Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Encyclopedia
Greece participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, its first Eurovision Song Contest
victory. Greek national broadcaster Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi
(ERT) internally selected Helena Paparizou
who sang "My Number One
" in Kiev
, winning the competition with 230 points. The song is written by Christos Dantis
and Natalia Germanou
, and composed by Christos Dantis. "My Number One" was selected through a national final on March 2, 2005, where the public and a professional jury chose it over three other candidate songs.
and in 2004 with "Shake It
" performed by Sakis Rouvas
. Greece's least successful result was in 1998 when it placed twentieth with the song "Mia Krifi Evesthisia
" by Thalassa
, receiving only twelve points in total, all from Cyprus.
The Greek national broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi
(ERT) broadcasts the event in Greece each year and organizes the selection process for its entry. Its selection techniques have varied from national finals where the public selects the entry, to internal selections like used in 2004, where the broadcaster has complete control over the selection. For the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, ERT decided to hold a televised national final after internally selecting an artist.
. There was an internal selection for the artist, being chosen by the broadcaster, while there would be a national final for the song, with the public having a say in the choice.
In June 2004, Anna Vissi
stated that she "would go to Eurovision if she was asked to". It was rumored that she was asked by ERT, but declined the offer as she was promoting her song "Call Me
" in the United States
at the time. A few months later on November 27, 2004, it was reported that Despina Vandi
was "ready to sign the necessary contracts" though nothing was officially announced by ERT. The rumored contract, brokered between Vandi's record label Heaven Music
and ERT would have included a term that required all of Vandi's songs to be written by popular Greek songwriter Phoebus. The next day, November 28, 2004, ERT's Eurovision spokeswoman Daphne Bokota stated that Despina Vandi and ERT were close to a deal, but had concluded that she was too expensive to send to the contest. She also said that Vandi was worried about participating in the Eurovision Song Contest while her international career was going well. "Here at ERT, we don't understand [why] Greek artists are so insecure to participate", she stated. Bokota ended by saying that they would announce the artist within the next five to ten days and that a possible backup was Helena Paparizou
. On December 5, 2004, Anna Vissi
was reportedly also in negotiations with ERT and on December 8, 2004, Daphne Bokota once again spoke on the issue saying that there would be a delay in the decision because of some sort of "obstacle" within the broadcaster. On January 15, 2005, ERT held a meeting with Franz Ferdinand
which was reported by Star Channel
to be the front runner, but ERT soon excluded them as they had "no idea how Eurovision works and thus they proposed to compose a remake of a past song of theirs", a violation of contest rules; they were also requesting more money.
Finally on January 22, 2005, ERT announced that it had selected Helena Paparizou, former member of the Greek-Swedish
duet Antique
which had represented Greece at the 2001 contest
, achieving 3rd place. In a press release, ERT stated that her singing career in Sweden
was "a factor which surely contributed to the final choice of Paparizou, since the 'northern' votes are considered to be important". Shortly before the announcement of Paparizou's participation, Bokota was fired from ERT for unknown reasons; she was the one who had originally proposed to her.
and SMS texting
by the public, and a nine-member "expert jury", weighted 60% and 40% respectively. The jury would be made up of Mimis Plesas, Antonis Andrikakis, Kostas Tournas, Željko Joksimović
, Betty Golema, Ion Stamboulis, Fotini Giannoulatou, Sietse Bakker, and Christos Liritzis.
Out of 100 the songs that were sent in by Greek and foreign artists, a committee made up of representatives from ERT, Sony BMG, and Paparizou, chose 15 songs initially and then narrowed the selection down to four. On a special show broadcast on February 18 titled EuroMania, the four songs were presented to the Greek public as: "My Number One
" composed by Christos Dantis
with lyrics by Dantis and Natalia Germanou
, "OK" composed by Christodoulos Siganos with lyrics by Siganos and Valentino, "Let's Get Wild" written by Douglas Carr. and "The Light in Our Soul
" written by Kostas Bigalis. On February 19, it was revealed that "The Light in Our Soul" had been released and made available on Amazon.de
by a band named "Big Alice" on May 25, 2004 and therefore disqualifying the song from the competition. According to contest rules, a song cannot be released before October 1 of the previous year. This revelation trimmed down the four candidate songs to three. The choreography for all songs was arranged by Fokas Evangelinos. Following the selection of the songs, a second special Eurovision show was broadcast on February 25, 2005, to familiarize the Greek public with the artist.
The national final took place on March 2, 2005 at "Club Fever" and was hosted by Greek-Swede journalist and television-presenter Alexandra Pascalidou
. In between Paparizou singing her three candidate songs, the Greek musical group C:Real
performed some of its songs, while several acts from other countries performed to both entertain and promote their own Eurovision songs. The 2005 representatives from the Netherlands and Andorra were present with Glennis Grace
singing "My Impossible Dream
" and Marian van de Wal
singing "La mirada interior
". Eurovision Song Contest 2004
's runner-up Željko Joksimović sang "Lane moje" and the Swedish band Alcazar
, which was still taking part in Melodifestivalen 2005
, the Swedish national final, sang "Alcastar".
and then presented the Greek song at the International Tourism Exhibit, the largest tourism exhibit in the world. She also gave several interviews to the press and before leaving, attended a Greek Independence Day
reception at the Greek embassy
. Upon return to Greece, she was greeted at the airport by fans along with the music video
of "My Number One" playing on the video monitors. While in Greece, she attended the opening ceremony of the European final four for the Volleyball Champions League in Pylaia
, where her song was played as she appeared on stage with cheerleaders. On March 29, Paparizou arrived in Valletta, Malta where she signed autographs, appeared on television stations, and gave interviews to the local media. Following Malta, she traveled to Serbia and Montenegro where she gave additional interviews before moving on to Andorra on April 10. She was soon in Lisbon, Portugal where she promoted not only her song, but also Greek export products, as she was sponsored by the Greek tourism industry. She attended an international exhibition of food and drink where the song was played for the many tourists, while its music video was seen on a large monitor. On April 20, 2005, Paparizou arrived in Sweden where she had started her singing career as part of Antique
. She was interviewed by many of the local media outlets and could be heard on radio stations around Stockholm. Following her stay in Sweden, Paparizou flew to Istanbul, Turkey where the Greek delegation met with Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
, who told her that it was good luck that the contest fell on her name-day of May 21. While in Turkey, she also posed for magazines and was interviewed by the media. She soon returned to Greece before leaving for a short trip to Kiev, the location of the contest.
As Greece had finished the Eurovision Song Contest 2004
in third place, its 2005 song was pre-qualified for the final in 2005. Greece was drawn to perform nineteenth on the night, following Croatia
's Boris Novković
and Lado with "Vukovi umiru sami
" and preceding Russia
's Natalia Podolskaya
with "Nobody Hurt No One
". Paparizou appeared confident on stage and her dancers prepared an extravagant show with carefully choreographed stage moves. She wore a short orange-yellow dress while the dancers wore tan colored clothing. The performance included Paparizou playing a violin and the backing dancers forming the number 1 on stage. The final was hosted and commentated on Greek television by Alexandra Pascalidou
, who also hosted the national final, while the spokesperson who revealed Greece's votes for other countries was Alexis Kostalas, an ERT Board member who had been the spokesperson since 1998.
"My Number One" won with a total of 230 points. It received 12 points, the maximum number of points a country can give to another country, from Albania
, Belgium
, Bulgaria
, Cyprus
, Germany
, Hungary
, Serbia & Montenegro, Sweden
, United Kingdom
, and unexpectedly Turkey
. The highest viewing ratings in the history of Greek television were recorded during the presentation of the pure gold trophy to Helena Paparizou by the Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
, with 94.2% of the Greek population tuned in.
and holding the Eurovision trophy.
"My Number One
" did very well in the music charts, being certified platinum in Greece and gold in Sweden while climbing to number one on both charts and charting for an extended number of weeks. It also charted in other European countries such as Germany
, Switzerland
, and Austria
. It was later released in the United States
as a CD Single with remixes and reached number eight on the US Billboard
Hot Dance Club Play
charting for eight weeks.
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
victory. Greek national broadcaster Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi
Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi
The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation is the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation. It is a member of EBU.Since 70's ERT is part of the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by EBU...
(ERT) internally selected Helena Paparizou
Elena Paparizou
Eleni "Elena" Paparizou , usually referred to abroad as Helena Paparizou, is a Greek-Swedish singer and occasional songwriter, who was born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. She began her career there in 1999 as a member of the duo Antique, while she also worked briefly as a model for a...
who sang "My Number One
My Number One
As Greece had finished the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in third place, the song was pre-qualified for the final in 2005. Thus, it was performed nineteenth on the night, following Croatia's Boris Novković and Lado with "Vukovi umiru sami" and preceding Russia's Natalia Podolskaya with "Nobody Hurt...
" in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, winning the competition with 230 points. The song is written by Christos Dantis
Christos Dantis
Christos Dantis , is a Greek singer, songwriter, and musician best known for his hits such as "To Palio Mou Palto" and "Ena Tragoudi Akoma" and later for composing and co-writing the song "My Number One" for Elena Paparizou, winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 for Greece.- Early music career...
and Natalia Germanou
Natalia Germanou
Natalia Germanou is a Greek lyricist, television hostess, radio producer, DJ and journalist.Germanou has written lyrics for many popular Greek singers such as Anna Vissi, Christos Dantis, Elena Paparizou, Sakis Rouvas, Despina Vandi, Mihalis Hatzigiannis, Notis Sfakianakis, Natasa Theodoridou,...
, and composed by Christos Dantis. "My Number One" was selected through a national final on March 2, 2005, where the public and a professional jury chose it over three other candidate songs.
Background
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 marked Greece's twenty-sixth entry in the Eurovision Song Contest since its debut in 1974. Prior to the contest, its best result was third place which was achieved twice: in 2001 with the song "Die for You" performed by the duo AntiqueAntique (duo)
Antique was a Greek singing duo consisting of Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis originating from Sweden which combined Greek popular music and lyrics with a Nordic dance pop beat. Both Paparizou and Panagiotidis were born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents...
and in 2004 with "Shake It
Shake It (Sakis Rouvas song)
"Shake It" is an English language song by Greek singer Sakis Rouvas and was the Greek entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The song is an up-tempo number, with Rouvas telling his lover that "I would trade my life for a night with you" and asking the lover to "shake it" for him...
" performed by Sakis Rouvas
Sakis Rouvas
Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas II , often referred to mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek musician, television and film artist, businessman, and former pole vaulter who is one of the most successful and influential entertainers of all time in Greece and Cyprus...
. Greece's least successful result was in 1998 when it placed twentieth with the song "Mia Krifi Evesthisia
Mia Krifi Evesthisia
Mia Krifi Evesthisia was the Greek entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, performed in Greek by Thalassa....
" by Thalassa
Thalassa
Thalassa may refer to:* Thalassa , a primordial Greek sea goddess* Thalassa , a moon of the planet Neptune* Thalassa, a fictional planet in Arthur C...
, receiving only twelve points in total, all from Cyprus.
The Greek national broadcaster, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi
Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi
The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation is the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation. It is a member of EBU.Since 70's ERT is part of the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by EBU...
(ERT) broadcasts the event in Greece each year and organizes the selection process for its entry. Its selection techniques have varied from national finals where the public selects the entry, to internal selections like used in 2004, where the broadcaster has complete control over the selection. For the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, ERT decided to hold a televised national final after internally selecting an artist.
Performer
Throughout the months preceding the national selection, rumors flooded Eurovision news websites about which artist would be representing Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
. There was an internal selection for the artist, being chosen by the broadcaster, while there would be a national final for the song, with the public having a say in the choice.
In June 2004, Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi , known as Anna Vishy in Cypriot Greek, is a Greek-Cypriot recording artist and actress...
stated that she "would go to Eurovision if she was asked to". It was rumored that she was asked by ERT, but declined the offer as she was promoting her song "Call Me
Call Me (Anna Vissi song)
"Call Me" is a song by Greek-Cypriot singer Anna Vissi, originally released in 2003 in Greek as "Eisai" . Written by Nikos Karvelas, "Call Me" was released in October 2004 as a promo track for radio stations in the U.S. and DJs by Nicky Kalliongis on his record label Moda Records. It was later...
" in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the time. A few months later on November 27, 2004, it was reported that Despina Vandi
Despina Vandi
Despina Malea , known by her stage name Despina Vandi , is a Greek singer. Born in Tübingen near Stuttgart, West Germany, Vandi's family returned to Kavala, Greece when she was six years old and she later enrolled at the University of Thessaloniki, but eventually dropped out to begin a career in...
was "ready to sign the necessary contracts" though nothing was officially announced by ERT. The rumored contract, brokered between Vandi's record label Heaven Music
Heaven Music
Heaven Music is an independent record label in Athens, Greece, founded in 2001 by ANT1 Group. It is known for signing new and young artists.-Overview:...
and ERT would have included a term that required all of Vandi's songs to be written by popular Greek songwriter Phoebus. The next day, November 28, 2004, ERT's Eurovision spokeswoman Daphne Bokota stated that Despina Vandi and ERT were close to a deal, but had concluded that she was too expensive to send to the contest. She also said that Vandi was worried about participating in the Eurovision Song Contest while her international career was going well. "Here at ERT, we don't understand [why] Greek artists are so insecure to participate", she stated. Bokota ended by saying that they would announce the artist within the next five to ten days and that a possible backup was Helena Paparizou
Elena Paparizou
Eleni "Elena" Paparizou , usually referred to abroad as Helena Paparizou, is a Greek-Swedish singer and occasional songwriter, who was born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. She began her career there in 1999 as a member of the duo Antique, while she also worked briefly as a model for a...
. On December 5, 2004, Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi , known as Anna Vishy in Cypriot Greek, is a Greek-Cypriot recording artist and actress...
was reportedly also in negotiations with ERT and on December 8, 2004, Daphne Bokota once again spoke on the issue saying that there would be a delay in the decision because of some sort of "obstacle" within the broadcaster. On January 15, 2005, ERT held a meeting with Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand (band)
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...
which was reported by Star Channel
Star Channel
Star Channel is a Greek television network that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It launched in December 1993 and is owned by Nea Tileorasi A.E.. The main news bulletin is called Star Eidiseis, which is currently hosted by Aimilios Liatsos...
to be the front runner, but ERT soon excluded them as they had "no idea how Eurovision works and thus they proposed to compose a remake of a past song of theirs", a violation of contest rules; they were also requesting more money.
Finally on January 22, 2005, ERT announced that it had selected Helena Paparizou, former member of the Greek-Swedish
Greeks in Sweden
The Greek community in Sweden was estimated to number between 12,000 and 15,000 people . They are located mostly in the southern part of Sweden, especially around Stockholm.-Notable people:*Steve Angello - DJ, producer and music label owner*Andreas Castanas...
duet Antique
Antique (duo)
Antique was a Greek singing duo consisting of Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis originating from Sweden which combined Greek popular music and lyrics with a Nordic dance pop beat. Both Paparizou and Panagiotidis were born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents...
which had represented Greece at the 2001 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2001
The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 12 May 2001 in the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was the first time in 36 years that Denmark hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to the Olsen Brothers' win the previous year in Stockholm...
, achieving 3rd place. In a press release, ERT stated that her singing career in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
was "a factor which surely contributed to the final choice of Paparizou, since the 'northern' votes are considered to be important". Shortly before the announcement of Paparizou's participation, Bokota was fired from ERT for unknown reasons; she was the one who had originally proposed to her.
National final
After selecting Paparizou, ERT decided to pick four candidate songs, and host a national final where the Greek public, along with a jury, would select their favorite song. Voting to select the song at the national final would be conducted through televotingTelevoting
Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone.- Broadcast contest televoting :...
and SMS texting
Short message service
Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
by the public, and a nine-member "expert jury", weighted 60% and 40% respectively. The jury would be made up of Mimis Plesas, Antonis Andrikakis, Kostas Tournas, Željko Joksimović
Željko Joksimovic
Željko Joksimović or often credited Zeljko Joksimovic is a popular Serbian singer, songwriter and producer. He is also well known in Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Germany, Austria and other European countries...
, Betty Golema, Ion Stamboulis, Fotini Giannoulatou, Sietse Bakker, and Christos Liritzis.
Out of 100 the songs that were sent in by Greek and foreign artists, a committee made up of representatives from ERT, Sony BMG, and Paparizou, chose 15 songs initially and then narrowed the selection down to four. On a special show broadcast on February 18 titled EuroMania, the four songs were presented to the Greek public as: "My Number One
My Number One
As Greece had finished the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in third place, the song was pre-qualified for the final in 2005. Thus, it was performed nineteenth on the night, following Croatia's Boris Novković and Lado with "Vukovi umiru sami" and preceding Russia's Natalia Podolskaya with "Nobody Hurt...
" composed by Christos Dantis
Christos Dantis
Christos Dantis , is a Greek singer, songwriter, and musician best known for his hits such as "To Palio Mou Palto" and "Ena Tragoudi Akoma" and later for composing and co-writing the song "My Number One" for Elena Paparizou, winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 for Greece.- Early music career...
with lyrics by Dantis and Natalia Germanou
Natalia Germanou
Natalia Germanou is a Greek lyricist, television hostess, radio producer, DJ and journalist.Germanou has written lyrics for many popular Greek singers such as Anna Vissi, Christos Dantis, Elena Paparizou, Sakis Rouvas, Despina Vandi, Mihalis Hatzigiannis, Notis Sfakianakis, Natasa Theodoridou,...
, "OK" composed by Christodoulos Siganos with lyrics by Siganos and Valentino, "Let's Get Wild" written by Douglas Carr. and "The Light in Our Soul
The Light In Our Soul
"The Light In Our Soul", an up-tempo ballad, was the second single from the album My Number One by 2005 Eurovision winner Helena Paparizou. The song was written by Costas Bigalis and was chosen for the Eurovision Greek National Final, along with "O.K." and "Let's Get Wild," but it was "My Number...
" written by Kostas Bigalis. On February 19, it was revealed that "The Light in Our Soul" had been released and made available on Amazon.de
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
by a band named "Big Alice" on May 25, 2004 and therefore disqualifying the song from the competition. According to contest rules, a song cannot be released before October 1 of the previous year. This revelation trimmed down the four candidate songs to three. The choreography for all songs was arranged by Fokas Evangelinos. Following the selection of the songs, a second special Eurovision show was broadcast on February 25, 2005, to familiarize the Greek public with the artist.
The national final took place on March 2, 2005 at "Club Fever" and was hosted by Greek-Swede journalist and television-presenter Alexandra Pascalidou
Alexandra Pascalidou
Alexandra Pascalidou is a Swedish journalist, television hostess and author. She is also a frequent lecturer, discussion leader and human rights activist....
. In between Paparizou singing her three candidate songs, the Greek musical group C:Real
C:Real
C:Real is a popular Greek pop rock band. They are characterized by their pop rock sound and live performances.-1997–2000: Beginnings:The group was created in 1996 by composer, lyricist, and producer Takis Damaschis. Their first single was released a little after the creation of group and was...
performed some of its songs, while several acts from other countries performed to both entertain and promote their own Eurovision songs. The 2005 representatives from the Netherlands and Andorra were present with Glennis Grace
Glennis Grace
Glennis Grace is a singer from the Netherlands who in 2005 won the national selection in the Netherlands for the Eurovision song contest 2005 for the nation. Grace's song was the ballad My Impossible Dream, but she did not advance the semifinal...
singing "My Impossible Dream
My Impossible Dream
"My Impossible Dream" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, performed in English by Glennis Grace.The song is a ballad, with Grace telling her lover that they are "driftin' far apart" and thus that their relationship is coming to an end...
" and Marian van de Wal
Marian van de Wal
Marian van de Wal was the representative of Andorra at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, Ukraine.Originally from the Netherlands, van de Wal runs a small hotel in the Andorran town of L'Aldosa. She entered Eurocasting 2005, and was one of three finalists selected to go to the country's...
singing "La mirada interior
La Mirada Interior
"La mirada interior" , was the Andorran entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, performed in Catalan by Marian van de Wal. As Andorra's previous entry had not finished in the top ten, the song was performed in the semi-final....
". Eurovision Song Contest 2004
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...
's runner-up Željko Joksimović sang "Lane moje" and the Swedish band Alcazar
Alcazar (band)
Alcazar is a Swedish eurodance group which has established themselves as one of Sweden's most successful music groups with a string of hits since their debut single in 1999. Worldwide, Alcazar sold over 12 million records between 2001 and 2004...
, which was still taking part in Melodifestivalen 2005
Melodifestivalen 2005
Melodifestivalen 2005 was the selection for the 45th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 44th time that this system of picking a song had been used. Five semifinals had taken place to select the ten songs for the final, in Gothenburg, Linköping, Skellefteå, Växjö and...
, the Swedish national final, sang "Alcastar".
Result
ERT received 229,368 televotes and SMS texts of which 152,269 votes came in for the song "My Number One", which made the song the clear winner. "OK" received around 73,500 votes and "Let's Get Wild" got around 20,500. The nine jury members gave points between 1 and 10 for the songs in a school-grade style system, giving the best song 10 points. Seven jury members voted for "My Number One", one gave the maximum points to "OK" and one voted for "Let's Get Wild". "My Number One" won with 83 points, while "Let's Get Wild" placed third with 48 points, and "OK" third with 46 points. Although "Let's Get Wild" received a higher score from the jury than "OK", it placed third when the televoting and SMS texts where taken into account.| Draw | Song | Composer-Lyricist | Jury | Televote/SMS | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "My Number One My Number One As Greece had finished the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in third place, the song was pre-qualified for the final in 2005. Thus, it was performed nineteenth on the night, following Croatia's Boris Novković and Lado with "Vukovi umiru sami" and preceding Russia's Natalia Podolskaya with "Nobody Hurt... " |
Christos Dantis Christos Dantis Christos Dantis , is a Greek singer, songwriter, and musician best known for his hits such as "To Palio Mou Palto" and "Ena Tragoudi Akoma" and later for composing and co-writing the song "My Number One" for Elena Paparizou, winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 for Greece.- Early music career... & Natalia Germanou Natalia Germanou Natalia Germanou is a Greek lyricist, television hostess, radio producer, DJ and journalist.Germanou has written lyrics for many popular Greek singers such as Anna Vissi, Christos Dantis, Elena Paparizou, Sakis Rouvas, Despina Vandi, Mihalis Hatzigiannis, Notis Sfakianakis, Natasa Theodoridou,... |
83 | 152,269 | 1st |
| 2 | "OK" | Christodoulos Siganos & Valentino | 46 | 73,500 (est) | 2nd |
| 3 | "Let's Get Wild" | Douglas Carr | 48 | 20,500 (est) | 3rd |
| The Light In Our Soul "The Light In Our Soul", an up-tempo ballad, was the second single from the album My Number One by 2005 Eurovision winner Helena Paparizou. The song was written by Costas Bigalis and was chosen for the Eurovision Greek National Final, along with "O.K." and "Let's Get Wild," but it was "My Number... " |
|
Disqualified | |||
Promotion
Before her appearance at the contest, Paparizou went on a promotional tour sponsored by the Greek Ministry of Tourism and the Greek National Tourism Organization, singing her song in several Eurovision countries. The tour started off on March 12, 2005 in Berlin, Germany, where she visited the International Tourism Exchange Show and performed "My Number One". The next stop was Moscow, Russia, where Paparizou taped a show for MTV RussiaMTV Russia
MTV Russia is a Russian language free-to-air 24 hour entertainment and music service seen in 22 million households in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Omsk, Voronezh, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, among other cities.-History:...
and then presented the Greek song at the International Tourism Exhibit, the largest tourism exhibit in the world. She also gave several interviews to the press and before leaving, attended a Greek Independence Day
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
reception at the Greek embassy
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
. Upon return to Greece, she was greeted at the airport by fans along with the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of "My Number One" playing on the video monitors. While in Greece, she attended the opening ceremony of the European final four for the Volleyball Champions League in Pylaia
Pylaia
Pylaia is a suburb of the Thessaloniki Urban Area and was former municipality in the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylaia-Chortiatis, of which it is a municipal unit...
, where her song was played as she appeared on stage with cheerleaders. On March 29, Paparizou arrived in Valletta, Malta where she signed autographs, appeared on television stations, and gave interviews to the local media. Following Malta, she traveled to Serbia and Montenegro where she gave additional interviews before moving on to Andorra on April 10. She was soon in Lisbon, Portugal where she promoted not only her song, but also Greek export products, as she was sponsored by the Greek tourism industry. She attended an international exhibition of food and drink where the song was played for the many tourists, while its music video was seen on a large monitor. On April 20, 2005, Paparizou arrived in Sweden where she had started her singing career as part of Antique
Antique (duo)
Antique was a Greek singing duo consisting of Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis originating from Sweden which combined Greek popular music and lyrics with a Nordic dance pop beat. Both Paparizou and Panagiotidis were born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents...
. She was interviewed by many of the local media outlets and could be heard on radio stations around Stockholm. Following her stay in Sweden, Paparizou flew to Istanbul, Turkey where the Greek delegation met with Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I is the Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, and thus "first among equals" in the Eastern Orthodox Communion, since 2 November 1991...
, who told her that it was good luck that the contest fell on her name-day of May 21. While in Turkey, she also posed for magazines and was interviewed by the media. She soon returned to Greece before leaving for a short trip to Kiev, the location of the contest.
At Eurovision
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...
in third place, its 2005 song was pre-qualified for the final in 2005. Greece was drawn to perform nineteenth on the night, following Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
's Boris Novković
Boris Novkovic
Boris Novković is a Croatian pop singer. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in the former Yugoslavia, his interest in a musical career was cultivated by his family background, with a mother who taught music, and a father, Đorđe Novković, who was a leading Croatian songwriter and music manager...
and Lado with "Vukovi umiru sami
Vukovi umiru sami
"Vukovi umiru sami" was the Croatian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, performed in Croatian by Boris Novković ....
" and preceding Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's Natalia Podolskaya
Natalia Podolskaya
Natalia Podolskaya is a Belarusian singer that performed for Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest on May 21, 2005 and was ranked #15. In 2008 she became a Russian citizen.-Early years:Natalia was born in 1982 in Mogilev, Belarus...
with "Nobody Hurt No One
Nobody Hurt No One
"Nobody Hurt No One" was the Russian entry in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, performed in English by Natalia Podolskaya.On the night of the final the song was performed 20th, following Greece's Helena Paparizou with "My Number One" and preceding Bosnia and Herzegovina's Feminnem with "Call Me"...
". Paparizou appeared confident on stage and her dancers prepared an extravagant show with carefully choreographed stage moves. She wore a short orange-yellow dress while the dancers wore tan colored clothing. The performance included Paparizou playing a violin and the backing dancers forming the number 1 on stage. The final was hosted and commentated on Greek television by Alexandra Pascalidou
Alexandra Pascalidou
Alexandra Pascalidou is a Swedish journalist, television hostess and author. She is also a frequent lecturer, discussion leader and human rights activist....
, who also hosted the national final, while the spokesperson who revealed Greece's votes for other countries was Alexis Kostalas, an ERT Board member who had been the spokesperson since 1998.
"My Number One" won with a total of 230 points. It received 12 points, the maximum number of points a country can give to another country, from Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Serbia & Montenegro, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and unexpectedly Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The highest viewing ratings in the history of Greek television were recorded during the presentation of the pure gold trophy to Helena Paparizou by the Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
, with 94.2% of the Greek population tuned in.
After Eurovision
Paparizou's first words after winning the 50th Eurovision Song Contest were "We showed the modern face of Greece. I reckon that’s the face everybody loves. Europe is our home!" Upon arrival back in Greece, she was greeted by crowds of fans at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport and the National Fire Brigade created a water-jet archway for her airplane, suggestively bearing the number "001", to pass through after it had landed. On the way to ERT Studios for a welcome party for Paparizou and the Greek delegation, people were standing on either side of the road throwing rose petals along the route of Paparizou's bus. When she reached ERT Studios, she was "met with deafening applause" and after moving from sight for a few minutes, she emerged on stage dressed in the Greek flagFlag of Greece
The flag of Greece , officially recognized by Greece as one of its national symbols, is based on nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white...
and holding the Eurovision trophy.
"My Number One
My Number One
As Greece had finished the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in third place, the song was pre-qualified for the final in 2005. Thus, it was performed nineteenth on the night, following Croatia's Boris Novković and Lado with "Vukovi umiru sami" and preceding Russia's Natalia Podolskaya with "Nobody Hurt...
" did very well in the music charts, being certified platinum in Greece and gold in Sweden while climbing to number one on both charts and charting for an extended number of weeks. It also charted in other European countries such as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. It was later released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a CD Single with remixes and reached number eight on the US Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
charting for eight weeks.