a tale of 2 Greek Eurovision Song Contest entries

For some reason I have oddly been fascinated by Greek Eurovision Song Contest entries in the past. *** guilty pleasures ***, I guess... - here is a story of two entries which went opposite ways.

Mia Krifi Mia Krifi Evesthisia (Μια κρυφή ευαισθησία, English translation: A Hidden Sensitivity) caused some controversy. The group were not happy with the way their performance was to be filmed, and demanded changes. When their demands were not met, they threatened to quit the contest on the final day of rehearsals, and on the afternoon of the very day of the contest, they pulled out. Only minutes after their withdrawal, however, the group returned to the studio, having decided to go through with the performance after all. However, the song's lyricist, Yiannis Malachias, was not permitted to attend the contest, on account of the number of aggressive tantrums he had had when things were not going his way.

Because of the single falling flat, it was not avaialble to buy and, months later, visiting my Greek friend Andreas in NYC, where Eurovision is as popular as rat in a house, I asked him to see if anyone in his native country would be able to get hold of it. His brother, then somwhat associated with the local music industry, made some enquiries and got hold of a copy for me. Under the condition from the composer - and get that - that Andreas would approach NYC media to publish the 'scandal' surrounding the contest performance. With the time difference, calls from the composer usually came in in the middle of the night. Unsurprisingly, the 'scandal' never aired in the US - but I still got my copy. Andreas: I owe you big time!
With the rapid expansion of the Contest, the decision was taken to restrict entry to those countries which had performed better over the previous 5 years, a group which did not include Greece. Thus, Greece was not invited to the 1999 Contest. Neither did they enter the 2000 Contest. The song was therefore succeeded as Greek representative at the 2001 Contest by Antique with '(I Would) Die for You'.

'(I Would) Die for You' was the first Greek entry not to be performed entirely in Greek - by Antique, a duo consisting of Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis, both born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. Prior to entering the Contest the group had had two Top10 hits in both Greece and Sweden with 'Opa Opa' and 'Dinata Dinata'.
The contest performance was a relatively static affair, with both singers as well as the backing vocalists standing in front of microphones to sing. Elena Paparizou, however, wore a tight white outfit, standing out against the black-clad backing singers and her duet partner. While the contest had by this point embraced pre-recorded music, Nikos Panagiotidis performed with the traditional Greek instrument bouzouki throughout.
Following the contest it sold amazingly well around Europe, reaching Top10 and Top20 positions, even claimbing to TRK#1 and UK#26! The song should provide the platform for Elena Paparizou's rise and rise.

Thalassa - Mia Krifi Evesthisia (1998)
At the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 #20 (12 points - all from Cyprus)



Antique - I Would Die For You (2001)
At the Eurovision Contest 2001: #3 (147 points)
GRE#1, TRK#1, SWE#3, POL#4, RUS#4, EuroHot100 #9, NOR#9, DE#12, DK#15, BE#16, UK#26, CH#75
SWE: 3x Platinum, GRE: Platinum)