It has been said lately that this year's Spanish entry La noche es para mi had been previously released in Greece and therefore the song would be in breach of the EBU's rules. Soraya already denied these rumours saying that the Greek version of the song, available on the Internet, is just a demo and does not risk the Spanish candidature. Both Soraya's record label, Vale Music, and the public broadcasting corporation RTVE have stepped in the controversy and cleared doubts up.
Vale Music official statement came shortly after controversy over the originality of the Spanish entry arose. The record label wants, in the name of the authors of La noche es para mí, Dimitri Stassos, Felipe Pedroso, Jason Gill and Irini Michas, to inform the public that recent rumours surrounding the song and its alleged plagiarism are "totally untrue".
The label goes on assuring that "it is very likely that the origin of this misunderstanding could be the fact of one of the authors, Dimitri Stassos, is of Greek roots and, as it is usual, there could be a studio demo of the song in his native tongue. That track was never published, and it seems that it is circulating across the Internet, causing confusion".
In parallel to the plagiarism accusation, obviously the issue about the date of the song release came out as well. Vale Music states that the first publication of La noche es para mí was on October 16th 2008, as a track of Soraya's latest CD, Sin miedo. "This fact complies with EBU's rules", which clearly state that only songs published after October 1st are eligible to be chosen to represent a participating nation.
The team behind
Swedish musicians Jason Gill, Dimitri Stassos and Irini Michas, the last two of Greek origin, started to compose the song by mixing different styles and cultures, but they were also keen on including something Spanish in it. So last year they sent a demo to Quique Tejada, Vale Music Artistic Manager. It was a combination of dance and Latin beats, Arab sounds and the quality and effectiveness of Swedish sound. Only the lyrics were missing, plus a handful of Spanish ingredients to create a sort of international cocktail, for example, the strings of a Spanish guitar to convey character and personality.
Thinking that it could do quite well at the Eurovision Song Contest, Felipe Pedroso wrote the lyrics for Soraya, and the song was included in her new album Sin Miedo (Fearless), with the underlying intention that the theme would become an international hit. For this, Quique made contact with brothers Xasqui and Toni Ten, responsible for Rosa's Europe's living a celebration.
Composers
Jason Gill started singing in a Swedish group led by Herbie Crichlow and thereafter started to write and produce songs. Before he turned 23, he had already sold gold as a songwriter and he had worked with some of the most relevant writers/producers in Europe. His pop melodies and his voice was something that caught the ears of producers. Jason started his own publishing company together with Mattias Råsmark, co-published by Warner Chappell Music.
Dimitri Stassos was born in Stockholm, to Greek parents. He has been working professionally as a songwriter/producer and a musician for many years. He has gained success in the Swedish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, Melodifestivalen, twice as a composer and producer. He has worked with singers like Sofia Berntson, George Nozuka and Ola, and songwriters like Nektarios Tyrakis and Gerard James Borg. Dimitri has been working with Warner Chappell Scandinavia for many years.
Irini Michas knew that she should concentrate on writing songs while being on tour as a backing singer. Irini works with melodies as well as lyrics in various styles and genres: pop, rock, dance, ethnic and r&b – from catchy uptempo beats to emotional ballads. She writes in three different languages: English, Swedish and Greek. She works with Lionheart Music and has also experienced both the Swedish Melodifestivalen and the Greek music world.
Lyricist
Felipe Pedroso is the author of the Spanish lyrics of La noche es para mí, and one of its musical producers. Born in Spain, he writes for all kind of artists in the world, and has had many hits on the Spanish and Latin American markets. This includes tracks for the TV project Batuka, which has sold nearly a million copies in Spain, and many songs like the ballad Me derrumbo by David Bisbal, Más for Rosa, Baila en mi fuego for Natalia and Sin miedo for Soraya.
