Greece was once a force to be reckoned with at Eurovision, having a great run of results, especially in the early 2000’s. Their first non-qualification was in 2016, and since then, their results have been hit or miss. This year, Stefania was selected to represent the nation with the song Supergirl, but would it have achieved a super result?
Anita (Eurovision Union)
Song and Vocals
Rumours were flying in the national selection season that former Dutch Junior Eurovision artist Stefania would be representing Greece at this year’s contest, and this time around, the rumours were true. The Dutch-Greek artist would have been bringing the ethno pop track Supergirl to Eurovision, and after some generic pop songs from Greece in recent years, it was good to hear the ethnic sound return.
I didn’t feel much hype surrounding Greece this year based on the artist announcement, but I was pleasantly surprised with the song. I enjoy the lower toned verses which build into the stronger ethnic beats of the chorus. This track feels grown up, and suited to Stefania. Towards the end of the song, we start to hear Stefania push her vocals, and if she pulled that off in the live performance, it would have certainly been an impressive moment. Judging by her performances of the song we’ve seen online so far, it’s likely we would have gotten the ‘wow’ moment.
Out of the more recent Greek entries, this is probably one of my favourites. It’s not ground-breaking by any means, but it’s catchy and has a certain youthfulness to it. If it was performed well, which feels likely, Greece would have sailed through to the final.
Performance and Act
Greece would have been capable of staging this song well. I suspect there would have been strong choreography, especially in the instrumental breaks. I think as long as they didn’t reduce the performance to ‘superhero’ cliches, it would have worked well with the song. I mean, if they decided to impress audiences by pulling Stefania into mid-air, mid-performance, that could have been a real power move.
Next Up: 2021
Greece will continue their Eurovision journey with Stefania next year, which makes sense as she was internally selected. I also suspect that they will pair her with the same songwriters as this year, or at least, Dimitris Kontopoulos. What could come out of that collaboration next year is another ethnic led song, but it could be a ballad or upbeat number. Either way, I think Greece is in a good position for 2021 already.
Conclusions
Stefania is perhaps not the most experienced singer, but let’s not forget she also took part in Junior Eurovision. That experience alone would be incredibly useful just for working with the cameras. Overall the package this year from Greece was good, and I suspected we would have seen Greece confidently qualify. In the final however, I would have placed this around the 15-20 mark.
Rating
7.5/10
Dennis (ESCDaily)
Song and Vocals
We can trust that Greece comes up with something ethnic for Eurovision. Good instrumentation and vocals, based on the studio recordings. At Junior Eurovision, Stefania showed herself as a capable artist. And I think she only improved and learned more in the following years. It is not the most original song, but within its genre it should have been good enough for a place in the final.
Performance and Act
In the video clip Stefania shows her dancing skills. I expect she would have joined in on the fun with a dancing crew in her performance for Supergirl. Maybe this would have had some effect on her vocals, but I think she can give away a good show. Greece also has a history with staging and props, so maybe they were thinking about a Heroes-themed act.
Next up: 2021
Stefania gets to take part in Eurovision 2021 after all, and this is logical since she was already chosen internally. For her it remains a home match, since she was born and raised in The Netherlands. And we expect the contest will stay there, in Rotterdam. Since this type of song and genre, with a lot of dancing, suits her well, it makes sense that Stefania perform a similar song next year.
Conclusions
Of course Stefania is still very young and does not have a lot of experience yet. I trust that the Greek delegation worked intensively with her and will continue to do so towards Eurovision 2021. Sometimes it is a strength to have a young potential star, if a delegation gets the staging right and suiting with the youngster. But there is also a risk that a young artist is pretending to be something he or she is not yet. Sincerity is key. I the video clip I think Greece had it right with Stefania, but it remains a question how things would have translated to the big stage.
Rating
6.5/10
Additional Scores from Eurovision Union and ESCDaily editors:
Brandon: 7/10
Steef:: 6/10
Joshua: 6.5/10
Selim: 9/10
Heath: 8/10
Kaitlin: 7.5/10
Average Score: 7.25/10
What do you think of Supergirl? Follow our Eurovision 2020 reviews here.