Yesterday morning the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of musical unprofessionals — traveled to Mykonos where we indulged in taramasalata before admiring the bronzed bodies on Elias Beach. As we slathered on sun screen we reveiwed Greece’s Eurovision 2015 singer Maria Elena Kyriakou and her song “One Last Breath”. Did we pass her an oxygen tank and beg her to keep singing? Or were we happy for her to stop breathing? Read on to find out…
Greece’s Eurovision 2015 song
Reviews: Maria Elena Kyriakou with ‘One Last Breath’
Angus: Hellenic history lesson: Ancient Greece gave birth to the tragedy! Maria Elena Kyriakou has found the song to express her voice and the melodrama of her message is difficult to resist. It is refreshing to see Greece not hiding behind a gimmick this year.
Score: 7/10
William: Following up on Angus’ comments, Greece also gave birth to DRAMA! Part Lara Fabian, part Celine Dion, Maria Elena channels the best of both divas and makes the most of every single note. She oozes the pain of Antigone and the madness of Medea. But unlike those ficitonal figures Maria is very much alive. If I had one last breath, Maria Elena just took it away.
Score: 8.5/10
Bogdan: Christina Aguilera, is that you? Alas, it’s not you, just Maria Elena Kyriakou who’s trying to copy a version of you from years past. Oh well. The song is amazing, if you live in 2006. However, almost ten years later, it feels like we’ve heard it all before, same with this style of singing. There is nothing to grab you, no surprise, no actual hook. I am very disappointed and I think Greece made a very bad choice this year. (Also: if I want to hear American music, I’ll watch American Idol, not Eurovision!)
Score: 4/10
Padraig: Well this is false advertising… or does “one last breath” mean something different these days? For the first half of the song I could just about buy it, Maria’s *dying* we’re sleeping, boo hoo. And then suddenly she starts belting it out – that’s not a wise move if you don’t have long for this world. And then she comes to a complete stop. Are we to take it that she’s dropped dead? Do we care? Her vocals are great, but I can’t connect with the song at all. Some last minute wailing doesn’t save this from being a snore-fest.
Score: 4.5/10
Robyn: Last year, under the influence of Adele’s “Skyfall” theme song, a whole lot of Bond-style ballads went to Copenhagen – and one of them won. This year there’s only one song in this style and it feels about as on-trend as bumster bootleg jeans. I expect Greece will bumble their way into the final, but I’m disappointed by this selection. Greece are playing it so safe this year and it’s boring.
Score: 5/10
Kristin: Never in my life have I been this pissed at Greece! There is absolutely nothing going on there, apart from the singer’s desperate attempt to mimic Anna Vissi. I’m going to place an order now. Dear Greece. Please pull your s**t together! This is just flat out boring. I’m sorry, but I’ll pass on this disaster.
Score: 1/10
Our first reaction (6 March)
Judit: In a year full of ballads, I thought Greece would send something better — a good song with a Greek twist. Alas. For me this is the most forgettable song, and a big dissappointment. It’s as if Greece has lost the spirit of ESC. I don’t think they’ll be in the final.
Score: 1.5/10
Sopon: Greece, where are you? Where is the overrated dance-pop diva that you bring almost every year? Or at least some mustachioed men in kilts? C’mon, this is awful! This is a new low for Greece, it’s as if Portugal sent an entry completely in English. Dreadfully slow and boring, with a lackluster buildup, I’m more than seriously worried about Greece’s chances for qualifying this year.
Score: 1/10
Chris: So, let’s get this out of the way: this is just a reworked version of “Hurt” by Christina Aguilera, right? Okay, good. Now let’s move on to the fact that Maria-Elena powers through this song like a true champion. That voice is giving me everything and I fully expect her to own it on stage in Vienna. No marks for originality, but I think that this will get a whole heap of points from the jury – especially after Finland. Another one that’s good enough, but looks average compared with the best.
Score: 6/10
Deban: A traditional, technically proficient ballad that’s voiced beautifully by Maria, the sensational singing Greek goddess. Perhaps the best power ballad from Greece since Mando. “One Last Breath” takes flight on strained emotion and develops texture on repeat listens. Although a little lacking in individuality, the right staging could fix this. As Maria demonstrated through her victories in The Voice Of Greece and in the Eurovision National Selection, she can deliver power ballads live. She ranked first with the music experts and the voting public in both contests. In Vienna, I have total faith that she will maintain Greece’s unbroken qualifying record.
Score: 7/10
And in Greek:
Our jury consists of 29 people, but we only have room for 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining 19 scores.
Anthony: 7/10
Denise: 5.5/10
Francheska: 4/10
Josh: 5/10
Liam: 8/10
Luis: 7.5/10
Marek: 7/10
Mario: 4/10
Max: 6/10
Mike: 10/10
Mikhail: 8.5/10
Patrick: 9/10
Ramadan: 2/10
Renske: 6/10
Rezo: 4/10
Sami: 3/10
Sinan: 6.5/10
William C: 2/10
Zach: 7/10
To reduce potential bias, we drop the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. We removed a low of 1 and a high of 10.
Oh the wind machine and the adouring Crowd
Yes for a moment I was Watching Anna Vissi
True that’s a great voice but the song left me a little cold.
Nice to see Greece not using the gimmicks of the past couple of years but maybe that was what got them into the finals
This may not …..
Awesome song and awesome voice
Honestly??? What’s going on with you people??? At least vocally speaking, the Greek entry is by far the best…
Mediocre at best, couldn’t wait for it to end. Not original when you compare with Conchita. 2/10
3/10
@Bogdan: You don’t need to forgive me, you just need to think outside of the box … and stop labelling music the way you did. Follow your music taste with passion but do not use it as a way to showcase intolerance towards geoculture … remember the key words, tolerance and diversity, either european, australian, american, asian or african. It’s not that hard … I want to enjoy reading your comments, but I can’t be thrown at my face with those type of feelings of what is european or what is american in a comparison level. Music is always music… Read more »
Judit, Sopon and William C, just please go hang yourselves.
Even Finland doesnt deserve 1 point this year.
You are supposed to be jurors, even if you don’t love the song, you HAVE to appreciate some of its solid elements ( Maria Elena’s voice for example ).
Take it more seriously next time!
Excuse me music unprofessionals but its quite obvious that you are just the typical eurofans… lithuania got an average 7?????!!!!!!! Come on now, tell us also how amazing is Ralph siegel….
I love the song one of my favourites. I think it will qualify easily and will be somewhere between 8-15 in the final…this is my prediction. But don underestimate her…she can sing live. This is not the case for many other with better songs.
WE ARE EXRESSING JUST OUR OPINIONS.WE CAN’T GUESS THE FINAL RESULT.
AS FOR ME GREECE ITALY ESTONIA SLOVENIA SWEDEN ARE MY REAL FAVOURITES!I HOPE ANY OF THEM THAT IT WILL WIN!
KISSES,CIAO!
I have the Greek entry 11th/16 in my own ranking 4 the 1st semifinal & 24th/40 overall..
Greece will most likely pass to the final & even finish in a rather descent place on the semifinal..
My prediction 4 Greece is 6th-9th place on the final & top14-22 in the final..
Bogdan has got a strong point here
Personally I do not take really seriously what the contributors of wiwibloggs write about each entry…Its just their own personal state of view and it doesn’t mean that their actual opinion is the truly right one and ours as not wiwi jury members is NOT or is just inferior than theirs..
They are just ordinary eurofans as we are..
Well, this sucks donkey ass, which is a huge disappointment coming from Greece, one of the best countries of the last decade IMO.
I find this ballad not touching but rather pompous, and Maria’s attempts at conveying emotion seem effortfull and inauthentic.
My guess is this will make it to the final, where it’ll end up somewhere at the bottom right hand part of the scoreboard.
Ooh, conflict within the jury. Dramatic lol
@ Bogdan, did you just call yourself a music unprofessional? I don’t like liars!
http://wiwibloggs.com/2015/03/11/selectia-nationala-insider-member-national-jury/85667/
Good luck Greece!!!!
I cant wait to see it live in amsterdam tonight!!!!
Bogdan Honciuc: The one last breath is very nice song very good has very strong voice is perfect
@Racal: Finally, someone who understands that this is not a prediction of sorts, but merely our opinions (which can also change over the course of time, depending on live shows, etc.) as musical unprofessionals, as stated all the time at the top of each Wiwi Jury. And thanks for quoting us, but I don’t think that anyone, not even The Common Linnets, could have predicted the success of the Dutch entry last year, prior to the live Eurovision show.
Anyway, I hope y’all enjoy reading our diverse opinions as much as we do, both writing and reading them. 🙂
@Charles: I forgive you.
@Bogdan: Loving music goes beyond geographical borders. Whether it’s Eurovision, American Idol or The Voice or whatever platform of music competition, music deserves being listened and appreciated. And last year Conchita won as a metaphor of tolerance and respect towards diversity, It makes you look no good to say what you’ve said. Forgive me for my honest opinion but I felt pissed by your words. Greece’s entry this year is the first one I actually love since 1992 … yeah 1992 so you should know by now what I felt over the last twenty something years about all the cheesy… Read more »
TO Alex
You judge one live song and you compare it to other songs that they have send to eurovision.tv the studio version.That’s not fair.As for the breathy version I can tell you that you have right but she was under happy emotions because she has just won the eurosong.Is like you listening to Mans with Heroes when he won the Melodifestivalen.Try to listen to the first version of competition when she was competing, before the results.And of course let’s listen to the tonight’s live in Amsterdam!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4h-1Dy-cJc
http://www.adal2015.hu
She has a nice voice but I find the song a tad grandiose and overdone.
It’s nice to see Greece branching out from their usual uptempo fare. But to be honest, Maria-Elena’s vocals are (ironically) too breathy for me, and it’s the least interesting ballad in the competition. Probably in my bottom 5 of the songs this year.
Oh come on don’t you see the humor in the song? It’s about Greece’s relationship with Germany!
This song is way too underrated! I love the lyrics and the slow vibe!
8/10
5/10
The melodies sound a lot like Rise Like a Phoenix. That in itself is not a problem, but One Last Breath lacks its own sense of style.
Outdated, Dull and too similiar of 2006 year entry. Juries will surely crush this. song and only televoters can save this song.
OH COME ON!1/10 FOR THIS VOICE AND SONG?I CAN UNDERSTAND IF YOU DONT LIKE BALLADS BUT THIS SCORE IS PURE HATE!
FOR ME, WILL SURELY PASS SEMI1 AND THEN IS MY TOP 5!.FROM BALLADS I REALLY LIKE ITALY AND GREECE.
This is the worst Greek entry of modern times, I honestly expected a lot better, as I usually like what they send, especially in 2013 and 2014. To me, its a borderline qualifier as there are so many countries in semi 1 with better songs and they also manage to qualify every year, like Greece…but this is GREECE, they probably will qualify. Not the worst song of the year (*ahem* Finland, Israel, Moldova) but certainly not the best. 5-6/10
Damn, some of y’all are salty as fuck. The jurors have different opinions to you. Get over it. Don’t throw such childish tantrums when somebody doesn’t agree with you. Express your opinions, but not in the manner that a 5-year-old child would.
I don’t get why the Greek entry is not getting more buzz. This is a fairly strong song in my mind. Top 10 potential for sure. All comes down to live performance and camera work.
I can almost agree with this rating but it’s really ridiculous that Lithuania/Iceland/Czech Republic/Israel to name a few are ranked higher. Her live vocals are amazing and the song is dramatic, MILES better than most of the songs ranked higher so far. I just can’t wait until the semi-final for her to prove that.
I like the Greek song….Its not great or really good but its nice enough 4 me.. With a powerful performance Greece will gonna qualify once again to the final not failing the record with giving the present to the final every single year since 2001.. Greece remains the only single country out of the big4 from all the countries of EuroVision overall {excluding Italy obviously..} that was present in the big final all these years since 2001… A record of 14 Visions in row..! Romania has 13 Vision in row {did not take part in 2001 thats why..} & Ukraine… Read more »
OK I agree with the construct of Racal’s big message but not the examples. They’re entirely based on results after ESC took place and nobody can predict that far ahead now. However, it’s completely crap that they jury can rank this in such a low position when it’s clearly going to be a big frontrunner and a definite qualifier for semi 1. The song is fantastic, her voice has an edge and it’s so much better than a stereotypical ballad like Poland. The part towards the end gives a great presence and makes the song about 50 times better. It’ll… Read more »
You people sick me every year by rating the Greek songs tooooooo low!!!!!!!!! You can not judge songs!!!!Her voice deserves 1???? Haa???? 1???? You sick people!!! Let a goat judge than you!!!! Greece deserves at least 8!!! If you think that Greek song is boring then what about the childish songs from San Marino or the bodybuilder from CZ.R.!!!! Or the WHY WHY WHY WHY by Netherlands!!!! I am waiting for the screaming Malta, the “i’m going to shit my pants” of Georgian warrior, or Armenia with no rythm=no song!!!Last rate Spain with a 8,5 because she is saying IEIEEEEOO… Read more »
Who wants to listen to Guy Sebastian unplugged at Ö3 in Vienna?
http://oe3.orf.at/stories/2705693/
Who wants to know what Guy Sebastian keeps eating all the time in Vienna?
http://songcontest.orf.at/videos/stories/2705802/
Who wants to listen to “Tonight Again” sung by Austrian vocal coach and five time Eurovision background singer Monika Ballwein and German ESC Songcheck hostess Veronika Pohl?
http://www.eurovision.de/videos/songcheck/Monika-Ballwein-und-Emily-Pohl-interpretieren-This-Time,jamsession106.html
Greece got away from their usual efforts…
AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME.
This average song would’ve worked sometime else. Now? Laziest attempt to cash on Conchita’s success. This is the more copycat of the winner entry this year. Boring, unremarkable, and above all, lazy. They also left a much stronger song runner-up, big pet peeve.
1/10
I wanted ‘Crash and burn’ to win in Greece, but this one is, well, nice(?)
It just does nothing to me, unlike Greek version, which is def better, however, I wish them gl 🙂
These are the worst kind of ballads. It sound so old. Even older than New York New York by Frank Sinatra.
When I first listened to this song I was like “OK, boring”. But after the live performance and the attention I managed to pay to the lyrics and the overall structure and feeling of the song, I can say I like it. Additionally, I really appreciate the aesthetics and pov of the director of the Greece’s presentation in Vienna: Apollonas Papatheoharis (you can check video clip for “anemos agapis” by eleni foureira, directed by him). Greece’s strongest asset in Eurovision IS the final live performance.
PS: 1/10 for this song, although respected as personal taste, seems ridiculous…
Good luck Greece
This song are never go to the final. 0/10
@Rascal Honestly, maybe a few liked the Common Linnets before the staging, but really lots of people (including myself) only started liking it after that. When you watch ‘eurovision my top 40 2014’ on youtube, before the contest, you’ll see that many didn’t really warm to the song then, but their voices live and the staging made the song. I don’t think it’s fair to criticise the jury because they’re not accurate or they’re ranking other songs higher. Reading reviews which have opinions are much more fun to read than reviews that may not be their true opinion, because they… Read more »
I really like this entry of greece. I’m sure it will do well. Her vocals are perfect and also, every year greece has the most powerful stage presentation on stage. So why not this year? Ok good luck greece!!! I will vote for you!
9/10
2/10
It’s so boring. Why not Sunshine Greece?? She could’ve improved her vocals. That would be a true Greek entry
@ ct
This is my opinion. I actually like the Czech song a lot! But I think Greece’s is better..And I find Ireland and France really boring (but beautiful) songs
OK, as of right now I am officially stopping reading this non-sensical reviews by wiwi jury!
This song is not even in my top 5, but to give it 5 something, while Lithuania gets a 7 is incomprehensible, music tastes included. I have nothing more to say!
@Robyn: That’s exactly what my last paragraph was saying: “Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect them to be able to give an exact prediction on the contest’s results (nobody can do that, and that’s what makes it exciting every year). But my point is that this method doesn’t even get close to what the actual results are, it is CLEARLY deficient. It should just be taken as a way to spend time and have something to read until the contest, nothing more, nothing less.” I think the issue is that your scores are made up of the opinions… Read more »