She’s the princess of Greek pop who has had seven No. 1 hits on Greece’s Airplay Charts. And on Monday Demy showed the world exactly why as she served a cohesive, thoughtful performance about the power of love. This wasn’t just a first rehearsal. It was a statement that Greece is back in the game and ready to slay.
The performance starts with Demy standing centre stage before a dark LED that features a starry sky and raindrops hitting the floor and splashing. But Demy brings the light, working a bright red lip and a champagne-coloured dress with a very deep thigh split. A platform pushes her toward the sky — it’s a fairytale world where she moves toward the stars and unconditional love. We soon see two muscled men wearing white spray-on leggings and no shirts. Resting on their knees in a puddle and pounding the ground, they represent swans, which Demy’s team describe as “the embodiment of love.”
“Being in a fluid environment she experiences contrasting emotions of purity, tension and restlessness,” they tell us. “The strength of pure love can turn everything upside down, it can even reverse the flow of a crashing waterfall.”
And it does. During the dramatic instrumental, where the strings soar, the waterfall comes to life through a high-tech projection. We see an image of Demy swept up in reverse, giving the song “the moment” all Eurovision songs need.
Demy is rightfully in love with the staging, which was pieced together by legendary Greek director Fokas Evangelinos.
“The stage presentation triggers my emotions and I believe we will manage to make the viewers feel the same.”
Viewers may not instantly grab the subtleties of the performance. However, they will be awed. The staging looks relatively simple and pure, yet it packs a real punch. It’s instantly captivating and makes the song more dynamic and gripping. The various changes in colouration — from dark blue to orange-red — and the platform and choreography take us on a proper journey and we’re ready for the next ride. Greece is going to the final and zooming in on the Top 10.
Demy — “This is Love”: Reviews and Reactions
Greece: First rehearsal at Eurovision 2017
Greece: First press conference 2017
Read all of our Eurovision rehearsal reviews
Read all of our Greece Eurovision news here
Photo: Eurovision.tv (EBU)
Knowing the “dream teams” work, if ERT wanted Greece to win they would send a perfect song, with perfect lyrics and staging etc. Its very easy for Greece to win. But my country is economically fallin apart. In case you would like to see Greece winning, go complain to Schaüble ?
One thing we can all agree one: Demy’s two male dancers are smoldering HOT !!!!
There is some video on youtube with the two of them warming-up before they go onstage, and they look very fine.
FULL rehearsal of GREECE!! <3 #ThisIsLove #ThisIsWinner #SupportDemy ..The BEST rehearsal!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4h_PKykR_k
FULL rehearsal of GREECE!! ? #ThisIsLove #ThisIsWinner #SupportDemy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4h_PKykR_k
I thought it was impossible to do anything with this generic, lyrically-derivitive, half-baked song but wow, Demy is seriously impressive.
Greece look definite qualifiers for me.
After reading this comments I’m relieved I’m not the only one in europe that this song is trash and bland…Demi seems like a good singer, but the song is not good, sorry Greece. (MY OPINION!!)
I even showed this song to a friend of mine that never watched Eurovision in her life, and she said “Great video, but the song is horrible. What a waste”
But, anyway, there’s 200 million people watching, so, someone has to like it. Good luck Greece!
Correction: *…that thinks this song is…
XD
This was amazing!! I knew the staging would be exceptional! Fokas doesn’t dissapoint! He directed some of the most beautiful stagings we’ve seen the last decade! He knows what a song wants and apapts it to the capabilities of the stage! He also takes into account how much the country can afford a massive staging! Ex: Last year, we saw an amazing performance with so much going on but fitting together from a country which has money (Russia)! Now, with almost nothing, just the background, two dancers and beautiful Demy (ok and the waterfall projection) he brought his A game… Read more »
And I bet you are from FYROM
– push ur trolling trolley elsewhere
She is soooo beautiful , shame she has trashy song
Oh yes because the lyrics/songs for many other Eurovision 2017 songs are not cheesy and not bad? Please…. Demy’s song might not be the best but its definitely not the worst. She is an amazing singer and performer and she definitely livens up the song. I am positive that she will do great and I hope she is in the top 10!
Full rehearsal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ2TZbtBrZQ&t=9s
This is so over-the-top, but the song is made for that. Everything about it is grandiose and flashy! This is the case in which more is more. Songs like Portugal and Finland are meant for more subtle, personal performances. Songs like Sweden and Greece are meant for big and glamorous performances.
Bottom 5
In your dreams
So much hatred in the comments…This isn’t winning material, but some people here act really like no lifers. Calm 😉
Bottom line: with a better song, Greece could have won this year.
Oh well, they’ll just have to settle for a top 10 finish instead.
Actually, if we win, I’m not sure we can afford hosting the contest at this point! So, obviously it’s not a winning song! But I believe we can get top 10 with the overall material (song, staging, performance, Demy)!
If Greece wins, they’ll have an infusion of 20,000 tourists over the course of one week PLUS free advertisement for their country.
Trust me! If Greece wins, they’ll make the money back very quickly.
Well, theres no need for eurovision tourism, Greece has its own huge amount of tourists all year long 😉
Top 10 would be perfect for us
Min les malakies esi
Den ftanei pou sas tin lene oi ksenoi prokaleite Kai me tis vlakeies sas
So the great geniuses from Greece now have the elevator (instead of glass boxes-Ani Lorak, or wall-Sergey). The elevator will probably be used in Yodel performance like we could see in the video from Alex and Ilica. I don’t want that coincidence.
Yodel It staging will hopefully be a bland backdrop similar to their NF, i’m so glad the sheep were just a joke by the ukrainians 🙂
I remember another coincidence with the elevator – is Moldova 2013 and Romania 2013 (Aliona and Cesar). So ironic to be the same in 2017 with Greece and Romania (this time).
and also Ilinca and Demy both really look like Princesses 🙂
i even sort of hope they could become friends during eurovision 🙂
However, the betting odds are dropping after the rehearsal.
Tacky lol. This song has no place in the top 10. Sorry Greece, try again.
Whole package screams mediocrity. Having said that, I won’t be surprised if this goes actually in top 10, although there are more songs that deserve top 10 than this.
I’m still not over how Greece’s “dream team” came up with something so mediocre and bland. Literally a waste of a great singer like Demy. But the performance looks somehow promising as I expected, so there’s no way they’re staying in the semi.
Ever since the running order was revealed, I’ve thought that Greece would win semi one, and nothing you say has persuaded me otherwise. The song is meh, but I don’t think that really matters . . .
Just realised this sounds a bit like Germany’s Glorious from a few years back, or is that just me?! ?
It sounds like any eurodance song you’d hear in Mykonos in 2005
In 2005 this EDM music didn’t exist. If you want to write a negative comment make yourself a favor and be accurate at least.
This is top 5 material.
Top 5 material? Hahahaha, hope you’re joking. The song is dated and cheesy as hell.
The song is a hit. As simple as that.
Greece is just a one-trick pony in Eurovision. A song from “Worst of the 90’s” with a circus act from the 00’s equals epic failure in 2017.
They’ve had some decent songs over the years. Some of their previous entries were also generic, but at least had some fun ethnic elements to them. This year is just so.. anonymous and bland. Moldova 2016 vol. 2, but since it’s Greece and Demy, it gets much more hype.
Bland as it bland gets.
C’mon we all know its not THE best. Eventhow it stands pretty good on stage and Fokas’ qualities are top. Demy won’t win but Greece did a huge comeback this year, we have to admit it.
The staging gives Austria and Czech’s vibes from last year which I did like. The voice was okay but without some vocal acrobatics will sound bland.
I don’t see the juries going for this. The song is very bland and I will be disappointed if it makes top 10.
I have a feeling that people are rating this based on the songwriters and the stage director.
Juries will vote for it, because of the “political connections” this Greek dream team has. Many of the jury members have worked with them before, or want to work with them. This will translate into votes.
Great tune and atmosphere mixed with nice staging but the lyrics are cheaper then in Black Friday
It’s obvious that the backing screen is meant to show that “rain falls from above.” Did the designer not get the memo that the lyric was changed? 😀
It’s a pile of dung. Ordinary europop entry that abash those that doesn’t admit mediocrity!
It looks promising. It’s one of the songs that REALLY need good staging.
loool 😀 ofcourse it wont win haha. I cant believe some people really think it will, it just wont, just try to accept that 🙂 It may qualify but thats it guys.
can’t believe i gave this song a 1.5, cause it’s a really catchy song, awesome staging, and no shoes for Demy, really cool going barefoot 🙂
my new score 7.0/10, this is going to be a contender for the victory, at least top 5 in the final for Greece 🙂 🙂
troll 😀 nothing what you just said is true. oh at all.
i’m not a troll
i thought she was barefoot, but her shoes are almost invisible 🙂
Even the greatest stage show on earth (and I doubt that’s what we have here) won’t fix the bland bargain-bin dance song she’s stuck with. Such a waste of a good singer. I imagine she will qualify, but probably flop in the final… no way on earth she’s even coming close to winning with this song, let’s be real here.
Chill out dude and try not to swallow your own poison 😉
Not poison mate, just realism.
Nah it’s poison – it shows
This is going GREAT! Remember when Greece won in 2005? Let’s just hope history repeats itself! 🙂
She was amazing!
Just because their team always got top 10 in esc, maybe this year won’t be the same.
The song remains very bland, no matter how much they try to sugar coat it, I wouldn’t listen it more than once because I have to, during esc.
The backdrop looks nice, and the platform kinda unesthetic but now it depends on the camera work.
Perfect vocals but the song sucks.
For everyone who said that the demy is not going to qualify, guess what, YOU ARE DAMN WRONG. go girl!
Sounds exciting!
Greece will win…mark my words…it’s a fact…period…done.
This sounds really ambitious, they really want to be back in the final after 2016. It sounds like a surefire qualifier.