Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Encyclopedia
Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "This Is Our Night
" sung by Sakis Rouvas
. The Greek national television broadcaster Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT) announced that it had internally selected Rouvas to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
on July 15, 2008, making Greece the first country to pick an artist for the 2009 edition.
After choosing the artist, ERT set up a national final held on February 18, 2009 to select the song. Rouvas sang three candidate songs, all with music written by Dimitris Kontopoulos
, and "This Is Our Night" was declared the winner, gaining a large majority of the votes. Following the selection of the song, Rouvas began a promotional tour around Europe and appeared on many shows, including the selections for other countries participating in the Contest.
At the second semi-final of the Contest on May 14, Greece qualified for the final after coming in fourth place with 110 points. At the May 16 final, Rouvas presented "This Is Our Night" eighth out of 25 and at the end of voting, was awarded seventh place, marking Greece's sixth consecutive top 10 placing since 2004.
with the song "My Number One
" performed by Elena Paparizou
, and being placed third three times: in 2001 with the song "Die for You" performed by the duo Antique
; in 2004 with "Shake It
" performed by Sakis Rouvas
; and the 2008 entry "Secret Combination
" performed by Kalomoira. Following the introduction of the semi-finals for the 2004 contest
, Greece has had a top ten placing each year. Greece's least successful result was in 1998 when it placed twentieth with the song "Mia Krifi Evesthisia
" by Thalassa
, receiving only twelve points in total, all from Cyprus.
The Greek national broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi
(ERT) broadcasts the event in Greece each year and organizes the selection process for its entry. From 2004 to 2006, ERT had selected high-profile artists internally and set up national finals to choose the song, while in 2007
and 2008
it held a televised national final to choose both the song and performer. For the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, ERT was able to secure a high-profile artist once again and planned a national final to choose the song.
Announced in July 2008, Sakis Rouvas represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. This was Rouvas' second appearance at Eurovision as a performer, and third overall. In 2004, he represented Greece with "Shake It
", placing third, and in 2006, he hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens
alongside Maria Menounos
. Johnny Kalimeris, Eurovision project manager for ERT stated that they had announced Rouvas' participation so early because they had "already agreed with Sakis Rouvas so there was no reason to keep it a secret [and that] it was about to leak [so they] decided to make a short announcement early on to avoid the usual speculations and rumors which could do more damage than good".
As in 2005
and 2006
, when ERT
also picked the artist internally, a national final was organized where three potential entries would be heard in playback and voted on via televoting/SMS and "expert" jury voting weighted at 60% and 40% respectively. On October 14, 2008, ERT held a press conference to officially present Rouvas as the entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. It was also announced that Dimitris Kontopoulos
will be the only composer to submit songs. Another press conference followed on February 12, 2009 where ERT presented the three potential entries to the media.
On February 10, 2009, two days ahead of the song press conference, song titles and lyricists were revealed to the media. Alexandra Zakka wrote the lyrics for the first song, titled Out of control, a pop
song with R&B
elements, while Craig Porteils
and Cameron Giles-Webb wrote the lyrics for both Right on time, a mid-tempo song with rock elements, and This is our night, an dance
song. Craig Porteils is a Greek Australian
music producer who has written songs and lyrics for Cher
, Billy Idol
, Tevin Campbell
, Guns N' Roses
, Rod Stewart
, and Ozzy Osbourne
among others, while Cameron Giles-Webb is another Greek Australian music producer who is currently the head of Gusto Music. Alexandra Zakka is a young upcoming lyricist who speaks English
, French
, German
, and Spanish
among other languages.
presented the show, and will also be the Greek commentators at the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. The show had a main concept of Eurovision history and included a flashback to the Eurovision world from 1956 when the contest was broadcast on radio to the present. The show was directed by Giorgos Kapoutzidis
.
Along with televoting, a seven member 'expert' jury picked the entry. The jury, which accounted for 40% of the votes, consisted of composer Mimis Plessas, who was once again the head of the jury, General Manager of ERT Television Dimitris Gontikas, lyricist and General Manager of ERT Radio Antonis Andrikakis, President of ERT Public Relations Evangelia Piskera, record executive Olga Pavlatou, record producer Giorgos Kyvelos, and Greek ESCToday representative Stella Floras. The seventh jury vote by Eurovision news site ESCToday editor Stella Floras, came from the result of a poll for international fans conducted by ESCToday.
The show featured appearances by Cyprus'
Christina Metaxa
performing "Firefly
", Turkey's
Hadise
performing "Düm Tek Tek
", Malta's
Chiara
performing "What If We
", Belarus'
Petr Elfimov
performing "Eyes That Never Lie
", Montenegro's
Andrea Demirović
performing "Just Get Out of My Life
", and the United Kingdom's Jade Ewen
performing "My Time". 2008's entrant Kalomoira perform a medley during the national final which included Lady GaGa
's "Just Dance", the Pussycat Dolls
's "When I Grow Up
" and the Master Tempo remix of her entry "Secret Combination
". The official Eurovision website, Eurovision.tv, once again streamed the national final live online as it had the previous year.
At the end of voting, "This Is Our Night" was revealed as the winner receiving over eighty percent of the votes. "Right on Time" and "Out of Control" placed second and third respectively.
, Serbia
on the talent show "Operacija trijumf
", the Ex-Yugoslav
version of Star Academy
, on December 29, 2008. On the show, which is broadcast in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia, Rouvas sang his 2004
entry "Shake It
" with Aleksandar Belov
, one of the shows contestants who is of Macedonian origin, while he also premiered the English
version of his massive summer hit "+ Se Thelo" titled "Keep on Moving" for the first time with a fully choreographed performance.
Following the national final, initial plans for the promotion of "This Is Our Night" were revealed. The tour was revealed by Johnny Kalimeris to be quite extensive, with Rouvas visiting more Eurovision countries than had been visited in previous years. The first official stop kicking off Rouvas' promotional tour after the selection was to Bosnia and Herzegovina
where Rouvas performed at the official presentation of the nation's entry "Bistra Voda
" on March 1. Other guests included Turkey and Malta. The show was streamed live on eurovision.tv as had been for the Greek national final. An extensive promotional schedule was laid out for the following day, with Rouvas doing many appearances on numerous press, television, and radio networks. Rouvas was a guest at the Pink TV BH Morning Show which aired live on Balkan Net, and also starred on the live radio show Stari Grad at 14:00. He also gave interviews to TV Hayat, the Obavezan smjer show on TV Sarajevo, and on the Radio Televizija BiH show Konacno petak. Following his two day stay in Bosnia and Herzigovina, Rouvas will return to Belgrade
, Serbia
where he will stay until March 4 and will appear on Fox TV, Radio S, live on 3 March, at 15.30 (local time), TV S, TV Avala and Pink TV. On the 4th March, he will be a special guest of Jovana Janković
, the hostess of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
, on the RTS Morning Show. Rouvas will conclude his promotion in Serbia at 15:00 that day with a live appearance on Novi SAT channel. Rouvas will then fly to Moscow
, where he will perform live at the Russian National Final
along with past Russian representatives, namely Dima Bilan
, Yulia Savicheva
, Alsou
, Youddiph
, Natalia Podolskaya
, Prime Minister
, and Serebro
. The next day he will give a large performce at the Kremlin
for the celebration of International Woman's Day in Russia. Russia, being the host country, has been called an important stop by ERT. Rouvas has also had success on the Russian charts with his hit "Se Thelo San Trelos" in 2004 and is known in the country from his successful collaboration with successful singer-songwriter Philipp Kirkorov
. At the second press conference, it was stated that Rouvas' previous success and popularity in Russia will be a definite factor in Greece conquering the Eastern votes. It has also been confirmed that Rouvas will give a concert in Cyprus
on March 13, and will also be continuing promotion in Turkey
from April 10–12. ERT is currently considering many more destinations for promotion, keeping Belgium
and the Netherlands
as a high priority.
, it was still required to compete in the semi-finals under current rules, as it was not one of the "Big Four" nor was it the host of the 2009 contest
.
Fokas Evangelinos along with Elias Ledakis, will be the choreographers and artistic directors of Rouvas' stage show. Evangelinos had choreographed Rouvas' third place 2004
entry, Elena Paparizou
's winning 2005
entry, the opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
, Ani Lorak
's second place 2008
entry, and Dima Bilan
's second place entry in 2006
and winning 2008
entry among others. Evangelinos has worked with Rouvas for more than a decade long, being his choreographer for the majority of his shows. At a press conference that took place on October 14, 2008, it was revealed that Evangelinos will be working exclusively with Rouvas and no other contest entrants.
's AySel
and Arash with "Always
" and preceding Lithuania
's Sasha Son
with "Love
". It was one of the ten performances which qualified for the grand final.
, Bulgaria
, and Cyprus
. The song therefore carried on Greece's Eurovision success by finishing within the top-ten for the sixth consecutive year, thus making the country the second most successful entrant of the past decade, despite not having even participated in 2000. The event was watched by 86% of the Greek television audience.
The performance included complex choreography
, with BBC News
announcing that "Greece's Sakis Rouvas had one of the more ambitious dance routines" of the contest. Rouvas wore an all white outfit designed by acclaimed Greek designer Celia Kritharioti. He performed on a rotating podium which transported him from left to right across the stage, was part of his group dance routine with four other performers and, in the end, was responsible for lifting him high into the air. In the same moment, a Greek flag is displayed on the floor, only visible to the television viewers. The final part of the performance was completed by silver fireworks in two separate parts. The official Eurovision website states that, this year, Greece had made "high-tech advancements" in the contest's standards.
Whilst Rouvas was disappointed with his seventh place finish, announcing to Greek media "I am so sorry, I wanted us to win", there was still unanimous support towards the artist himself in the country. "Seventh in Europe
, first in our hearts" many journalists reported on Greek television. The media and public pronounced their support for Rouvas, the general consensus being that the artist gave it his best even though this did not translate in enough votes in the contest. All criticism in Greece focused on the selection of the song itself, rather than the artist's performance. Rouvas stated that, overall, it has all been a wonderful experience for him: "some win, some lose, personally, I gave everything I had. But it was a wonderful experience".
Some critics, including those from London Greek Radio
, suggested the reason why Greece failed to achieve a higher placing was due to a lack of an ethnic-sounding song. He notes the way in which all of Greece's top-three placings, including Rovas' performance of "Shake It
" in 2004, had an ethnic bouzouki
sound, as did the 2009 Azerbaijani and Turkish entries which finished in third and fourth place respectively.
The song has since peaked at number one on the Greek and Cypriot charts, and has also gone on to chart in Sweden, Ukraine, Iceland, Lithuania and Russia.
The Greek broadcaster ERT
has confirmed that Greece will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010
.
This Is Our Night
"This Is Our Night" is a song by Greek singer Sakis Rouvas, from the album Irthes. It was selected as Greece's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009...
" sung by Sakis Rouvas
Sakis Rouvas
Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas II , often referred to mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek musician, television and film artist, businessman, and former pole vaulter who is one of the most successful and influential entertainers of all time in Greece and Cyprus...
. The Greek national television broadcaster Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT) announced that it had internally selected Rouvas to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
Greece has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 32 times since 1974, with the exception of 1975, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1999 and 2000. Greece won for the first time in 2005 with "My Number One" song by Elena Paparizou. Following the introduction of a semi-final round for the 2004 contest, Greece...
on July 15, 2008, making Greece the first country to pick an artist for the 2009 edition.
After choosing the artist, ERT set up a national final held on February 18, 2009 to select the song. Rouvas sang three candidate songs, all with music written by Dimitris Kontopoulos
Dimitris Kontopoulos
Dimitris Kontopoulos is one of the most famous Greek music composers known for his dance-pop music.-Personal life:Dimitris Kontopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on November 9, 1971...
, and "This Is Our Night" was declared the winner, gaining a large majority of the votes. Following the selection of the song, Rouvas began a promotional tour around Europe and appeared on many shows, including the selections for other countries participating in the Contest.
At the second semi-final of the Contest on May 14, Greece qualified for the final after coming in fourth place with 110 points. At the May 16 final, Rouvas presented "This Is Our Night" eighth out of 25 and at the end of voting, was awarded seventh place, marking Greece's sixth consecutive top 10 placing since 2004.
Background
Prior to the 2009 Contest, Greece had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-nine times since its first entry in 1974, winning it in 2005Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
with the song "My Number One
My Number One
As Greece had finished the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in third place, the song was pre-qualified for the final in 2005. Thus, it was performed nineteenth on the night, following Croatia's Boris Novković and Lado with "Vukovi umiru sami" and preceding Russia's Natalia Podolskaya with "Nobody Hurt...
" performed by Elena Paparizou
Elena Paparizou
Eleni "Elena" Paparizou , usually referred to abroad as Helena Paparizou, is a Greek-Swedish singer and occasional songwriter, who was born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. She began her career there in 1999 as a member of the duo Antique, while she also worked briefly as a model for a...
, and being placed third three times: in 2001 with the song "Die for You" performed by the duo Antique
Antique (duo)
Antique was a Greek singing duo consisting of Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis originating from Sweden which combined Greek popular music and lyrics with a Nordic dance pop beat. Both Paparizou and Panagiotidis were born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents...
; in 2004 with "Shake It
Shake It (Sakis Rouvas song)
"Shake It" is an English language song by Greek singer Sakis Rouvas and was the Greek entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The song is an up-tempo number, with Rouvas telling his lover that "I would trade my life for a night with you" and asking the lover to "shake it" for him...
" performed by Sakis Rouvas
Sakis Rouvas
Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas II , often referred to mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek musician, television and film artist, businessman, and former pole vaulter who is one of the most successful and influential entertainers of all time in Greece and Cyprus...
; and the 2008 entry "Secret Combination
Secret Combination (song)
"Secret Combination" is a song and CD single by Greek singer Kalomira. It was Greece's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 and the first single released from Kalomira's fourth studio album titled Secret Combination the Album. It earned third place in the Eurovision final, finishing behind...
" performed by Kalomoira. Following the introduction of the semi-finals for the 2004 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...
, Greece has had a top ten placing each year. Greece's least successful result was in 1998 when it placed twentieth with the song "Mia Krifi Evesthisia
Mia Krifi Evesthisia
Mia Krifi Evesthisia was the Greek entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, performed in Greek by Thalassa....
" by Thalassa
Thalassa
Thalassa may refer to:* Thalassa , a primordial Greek sea goddess* Thalassa , a moon of the planet Neptune* Thalassa, a fictional planet in Arthur C...
, receiving only twelve points in total, all from Cyprus.
The Greek national broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi
Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi
The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation is the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation. It is a member of EBU.Since 70's ERT is part of the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by EBU...
(ERT) broadcasts the event in Greece each year and organizes the selection process for its entry. From 2004 to 2006, ERT had selected high-profile artists internally and set up national finals to choose the song, while in 2007
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Greece and Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi chose to hold a national final this year after efforts to find a big name artist for an internal selection failed. The artists involved were Sarbel, Christos Dantis, and Tamta. The national final took place February 28, 2007, and was called "Eurovision...
and 2008
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Greece entered the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Secret Combination", written by Konstantinos Pantzis with lyrics by Poseidonas Giannopoulos. The song was performed by Kalomoira, an American singer of Greek descent who had previously won a Greek talent show...
it held a televised national final to choose both the song and performer. For the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, ERT was able to secure a high-profile artist once again and planned a national final to choose the song.
Selection process
Shake It (Sakis Rouvas song)
"Shake It" is an English language song by Greek singer Sakis Rouvas and was the Greek entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The song is an up-tempo number, with Rouvas telling his lover that "I would trade my life for a night with you" and asking the lover to "shake it" for him...
", placing third, and in 2006, he hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
alongside Maria Menounos
Maria Menounos
Maria Menounos is a Greek-American actress, journalist, and television presenter known in America for her appearances as a correspondent for Today, Access Hollywood, Extra, and abroad for co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece.-Early life and beauty pageants:Menounos, a...
. Johnny Kalimeris, Eurovision project manager for ERT stated that they had announced Rouvas' participation so early because they had "already agreed with Sakis Rouvas so there was no reason to keep it a secret [and that] it was about to leak [so they] decided to make a short announcement early on to avoid the usual speculations and rumors which could do more damage than good".
As in 2005
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Greece participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, its first Eurovision Song Contest victory. Greek national broadcaster Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi internally selected Helena Paparizou who sang "My Number One" in Kiev, winning the competition with 230 points. The song is written...
and 2006
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Anna Vissi represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with her song "Everything". The Greek national broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi , internally selected Vissi to represent the country at the contest, which took place in Athens after Greece's win at the 2005 contest with the...
, when ERT
Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi
The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation is the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation. It is a member of EBU.Since 70's ERT is part of the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by EBU...
also picked the artist internally, a national final was organized where three potential entries would be heard in playback and voted on via televoting/SMS and "expert" jury voting weighted at 60% and 40% respectively. On October 14, 2008, ERT held a press conference to officially present Rouvas as the entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. It was also announced that Dimitris Kontopoulos
Dimitris Kontopoulos
Dimitris Kontopoulos is one of the most famous Greek music composers known for his dance-pop music.-Personal life:Dimitris Kontopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on November 9, 1971...
will be the only composer to submit songs. Another press conference followed on February 12, 2009 where ERT presented the three potential entries to the media.
The songs
The public along with an "expert" jury had three songs to choose from, all composed by Dimitris Kontopoulos. All three songs were choreographed by Fokas Evagelinos. Responding to a question about the style of the song, asked by a reporter in the October 14 press conference, Rouvas answered that he trusted in Dimitris Kontopoulos, and that Kontopoulos had written many hits for him and knew what style of songs that fit Rouvas the best.On February 10, 2009, two days ahead of the song press conference, song titles and lyricists were revealed to the media. Alexandra Zakka wrote the lyrics for the first song, titled Out of control, a pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song with R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
elements, while Craig Porteils
Craig Porteils
Craig Porteils is a Greek Australian musical composer, songwriter, lyricist, guitarist, record producer, and former performer based out of Sydney, Australia.-Career:...
and Cameron Giles-Webb wrote the lyrics for both Right on time, a mid-tempo song with rock elements, and This is our night, an dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
song. Craig Porteils is a Greek Australian
Greek Australian
Greeks are the seventh-largest ethnic group in Australia, after those declaring their ancestry simply as "Australian". In the 2006 census, 365,147 persons declared having Greek ancestry, either alone or in conjunction with another ethnicity....
music producer who has written songs and lyrics for Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, Tevin Campbell
Tevin Campbell
Tevin Jermod Campbell is an American R&B singer-songwriter and actor. He scored a string of R&B chart hits as a teenager in the early to mid-1990s.-Music career:...
, Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, and Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
among others, while Cameron Giles-Webb is another Greek Australian music producer who is currently the head of Gusto Music. Alexandra Zakka is a young upcoming lyricist who speaks English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
among other languages.
Result
The national final took place on February 18, 2009 at the Athinon Arena. Betty and Mathildi MaggiraMaggira Sisters
Betty and Mathildi Maggira also known as "The Maggira sisters" are two Greek television presenters, and a comedy act. They are known for hosting the Greek Eurovision Song Contest selections and also being the commentators at the Eurovision Song Contest for ERT, the Greek network broadcasting the...
presented the show, and will also be the Greek commentators at the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. The show had a main concept of Eurovision history and included a flashback to the Eurovision world from 1956 when the contest was broadcast on radio to the present. The show was directed by Giorgos Kapoutzidis
Giorgos Kapoutzidis
Giorgos Kapoutzidis is a Greek screenwriter and actor. He is the creator of the successful television series ""Savvatogennimenes" and "Sto Para Pente" , one of the most popular shows in Greek television history, while also playing the part of one of the main characters of the show.In May...
.
Along with televoting, a seven member 'expert' jury picked the entry. The jury, which accounted for 40% of the votes, consisted of composer Mimis Plessas, who was once again the head of the jury, General Manager of ERT Television Dimitris Gontikas, lyricist and General Manager of ERT Radio Antonis Andrikakis, President of ERT Public Relations Evangelia Piskera, record executive Olga Pavlatou, record producer Giorgos Kyvelos, and Greek ESCToday representative Stella Floras. The seventh jury vote by Eurovision news site ESCToday editor Stella Floras, came from the result of a poll for international fans conducted by ESCToday.
The show featured appearances by Cyprus'
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. CyBC announced that Cyprus's 2009 Eurovision entry would be selected through a national final where the general public will be the one to decide the winner via 100% televoting...
Christina Metaxa
Christina Metaxa
Christina Metaxa born April 4, 1992 is a Cypriot singer-songwriter born in Limassol. Her brother Nikolas Metaxas, who is also is a singer, won second place in the Greek version of The X Factor; he is also the creator and composer of Christina's Eurovision entry.She now attends Brown University,...
performing "Firefly
Firefly (song)
"Firefly" was the Cypriot entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, sung by Christina Metaxa. The song was composed by Metaxa's brother Nikolas Metaxas. A second version was made from the original version that won in Cyprus at the national final...
", Turkey's
Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Turkey will be represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 by the song "Düm Tek Tek" performed by Hadise. The Turkish broadcaster Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu , chose Belgian-Turk Hadise in October 2008 and she prepared three songs which she submitted to TRT...
Hadise
Hadise
Hadise Açıkgöz , is a Belgian born Turkish singer of Circassian descent. Hadise's career began in 2004 with the release of her debut single "Sweat", which peaked at 19 on the Flanders chart. Hadise continued to release more successful singles, most notably the single "Milk Chocolate Girl"...
performing "Düm Tek Tek
Düm Tek Tek
"Düm Tek Tek" is a song by Belgium born Turkish singer Hadise that was performed as the Turkish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia....
", Malta's
Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Malta participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The Maltese broadcaster, Public Broadcasting Services held a national final, GO Malta EuroSong 2009, to select the Maltese entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, set to be held in Moscow, Russia...
Chiara
Chiara
Chiara Siracusa , is a Maltese singer, best known for representing her country in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998, 2005, and in 2009.- Eurovision 1998 :...
performing "What If We
What If We
What If We is the second studio album by contemporary Christian musician Brandon Heath. It was released on August 19, 2008 through Provident Label Group. The album debuted at #73 on the Billboard 200...
", Belarus'
Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Belarus and Belarusian Television and Radio Company announced their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 on 29 September 2008 by releasing the rules of their national selection - "Eurofest 2009"...
Petr Elfimov
Petr Elfimov
Petr Elfimov is a singer from Belarus who represented his nation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia. He won the national selection of Belarus with 11,475 votes on January 19, 2009 with the rock/pop song Eyes That Never Lie. The song competed in the first semi-final as the...
performing "Eyes That Never Lie
Eyes That Never Lie
"Eyes That Never Lie" is a song by Petr Elfimov and was the Belarusian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 held in Moscow, Russia. A new version of the song was produced by Tero Kinnunen and recorded at the Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland for the finals.The song competed in the first...
", Montenegro's
Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Montenegro participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, sending its third Eurovision entry as an independent nation. It was revealed by the Montenegrin broadcaster, Radio Televizija Crne Gore on 23 January that Andrea Demirović will represent Montenegro at the contest, with the song "Just...
Andrea Demirović
Andrea Demirovic
Andrea Demirović also known as simply Andrea, is a Montenegrin singer and a student of the Cetinje Music Academy - Music Pedagogy....
performing "Just Get Out of My Life
Just Get Out of My Life
"Just Get Out of My Life" is a song by Andrea Demirović and was the Montenegrin entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, held in Moscow, Russia. This was the first English language Montenegrin entry at Eurovision, as well as the first time the country was represented by a female soloist...
", and the United Kingdom's Jade Ewen
Jade Ewen
Jade Almarie Louise Ewen is an English singer, songwriter, actress and member of the Sugababes. Ewen began her singing career in a girl group named Trinity Stone signed to Sony BMG in 2005, but they disbanded in 2007 with no album released...
performing "My Time". 2008's entrant Kalomoira perform a medley during the national final which included Lady GaGa
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's "Just Dance", the Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
's "When I Grow Up
When I Grow Up (Pussycat Dolls song)
"When I Grow Up" is a song by American girl group the Pussycat Dolls, from their second studio album, Doll Domination . It was released on May 27, 2008 as the lead single from the album, and the first following the departure of the group's longest-standing member Carmit Bachar...
" and the Master Tempo remix of her entry "Secret Combination
Secret Combination (song)
"Secret Combination" is a song and CD single by Greek singer Kalomira. It was Greece's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 and the first single released from Kalomira's fourth studio album titled Secret Combination the Album. It earned third place in the Eurovision final, finishing behind...
". The official Eurovision website, Eurovision.tv, once again streamed the national final live online as it had the previous year.
At the end of voting, "This Is Our Night" was revealed as the winner receiving over eighty percent of the votes. "Right on Time" and "Out of Control" placed second and third respectively.
| Draw | Song | Composer - Lyricist | Percentage | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Out of Control" | Dimitris Kontopoulos Dimitris Kontopoulos Dimitris Kontopoulos is one of the most famous Greek music composers known for his dance-pop music.-Personal life:Dimitris Kontopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on November 9, 1971... – Alexandra Zakka |
9% | 3 |
| 2 | "Right on Time" | Dimitris Kontopoulos Dimitris Kontopoulos Dimitris Kontopoulos is one of the most famous Greek music composers known for his dance-pop music.-Personal life:Dimitris Kontopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on November 9, 1971... – Craig Porteils Craig Porteils Craig Porteils is a Greek Australian musical composer, songwriter, lyricist, guitarist, record producer, and former performer based out of Sydney, Australia.-Career:... , Cameron Giles-Webb |
10% | 2 |
| 3 | "This Is Our Night This Is Our Night "This Is Our Night" is a song by Greek singer Sakis Rouvas, from the album Irthes. It was selected as Greece's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009... " |
Dimitris Kontopoulos Dimitris Kontopoulos Dimitris Kontopoulos is one of the most famous Greek music composers known for his dance-pop music.-Personal life:Dimitris Kontopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on November 9, 1971... – Craig Porteils Craig Porteils Craig Porteils is a Greek Australian musical composer, songwriter, lyricist, guitarist, record producer, and former performer based out of Sydney, Australia.-Career:... , Cameron Giles-Webb |
81% | 1 |
Promotion
Rouvas will be embarking on on an extensive promotional tour around Europe after picking his song. So far it is rumored that almost all countries have invited him to be on their shows. Even before his song was picked, Rouvas was invited to perform in BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
on the talent show "Operacija trijumf
Operacija trijumf
Operacija Trijumf is a regional music talent TV reality show filmed in Belgrade, Serbia, aired in the region of former Yugoslavia. It is a local version of Star Academy reality series that was developed and is licensed worldwide by Endemol...
", the Ex-Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
version of Star Academy
Star Academy
Star Academy is a highly successful television show format based on the Spanish format "Operación Triunfo" produced by Endemol, that has been broadcast in over 50 countries...
, on December 29, 2008. On the show, which is broadcast in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia, Rouvas sang his 2004
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004
Greece and Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi originally chose to host a National Selection, but then decided on an Internal Selection. Sakis Rouvas was chosen with "Shake It" and placed 3rd at Eurovision.-National final:...
entry "Shake It
Shake It (Sakis Rouvas song)
"Shake It" is an English language song by Greek singer Sakis Rouvas and was the Greek entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The song is an up-tempo number, with Rouvas telling his lover that "I would trade my life for a night with you" and asking the lover to "shake it" for him...
" with Aleksandar Belov
Aleksandar Belov
Aleksandar Belov is a Macedonian singer, best known for his participation in the former Yugoslav Star Academy called Operacija trijumf. He was the favorite during the whole show, and among 13 gala nights he was chosen for the student with most votes, but in the end he finished as a second runner-up...
, one of the shows contestants who is of Macedonian origin, while he also premiered the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version of his massive summer hit "+ Se Thelo" titled "Keep on Moving" for the first time with a fully choreographed performance.
Following the national final, initial plans for the promotion of "This Is Our Night" were revealed. The tour was revealed by Johnny Kalimeris to be quite extensive, with Rouvas visiting more Eurovision countries than had been visited in previous years. The first official stop kicking off Rouvas' promotional tour after the selection was to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Bosnia and Herzegovina will be present at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The Bosnian and Herzegovinian broadcaster, Bosanskohercegovačka radiotelevizija , will held an internal selection to select the 2009 Bosnian and Herzegovinian representative...
where Rouvas performed at the official presentation of the nation's entry "Bistra Voda
Bistra voda
"Bistra voda" was the Bosnian and Herzegovinian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, held in Moscow, Russia. The song was composed by Aleksandar Čović, and was performed by the Bosnian rock band Regina....
" on March 1. Other guests included Turkey and Malta. The show was streamed live on eurovision.tv as had been for the Greek national final. An extensive promotional schedule was laid out for the following day, with Rouvas doing many appearances on numerous press, television, and radio networks. Rouvas was a guest at the Pink TV BH Morning Show which aired live on Balkan Net, and also starred on the live radio show Stari Grad at 14:00. He also gave interviews to TV Hayat, the Obavezan smjer show on TV Sarajevo, and on the Radio Televizija BiH show Konacno petak. Following his two day stay in Bosnia and Herzigovina, Rouvas will return to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
where he will stay until March 4 and will appear on Fox TV, Radio S, live on 3 March, at 15.30 (local time), TV S, TV Avala and Pink TV. On the 4th March, he will be a special guest of Jovana Janković
Jovana Jankovic
Jovana Janković is a Serbian television personality. In May 2008, together with Željko Joksimović, she was the host of the 53rd edition of Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade.-Career:Janković started her early television career at the age of 19 while attending university...
, the hostess of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Eurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Contest. It was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. This year was the first contest to have two semi-finals which were held on 20 and 22 May, and the final held on 24 May 2008...
, on the RTS Morning Show. Rouvas will conclude his promotion in Serbia at 15:00 that day with a live appearance on Novi SAT channel. Rouvas will then fly to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he will perform live at the Russian National Final
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Russia was the host of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, held in the Russian capital Moscow, after Russia's win in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008...
along with past Russian representatives, namely Dima Bilan
Dima Bilan
' is a Russian actor and pop singer . Bilan represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with "Never Let You Go", finishing second, and he won the contest in 2008 in Belgrade, with the song "Believe". He has had several Russian no. 1 hits....
, Yulia Savicheva
Yulia Savicheva
Yulia Stanislavovna Savicheva is a Russian singer who performed for Russia in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest which was held in Istanbul, Turkey.-Biography:...
, Alsou
Alsou
- Early life :Alsou was born in Bugulma, Tatarstan. Her father, Ralif Rafilovich Safin is a Russian oligarch, a former LUKoil executive and a current member of the Federal Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament. He is also the owner of the FC Zhemchuzhina-Sochi football team and was...
, Youddiph
Youddiph
Masha Katz is Russian singer. She is most known for representing Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 held in Dublin.-Biography:Maria or Masha was born on the 23rd of January 1973 in Moscow. At the age of 13 she formed her first group performing heavy metal songs. In 1989 she met with the...
, Natalia Podolskaya
Natalia Podolskaya
Natalia Podolskaya is a Belarusian singer that performed for Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest on May 21, 2005 and was ranked #15. In 2008 she became a Russian citizen.-Early years:Natalia was born in 1982 in Mogilev, Belarus...
, Prime Minister
Premier Ministr
Premyer-Ministr is a Russian musical group. The idea behind the band was to form a boy band, though not especially for teenagers. Four men came together to form Premier Ministr in 1997. Their first real success came in 2000 with the remake of a very popular Russian tune, "Oriental Song"...
, and Serebro
Serebro
Serebro are a Russian trio, formed in Moscow, Russia in 2006. They are also famously known as the band who finished third in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with the song "Song #1"...
. The next day he will give a large performce at the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
for the celebration of International Woman's Day in Russia. Russia, being the host country, has been called an important stop by ERT. Rouvas has also had success on the Russian charts with his hit "Se Thelo San Trelos" in 2004 and is known in the country from his successful collaboration with successful singer-songwriter Philipp Kirkorov
Philipp Kirkorov
Philipp Bedrosovich Kirkorov is a Bulgarian-born Russian singer and producer living and working in Moscow.-Biography:Philipp Kirkorov was born on April 30, 1967 in Varna, Bulgaria. His father is Bulgarian singer of Armenian and Belarusian ethnicity Bedros Kirkorov. His mother, Victoria, is...
. At the second press conference, it was stated that Rouvas' previous success and popularity in Russia will be a definite factor in Greece conquering the Eastern votes. It has also been confirmed that Rouvas will give a concert in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
on March 13, and will also be continuing promotion in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
from April 10–12. ERT is currently considering many more destinations for promotion, keeping Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
as a high priority.
At Eurovision
Although Greece placed third in the 2008 contestEurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Contest. It was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. This year was the first contest to have two semi-finals which were held on 20 and 22 May, and the final held on 24 May 2008...
, it was still required to compete in the semi-finals under current rules, as it was not one of the "Big Four" nor was it the host of the 2009 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....
.
Fokas Evangelinos along with Elias Ledakis, will be the choreographers and artistic directors of Rouvas' stage show. Evangelinos had choreographed Rouvas' third place 2004
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004
Greece and Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi originally chose to host a National Selection, but then decided on an Internal Selection. Sakis Rouvas was chosen with "Shake It" and placed 3rd at Eurovision.-National final:...
entry, Elena Paparizou
Elena Paparizou
Eleni "Elena" Paparizou , usually referred to abroad as Helena Paparizou, is a Greek-Swedish singer and occasional songwriter, who was born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. She began her career there in 1999 as a member of the duo Antique, while she also worked briefly as a model for a...
's winning 2005
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Greece participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, its first Eurovision Song Contest victory. Greek national broadcaster Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi internally selected Helena Paparizou who sang "My Number One" in Kiev, winning the competition with 230 points. The song is written...
entry, the opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
, Ani Lorak
Ani Lorak
Karolina Miroslavivna Kuiek, , popularly known as Ani Lorak , born 27 September 1978, Kitsman, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, is a famous Ukrainian pop singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, and former UN Goodwill Ambassador...
's second place 2008
Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Ukraine competed in the second semi-final on the 22 May 2008, in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 and won a place in the final. The country chose their singer by choosing an internal selection. Therefore they selected the young and talented singer Ani Lorak to be their representative for Eurovision...
entry, and Dima Bilan
Dima Bilan
' is a Russian actor and pop singer . Bilan represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with "Never Let You Go", finishing second, and he won the contest in 2008 in Belgrade, with the song "Believe". He has had several Russian no. 1 hits....
's second place entry in 2006
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Russia’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was chosen in an internal selection process by Channel One. Favourites for selection were Jasmin, Dima Bilan, and Varvara. It was decided that Dima Bilan would represent Russia this year...
and winning 2008
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
In 2008, a national final, "Евровидение 2008" was held to select Russia's Eurovision entry. The announcement was made during the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 on December 8th, 2007, which was shown on Russia TV - Russia's host broadcaster for the contest in 2008,Evrovidenie 2008 was held on...
entry among others. Evangelinos has worked with Rouvas for more than a decade long, being his choreographer for the majority of his shows. At a press conference that took place on October 14, 2008, it was revealed that Evangelinos will be working exclusively with Rouvas and no other contest entrants.
Semi-final
It was announced in January that Greece would take part in the second semi-final on May 14 where it will have to qualify for the grand final. Greece was drawn to perform 13th out of a field of 19, succeeding AzerbaijanAzerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
's AySel
Aysel Teymurzadeh
-Biography:Aysel was born in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, the youngest of the three daughters of a journalist and a university professor. She is a descendant of the nineteenth-century Azerbaijani publicist Hasan bey Zardabi. Her grandmother on her mother's side was half-Russian, half-Ukrainian...
and Arash with "Always
Always (Aysel Teymurzadeh song)
"Always" is a song by Azerbaijani singer Aysel Teymurzadeh and Arash, and was the Azerbaijani entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The song was selected by İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti , the Azerbaijani broadcaster, among the 30 songs submitted to the broadcaster in an open...
" and preceding Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
's Sasha Son
Sasha Son
Sasha Son is a Lithuanian singer who represented Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. His nickname Sasha Son means "Sasha Dream" in Russian, with Sasha being a Russian diminutive form of the name Alexander.-Early life:...
with "Love
Love (Sasha Son song)
"Love", known by its Lithuanian name "Pasiklydęs žmogus" is a song by Lithuanian singer Sasha Son, the Lithuanian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, where it was performed in English with the final verse in Russian....
". It was one of the ten performances which qualified for the grand final.
Final and reception
In the final, on May 16, "This Is Our Night" finished in seventh place with a total of 120 points, receiving maximum 12 points from AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. The song therefore carried on Greece's Eurovision success by finishing within the top-ten for the sixth consecutive year, thus making the country the second most successful entrant of the past decade, despite not having even participated in 2000. The event was watched by 86% of the Greek television audience.
The performance included complex choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
, with BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
announcing that "Greece's Sakis Rouvas had one of the more ambitious dance routines" of the contest. Rouvas wore an all white outfit designed by acclaimed Greek designer Celia Kritharioti. He performed on a rotating podium which transported him from left to right across the stage, was part of his group dance routine with four other performers and, in the end, was responsible for lifting him high into the air. In the same moment, a Greek flag is displayed on the floor, only visible to the television viewers. The final part of the performance was completed by silver fireworks in two separate parts. The official Eurovision website states that, this year, Greece had made "high-tech advancements" in the contest's standards.
Whilst Rouvas was disappointed with his seventh place finish, announcing to Greek media "I am so sorry, I wanted us to win", there was still unanimous support towards the artist himself in the country. "Seventh in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, first in our hearts" many journalists reported on Greek television. The media and public pronounced their support for Rouvas, the general consensus being that the artist gave it his best even though this did not translate in enough votes in the contest. All criticism in Greece focused on the selection of the song itself, rather than the artist's performance. Rouvas stated that, overall, it has all been a wonderful experience for him: "some win, some lose, personally, I gave everything I had. But it was a wonderful experience".
Some critics, including those from London Greek Radio
London Greek Radio
London Greek Radio is an Independent Local Radio station established by London's sizeable Greek community, most of which forms part of the ethnically diverse Cypriot community...
, suggested the reason why Greece failed to achieve a higher placing was due to a lack of an ethnic-sounding song. He notes the way in which all of Greece's top-three placings, including Rovas' performance of "Shake It
Shake It
Shake It may refer to:* Shake It All About - Danish comedy-drama from 2001 * "Shake It" - B-side of the "China Girl" single* "Shake It" - Debut single by Caesars...
" in 2004, had an ethnic bouzouki
Bouzouki
The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
sound, as did the 2009 Azerbaijani and Turkish entries which finished in third and fourth place respectively.
The song has since peaked at number one on the Greek and Cypriot charts, and has also gone on to chart in Sweden, Ukraine, Iceland, Lithuania and Russia.
The Greek broadcaster ERT
ERT
ERT can stand for:*Earth-received time, a measurement used when dealing with interplanetary spacecraft*Electrical resistivity tomography, a geophysical imaging technique...
has confirmed that Greece will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010
Eurovision Song Contest 2010
The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th annual Eurovision Song Contest, broadcast from the Telenor Arena in Bærum, Greater Oslo, Norway. It was the third time Norway had hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1986 and 1996. The 2010 winner was Germany with Lena singing "Satellite",...
.