07 March 2015

Review: Greece: Eurovision 2015 | Maria-Elena Kyriakou

The attractive Maria-Elena Kyriakou should breathe easy in Vienna
Five acts gathered in Athens to compete for the ticket to appear in Vienna in May and, following a 50/50 split vote between an expert jury and the public, Maria-Elena Kyriakou won the Greek national final with the song, One Last Breath.

Maria-Elena is the product of the Greek version of The Voice, winning the first series of the show in 2014. Born on Cyprus, she will be the fourth Cypriot to sing for Greece, following Eleftheria Eleftheriou's appearance at the 2012 Contest. I can already hear the obligatory "twelve points" from Cyprus!

Having said that, the island may not be too far from a just score, if that is the way it votes again. One Last Breath is a lush, sweeping ballad and in a year when female balladeers prevail, this entry is among the best.

Over the past few editions of the Contest, Greece has shied away from this type of song. Perhaps, 2014's unusually low placing of 20th with Freaky Fortune's more contemporary Rise Up swayed both the public and the jury in Maria-Elena's direction.

That may have been a contributing factor, but the singer's superior vocal ability was possibly the major contributor in the selection of the song. While there may have been more 'Eurovision-friendly' examples among the remaining four finalists, none of them could truly hold a candle to Ms. Kyriakou's performance.

She has the ability to evoke sound bites of a previous Eurovision winner: Céline Dion. One Last Breath could quite easily be a recording included on one of the French-Canadian's earlier albums, but perhaps not a hit single. Nonetheless, it's certainly a more dramatic and noteworthy illustration of a classic ballad, shining a whole lot brighter than many of those which have already been announced this year.

Maria-Elena's vocals should easily carry it into the Final, but the song's success will also rely on memorable staging. If all the elements of her presentation combine well, I can foresee Greece easily returning to the Top 10.

How about you?

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