STEFANIA WITH ‘LAST DANCE’ TO REPRESENT GREECE AT EUROVISION 2021

Greece named 18-year-old Stefania Liberakakis as the 2021 Greek artist at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam in The Netherlands.

The fledging young-artist would have a second shot at Eurovision, exactly a year later. Stefania with ‘Superg!rl’, a up-tempo ethnic banger, was due to represent the Greek nation, at 2020s’ cancelled contest. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus pandemic even took its toll, on our favourite music event.

The Greek broadcaster ERT announced Stefania at Eurovision’s second semi-final, at Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena, this May. She was born in Utrecht in the Netherlands to Greek parents from Sofiko Evrou in Greece.

Stefania will perform ‘Last Dance’, 80’s inspired, modern, up-tempo dance number, and is said to have dynamic musical twists. The radio-friendly pop song with its 80’s feel, is current and on-trend with music now. There are said to be influences, from Dua Lupa’s ‘Physical’ rhythmical-wise in the choruses or refrain. The song progresses from slow-atmospheric, to up-tempo, and is believed to have a solid melodic chorus line. A tune written by the song-writing team, behind her previous entrant.

The Eurovision veteran Dimitris Kontopoulos and music production ARCADE, composed and produced the tune, with lyrics by Sharon Vaughn. The creative director Fokas Evangelinos will be responsible for the stage-performance, known in Eurovision circles, for his innovative staging, for many countries. The four male dancers, accompanying Stefania have been confirmed, as Nikos Koukakis, Marcus Giakoumoglou, Kostas Pavlopoulos, Giorgos Papadopoulos.

The lyrics have optimistic overtures, which suggest this won’t be the ‘Last Dance’, instead there will be infinite chances to “dance”, with affirmative life-choices and moments, amid a post-coronavirus pandemic world.

The music video which is filmed in Athens, at the Hilton Hotel and Jockey Club, among other Athenian places, and is said to have encapsulated the concept, that in every end there is a beginning. The filmmaker Kostas Karidas said his video is creating an imaginary, fantastical, dream-like narrative, with Stefania centred at the core of this action. There are special effects, and a sense of wonderment in the visuals, furthermore, Karidas underlined, the video will have no similarities, to the stage act or routine.

Eurovision fans will be waiting with feverish anticipation, for release of the Greek tune and the official music video, in March.

In 2016, Stefania represented The Netherlands at Junior Eurovision in Malta, as part of the three-piece girl group Kisses. Their upbeat song ‘Kisses and Dancin’ placed eighth in the contest.

Stefania came to fame in 2014, when she participated on The Voice Kids. After wowing judges with her audition performance of Alicia Keys’ ‘No One’, Stefania made it as far as the Battle round before being eliminated. She also sang as part of the Dutch children’s choir Kinderen voor Kinderen.

More recently, Stefania has worked on her solo pop career. In 2019, Stefania released ‘Turn Around’, a sophisticated contemporary pop track. Her debut single in 2018, ‘Stupid Reasons’ reached No1 in the Kids Top 20, a hit single, composed and written by J Joachim Vermeulen Windsant and Maarten ten Hove. She released the single ‘Wonder’ which was the soundtrack to the animation film ‘Wonder Park’.

Stefania has also been working on her pop career in Greece. She performed at the Mad VMA music awards [2019], as part of an all-girl cover of Daddy Yankee’s ‘Con calma’ along with Ilenia Williams and Konnie Metaxa.

As well as singing, Stefania also has an acting career. She has starred in the Dutch high school mockumentary Brugklas, the recent dystopian action film De club van lelijke kinderen (The club of ugly children) and made an appearance in the teen comedy 100% Coco New York.

Greece compete in the second Eurovision Semi-Final which airs on Thursday 20th May. The final will be broadcast on Saturday 22nd May, at 8pm BST on BBC1.

London Greek Radio wishes Stefania and Greece the best of luck in the competition.


Article written by Tony Neophytou