In an interview with Télépro, acclaimed songwriter Pierre Dumoulin revealed that CyBC, Cyprus’ broadcaster for Eurovision, had originally approached him to write their 2018 entry. He had previously wrote and composed Blanche “City Lights”, Belgium’s 2017 entry.
Following his success with RTBF (Belgium’s French-speaking public broadcaster) in Kiev, Pierre reveals that the Cypriot team had approached him to compose their entry for Lisbon 2018. In addition, he flagged the potential of him working with them in the future.
I think that mainly because I have a certain brand, and I say it myself: RTBF acts very boldly, trusting me twice in a row. My songs are not very formatted compared to Fuego from Cyprus last year. When I saw that they were eventually released, and their song turned out to be very effective, I don’t know how to do such things … They are interested in working with me, but will they dare to go all the way?
Translated excerpt from Pierre Dumoulin’s interview with Télépro.
In the same interview, he revealed that “Wake Up”, Belgium’s entry for Tel Aviv 2019, was selected from a shortlist of 25 entries. Following his success working with RTBF in 2017, he also revealed his expectations for this year.
The Cypriot team eventually opted for Alex P., who wrote Eleni Foureira’s “Fuego”. This of course went on to finish in second place in last year’s contest in Lisbon – Cyprus’ best result to date. This year, CyBC have used the same team to compose Tamta’s “Replay”, in a hope to recreate the same magic. Who knows, perhaps CyBC will approach Pierre for a future contest?
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
Cyprus made their Eurovision Song Contest debut 37 years ago, back in 1981. The island nation has participated in every contest since, with the exception of 1988, 2001 and 2014. Prior to 2018, Cyprus’ best results had come in the form of three fifth place finishes. These came courtesy of Anna Vissi’s “Mono i agapi” in 1982, Hara & Andreas Constantinou’s “Mana mou” in 1997 and Lisa Andreas’ “Stronger Every Minute” in 2004.
While Cyprus secured seven top 11 finishes in the 1990s, the nation’s form dipped as the contest entered its semi-final era. Cyprus failed to qualify in six out of eight occasions between 2006 and 2013, withdrawing in 2014 for financial reasons.
However, since their return in 2015, the island has qualified for the grand final every single time. Prior to this run, Cyprus had never managed to qualify from a semi-final in two consecutive contests. Last year, Eleni Foureira sent this Cypriot momentum to a new peak with a record second-place finish. Cyprus may be the nation with the most Eurovision appearances yet to secure a victory, but perhaps that victory could be just around the corner?
Do you think this was a missed opportunity from CyBC? Would you like to see Pierre compose an entry for Cyprus in the future? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates!
