Earlier this week, details emerged of the internal selection process Cyprus broadcaster CyBC is using for Eurovision 2020. This included the news that Cyprus was looking for a male singer for Rotterdam. And now a name has emerged — The Voice of Germany star Sandro Nicolas.
Eurovision news blog Eurovision Fun reports that broadcaster CyBC is in talks with the German artist to be Cyprus’ man in Rotterdam.
Sandro is said to have also been on the wishlist for German broadcaster NDR to be part of their selection process for Eurovision 2020. But an artist can only represent one country and all signs point to Sandro going with Cyprus.
Who is Sandro Nicolas?
Born in Germany as Alessandro Rütten, Sandro has an American father and a Greek mother. He speaks German, English and Greek. Music has been part of his life from an early age, starting with playing the drums at age four, moving on to the guitar and writing his own songs from the age of 15.
In 2015, he auditioned for Supertalent — the German version of the Got Talent franchise. Sandro didn’t get far in the contest and later said he felt “the format did not fit”.
But he kept working on his music and later got his break with the 2018 season of The Voice of Germany.
Sandro impressed both the series coaches and the audience with his powerful audition of Shawn Mendes’ “In My Blood”. He was eventually eliminated in the sing-offs round, but left the contest as one of the more memorable acts.
Earlier this year Sandro represented the United States in New Wave 2019, the international contest for young singers. This was his debut using his new stage name Sandro Nicolas.
Sandro charmed the voting panel with his performances over the week. He finished in sixth place with 243 points — a higher rank than Azerbaijan’s Eurovision star Aisel who finished eighth.
And now it appears that Sandro may have Eurovision in his sights. Eurovision Fun reports that talks between Sandro and broadcaster CyBC are ongoing but they “appear to be moving in a very positive direction.”
OGAE Greece earlier reported that the Cyprus broadcaster had received around 120 song submissions. From those, the broadcaster has made a shortlist and will soon decide which song will be heard on stage at Rotterdam Ahoy arena.
What do you think? Is Sandro Nicolas a good pick for Cyprus? What sort of song should he sing? Tell us your thoughts below!
Josephine cant hit A SINGLE note, so pleeeease…
I don’t mind singers from a different country representing other countries but this guy seems to have no allegiances–hes been on Voice Germany…then he represents the US…his mother is Greek…now he’s representing Cyprus I don’t mind Greeks representing Cyprus especially if their careers bridge the 2 countries, but it does seem like he has no connection to Cyprus…I am left to wonder if he’s actually been to Cyprus…if the first time was to negotiate his contract–then this is odd Also, Cyprus has enough singers and songwriters within the Greek/Cypriot bubble that it shouldn’t be having a German guy singing a… Read more »
Apparently according to a Greek tv talk show cybc has no plans for a national selection until 2025. Not sure why, looks like they are trying this strategy to see if it works. To be honest it wasn’t working for us either when we had a national selection lol
Imagine how tired we are
I hope Cyprus or Greece sends a laïkó/traditional/ethno-pop/folk sort of song, and maybe Loukas Yorkas would be a good candidate to deliver it.
I absolutely agree with you. Anyway, there are some rumours about the greek entry in Rotterdam. This time is singing in the national language obligatory.
How about Iasonas Mandilas?
Cyprus is the new Luxemburg and Monaco.. Hiring from abroads with artists not related to the country. But hey, it worked for all parties so why quit it now?
Hopefully Cyprus will not wildraw from ESC then …..like Lux and Monaco
If this is true, I think they saw how well Switzerland did last year and are following that recipe. A good looking kid, charming personality, great voice, can dance, and has stage show experience. Pair that with a great song like She Got Me and I think they could do really well.
I approve of this choice.
I am absolutely sick and tired of Cyprus “borrowing” singers from other countries. I’m sure there is lots of Cypriot artists willing to do ESC in the country if the broadcaster actually looked for their own artists Instead if stealing one from neighbouring countries or abroad. If Malta can send their own singers then I see no reason why Cyprus can’t either.
Malta badly wants to win but they struggle to qualify with their local acts. Cyprus switched to Greek imports and placed second in 2018. Cyprus won’t give up until they win.
For a small country with a limited talent pool, it’s a no brainer to take a page from the Luxembourg playbook and call in outside talent.
A part time singer who works his day job as a doctor achieved Malta´s best result of the decade in 2013.
That should be enough to say that the performers aren´t the problem for Malta, its the songs, which with a couple of exceptions (such as 2019), have been mediocre at best.
Agre Only Chameleón was a perfect song !!! And everyone talked only about ira and Walk on wather – it was trash …..
Malta and Cyprus have slightly larger populations, with many talent oozing out within their borders. In Luxembourg’s case, their population were smaller then when it was still taking part decades ago. San Marino at the moment, is the sole exception to the rule for obvious reasons. With that said, for a public broadcaster supposedly mandated to creating content relevant to its constituency, it’s bad enough that they’re getting artists with zero connections to the country (apart from the shared Greek-Cypriot music industry), but even songwriters involved are also imported. Surely, Cypriot fans must be feeling disconnected with the people representing… Read more »
Another year of a non-Cypriot national with little to zero connections to the country whatsoever representing Cyprus? I hope not.
another pretty boy without much to offer apart from looks, who’ll inevitably get a swedish-penned song…. cyprus should go for a different strategy tbh
Why?
Going the full Swedish strategy has brought them from a laughing stock of results to one of the most consistent qualifiers in the contest. Including their best result ever.
success should go hand in hand with integrity, and they have none as of late. they got lucky with eleni foureira, one of the best entertainers to bless the eurovision stage, but their other four swedish-penned acts had underwhelming results. they should really try with sumthin else in order not to seem like a one-trick pony. hungary for example qualified 8 times out of 9 n averaged better than cyprus, always with very different songs.
As a Greek ? believe it’s a marvellous choice for Cyprus and i want Cyprus to give him a chance . The same story happened back in 2001 that Greece chose to represent us a group that was mostly famous in Sweden and the rest is history !
No is not the same at all. Antique was a band with a lot of success in Nordic and Greek charts prior to the contest. The people in Greece knew them already, for their songs “Opa-Opa” and “Dinata”. But despite that they had to win the Greek National Final in order to compete to the Eurovision, they were not an internal selection.
Probably this year Cyprus will fail, the boy has no star…
omg if they are not going with Vangelis Kakouriotis who was the obvious choice, means he is probably in talks with ERT
“The obvious choice” guy was just a huge rumour.
Stefania will most likely represent us
she wont cause nobody knows or cares about her.
What about George Ioannides? The guy who participated for Cyprus in Junior Eurovision 2007. He sings great, is familiar with performing in Ahoy Rotterdam and omg he’s so hot I can’t check his Instagram.
Andorra is returning!
Say yay yay yay!!
Really?
Yaaas!
Excellent choice! Great singer !
So they won’t still any greek artist? It’s been a while
Now, THIS is the direction I like to see Cyprus moving in! He could be a good singer-songwriter-y pick.
Switzerland outdid Cyprus at their own game this year. We don’t need another Fuego, but I could stand another She Got Me! The difference here is that Sandro here has a good ballad-y kind of voice. It’d be a shame to not use his vocals to their advantage.
Well this would be a letdown in terms of star appeal after Eleni and Tamta- you would think they would try to get Vangelis Kakouriotis if they wanted a male Greek star (unless ERT want him for Greece?). This isn’t meant to be shady, but Cyprus’ last two acts were a lot more famous. Of course, he could have a great song and voice.
I think the last three years of Eurovision have proven local name wattage doesn’t mean jack in terms of winning chances.
Stefania will probably represent Greece!
They have said many times that they are planning to do a national final. So maybe Ian Stratis, Vangelis Kakouriotis, Stefania and some other surprises will probably fight with each other for the representation of Greece. Don’t forget also that after the elections in Greece, Panik has good reasons to return to ESC so we expect many artists from this music industry.
Yaaasss!
Excellent choice! Great singer !!