a shock exit at the semi-finals last year.
LGR’s Tony Neophytou said, “I think that this is a great Eurovision competition song, one that is a sure-fire qualifier and potentially a Top 10 in the final.”
The music video relies on strong pop-art visuals with pink, light-colours. The creative woman behind this video is Efi Gousi and she manages the staging in Tel Aviv. Katerine Douska wears pink reinforcing the theme of purist romanticism and a “better love”. The video is a females-only cast looking very disciplined and artistic.
Katerine said that the staging is planned to compliment the “pop-art” atmospheric concept and she will be joined on stage by backing-vocalists Erasma Markides and Eleni Ponzantzidou along with dancers Dimitra Vlachou and Fania Grigoriou.
Ms Duska was raised in a Greek home listening to esteemed composers Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hatzidakis and Mimis Plessas, spending countless hours as a young teen tuned into soul, pop and R&B. She has a background in classical music where she studied classical guitar and interpreting Arias and Lieder, venturing into ‘experimental song-writing’ influenced greatly by the indie-pop and Neo-soul genre.
Katerine studied law at the Kapodistrian University of Athens, only to realise that music was what she actually wanted to pursue professionally.
Katerine rose to indie stardom in 2014 with the hit, ‘One in a Million’ and her cover of the Arctic Monkeys, “Do I Wanna Know”, which has reached over a million views on YouTube.
Her 2015 debut album ‘Embodiment’ won critics over with the lead track “Fire Away”, featuring prominently in a Nescafe Canada advertising campaign.
Greece competes in the Eurovision first Semi-Final which airs on Tuesday 14th May at 8pm GMT.
She performs in the running order of 17 at slot number 16.
The Eurovision Song Contest Final is broadcast on Saturday 18th May at 8pm GMT.
For all of your Eurovision news on Greece, make sure you regularly check back to lgr.co.uk and tune into LGR to hear ‘Better Love’ this Eurovision season.
London Greek Radio wish Katerine and the Greek delegation the very best of luck in the competition.
Article written by Tony Neophytou
