Greece’s national final is turning out to be one of the most mysterious of the 2018 season. Broadcaster ERT has barely said a word, but local media is full of reports from the selection process. Now Newsit.gr is reporting that a rough timeframe has been set for the grand final — sometime in early February.
The last time we checked in, Greek media was reporting that three acts had been shortlisted for the national final. They are:
- Areti Ketime with “Min ksehnas ton ilio”” (Don’t forget the sun)
- Chorostalites with “Apo tin Thraki os tin Kriti” (From Thrace to Crete)
- Gianna Terzi with “To oneiro mou” (My dream)
Two other songs were originally also on the shortlist but were disqualified for not meeting the entry criteria for a traditional Greek music style. The unlucky songs were Duo Fina’s popera song “Idio Tempo” (Same Tempo) and Tony Vlahos‘ jazz number “Baila Jazz”.
The three shortlisted acts are still in the running. The next step is for broadcaster ERT to meet with representatives from the acts’ respective record labels. This will ensure that the artists are available for all the necessary performance and promotional duties involved in being a Eurovision representative.
These meetings will take place in early January and the commitment will be confirmed by a signed agreement.
Once the acts have been confirmed, the national final will then be scheduled sometime in early February. The final is expected to be held at ERT’s studio. The winner of the national final will be decided by televote alone.
Greece at Eurovision
Greece was a powerhouse country of the 2000s. In the decade from 2004 to 2013, Greece made the top ten nine times, finished third twice and won the contest in 2005.
But in the past four years, things haven’t been so great. In the grand final, Greek acts have placed 19th twice and 20th once. In 2016, traditional Greek/rap group Argo failed to make the grand final. This was the first time Greece missed the grand final since the introduction of the semi-final era.
Last year Greece send major pop star and fan favourite Demy. She performed “This is Love”, co-written by “dream team” member Dimitris Kontopoulos, with a performance choreographed by Fokas Evangelinos. However, despite the stellar team, Greece could only manage a disappointing 19th place.
What do you think about the 2018 national final news? Can Greece get its groove back? Share your thought below!
I expected more songs than just (only) 3 to compete in the Greek NF.
But anyway..
At least i hope that these songs will be good enough for EuroVision..
Too early to say anything, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Greece stays in the semi once again…
This still seems a mess to me. Also, I’m not so confident about the songs, I don’t think they’ll be good enough for us to qualify. Always hope for the best.
Fan sites should not describe the qualification of a country to the final as a “disappointment”. I understand the point regarding the team etc etc but qualifying to the final is and should be considered for every country a success.
Robyn–I agree, but with one caveat.
The song was decent, but it was a bit dated (and not in a nostalgic type of way). Had it been submitted in 2005, Greece could have done a bit better with a similar performance.
Also, another problem with “This Is Love” was that the climax of the song was during an instrumental portion. The same could be said with Helena Paparizou’s “My Number One,” but Helena (unlike Demy) was dancing during taht portion (and for much of the performance), whereas Demy just stood there.
I’m not very confident for Greece, but who knows…
I like the traditional style criteria. We need that now when Eurovision is slowly turning into a contest for funeral songs.
A traditional song may be proper for funerals too…
The “traditional style” condition is a nonsense, since much better songs may be disqualified because they belong to other music genres.
This smells a mess… Hope that something revolutionary is in one of three songs.
(But I think it’s a one-horse race)
Nothing GER 2015 or GRE 2017 yet, so there’s hope for these competitors, LOL