This week we’re going back to revisit the last 10 Greek entries to decide which is the best of the bunch. Greece first debuted in 1974, and since then, had 1 winning entry, and 3 third places. The nation is known for the catchy songs, and often over-the-top staging, but if it brings good results, why not!
First, let’s head back to 2006. It was the year after Helena Papariziou performed what would be Greece’s first winning song. To follow on, Anna Vissi had the weight of the Greek public on her shoulders. Luckily, it was not the first time for Anna, who had been to Eurovision 2 times before, once for Greece, and once for Cyprus. Her song the third time around was called Everything, and ended up in 9th place with 128 points.
The following year, Greece sent Sarbel with the song Yassou Maria. The energy brought by Sarbel and his backing singers was enough to get them 7th place with 139 points.
In 2008, Greece sent Kalomira with the upbeat song Secret Combination. An extravagant stage performance paired with a catchy beat gave Greece another top 10 finish, this time, 3rd place – the highest since their win in 2005.
The next year, we saw Greek music royalty return to the stage. Sakis Rouvas had performed in 2004 with the song Shake It, hosted the 2006 contest held in Greece, and he was back to better his 2004 result. He performed the song This is Our Night, and still ended up in a top 10 position, at 7th with 120 points.
A year later, Giorgos Alkaios and Friends hit the stage to perform the big hit OPA! The moody verses followed by the big hitting chorus gave Greece yet another top 10 finish, this time in 8th with 140 points.
In 2011, we saw Loukas Giorkas ft. Stereo Mike on stage performing an interesting mix of rap and traditional Greek music. Despite the strange combination, it seemed to work – at least the voters thought so! The song, Watch My Dance, ended up in 7th place, meaning it was the 8th song in a row from Greece to end in the top 10.
2012 saw a return to girl power, with Eleftheria Eleftheriou take to the stage to perform the song Aphrodisiac. The song received 116 points in the semi-final to place it 4th, however dropped behind in the final to 17th place.
One of Greece’s most memorable performances in the last 10 years probably goes to the 2013 act, which was Koza Mostra ft Agathonas Iakovidis with the song Alcohol is Free. The song brought so much energy and was catchy enough to push it up to 6th place with 152 points.
In 2014, Greece sent Freaky Fortune ft RiskyKidd with the song Rise Up. Despite the impressive staging with the trampolines, the song didn’t perform as well as previous years, ending up in 20th place with 35 points.
That brings us to 2015, where Maria Elena Kyriakou was chosen by the Greek public to represent the nation at the contest in Vienna. The song was One Last Breath, and despite the flawless vocal performance, the performance gained 23 points to end up in 19th place.
But now it’s your turn to choose which is your favourite Greek song from 2006 – 2015. Vote here, and feel free to leave a comment below: