Features🇬🇷 Greece

🇬🇷 Xtra Insider 2020: We Review Greece!

Welcome to Xtra Insider, our new series which will give you an insight into how well each country was statistically likely to do this year, as well as what the team at ESCXTRA think of your favourite entries into (what would have been) this year’s contest! Today, we analyze and review Greece!

Yes, this year’s contest has been cancelled…but that doesn’t mean we can’t love the songs! In this series, we’ll review each and every entry that would have taken part in this year’s Eurovision. On top of this, we’re introducing a new analysis section in which we take a look into each country’s history and how likely they would have been to do well this year. Our honest and brutal reviews and analysis will keep you entertained throughout what would’ve been the Eurovision season! We will also each give points using the usual Eurovision points system (12, 10, then 8 down to 1), and create an ESCXTRA leaderboard of the entries!

Today, we’ll be giving analysis and reviews of the Greek entry, Supergirl by Stefania, from Dominik, Rodrigo, Sami, Simon, Vincent and Wiv. Let’s get started!

Animated GIF

Greece’s history at Eurovision

From 2004 to 2015, Greece were one of the most successful countries in Eurovision, having never failed to reach the final and scoring four top 5 hits between 2001 and 2008. Since 2016, however, it’s all gone a bit…wrong for Greece, with them failing to qualify twice since then, and their highest placing on the final scoreboard being 19th in 2017! In their 40 participations in the contest, Greece have won the contest only once – in 2005 with Helena Paparizou’s ‘My Number One’.

This year’s entry

Since 2018, Greece have selected their entry internally, and this year is no different – Stefania was selected to represent Greece at this year’s Eurovision by a panel at ERT, the national broadcaster. The name Stefania Liberakakis may ring a bell for some who watch the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, as she represented the Netherlands in 2015 as part of the group ‘Kisses’ (she is half Greek, half Dutch). Her song ‘Superg!rl’ was written by Dimitris Kontopoulos (a name that will be familiar to any Eurovision fan, as he has wrote songs such as ‘Shady Lady’, ‘You Are The Only One’ and ‘Hold Me’), ARCADE, and Sharon Vaughn (a member of the so-called ‘Dream Team’)

How well does this kind of song tend to do in the contest?

So, looking at Greece’s recent history in the contest, you can see that songs that are very heavily Greek-styled, such as Utopian Land and Oniro mou, have failed to reach the final, whereas those more uptempo and modern songs, such as Better Love and This Is Love, tend to do….well, they at least qualified. Probably the most similar previous Greek entry to this is the 2008 entry, Kalomira’s ‘Secret Combination’ which came 3rd, which could suggest that ‘Superg!rl’ would’ve done very well in Rotterdam! However, this is 2020…would a similar formula have worked 12 years later?

The Reviews

Dominik

It’s not as strong as the average Greek entry. I like the build ups to the chorus, but the chorus is a letdown. I think the song could show her vocals better. Greece would’ve been in the final but I don’t think it would have placed inside the Top 20, except for an outstanding performance. Think they will do better next year.

Rodrigo

Nothing wrong with it. Nothing right either. Love it? No. Hate it? No. I would think that my reaction to this is of harmless indifference.

Sami

People call this more fitting for Junior Eurovision, but I think this is very age appropriate for 17-year-old Stefania and she would be too old for JESC. Great entry for Greece and I hope Stefania is able to bring something similar next year.

Simon

Age-appropriate and well produced, it is a strong effort from Greece. A good blend of greek sounds into a modern pop mix that will be familiar to ears across the continent.

Vincent

Unlike some of my fellow reviewers, I really like that song, and don’t feel indifferent to it. It’s a bit more original than others, Stefania is lovely, the videoclip is one of the best this year. I don’t feel that teh chorus is a letdown, on the contrary it’s the thing I could remember most and keep humming right after listening to the reveal. I don’t deny it wouldn’t have reached the top 10, but I still love it.

Wiv

This is possibly the cutest preview video ever, and as a massive Harry Potter fan I love any hint of magic. I also love the beat in the chorus, and find myself dancing to it every time it comes on. Still, there’s no escaping the cfact that this is much better suited for JESC.

Scores

Costa7Nick10Tim7
Dominik7Riccardo10Tom O7
Isaac6Rigmo6Tom R2
Lisa10Rodrigo6Vincent12
Luke6Sami7Wiv3
Matt7Sean7
Nathan P10Simon2

Therefore, Greece scores 132 points in total!

Leaderboard

Greece reaches 14th place with a score of 132 points.

  1. Sweden – 164
  2. Bulgaria – 163
  3. Iceland – 162
  4. Russia – 156
  5. Malta – 154
  6. Switzerland – 151
  7. Israel – 148
  8. Germany – 142
  9. Serbia – 139
  10. Denmark – 136
  11. Ireland – 136
  12. Ukraine – 135
  13. Norway – 134
  14. Greece – 132
  15. Italy – 129
  16. Romania – 121
  17. Latvia – 120
  18. Armenia – 120
  19. United Kingdom – 120
  20. Australia – 117
  21. Netherlands – 113
  22. Austria – 111
  23. Belgium – 109
  24. North Macedonia – 107
  25. Czech Republic – 104
  26. Spain – 100
  27. Cyprus – 97
  28. San Marino – 97
  29. Albania – 97
  30. Finland – 95
  31. Estonia – 93
  32. Portugal – 82
  33. Moldova – 82
  34. Belarus – 81
  35. Poland – 76
  36. Georgia – 72
  37. France – 70
  38. Slovenia – 53

Tomorrow, it will be the turn of Azerbaijan to be reviewed. For now, take another listen to the Greek entry below!

Do you agree with our reviews of Greece? What are your thoughts on Supergirl?

Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA

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