Following in the series of our interviews with the composers participating in this year's Cypriot final for the Eurovision Song Contest we meet with Dionysis Stamatopoulos, the composer of Heartbeat, a pop ethnic song to be performed by Marianne Grigoriou.
Dionysis Stamatopoulos was born in Athens but he has been living and working in Cyprus for the past three years. His main characteristic as a composer is the fusion of American influences with ethnic elements. He collaborates with Minos EMI as a composer or an arranger for pop, folk, RnB and hip hop artists.
So, what is your song, Heartbeat, about?
Heartbeat is a pop/ethnic song influenced mostly by artists such as Timbaland, Nelly Furtado, the Pussycat Dolls etc. It's a combination of the American style of producing and the ethnic atmosphere & approach, which is necessary for concepts like Eurovision. It was actually produced with the aim of participating in the contest. Marian Georgiou is going to perform it.
Have you taken into account the recent changes in the voting system of the contest (that is the introduction of the jury vote in the final at a 50/50 split) when composing the song? Do you think there will be a difference in the outcome based on the different voting system?
No, I never take into any account factors like judgement system etc. The only thing i take into account is the song itself. I believe that the song's value and divinity will judge the result, not the terms and regulations.
Have you been following the Eurovision Song Contest? What do you feel it takes to do well or even win it?
I can't say im a big fan of Eurovision. In my opinion its all about the experience not about the result. Personally, my intentions were to produce a song capable of showing, in the best way, a new and different genre of music, which is the most popular in the USA nowadays.
Any favourite Cypriot and international entries so far?
I found really interesting the song entitled Comme ci comme ca performed by Korgialas and Evridiki.i also enjoyed Sertab's performance a few years ago.
Do you have a message for the readers of esctoday.com
My best wishes to every single reader of your site. May the best song win.
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