In recent years Cyprus has struggled at the Eurovision Song Contest. Thankfully state broadcaster CyBC is investing big in this year’s national selection process, known as the Eurovision Song Project. But succeeding at ESC takes more than money, honey. Fortunately the Cypriots have another ace up their sleeve in Eurovision veteran, producer and Renaissance man Alex Panayi, who will serve as a judge.
As you’ll recall, Alex placed 9th at Eurovision 1995, and has served as a backing vocalist for Helena Paparizou and Sakis Rouvas, as vocal director for Farid Mammadov and The Tolmachevy Sisters, and as the composer and English lyricist for Sophia Patsalides at Junior Eurovision 2014. L-E-G-E-N-D.
We caught up with Alex at Junior Eurovision, and he explained his role in Cyprus’ beefed-up selection process.
“I will be part of the jury that decides which six songs go into the final, and of course I’ll be a judge in the final,” he says. “It will be 50% for the jury and 50% for the public. There will be no televoting in the previous stages of the selection. It’s just gonna be the jurors’ votes. We want to make sure that we have a decent six songs in the final…songs that in our professional opinion have a good chance to stand on the Eurovision stage.”
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we will la la love the winner!
@Helen – at least you have a final with 6 entrants. I don’t see anything wrong with letting only the jury to narrow down the list from 60 songs to 6 and showing recorded auditions. It’s something different from what Cyprus is accustomed to in recent years. Cyprus can’t afford to do a lengthy selection process and it usually doesn’t pay off in the end: just look at Lithuania, Latvia, Belgium etc…
The six is already choosen. this programs has been recorded so we already know who the finalists name and the songs are
I think it’s very very weird
And very bad CyBC
T-h-r-y-l-o-s… I don’t think they’re underrated, it’s just that ever since 2004 when they reached 5th place, they’ve never come as nearly as close to it and some of their choices over the years were inconsistent. Not every nation can pull a ‘Malta’ where the entire island is engaged with Eurovision as a national resource…just because Malta positioned itself as a start-up nation of aspiring singers and songwriters and a hub for Eurovision hopefulls doesn’t mean that every other country can or wants to follow suit.
I hope they choose a good song. Cyprus are so underrated