Eurovision – Greece

Somehow, Greece seems to have a shot at the top three!  From what I can gather, most non-Greek fans are disappointed in Greece’s entry, but consider Rouvas one of two performers (Turkey’s Hadise Açıkgöz being the other) with a chance of “besting [Norway’s Alexander] Ryback for the 2009 Eurovision title.”  The New York Times – which describes the contest as a “car crash of cultures” (…haha) – foresees a grand prize win for pretty boy Ryback this year, but gives its share of props to Rouvas, whose pictures is featured just below his rival’s.

Sakis, looking nearly as sprightly as Ryback, who, according to the New York Times, could pass for a kid as young as fourteen.

Can Rouvas take him down?

 Sakis Rouvas thinks the lyrical content is worth noting…  I don’t, but he’s the artist here, so I might as well share them with you.

Take a chance, and take a hold
give it all, and turn it to gold
time has come, so make a stand
on your own, and take command
Beat the odds, you will survive
stronger now, you feel alive
Rising up, get into place
feel it in your heart,
When you are, winning this race
When I look into your eyes
It comes, as no surprise

Counting down, the night of nights
Getting now, to stand and fight
Don’t back down, just look within
Do it now, I know you will
When I look into your eyes
it comes as no surprise

Diaspora alert!: The text was written by two Greek-Australian songwriters: Craig Porteils, who has written hits for a variety of other celebs (including big names like Cher, Billy Ido, and Ozzy Osbourne), and Cameron Giles-Webb, president of Melbourne-based Gusto Music.

The New York Times said it simplest: “The song is truly awful.”  Musically, the song is anything but original, and falls squarely into a Euro-pop mold of the worst kind.  “This Is Our Night” may have ranked first among televoters and critics alike, but by any other standards it is repetitive, formulaic, and cloying.

Comments on the various YouTube videos range from “this is the worst song i’ve heard…” to “sakiiiii, ur super!” but member torinogianni sums up my impression of the song: “ok, quite ordinary song? but what of greek in it?”  The answer is pretty much nada.  Rouvas sings entirely in English, and apart from the occasional Greek accent slip-up (specifically on the words “Yes, we can do it”), there is no indication that this song represents Greece in any way.  In a recent interview, Oikotimes.com inquired as to whom he “dedicate[d] the song,” suggesting “a beloved, or maybe the whole Greek nation?”  Rouvas responded: “The ‘our’ in ‘This Is Our Night’ represents everyone, people in all the corners of the world. Especially those who believe in positive energy, passion and the energy of love. This song has no boundary, no ethnicity. I want to make everyone stand with rhythm, energy and optimism.”  Well if that’s the case, then it’s no problem that the signature bouzouki of the 1974 entry has become extinct in the Eurovision context.  (I personally think it’s a travesty.)

Rouvas is indeed big on energy, and he seems to have an infinite supply during the performance.  He bops and bounces like the Energizer Bunny from the opening drum beat, and pauses only at salient moments throughout the song for dramatic effect.  In the live version, he stops suddenly with the words “When I look into your eyes…” to gesture grandly to an audience of screeching fans.  The music video features a similar interruption to gaze intently at the camera, ostensibly to arouse an identical drooling reaction among viewers.  Rouvas’s constant pelvic gyrations seem to be harkening back to his high school days when he made a name for himself performing renditions of Elvis hits.

But not everyone gets a kick out of his hip swiveling.  The anonymous author of “Thoroughly Good Blog” has a “slight problem” with how “all eyes seem to be drawn to what’s going on below his belt.”  He/she continues, “It’s an infectious dance routine but one which is probably more geared at the adult (gay) market than the traditional family audience.”  Surprisingly, this is one of the few references to sexuality that I’ve encountered in my research of Greece’s entry.  I say ‘surprisingly’ because Rouvas’s tight-fitting outfit and long, full eyelashes suggest an effeminate character.  According to numerous bloggers, however, he has enjoyed lasting relationships with several women and has professed repeatedly that he is not gay.  Other bloggers insist that Rouvas parades his ambiguous sexuality as a marketing tool.  In any case, no one seems to care, which in itself is surprising considering widespread homophobia in Greece.

One last comment: The song may be relatively worthless, but it sure is catchy.  I can’t stop humming it…

Sakis Rouvas doesn’t look like he’s nearly forty.  That tummy is too flat and too toned* to belong to anyone over the age of fourteen (especially with the way they feed you over there).  In any case, Sakis Rouvas’s bronze midriff is a familiar sight on stage in Greece.  Rouvas entered the music business nearly twenty years ago, with his 1991 album, Sakis Rouvas (very original).  Since then, he has released twenty additional albums, appeared in five feature films, and hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 after Helena Paparizou’s victory.  This will thus be Rouvas’s third time with Eurovision.  Three times the charm?

Rouvas is Greece’s golden boy…except not.  Son of divorced Kerkeiran (from Corfu) parents, Rouvas has had his share of personal drama.  In 1994, after attempting to evade military service, Rouvas was institutionalized and attempted to commit suicide.  Twice.  Upon his release he was either in the wrong place at the wrong time or seriously addicted to coke.  (Long story short, he was partying on an expensive yacht with assorted other celebrities and large quantities of pricey narcotics were found on board.)  Nonetheless, these blemishes would have to be malignant to convince the Greek populous that shiny, smiley Rouvas is anything less than the second coming.  Even my cynical, punk-loving cousins adore him.

Make us proud, Sakis!

 Sakis in Istanbul in 2004 where he placed third

*this probably thanks to many years as a skilled gymnast on the Greek National Gymnastics Team.

On July 18, 2008, long before any other country had revealed its 2009 team (and only weeks after Eurovision 2008 ended), Greece announced that pop start Sakis Rouvas would perform as the country’s representative in Moscow.  He was chosen internally by a professional panel, not by popular vote, much to Solon’s dismay.  The song, “This Is Our Night,” was not selected until February 18, 2009, when the Greek national broadcaster ERT (Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi) organized a prime-time televised concert to make the final choice.  Rouvas performed three possible songs: “Out of Control,” “Right on Time,” and “This Is Our Night,” all composed by Dmitris Kontopoulos. According to the ERT website, somewhere between 61% and 75% of viwers favored the last selection.  Do you?

Live version:

Music video:

(I feel like I should hate it because it really is trash…but I can’t help but bop along…)

A second panel of judges ranked the pieces, but it’s unclear if their opinions or the opinions of televoters were weighted.

Viewers from over 60 countries tuned in to watch sexy Sakis swivel to the beat of various Euro pop tunes, including some of his top hits from years past.  (See my next post to learn more about the over-the-hill heartthrob.)  But he wasn’t the only star that night: ERT invited Eurovision reps from the United Kingdom, Malta, Belarus, Montenegro, and Turkey to perform their entries as well.

Seems to me like Greece is prepping to host in 2010…

Greece first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with the much-loved folk singer Marinella singing “Krasi, Thalassa, kai t’Agori mou” (Κρασί, θάλασσα και τ’ αγόρι μου), which translates to “Wine, the Beach, and my Boyfriend” (clearly a very sophisticated and profound topic).  The song was written especially for the contest and features a repetitive pop-inspired melody in true Eurovision style.  Interestingly enough, however, the simplistic tune is framed within the traditional Greek bouzouki style and Marinella (née Kiriaki Papadopoulou) sings solely in her native tongue.  Out of the seventeen entries, Greece placed 11th – not bad for the first time!  Check out the following link for a live broadcast by an unknown Spanish-speaking television channel:

Just over three months after the April 6, 1974 Eurovision final, the military junta that had controlled Greece for seven miserable years collapsed.  While the country struggled to set its broken bones, Turkey took advantage of its neighbor’s helplessness and invaded Cyprus.  In retaliation, Greece boycotted the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest.  Since then, Greece has been disqualified twice from the contest, once in 1982 for cheating and again in 1999 after having earned a dismal 20th place the year before.  In addition to these three forfeits, Greece removed itself in 1984, 1986, and 2000 due to unpreparedness, political unrest, and financial troubles respectively.

Generally speaking, over the past thirty-five years Greece has ranked as a mediocre contestant.  Within three years of debuting, Greece managed to rank in the top five, but did not do so again until 1992.  2001 saw the emergence of Greece as a serious contender and the country’s first time in the top three.  In 2004, Sakis Rouvas (who is now appearing for the second time in Eurovision as Greece’s 2009 representative) shook it all the way to third place with his bubblegum hit, “Shake It.”  Greece shot all the way to cloud nine in 2005 when Helena Paparizou followed Rouvas’s lead to number one (!!!) with her aptly entitled billboard favorite, “My Number One.”  Last year, in 2008, Greece shimmied to third place for the third time.  “This Is Our Night” is Rouvas’s take two on the Eurovision stage – but will it indeed be Greece’s night?

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