At Eurovision 2014, he bounced on an onstage trampoline, won our poll for best music video of the year, and, most importantly, brought the B&W crowd to its feet with the dance anthem “Rise Up”.
And now Freaky Fortune singer Nikolas Raptakis has kicked it back with his new, unquestionably summery song, “Variemai” or “I’m Bored”. Get ready to smile and sway along!
With a prominent repetitive brass line and backing organ chords that give it a mild hint of reggae, “Variemai” oozes laziness, but in a great way. Well-placed percussion and Nick’s smooth — and at times, edited — vocals, however, make sure that the track stays poppy, just the way we like it.
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What makes “Variemai” so incredibly catchy, though, has a lot to do with its two-word chorus. As the ‘na na na’s match up with the brass line, and the backing choir fills out the sound, the question shifts from whether you’ll sing along, to simply how loudly you’ll be singing along.
For such a laid-back song, “Variemai” is surprisingly, and pleasantly, philosophical. Nick tackles the tricky topic of fate, asking whether his bad luck is his own fault. More generally, he struggles to see the real truth in life, closing his eyes only to face a “black mountain.”
Recognising that he isn’t alone in these struggles, the Greek singer opens up to a psychologist and his friends, unfortunately to no avail. The psychologist never answers his questions about the world’s many “insecurities,” and his friends’ only advice is to stay stuck in the routine he already has.
“Variemai” music video
Most importantly, Nick is bored by all of this. When his friends tell him that “all of life is a choice,” he doesn’t see it. The only things he sees are the things that go wrong but he can’t stop. And considering that, it isn’t hard to understand why he might be a little bored!
Without the bright and cheerful music video, the song’s lyrics could be a bit depressing. But wisely, Raptakis made sure to keep the visuals amusing, playing on the song’s summery feel and making it all the more catchy in the process.
Yes, this music video has us swaying along to the beat — just like the fed up waitress, playful therapist, butcher, and blank-faced friends in it. Nick’s disorganized bedroom doesn’t feel satisfied with laziness. It’s the bedroom of a dreamer!
Does “Variemai” make you smile and think? Or are you as bored as Nick claims to be? Let us know in the comments section below, or by using the wiwibloggs app!
i could never imagined a male’s legs would look this good, well.
So hopefully he learnt down the line that singing and jumping on a trampoline doesn’t make you any justice when you have quite a soothing and charming voice like this … and also … bringing EDM music with meaningless lyrics in English to Eurovision just because that’s the expected cliche that should remained untouched … also does not make you a more credible and better artist. Doing your own music actually does … and this shows that on his behalf.
Nick has some pretty decent songs, post Freaky Fortune.
It’s a pity he didn’t do better at Eurovision. Rise Up was a decent enough song, but their live performance and the staging did it in.
He’s hot.