The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — are nearing the end of our look back at the best of the 2010s. When it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest, there are often stand-out bangers in the field every single year — but it they don’t always become fiercely iconic. Enter Eleni Foureira from Cyprus, with her irresistible upbeat hit “Fuego”.

Eleni Foureira was announced as the Cypriot entry for Eurovision and the whole fandom was dying to hear her song. She was a huge star in Greece, and she was the ideal candidate for something as demanding as Eurovision. What nobody expected was a video packed with mansions, burning cars… and fruity product placement. What ensued was hysteria for one of the greatest upbeat numbers of the decade and fans dressed up as pineapples with inflatable bananas at pre-shows.

It whet the appetite for what was to come, and once the staging was revealed, it set the press room in Lisbon on fuego. Odds shot up, people were booking hotels in Nicosia… but it wasn’t to be. Eleni was the runner-up but we will never forget that hairography nor her catsuit. Is “Fuego” still setting the Wiwi Jury on (yeah yeah) fire a year later? Let’s see…

Eleni Foureira – “Fuego”

“Fuego” reviews

Robyn: It feels like there’s a parallel universe out there where “Fuego” won in 2018. It is such a strong performance, with Eleni, her girl posse and perfect hairography delivering all that needs to be delivered. The only criticism — and this is surely what the Eurovision juries also picked up on — Eleni’s vocals are sometimes the weak point in the performance. But nonetheless, the end product is a super slick, sexy and fun performance that is going to keep Euroclub bopping for years to come.

Score: 9/10

Oliver: I was obsessed with Eleni Foureira’s music a little bit before she was announced as the representative for Cyprus and knowing her back catalogue of songs, I could not wait for the epic, fiery dance-number to come.  Lo and behold, I was not at all disappointed with what ultimately arrived.  Granted, at the time I did not see this as a winner but I thought this had so much potential for explosive staging.  There is not much to say about this song than what has already been said: it’s absolute pop perfection.

Score: 10/10

Barnabas: Let’s melt all the coating, take the frippery away and realise that “Fuego” is nothing but Cyprus bringing the classic “hot girl who can simultaneously dance and sing with a Mediterranean bop” recipe back from 2012 (hey Ivi!), giving it a Latin spin (remember, it was 2018!) which, pairing a beat that reminds people of “Despacito” with some erotic lyrics, was also a key in the spectacular result. As a conclusion, although I do admit that the live performance was one of the best this decade and that this is an ultimate party bop, this song is just not my thing and all I have left is my box of mixed feelings.

Score: 5/10

Florian: Eleni really put everything we could ever ask for in the song’s performance. Sure, it’s not the reinvention of pop music, but it does what it’s supposed to do. And performing on such a high level is far from easy. Moreover, the massive number of streams it picked up on Spotify, particularly in Spain, show her popularity beyond the Eurovision fandom. With “Fuego” Eleni successfully conquered the hearts of many Eurovision fans — that’s me included!

Score: 9/10

Julian: Before the live shows, I didn’t had “Fuego” on my mind and Israel was my clear winner. However, as Eleni performed her song for the first time, it screamed Eurovision realness. Dancing like that while singing is so hard! She definitely didn’t get every tone but with such a performance, she doesn’t have to. It is one of my favourite live performances ever!

Score: 9.5/10

Tom: This is close to Eurovision perfection. Close. I am not going to lie to you and say I thought this would win from the first listen, especially after seeing the music video adorned with a selection of fruit. Now, I love my mangos like anyone else but”Fuego” — which was already a quality pop song, only became my winner in 2018 after Eleni took to the stage. Oh. My. Word. Eleni Foureira is a pop goddess! Anyone who can move like that, sing like that and – most importantly — can do both at the same time flawlessly deserves to be in-front of millions. I was disappointed we didn’t go to Nicosia for 2019, but this is a very special performance which will be remembered forever in Eurovision folklore.

Score: 9.5/10

In the Wiwi Jury we have 24 jurors but only have room for six reviews. The remaining scores are below:

William: 9.5/10

Antranig: 10/10

Pablo: 9.5/10

Angus: 7 /10

Lucy: 9/10

Sebastian: 10/10

Jonathan: 9/10

Bernardo: 9.5/10

Deban: 8/10

Calvin: 8.5/10

Luis: 9.5/10

Kristin: 7.5/10

Edd: 10/10

Lukas: 10/10

Steinunn: 8.5/10

Natalie: 9.5/10

Katie: 9/10

Charlotte: 9/10

We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 5 and a high of 10.

Wiwi Jury verdict: 9.09/10

What do you think of this song? Share your own score and review below!

See all of our Wiwi Jury of the 2010s rankings here

62 Comments
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Rob
Rob
4 years ago

Because of this song (and EP on which it’s on), I could fill in an entire new playlist of her to listen. Thanks to a Greek friend of mine, I was made aware of “To Xo” back when (2010), and after that I just bought it all whenever released. In my opinion, she should’ve won instead of Netta. Good point from Robyn: her live vocals. I also wasn’t really impressed with the staging. But OMG: was she fuelling up everything, or what?! She did that better than Netta did, I reckon. However, Eleni has turned into a great star in… Read more »

Peters
Peters
4 years ago

Jeez, this got more than 9? I shouldn’t be so surprised by that since this blog was formed by diva-loving queens.

Jonas
Jonas
4 years ago
Reply to  Peters

I suppose you mean that as a pejorative? Okay.

jdjcjsjfjxsj
jdjcjsjfjxsj
4 years ago

barnabas hit it on the head!!

vox
vox
4 years ago

she started her career as an underdog in the greek pop industry and now she is the no1 pop singer.
I visited Greece some months ago and you have no idea what happens when fuego plays in the clubs. People (especially gays) are still going wild!

jack
jack
4 years ago

Eleni elevated a mediocre song. All of you beauty queens judging her you should try to do what she did on stage. You will be surprised by how unable you are to do that. Eleni should be respected for what she did. If it was easy every other girl would have done it.

Peter
Peter
4 years ago

Fuego gets more points than Arcade?!? The Wiwi jury just lost any form of credibility. Jezus ….. I’m off to ESCunited. This is too sad for words.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
4 years ago

So much fun with so little effort.
Admittedly I do like the “Drop” melody, which reminds me of medieval music. The harmony also includes this too. But really there is no profound meaning here – just a lot of fun, haha. The choreography in the live shows was sensational though, and Eleni is a really good live singer. Respect given where it is due. 🙂

Stephanie
4 years ago

I feel like I’m among the few that has never bought into the hype and worship over Eleni and Fuego. You pretty much hear Latin-sounding “dance bangers” all over the radio no matter where you are, except she did it with sexy dancing and hair-tossing to grab attention. I just don’t think it’s worthy of that high a score compared to other great songs this decade

Chris
Chris
4 years ago

As a Cypriot I’m so proud of this song, performance and final ranking. I know it’s not as original as a song contestant should be, but I still listen to it with pleasure.

Ana
Ana
4 years ago
Reply to  Chris

That’s a Swedish song, even the choreographer was Swedish

Maya G
Maya G
4 years ago

It’s a well produced and very well performed catchy tune, it appeals to a very wide denominator which is probably why it got such a high score. But still, if I had to compare “Fuego” to a food, it would be something with empty calories. It’s a bop off the conveyor belt of professional Swedish producers, and lacks any added value. It can be easily duplicated and repacked (e.g. “Replay”) and If it wasn’t for the great performance, most of us wouldn’t have given it a time a day. I prefer Eurovision winning songs to be unique and exceptional, this… Read more »

Mr. Vanilla Bean
Mr. Vanilla Bean
4 years ago
Reply to  Maya G

The failed “Replay” is proof that its success couldn’t be easily replicated. Song-wise, performer-wise, in every imaginable way, really.

Maya G
Maya G
4 years ago

What I meant to say is that Fuego follows is very formulaic, while the other songs I mentioned are not.
I think Fuego’s success is almost exclusively owed to the very strong performance. Replay had a much weaker performance and that’s what made the difference IMO, but as a song it’s very similar to Fuego (to say the least) and to quite a few Ethno-Pop songs we’ve heard along the years.

Hm.
Hm.
4 years ago

Since when is 13th place “failed” lmao.

James
James
4 years ago
Reply to  Hm.

When the expectation was to go top 3.

Ana
Ana
4 years ago

As overrated as it can get. Those people ignored this song when it came out in 2018

Sam
Sam
4 years ago

Btw, who is looking forward to Euphoria’s reviews coming tomorrow?

Sam
Sam
4 years ago

I still remember people’s reaction in Praça do Comércio when Eleni started to sing. It was unique, no other song managed to get people singing along and dancing in that way. Her performance was one of the biggest surprises of the decade and it deserved indeed that 2nd place (or even 1st) and historic record for Cyprus. She was also the best example that a great performance and a charismatic singer can enhance a song which is not initially among the big favourites. That said, I agree with the fact that this is a bit overrated… At least if compared… Read more »

Žutokljunac
Žutokljunac
4 years ago

The real winner.

Jo.
Jo.
4 years ago

no pelican no fun

Sabrina
Sabrina
4 years ago

I didn’t like the song before the contest and I still don’t like. I don’t even think it’s that well produced for a modern track. But the live performance is a masterclass on how to execute a bop in Eurovision. Hairography, choreography, camerawork, costumes, pyro… everything wows. It was explosive and infectuous. The vocals were pretty good for someone doing that much on the stage. And Eleni has charisma. Lots of them. Sure, WiwiJury and the fandom overrated it (as they do with all the bops). I would say it’s a 5/10 song with a 10/10 performance.

L'oiseau
L'oiseau
4 years ago

The performance was indeed flawless, staging and camara work helped enormously, but the song remains very average at best. In my opinion it got really lucky, because musically 2018 was extermely poor and the performance stood out.

Héctor
Héctor
4 years ago

The performance helped a lot. The song is just average, even though every one keeps saying it’s a masterpiece.

ESCFan2009
ESCFan2009
4 years ago

“Fuego” is catchy and you can dance along to it, but if that is the highest rating so far, I hope this is meant as a climax up to Euphoria, which seems to be the only one left. Giving the highest score of 10 years Eurovision Top 3 to a simple latin dance number would seem so wrong… 8/10

Kobe
Kobe
4 years ago

Epic performance! My personal winner.

Shanfa Chai
Shanfa Chai
4 years ago

“Fuego” isn’t really a high-quality song. It’s not a masterpiece. Far from it.

A dated generic bop that we’ve heard for so many times.

Based on the song alone, I wouldn’t give this higher than 9.

But this is the song that excites me the most (along with “Zero Gravity”) from Eurovision, especially with the amazing performances both entries have.

Gilad esc
Gilad esc
4 years ago

I think the song is a bit overrated, yes the staging was in another level! But the song is pretty simple and the proof is that Tamta with Reply not did as well as Eleni, I was happy for her but I think that in Lisbon was better songs with better full package that didht get as well

Lisa
Lisa
4 years ago

Cool song and amazing performer but…. Fuego higher than Soldi, no thanks

i have very uncomfortable question to you
i have very uncomfortable question to you
4 years ago

People are clearly enjoying dissing this song because it got ranked so high but let’s be real. Eleni’s whole package was the best in Lisbon, and it was particularly ironic that this almost won after Salvador’s war on “fast food music”. I’ll take this with fries and a sprite please.

pepe
pepe
4 years ago

People aren’t dissing the song. People are dissing the wiwi jury scores.

milky
milky
4 years ago

Eleni’s package in Lisbon was good, but not the best

Bart
Bart
4 years ago

Yet again a demonstration of bad taste by the wiwijury and yet again Antraning showing off his absolutely bad taste. Shout out to Barnabas, who has kept his cool and seem to be the one who has an actual head and a pair of ears.

Trash KAN
Trash KAN
4 years ago
Reply to  Bart

We’re invalidating people who like Fuego now?

Bart
Bart
4 years ago
Reply to  Trash KAN

I am not invalidating anyone. I am just saying that the wiwijury has once again demonstrated that it has an enormous lack of musical taste.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
4 years ago

this is a song anyone could sing, but only eleni could perform

Africavision
Africavision
4 years ago

Do I love this song, and do I think it deserves a 9.09 ranking? HVALA, NE!

BUT, am I stoked that a lovely person like Eleni gained so much love from the Wiwi Jury and fandom, and Cyprus, one of the smallest countries in Europe, is able to punch above their weight, and successfully compete with the bigwig Eurovision nations? YEAH, YEAH, FIRE!

Kosey
Kosey
4 years ago

To anyone who says staging doesn’t matter, here is the proof that it absolutely does. This song was an also ran for me before the contest began. I remember Padraig getting noticeably excited on the rehearsal videos and I was thinking, “what is he going on about”. But when I saw it for myself, I understood. This song came to life in the actual performance. Eleni, the dancers, the fire, it was brilliant and it came from nowhere to be my favorite in the final. This is what Eurovision is all about – does it come together to make 3… Read more »

Gigii
Gigii
4 years ago

The wiwi jury is very much focused on the performance and less on the songs itself their composition etc.. Fuego being above 9 while Arcade, Soldi, Amar Pelos Dois, got scores under 9 and even under 8… This being said Fuego is a pretty overrated, average song with a good performance and nothing else, sorry. In my opinion top 3 should of the decade should be Arcade, Euphoria, Amar Pelos Dois, not like this.

James
James
4 years ago

Too bad there was no direct Cypriot involvement in this.

Wera
Wera
4 years ago

I loved the song since it was released. And back then i felt stupid for liking this, because no one else did. But when performance came suddenly it was everyone’s favourite. That’s a sign of iconic performance. And Eleni is an ICON<3

Roelof Meesters
Roelof Meesters
4 years ago

What in the world happened here. This is an 8 at best. Overrated in the fandom.

Mr. Vanilla Bean
Mr. Vanilla Bean
4 years ago

Nooo, “Fuego” has a timeless message, contrary to the incoherent ramblings of that other thing.

Mr. Vanilla Bean
Mr. Vanilla Bean
4 years ago

Clearly, it is a very witty poem praising the joy of sexual relations.

rrrright
rrrright
4 years ago

mamma jamma it’s a pelican

Mr. Vanilla Bean
Mr. Vanilla Bean
4 years ago

The more downvotes a comment gets, the funnier it usually is. Eurovision fans are notorious for their lack of humor (with pleasant exceptions, of course). 🙂

Mr. Vanilla Bean
Mr. Vanilla Bean
4 years ago

“Yeah, yeah, fire” is the best answer any Eurovision participant has ever given to a question. I don’t do cheap industry pop at all, so make no mistake, when I’m infected by such a type of song, it’s a very good one. The excellent execution on stage and the fact that it still shows up on my playlist leaves no doubt in my mind that this is my winner of 2018. To me, Cyprus is the one country that got EVERYTHING right in 2018 and delivered the one performance still enjoyable to watch. Sometimes, simplicity deservedly triumphs over everything else… Read more »

Alex
Alex
4 years ago

Eleni did everything to elevate this with her charisma. It was very good live. However, it didn’t feel as something new or special.
I watched that final with friends and nobody was super wow by this entry. They liked it but the reaction was nothing compared to what they had with acts like Conchita, Salvador, Il Volo or Keiino this year with Fred.
They also prefered Netta over Eleni that night because it was more different, enjoyable and fun live.

milky
milky
4 years ago

yall overrated this way too much lol

Teddie
Teddie
4 years ago

Zelmerlow’s version is better

Mr. Vanilla Bean
Mr. Vanilla Bean
4 years ago
Reply to  Teddie

Better left unheard and unwatched.

Skiwalko
Skiwalko
4 years ago

I feel like this song is gonna get old really soon, which doesn’t mean it’s bad. It was fun in 2018 and Cyprus made history with a dynamic and engaging performance driven by Eleni’s unbelievable charisma. It’s a well-produced pop song, but nothing more than that, and the latino music trend isn’t gonna last forever. Back in May 2018 the heat of hype surrounding this entry was out of this world, but one year later “Fuego” is lukewarm at best.
7/10 (#15 in 2019)

THE FRAY
THE FRAY
4 years ago
Reply to  Skiwalko

Well Israel’s song was already forgotten…so if this song we did listen i year later its a big achievement.Even despacito that was a massive international success didnt’t have the same impact a year later.So lets celebrate today song

Leo Valdez
Leo Valdez
4 years ago

Don’t y’all think 9.09 is a bit too much?

Indiana07
Indiana07
4 years ago
Reply to  Leo Valdez

It is. The song is great, performance too, however, there’s nothing new. We’ve all seen similar acts before. I’d give it 8/10.

Joe
Joe
4 years ago

You really have to be careful, guys. For all of its excellence as a song and a performance, I fear Fuego is getting overrated in comparison to other entries this decade and all of its predecessors. I get it: it’s an awesome song that was staged well. But I don’t hear people talking about Wild Dances or Everyway That I Can in such transcendent terms. It hearkens back to an era of Eurovision that emphasized a good bop over all. I feel like the contest has grown and changed in such wonderful ways since then, and while everything about Fuego… Read more »

Paul
Paul
4 years ago
Reply to  Joe

What’s wrong with the era that emphasised a good bop?! Eurovision means different things to different people

Joe
Joe
4 years ago
Reply to  Paul

A good bop over anything else, which made it harder for anything mildly subtle (unless it was a big ballad or a ballad with a gimmick like Latvia’s sign language in 2005) to make an impression:

Adam
Adam
4 years ago

Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree with the general consensus on this performance. Yes, it was was a deserving second place but I do not believe it should have won, at all. Netta wasn’t my winner either, but I feel that if Cyprus won, it would be a huge step backwards for Eurovision. I have nothing but respect for the performance itself – amazing staging, slick choreography etc. – but the song itself is really the problem for me. It is a generic, meaningless pop song with random phrases thrown about, probably alluding to sex, which doesn’t personally appeal… Read more »

Milan
Milan
4 years ago

And I think with this 9.09 rating the Wiwi jury has given up whatever little has remained of its credibility.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
4 years ago

Really well-executed but I definitely think it benefited from 2018’s lack of winner-quality songs. Don’t know if this is much better than Armenia 2016 as a performance and a similar result would’ve probably been fair. Song-wise, there was a reason that this was outside the top 20 in the odds (and most rankings) before the contest. Eleni absolutely dragged this up to the 2nd place that it got.

ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah
ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah
4 years ago

yeah…. this probably should’ve won