One thing we should keep in mind is that if a nation sends a songs that’s not your typical entry from them, you shouldn’t be surprised. That’s the nature of song contests. What will win one year will not win the following year. One nation will submit something in one genre then another song in another genre. It’s probably better that way because just like the music business itself, song contest songs need to change too. This year’s Mediterranean Nations have songs that are very different from their entries from last year. Here’s my look at the Eurovision entries from four Mediterranean nations:
CYPRUS
SONG: “Shh”
PERFORMER: Theo Evan
Cyprus was among the first nations to select their Eurovision entry for this year. CyBC held their internal auditions in July and announced they would be looking for a talent that’s a Cypriot citizen. In September, it was decided on Nicosia-singer Theo Evan. Evan participated in singing and dancing since he was a child and has participated in many theatre productions and talent shows. He also graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. The song was announced early in March and its title: “Shh.”
The song is an electronica dance song about a man who had it all in fame, looks and love, and lost it all. Theo mixes rapping the verses with singing the bridges and chorus. It starts slow and intense in the first verse and chorus, and then develops into a dance beat. The song continuously alternates between its intense moments and danceable moments. Theo’s vocal talent is on full display in the song and he takes it to good heights. The music itself is a mix of 90’s dance and early-noughts trance music. The mix of lyrics, Theo’s vocals and the dance sounds should appeal to many.
ESC Chances: This decade, Cyprus has been to the Grand Final in all but one occasion. All three of their songs that qualified are pop entries that either have incredible vocals, appealing beats or excellent staging. This song has what it takes to do well in the Contest and get a good finish. Theo’s vocals will definitely have to be on during the Contest. Additionally the song will need the right staging to go far. I can see some Top 10 potential in this song but it faces a lot of competition.
GREECE
SONG: “Asteromata”
PERFORMER: Klavdia
Greek entries have often been selected by internal selection. This year, Greece held a national final: Ethnikós Telikós 2025. The competition was narrowed down to twelve finalist and three backup entries. One group was disqualified because they announced their title to the public before the deadline and one of the backup entries became a finalist. The final was decided by ½ popular vote, ¼ national jury and ¼ international jury. On the day of the Final, the winner was decided to be Klavdia with “Asteromata.” Klavdia first caught national attention when she performed in Greece’s Got Talent in 2017 at the age of 15 and participated in The Voice Greece in 2018. She has released music since 2022 and two of her singles charted on the Greek charts.
Klavdia is of Pontic Greek descent, meaning her origin is of Greek from Pontus in what is Northeastern Turkey. The song, which title means ‘Starry-eyed one,’ is about a refugee who is forced to flee her land but still holds a bond to her homeland and those she was separated from. It’s a metaphoric dialogue between a mother and her lost daughter intended to comfort the mother and let her know she’ll be fine. My favorite Greek entries are the entries with cultural elements. The song has the cultural elements and it gives them its dramatic feel from start to finish. Klavdia’s vocals fit the song very well as her singing portrays the emotion of the song excellently. At the national final, there was minimal dance that relied more on interpreting the story. I found it to be a great song and among one of my favorites so far.
ESC Chances: Greece has had a steady time in the 2020’s with two Top 10 results, one entry not making it to the final and last year’s entry almost making it to the Top 10. It’s hard to say how well this song will fare. I strongly feel it will qualify. The song and Klavdia’s vocals are there. The staging from the national final didn’t enhance the performance but it didn’t harm it either. Some Eurofans may welcome a dramatic song like this, but others may find the song too dramatic or too emotional for them to like. If it’s to make any staging changes for Eurovision, they should be smart changes. The dancers can be kept, though.
ISRAEL
SONG: “New Day Will Rise”
PERFORMER: Yuval Raphaël
Israel’s broadcaster Kan is one of the rare cases this Eurovision where the singer was chosen through a televised process instead of the song. The talent contest HaKokhav HaBa was used to select Israel’s entry for Eurovision and it consisted of televised auditions, various heats, a quarterfinal, semifinal and a final to decide its entry. The entry was decided in January to be 24 year-old Ra’anana resident Yuval Raphael. The song itself took months to decide as Kan had to submit to the EBU to make sure there were no obvious political messages. In March, it was announced the song “New Day Will Rise” would be the song and it has received the EBU’s approval. Yuval has song professionally for three years and has performed at numerous music festivals.
The song which is co-written by songwriter Keren Peles is an optimistic song of the hope of a better tomorrow and knowing she and her love are inseparable, even if he’s deceased. There’s no doubt the song is about the terrorist attacks but it’s also a song of hope towards a time of peace. Despite the conflict still being headline news, the song doesn’t get too manipulative in getting people to take one specific side. Yuval’s vocals convey the feelings of both hurt and hope and she sings the song with both elegance and power. You can feel it.
ESC Chances: It’s impossible to leave out the political attitudes of people in terms of voting on a song from Israel. There are some sympathetic to the nation and will give them high marks in sympathy. There are some infuriated with Israel’s retaliations and most recently, their violation of a cease fire, and they will either rank Israel low or completely take it off their ballot. As many of you remember last year, there was huge concern if Israel would have won the Contest. It could have defamed Eurovision permanently. Instead Israel finished second in the televote and her low jury points had her finishing fifth overall. This year, the threat of defamation over an Israel win has not disappeared. The potential for an Israel win has not disappeared either as it’s currently in the Top 5 for betting odds. I myself would just simply judge it on the quality of the song and performance but I know others have their own way and some could give big televote points to Israel again this year. Whatever result happens, let’s hope things work out for the better of the Contest. A singer should not be a source of wrath from people angry with Israel, but an Israel win will cause problems. Even the appearance of Israel in Basel may get the same angry protests as last year. How things play out in the Contest, we’ll have to see.
PORTUGAL
SONG: “Deslocado”
PERFORMER: Napa
Once again, RTP’s Festival da Cancao was used to decide Portugal’s entry for Eurovision. The contest was a case of two semifinals of ten with the Top 5 of each advancing to the final. The contest also had two repechage rounds for those five that didn’t qualify and the winner of the two repechage contests would join the finalists. The final was held on March 8 with half of the points result decided by a national jury and half the points result decided by televoting. In the end, the band Napa had the most points with their song “Deslocado.” Napa are an alternative rock band from Madeira who originally formed in 2013 and sang mostly English-language songs. They released their first album in 2019.
The song was written by the five band members along with Andre Santos. The title means ‘displaced’ and the song is about a man who left home for the big city, was disheartened by it all, and sings to his mother he will be returning home, where he belongs. The song sounds like something that was composed in the 1970’s at time. The vocals are rather relaxed and they don’t go for being really showy. During the Festival, the performance was just the band playing and only some minor lighting and LED additions. It’s not uncommon for alternative bands to go for a no nonsense performance. I normally like Portuguese entries but I get the feeling that something is missing in this song.
ESC Chances: Portugal has had an excellent 2020’s. Unlike the 2010’s, it has qualified for the Grand Final in every Contest this decade and even achieved two Top 10 finishes. Here we go again. We have another song from Portugal that doesn’t seem like the type of song that will fare too well or even qualify. Over in betting odds, things are not optimistic at all. It’s possible they could pull a surprise, but it doesn’t look too likely right now unless there are some surprises pulled like in vocals or in staging. It will all be decided in Basel.
And there you have it. Those are my reviews of four songs from four Mediterranean nations. Hard to believe the Contest is getting closer. They’re only now starting to announce OGAE points!
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