That time of the year is here again. Artists from 37 countries will battle it out in May but only one can succeed Loreen and become the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. It’s time to look at all 37 participants as we get closer and closer to Malmö. As they say in Sweden, nuuuuuu kör vi!
The first country on the list this year is the land of Aphrodite, green lines and halloumi. It’s Cyprus!
History
Cyprus first took part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981. They will make their 40th appearance in the contest this year. They currently hold the record for the most appearances in the contest without a win. They have only missed three contests since their debut; 1988, 2001 and 2014. Their best result in history was in 2018 when Eleni Foureira came second with “Fuego”. At the 2023 contest, Andrew Lambrou finished 12th in the final with “Break a Broken Heart”, giving Cyprus their best result since 2018.
Selection
The Cypriot broadcaster, Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (Ραδιοφωνικό Ίδρυμα Κύπρου – Kıbrıs Radyo Yayın Kurumu – CyBC), originally planned on using the fifth season of Fame Story, the Greek version of Star Academy, to select their 2024 entrant. However, ERT, the Greek national broadcaster, filed a complaint to the EBU on the grounds that the Cypriot selection would be taking place in Greece. The EBU then modified the contest rules at the request of ERT, stating “each national selection of a representative for Eurovision should be undertaken and organised under the exclusive control of each participating broadcaster” and that “the organisation and production may not be subcontracted, except with the prior approval of the EBU”.
Despite later reports that a different national selection would be used, CyBC used an internal selection to select their entrant for Eurovision 2024. Silia Kapsis was selected to represent Cyprus in Malmö.
Artist
Vasiliki Silia Kapsis (Βασιλική Σίλια Καψή) was born in Sydney, Australia, on December 5 2006 to Cypriot singer Giorgos Kapsis and Greek lawyer and former dancer Despina Saivanidis.
Silia grew up surrounded by music and started performing at the age of 4. She has been a lead singer for the Australian Youth Performing Arts Company at various events in Australia and around the world.
Silia composed her first single “Who Am I?” at the age of 12, but it was only released in 2022. Since then she has released three more singles – “No Boys Allowed” in March 2023, “Disco Dancer” in May 2023, and “Night Out” in November 2023.
Silia made her acting debut as the lead character in the 2022 short film Pearly Gates and has worked on various television projects for Nickelodeon Australia, appearing as a regular host on the local version of Nick News. Along with the other hosts, she was nominated for Aussie/Kiwi Legend of the Year at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in 2023.
The song that Silia will perform in Malmö is called “Liar”. It was written by Elke Tiel and composed by Dimitris Kontopoulos. Dimitris has composed multiple Eurovision entries including “Shady Lady” (Ukraine 2008), “This Is Our Night” (Greece 2009), “You Are the Only One” (Russia 2016), “Sugar” (Moldova 2021) and “Last Dance” (Greece 2021). This song was originally in the Greek selection last year and finished second.
Song Review
This year is going to be a hard one to predict, but let’s go anyway.
I hope this opens the semi-final because it has the energy to grab people’s attention. It is banging and full of attitude. Silia may be one of the youngest participants this year but she seems very comfortable in her performance abilities. From the structure of the song, I think we can also expect a dance break, which would further play to Silia’s strengths.
Is this song the most original and revolutionary song that ever existed? Not by a long shot. What will push this song over the line is the performance and I don’t doubt that Silia is going to sell it with everything she has. It might be a tight squeeze but I see Cyprus qualifying.
The One That Got Away
What if Fame Story was used as the Cypriot selection? Then we might have seen Anna Poltzoglou representing Cyprus.
Anna Poltzoglou is 28 years old and comes from Thessaloniki in northern Greece. Last year, she beat competition from 19 other contestants to win Fame Story, € 50,000 and a record contract. She stood out for her deep alto voice and strong performances. It’s hard to say how she would have done in Eurovision because she never got close to even being selected. I wish her well in the music industry though.
Καλοτυχία Κύπρος! Iyi şanslar Kıbrıs!
Do you like Silia’s song or are you a liar? Leave your comments below. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Eurovision preview!
(Sources: eurovision.tv, CyBC, YouTube)
Thinking About It 