Sometimes falling for the bad boy can feel so good — even when you know it’s a potential road to ruin. And so it goes for Cyprus‘s Eurovision 2021 singer Elena Tsagrinou in her song “El Diablo” — a dance-pop number about balancing passion and desire with reason and self-control.
The video premiered on Wednesday on Happy Hour — the afternoon show of CyBC1. From 17:00 until the evening of February 27, the music video will be available exclusively on Panik’s website, www.panikmusic.gr, as well as on the app for Panik Music available for both iOS and Android platforms.
Watch the “El Diablo” music video at Panik Records
Elena Tsagrinou releases “El Diablo” music video
During the verses Elena knows that she’s breaking the rules, but she’s ready to play with fire anyway. The pace here is quick and the sound dark and sultry. There’s an awareness of sin and an embrace of the devil’s allure.
Tonight we gonna burn in a party
We wild as fire that’s on the loose
Hotter than sriracha on our bodies
T- taco – tamale – ya that’s my mood
All this spicy melts my icy edges baby it’s true
Tonight we gonna burn in a party
It’s heaven in hell with you
The song then transitions to a quiet, breathy pre-chorus where a whisper becomes a cry for help: “Mamacita, tell me what to do.” But before she can articulate an escape plan, she unleashes the wall-of-sound chorus which suggests it’s too late to turn back. It’s not just the hook of the song — it’s also a confession fuelled by adrenaline.
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Instagram stickers and emojis draw the devil in cutesy, animated form, but Elena swerves away from cliché in her music video to instead deliver a high-concept work of art. A figurative Hell can be read in the grey, barren space where we see her contemplating the madness that is her relationship. At times it leaves her flat on her back, writhing as she fights the demons of her heart — and the one in her bedroom.
At the climax of the song she battles a series of shirtless men painted in dark greys to blacks — the colours of ash and soot. Their violent dancing fits perfectly with her internal struggle. At the end of it all they lift Elena upward, her blonde hair a rare source of light, along with a red-orange spotlight. Has she embraced her role as El Diablo’s angel or has she seen the light and found salvation? That’s for you to decide.
The music video was directed by George Mpenioudakis, with fashion and styling by the internationally acclaimed Greek fashion designer Celia Kritharioti. Chali Jennings, the successful American choreographer, put these bodies in motion.
About the “El Diablo” songwriters
Owing to Cyprus’ strong track record at Eurovision in recent years, there was no shortage of songwriters who wanted to throw their songs into the ring. In the end, a fab foursome won the honour. Hailing from Sweden, Canada, Brazil and Denmark, they honour the #OpenUp spirit Cyprus is known for.
Jimmy “Joker” Thornfeldt
If you dive into Jimmy Joker’s discography, you’ll be there for a very long time. He’s a Swedish music producer and songwriter, and the winner of multiple Grammy Awards. He’s topped the charts worldwide working with artists including Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Marc Anthony, Daddy Yankee and others. Melfest fans will appreciate his work with Love Generation on “Dance Alone” And for those of you who love Baywatch, he even wrote “Piña Colada Girl” for David Hasselhoff!
Laurell Barker
Platinum certified, Juno-award-wining Canadian singer/songwriter Laurell has penned hits in over twenty countries — and that’s just in the last three years! She’s reached #1 in countries from South Korea to Sweden, working with artists like TWICE, Girls Generation, Nico Santos, Hanna Ferm and Oh My Girl.
She’s also become a major force within the world of Eurovision. In 2019 she famously became the first and so far only female songwriter to have three songs compete in a Eurovision final: Michael Rice’s “Bigger Than Us”, S!sters’ “Sister” and Luca Hänni’s “She Got Me”. Among her Melodifestivalen hits are Hanna Ferm’s “Brave” and Margaret’s “Tempo”.
Oxa
Oxa is a Brazilian-born songwriter, singer, dancer and artist. She understands rhythm better than most: In 2012 she performed as a dancer for Jennifer Lopez’ Vegas show “Q’viva the chosen Live”. Since then she’s performed in musicals all around the world, including The Lion King (Brazil), Tarzan (Germany) and Kinky Boots (Broadway). German viewers will recognise her from The Voice of Germany in 2019.
Thomas Stengaard
Denmark’s Thomas Stengaard is a multi-platinum selling songwriter and producer. He’s known among Eurovision fans for winning Eurovision in 2013 as a writer on Emmelie de Forest’s “Only Teardrops”. At Eurovision 2018 he placed fourth, having co-written and produced Germany’s entry “You Let Me Walk Alone” from Michael Schulte. He’s also worked with Nico Santos, Adel Tawil, Alvaro Soler, Carpark North and many more.
What do you think of the Cypriot entry for Eurovision 2021? Is this climbing to the top of your list? Let us know in the comments box down below.
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Product placement , yes it funny in a way, sponsorship is the answer, someone has to pay for the video. This is common in many places and themes when your doing/creating a big thing on a low budget.
Product placement in the video aside, this song is a bop. Definitely on trend with what Cyprus has been serving us since 2018. It is a bit derivative from Bad Romance, but it’s still catchy. It will be interesting to see how this is staged and whether it will qualify.
HATERS, you say it’s not unique because she is immitating Lady Gaga, Rita Ora and Zara Larsson. You say the song is similar to “Anywhere”, “Alessandro”, “Love land”, “Bad Romance” and so many other songs. Well, with so many influences how can you say it’s a copy? The song has its influences because it’s main stream and modern! Evidently it stands out by itself. Besides, is this pleasant to your ears?? Then shut up and enjoy!
I love the smell of Big Mac in the morning.
Just ok, but I excepted more.
Sounds like “Bad Romance” in chorus and that spoils the first impression indeed. Feels featureless. The video feels quite fine though
Thank you! I was trying to figure out which lady Gaga song remind me off
Too many cooks spoil the broth and this is for sure spoiled… Dear Cyprus, for the money you spend you could do a whole lot better!
Agree.
Ok as much as I love quality Pop music…I hate this. It’s a clear rip off of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance & Alejandro. Yes, Victoria is similar to Billie Eilish, but at least she is giving it her own twist and doesn’t copy her Songs 1:1. Also, the music video…I mean COME ON AT LEAST TRY TO MAKE THE PRODUCT PLACEMENT DECENT. This just feels cheap and not creative at all. I guess it will do well enough (if Gaga’s Team doesn’t sue her)
It is trashy and generic and I don’t have a problem with that at all. 🙂 What I miss here is charisma, the same charisma that French girl has, that Iceland, Russia, Hurricane girls have. Like those people you catch on the screen and you cannot look away. This girl is… let’s say “radio friendly”.
If there were a Euroclub this year, I would have loved to dance to this song. However, to me this feels like this year’s Cleopatra. A decent pop banger with cheap lyrics (Mexican food?), with no relation at all to the country it represents. Cyprus is doing exactly the opposite of what Portugal is doing: the focus is on scoring instead of showcasing your musical talent. They might score better this way, but I can’t really feel happy if this is the direction Eurovision is moving in.
People accusing Cyprus of copying Lady Gaga etc will no doubt be clapping like seals when Bulgaria send their Billie Eilish tribute act!
You are so right. Cyprus my new nr 1!!!
There is copying and being inspired by someone. Cyprus is a blatant fraudulent entry, which copied not just the video club, but parts of the song too from different artists. Like, seriously, who do they think they are fooling. Only themselves.
Victoria is definitely inspired by Billie Eillish, but at least isn’t copying video clips frame by frame and songs note by note.
Oh come on! You are trashing it now for being basic and generic, but you know as much as I do that youll dance your life off to it. I know I did lol
I usually gravitate towards rock or alternative pop (yeah, the title is extremely pretencious lol), but with the year we are having… I NEED A GOOD BOP.
Is this a good bop? It isn’t really energetic enough to dance to, it feels sort of non committal
Has anyone noticed a controversial choreography on ‘touch me, touch me’ (@1:28)?
She put a hand around her neck as if she likes being choked by El Diablo…
Not that there’s anything wrong with fetishism…just saying…
Don’t think like that.
I am lesbian and I really like that song. First the ”bad boy” can be translated as ”bad girl”
Americans say all the time ”Oh Boy”…and one girl can said to another girl..
Music isn’t about gender…
MEH
Another American style pop song that used to be popular but not anymore.
I like the song but I can’t help thinking of Rita Ora’s “Anywhere” during the chorus. The melody is identical.
I hate it – it´s a copy both from Rita Ora and Lady Gaga.
0/10 in my list, even Croatia is better.
Should be removed for Lady Gaga plagiarism. Sounds identical…
A great example of how lyrics-by-committee becomes a bland collection of words with no meaning… Tacos and tamales? Really? And sriracha?! That’s not even a Spanish/Latin condiment! As a Cypriot, I am insulted by CyBC’s continuous attempt to go for the “win” rather than celebrate local artists. This year, it’s bad enough no Cypriot artists are involved at any level, but to bring in all these people who produce a song by the numbers and throw together a bunch of “Spanish” words to make a predictable song, is quite offensive. And how do these Greek labels not realize how pathetic… Read more »
imagine being a straight eurofan lol
It’s like Rita’s Anywhere
Absolutely !
Thoughts after 3 seconds of watching the music video: WOW this is a cheeky copy of Zara Larsson!!! Thoughts after 30 seconds: The song sounds EXACTLY like Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
Seeing swedes blaming cyprus for a copycat entry is freaking hilarious
The song is ok. But nothing special. Another copy of US pop songs. But the video is indeed stunning. Especially parts with Head&Shoulders 😀 😀
I hate when people compare songs like that, but in this case The chorus is almost 1:1 with “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, especially its beginning.
The song’s production quality is quite high and it is exceptionally tight and well edited.
William – it looks like your Cyprus reaction video was taken down due to copyright issues – can you repost so YouTube won’t take down?
Oh, the apparent irony of it happening on this entry. Ahaha
Maybe that’s the reason the music video isn’t on youtube yet ?they are afraid that youtube will take it down because of copyright claims from Lady Gaga
(Oh my swear word was removed..) put it in Spotify please pretty please.. 😀
Such a disappointment! Elena Tsagkrinou is such a sweet heart and a very good singer, but I’m quite fed up with Cyprus doing the same thing for the last 4 years (with the exception of a male singer last year). No creativity, none ‘out of the box’ thinking, and no originality since ‘Fuego’ (and even Fuego was a kind of a Beyoncé “inspired”). This is the best example that “Copy & paste” or in the softer word “inspired” doesn’t work in art. Maybe it will qualify from the semi-final (I’m not sure at all), but if yes – than a… Read more »
Better than “Running” and better than “Replay” – so I am quite pleased with it.
The straights are at it again
Good to see Cyprus’s use of the Spanish language and latino/hispanic identity as a gimmick is alive and kicking.
I’d say he was thinking about Elena, since the song is about her falling in love with a bad guy.
Well, if you’re going to be like that then you might as well compare Victoria to other Dark Pop, Indie Pop, and Bedroom pop singers like Aurora (who may I remind you is Billie’s inspiration for her singing style), Beabadoobee, Blanche, London Grammar, AViVA, Lorde, Zalagasper, Olivia Rodrigo, Tove Lo, Au/Ra, Baby Jane, Allie X, Tate McRae, Sub Urban and many more because I think I find it really unfair that people are willing to point fingers at artist who are trying to be original with the same sound and aesthetic in an industry that it’s getting more expansive and… Read more »
It feels like a light version of early 2010s Lady Gaga.
It’s a pretty good earworm imo
I LOVE this! It’s so modern and sound layering is so clever. <3
If she can deliver like Eleni did Cyprus might doing well
I really hope they didn’t push Sandro aside for this. It’s everything I feared when I saw the songwriting team. Whatever Cyprus is paying them, they just committed robbery. I hope it’s written entirely with a stage performance in mind because as is, it’s definitely not for me. This, to me, is not comparable to Fuego or Replay, which I kinda enjoyed, but more similar to Cleopatra, which I really didn’t.
Those of you who are liking it, I’m glad!
I predict this can reach top 5 if she can deliver a solid live performance! Idk her live skills cause is the first time that i am hearing something from Elena but i can say she is magnetic…
Congratz from Portugal 😉
If Elena sings well, Cyprus could be fine, but if she falters, oooh it could be disastrous. Despite my mixed feelings on this song, I wish her luck.
It’s rubbish.
its not xx
Love dance pop songs. I’ve only heard it once and I can already say it’s my 5th favorite. It may go higher after I listen to it more like the rest.
I love how they did that brought to you by head and shoulders and blue sky bit at the end…yeah we noticed.
being current?
should i know what sriracha is? had to google it
Who is to say whether you should or shouldn’t have known?
If you live in Europe, then sriracha of course isn’t as common as eggs or bread, but it’s not exactly other-worldly either…
but if you live in Thailand, get your head out of the clouds! 🙂
It’s a pretty good song, and something Cyprus can elevate with staging. How it’s performed live will make it or break it, like how Fuego came 2nd while Replay ended up in the middle of the pack. I’m glad Cyprus have ditched Sacha Jean-Baptiste, I’m still having nightmares of the awful “replay replay replay yeah” movements Tamta did while performing to the point that I can’t get it out of my head while I listen to the studio version of the song. I really hope Cyprus can elevate “El Diablo” live!
I’m estimating a lower top 10. It’s better than replay but not as good as fuego. If it’s staged well I can see this at like 9th or maybe 8th.
If it qualifies, it might have a chance for a decent final placing. But if the semi final performance is bad, then goodbye Cyprus. No 12 points from Greece can save them because they are split up in different semi finals.
Joke aside, I hope it goes well for Elena. For my mixed feelings, El Diablo is definitely better than last year’s entry and it could have a higher chance to qualify if it has a great live performance.
All depends on the performance and how this delivers , and anything like the video the song will certainly be a strong contender! This is current, appealing and it delivers. Even now I remember the chorus . This gets everyone up to dance. Best remedy for months in isolation .
I like this it is a decent entry. But yeah I feel like I have heard this all before. The lady gaga vibes are obvious, but thats not necessarily a bad thing.
I wish they were less obvious.
The best song so far .. I would say that Cyprus, Lithuania and Croatia are in the top 10.
I think it’s a compliment to compare to Lady Gaga’s songs … and with so many songs, it’s hard to achieve complete authenticity.
The song is great, the only question is whether the viewers will punish the obvious lack of creativity. 😮
This will do well I think. Let’s be honest, when you listen to the average pop song on the radio these days, it’s clear that lack of creativity isn’t an issue for most people.
can t agree more… i see this on my replay list for a few days.
I really love it, but I’m a sucker for “bops” haha. However, you can’t deny the extreme similarity to Bad Romance in the chorus, as well as the video concept of Love Me Land. However, this seems to be a trend with Cyprus. The songs of 2016, 2017, and 2019 all sounded like copy & pastes of other songs. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed all those songs, it just seems like there is a lack of originality, which I think rubs some people the wrong way.