Greece: The Maria Elena Kyriakou Interview

by Gil Laufer 409 views

The Greek song One last breath has managed to get a lot of attention during the last days, both from the media in Vienna and from the fans at home. What is that all about? We met Maria Elena Kyriakou to get some answers!

Hi Maria Elena! How is your Eurovision experience going so far?

I’m very excited and very satisfied with my two rehearsals. The people here are very professional and their hospitality is great. I want to do it again and again!

You won ‘The Voice’ in Greece and there are some more participants this year who are alumni of ‘The Voice’. Do you find your participation helpful here in Eurovision?

Yes, the participation helped me a lot to leave behind all the stress and to be more experienced on stage. The Voice was a very good school for me.

Where the decision to participate in the Greek national selection came from?

My record company proposed me to participate and I said yes, I was very happy for it because it’s something I really wanted to do. We composed the song with Efthivoulos Theoxarous and here I am! In the greek selection we were five participants and I won both the televoting and the jury votes!

We’ve got a lot of ballads this year and it was a surprise that even Greece who is known for sending uptempo songs sends a ballad! Do you think you can win?

Sending a ballad is a very big contrast for Greece. It is quite a disadvantage, we have many ballads and especially good ballads from big countries. It makes me more stressed, but I believe in my song and in my team and we keep thinking positive. We get a lot of love from all the people here and from the press too. 

Watching the rehearsals and your promotion tour prior to Eurovision, seems that your performance has been really improving. How did you prepare for the contest?

I had a lot of rehearsals and we have a very professional team for my choreography and staging, and also the videoart and the lights of the stage makes me more confident and sing even better.

Your performances in the rehearsals surprised the press and the fans at home. What’s your secret, and what is the story behind the staging and the performance?

I think that the secret is to be honest; to express yourself and all the feelings you got inside, and give your soul to the people who watch you and hear you. They want honesty, not playing diva and just singing a song, you have to be honest with them.

Maria Elena Kyriakou will represent Greece with the song One last breath. She will sing as song number 6 in the first semifinal on May 19.