“I had to have my tonsils removed at the end of October 2003 and whilst I was recuperating, Mike wrote Stronger every minute for me. None of us knew what my voice would be like…”

Esctoday.com: First of all, congratulations with your victory on Cyprus! Please tell me, how did you started this adventure?

“My managers always had the idea that I should take part in Eurovision for Cyprus but I was too young before. This year, in order to take part, you had to be 16 years old on 31st December 2003 and my 16th birthday was on 22nd December 2003, so I might be the youngest artist taking part?”

“Mike Connaris got in touch with my managers because he had heard about me and wanted to submit a song for the Cyprus entry for the Eurovision Song Contest and had to have a Cypriot artist. I was born in England because my father is British, but my mother and grandparents come from Pano Lakatamia in Cyprus, where I was christened, so I am half Cypriot. I lived in Cyprus for two and a half years when I was a little girl and have returned to Cyprus for holidays since I came to live in England because my family still lives there”.

Esctoday.com: We heard something about your tonsils. What's the story?
“I had to have my tonsils removed at the end of October 2003 and whilst I was recuperating, Mike wrote Stronger every minute for me. None of us knew what my voice would be like after the operation, but thankfully I seem to be singing better than ever which is a huge relief! When I went back to his studios and heard the song, I loved it so much that I just couldn�t wait to record it”.