Greece in crisis, ISC-65 song disqualified!

The Greek management is furious after the announcement that the song by Eirini Merkouri was disqualified from ISC-65 in Györ - Hungary. The jury stated that "‘Kai an tora thimasai" was a cover of Ani Loraks song "I'm alive" from ISC-42.

Eirini Merkouri recorded the song for her album "Aneta" and released that album back in 2005, while the song was composed by Dimitros Kontpoulos. Now it turns out that Ani Lorak covered the song as ‘Sointse’ / ‘I’m alive’ and released the song in december 2008. Technically spoken the Greek entry of ISC-65 is NOT a cover of I’m alive but Ani Lorak made a cover of ‘Kai an tora thimasai’ but entered ISC earlier and the ISC_management applies the rule First-Come-First-Serve and therefore labelled Eirini's song as being the cover. The Greek management tried to save the entry from being disqualified pointing out Eirini's song is the original not the cover, and the rules does not rule out originals, but covers only.
Their objections resulted effortless in disappointment.

Greece is in crisis. Rumours has is that some people responsible in the Greek management have to fear their job, as they were sleeping during the preselection of the Greek ISC-65 entry.

Eirini Merkouri is back!

For ISC 65 Greece will be sending an artist that has been in the finale two times before. In 2007 she participated with the song "Kati Exo Pathei Me Ta Matia Sou" reaching an 18th place in the ranking of ISC 24. In december 2007 at ISC 26 sEirini returned with the song "Ematha Na Zo Horis Esena" which took home the 9th spot in the final.

For ISC 65 in Hungary, Greece will be represented once again by this wnoderful singer. This time she will enter the competition with the song "Kai an tora den thimasai", hoping for an even better result to cheer up the Greek people at home.

The song can be watched here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5_ly87JZek

More information on ISC can be found here: http://iscmusic.wordpress.com/

Best of Greece (ISC 47 - ISC64)

These were the results of Greece in ISC since december 2009:


Eleni Peta won ISC 55 with her song "Fili Sta Pelaga".

ISC 47 Manto - Ston Aigokero, 6th
ISC 48 Kostas Martakis - Anatropi, 11th
ISC 49 Zeta Makrupoulia - Soula Ela Xana (S.E.X.), 18th
ISC 50 Xristiana Tzinioli - Xrysafi, 18th
ISC 51 Maro Lytra - Thymisou, 19th
ISC 52 4Play - Tha Me Trelaneis, Dsq as Greece failed to vote in time
ISC 55 Eleni Peta - Fili Sta Pelaga, 1st
ISC 56 Marina & The Diamonds - Hermit The Frog, 18th
ISC 57 Katerina Avgoustaki - Treat Me Like A lady, 22th
ISC 58 Panos Kiamos - Asteri Mou, 13th
ISC 59 Nikos Ganos - Koita Ti Ekanes, 10th
ISC 60 Konstantinos Galanos - Ekso Ap'tin Porta Mou, 12th
ISC 62 Nevma & Mistique - Min Kaneis Pos Den Thymasai, 17th
ISC 63 C-Real - Mia Foni, 21th
ISC 64 Vanesa Adamopoulou - Fos, 16th

στον Αιγόκερω for ISC-47

Manto will represent Greece in ISC-47 with the song "Ston aigokero". The song can be best described as a mythological gothic song about a woman dreaming of a unicorn making love to her somewhere in the universe.

Here is the Greek lyrics ;-)

Σπάζεις το κλουβί
μου δανείζεις τα φτερά σου,
αίσθηση φευγάτη να πετάς ψηλά
στους γαλαξίες, τα φιλιά σου, χάνομαι.
Στο αστρικό σου νέφος
το κορμί κολυμπά.

Η σκέψη ματώνει
το όνειρο τελειώνει,
μονάχη ξυπνάω
στη φυλακή μου πάω,
η μέρα ροδίζει
ο εφιάλτης τώρα αρχίζει.

Ψάχνοντας τροχιά
στον Αιγόκερω σκαλώνω
βρίσκω τις νεφέλες των ματιών σου εκεί.
Μακριά απ’ το χώρο και το χρόνο
γίνομαι στο μάγουλο σου
φεγγαροσταλιά ταντρική.

Η σκέψη ματώνει
το όνειρο τελειώνει,
μονάχη ξυπνάω
στη φυλακή μου πάω,
η μέρα ροδίζει
ο εφιάλτης τώρα αρχίζει.

Το σώμα διψάει
το σώμα στο ζητάει,
η ελπίδα απούσα
στης τρέλας μου την κούρσα,
η μέρα ροδίζει
ο εφιάλτης τώρα αρχίζει.

Greek Mystique!

The next edition of the International Songcontest will be the 45th and staged in Russia.

Mystique will sing the ISC-45 entry for Greece.

The song will be called: Gia oso zo.

GR ranks top10 finally after 10 attempts

Antonis Remos - 'Mexri to telos tou kosmou' was the ISC-44 entry for Greece.

In the semi's he struggled and ranked 8th (out of 20) but most important, Greece finally qualified after two unsuccessfull attempts. In the final Antonis gave a stunning performance and managed - allthough competition was strong- to finish in the top 10 with a 6th (out of 26) place only a few points away from autoqualifying Greec for next ISC. A result warmly welcome by the Greek, who found new spirit in ISC and already contracted the next singer to represent them. More to come....

ISC 42 - ISC 43

Greek entries ISC 42 & ISC 43 did not qualify for the final and stranded in their semi's

Anemos - Isis i agapi (14th/20)
Efstathia - One night stand (19th/21)

GRISC 42 NF

The NF for ISC 42 has started: 6 Different songs compete for that wanted ticket!

4play - Tha me trelaneis
Xristina Koletsa - Klapse
Anemos - Isos i agapi
Candy Girls - Tsiouaoua
DJ D-NIK &Thanos Kalliris - Agapi kalokairini
Eleni Peta - Ti mou xei leipsei


All songs can be downloaded here
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OY3LQV9W

vote 10-7-4-2-1-0 and send to rollercoasterslow_hotmail_com

Rallia Xristidou for ISC 41!

Just days after the lines to vote were closed for the national final for the 40th ISC and Elli Kokkinou was appointed winner it turned out there was an error with the lines for Rallia Xristindou's song "Tha'mai auto pou pote mas den ftanoume".

If all votes that came in after the line was repaired should have been counted Rallia would have won over Elli Kokkinou with a small margin. To not to desturb the procedures Elli was not disqualified but Rallia was given the opportunity to perform her song in ISC 41. Elli Kokkinou managed to reach the final, so the Greeks have high expectations on Rallia as well!

Kokkinou will do power ethno in Skopje!

Elli Kokkinou - De Pao Kala

Elli Kokkinou will compete for Greece in the 40th edition of ISC in Skopje. Elli Kokkinou won the NF with a landslide by receiving only maximum scores in the voting. Her song will be 'De pao kala' which starts traditionally but then turns into an very energetic ethno disco tune. The Greek crowd went wild when Elli performed her song live so expectations are on the rise for a good placing in the final maybe!

See the video played here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im9j2uA8pVw

Greek Multiple Choice for ISC 40

For the 40th International Song Contest the Greek management not wanting to look back in disappointment over less successful entries has set up a small National Final with all dance songs. ISC is celebrating it’s 40th edition and it’s the foreign managers who are about to give the decisive votes in the Greek preselection to that 8th lustrum. The songs competing all have more or less ethnic influences and of course Greece sings in the beautiful Greek language once again. ISC-38 singer Ammos is given a second chance. These are the 4 female artists and their songs in the competition:

Tamta – Agapise me
Ammos - Gyrise piso
Elli Kokkinou - De Pao Kala
Rallia Xristidou (pictured) - Tha'mai auto pou pote mas den ftanoume

.. and can be downloaded from: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6KN3FWR6


Votes to be send to rollercoasterslow at hotmail dot kom



In ISC 39



Greece attempted to qualify for the final with a powerduet “Kokkina Gyalia” by Stamatis Kraounakis & Hara Angelopoulou.


ISC 38 : Ammos – Epafi

This song was elected to represent Greece in ISC 38 but failed to qualify. Greece ranked 18th out of 23 in the semifinal with 49 points only.

Greece on pole position the final!

Greece made it to the final!

Greece qualified to the final. 22 countries were in semi 1 to compete for that ticket. Greece was one of the 10 semi-finalists to win it. In the final Frangoulis has drawn the pole position and will the start performing the final followed by 25 other artists.

Frangoulis packs his bags

The Greek decided! Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis will sing his power ballad “Oi Aposkeues (baggage)” in Israel. Mario gave a stunning performance in the outdoor “Theatre of the Earth” in Thessaloníki. Mario sang his interval song “Vincero perdero” and after that the audience expected the jury to give points but surprise-act Sarah Brightman came on stage to sing with Mario “Carpe Diem” "Phantom of the opera" and "Canto della Terra". After the singers received a standing ovation lasting over 5 minutes the results were made public.

The audience expected a close finish as the televote (with a significant share of Belgians) awarded the lowest score to the Jury-runner up “Bridge Of Dreams”. That song was supposed to do very well because the title is related to the ISC37 theme ‘building bridges’. In the end the Televote supported the Jury choice with 7 points. Because of the huge support for the Spanish song “Hay Más” from the televote, this song will be given a second chance in the NF for ISC 39.

Mario expressed his enjoyment to sing in the international arena of the ISC. In the past he took part in “WSCON-03” and “EuroCup47B” both times with the song “Vincero perdero” Therfore he had to withdraw this song in this preselection. The tenor’s song is described as a mixture between Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli and Within Tempatation, being both classical and gothic-style.

Total Televote (B) Jury Song
16 7 9 Oi Aposkeues
11 9 2 Hay Mas
10 5 5 Nights In White Satin
8 1 7 Bridge Of Dreams
6 3 3 Come What May
3 2 1 Ton Eafto Tou Paidi

Today Mario Frangoulis will pack his ‘aposkeues’ to tour and stay in Israel the whole month of January in preparation for ISC37.

The ISC 37 Greek song can be found here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F9RZSYAW

Video of Mario Frangoulis singing interval act “Vinceró perderó“: http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=lV0i6Tpfxm0

Video of the live performance "Phantom of the opera" by Sarah Brightman & Mario Frangoulis: http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=B5BWffdVJOQ

"Vincero perdero" out of competition

The Greek management announced on a pressconference held in Thessaloniki that the song 'Vincero perdero' is withdrawn from the race. The song will be song by Marios Frangoulis in the preselection show, but as an intervalact, because it already entered WSCON03 and other online competitions.

The preparations for this preselection have not been smoothless, as there were complaints about the duration of songs. The Greek management suggested to edit the too long songs to a suitable and the official allowed length of maximum 5 minutes. With the disqualification of 'Vincero Perdero' that problem is solved.

ISC management however decided to change the approximately 5 minute-rule to maximum exactly 7 minutes so that the Chinese song was fitted the rules again. The Greek delegation is not amused about this overnight decision and might make an official complaint if the Chinese delegation is allowed to send in a song that lasts longer than 5 minutes.

The foreman of the delegation explained "In an artistic and fantastic musical game like ISC is, there is one major rule 'ENJOY MUSIC' but there are some other rules needed to make the game a fair one for everyone. To make rules is usefull if the rules are good. If the rules limit artistic freedom these rules are to be reconsidered. Though whenever a rule is made it should be applied as long as the next edition had finished. New rules cannot be made during the schedule of a contest."

Artist chosen, language & song still open

Mario Fangoulis will be the next entrant in ISC for Greece. He made a few great albums in 2002 and 2004. The singer is internally selected and suggested himself to let the audience choose between a number of 7 songs in different languages. Maybe the singer was inpired by the Japanese delegation which choose to sing in Portuguese. Mario might be the first Greek entrant to sing in Italian or Spanish. Because songs 1 and 7 are over 'approximately 5 minutes' duration they will be shortened if they are to represent Greece in ISC. These are the songs in the Greek NF for ISC 37.

1 Nights in White Satin
2 Ton eafto tou paidi
3 Hay mas
4 Bridge of dreams
5 Oi opaskeues
6 Come what may
7 Vincero perdero

ALL SONGS CAN BE FOUND HERE:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IPZOGLIJ
Voting should be done in 9-7-5-3-2-1 style.
Votes to be send to : rollercoasterslow at hotmail dot com



Greece in ISC untill ISC 36:

ISC-37 Mario Frangoulis - .....
ISC-36 Despina Vandi - Olo lipis (15/53)
ISC-35 Marsheaux - Regret (26/55)
ISC-34 Xristina Koletsa - Ekti Aisthisi (4/49)
ISC-33 Eleni Tsaligopoulou & MIKRO - Ego S'Agapisa Edo Ella (45/56)
ISC-32 Emigre - To Telos Itan Kako (42/?)
ISC-31 C-Real - Kalokairi Stin Kardia (22/50)
ISC-30 Alkistis Protopsalti & Bob Marley - Xavai (49/?)
ISC-29 Domna Kountouri - De Tha 'Mai Edo (22/49)
ISC-28 Alkistis Protopsalti - Dithesio (38/49)
ISC-27 Tamta - I Zoi Einai Oraia (15/43)
ISC-26 Eirini Merkouri - Ematha Na Zo Horis Esena (9/37)

ISC-Xmas Kaiti Garbi - Hristos Gennaeai (13/30)
ISC-Worst Song Mazoo and the Zoo - O Papagalos (6/25)

Greece takes 15th spot out of 54

In ISC 36 Greece has reached the finals and ranked 15th. Out of 54 participants that's a satisfying achievement. The management is searching for a good follow up to Despina's 'Olo lipis'

Greeks choice ISC 36 - Olo lipis by Despina Vandi

After the disappointing 24/24 ranking in the ISC 35 final, Greece is eager to improve their result in the next edition.

The greek management immediately contacted national superstar Despina Vandi deliver a quality song. Despina came up with three songs and the jury choose: Olo lipis (I believe it). This song is another Electro-pop-tune with partially english lyrics. If Marsheaux couldn’t convince the audience, Despina might, the management must have thought. The rhythm and melody of the song has sensuality written all over, the jurors explained their obvious choice.

ISC 35 Female electro-pop duo Marsheaux for Greece

Greece sends female electro-pop duo Marsheaux
The female duo Marsheaux will represent Greece in the final of the 35th ISC. Greece qualified for the final in ISC 34 because Xristina Koletsa managed to reach the fourth spot, just after the mega-world-hits by Kate Perry & Coldplay. In Greece the 4th ranking therefore was almost celebrated like a victory.

The Greek management decided to take a little more risk now that the final is secure and asked Marianthi and Sophie whether they would like to represent Greece.

They gladly accepted the invitation and as a result the Greek entry will be of electro-pop-style and for the first time in many editions in English. "Regret" by Marsheaux will be the title in the international arena, in competition with all other qualifiers!

song can be downloaded here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SXVGU7FX

video can be watched here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWNpay5GD2M

lyrics can be found here:http://www.justsomelyrics.com/1634675/Marsheaux-Regret-Lyrics

ISC 34 - Xristina Koletsa for Greece

In ISC 34 Greece will be represented by singer Xristina Koletsa.
An internal selection choose the song: Ekti aisthisi.
Xristina made a video clip to promote her song: You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wud0k57vH3o

Greek entry ISC 33 in danger

The participation of Greece in ISC 33 is in danger. Broadcasting employees in Greece have been threatening strikes if their salary won't be raised. The Greek ISC-national management is dependend on those employees.

More news to come...