Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015


Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria. The Cypriot entry was selected through the Eurovision Song Project, a national selection similar to the structure and format of the Melodifestivalen. The selection was intended to be organized by the Cypriot broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and MAD TV. However, due to low number of submissions, it was decided that the broadcasters would not collaborate for the selection. Cyprus was represented by the song One Thing I Should Have Done. It was performed by Giannis Karagiannis and is written by Karagiannis together with Mike Connaris.

Background

Prior to the 2015 Contest, Cyprus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty-one times since its first entry in 1981. Its best placing was fifth, which it achieved three times: in 1982 with the song "Mono I Agapi" performed by Anna Vissi, in 1997 with "Mana Mou" performed by Hara and Andreas Constantinou, and 2004 with "Stronger Every Minute" performed by Lisa Andreas. Cyprus' least successful result was in 1986 when it placed last with the song "Tora Zo" by Elpida, receiving only four points in total. However, its worst finish in terms of points received was when it placed second to last in 1999 with "Tha'nai Erotas" by Marlain Angelidou, receiving only two. In 2012, Cyprus selected Ivi Adamou to represent the country in Baku. Adamou achieved the 16th place in the final making it their best result since 2004. In 2013, Cyprus failed to qualify to the final after selecting Despina Olympiou to represent the country. In October 2013, the withdrawal from the 2014 contest was announced, the broadcaster cited the public opinion regarding the 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis and budget restrictions as factors that influenced this decision.
Before having an official confirmation from the Cypriot broadcaster, it was reported that Cyprus would be returning to the contest for the 60th anniversary. On 31 May 2014, it was reported by London Greek Radio that CyBC was preparing a national selection. It was officially confirmed on 14 July 2014 that Cyprus would be returning to the contest with a national selection being held to select their thirty-second entry.

Eurovision Song Project

The Eurovision Song Project was the event that selected the Cypriot entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria. Although the national selection was officially confirmed in July 2014, there were rumors regarding the selection since late May 2014. The selection was announced along with the confirmation of the country. A trailer for the selection was first seen on 14 July 2014. The selection consisted of four phases: the auditions, the eurochallenge and the final.
On 17 October 2014, it was revealed that Ivi Adamou received a proposition by the channel in order to be the presenter of the national selection. However, it was later announced by CyBC that Antri Karantoni would be presenting the selection. The jury consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos. Also, Christer Bjorkman, Dimitris Kontopoulos, Nicola Caligiore and Bruno Berberes joined as judges of the selection in various phases of the selection.
By September 2014, CyBC had received applications from more than 100 singers including Valanto Trifonos, Dimos Beke, Philipos Konstantinos and Constantinos Christoforou. However, Christoforou did not apply to participate in the selection as a performer but as a composer with the performer being his brother, Stefanos Christoforou. The final list of the participants was published on 20 October 2014.

Format and rules

The rules and the submissions forms were available through the broadcaster's website. All the rules of the Eurovision apply, such as the 3-minute rule and the song's originality. Additionally, it is required that the singer and the songwriters are of Cypriot origin. Each composer or performer is able to submit only two entries. The deadline for the submissions was on 5 September 2014. There were three phases and a total of nine shows: the auditions, the eurochallenges and the final.
The auditions, the longest phase of the selection, consisted of six shows and began on 7 December 2014. Each audition show included: the Eurobox, where each artist talks about their life and connection to the contest along with a short cover of a Eurovision entry from the past 60 years; the Viewing Room, where relatives and friends watch the performance of the artist; and the Eurostudio, where the artist performs their song and the jury will decide whether the artist should proceed or not to the next phase. The artists only performed half of their songs and in order to proceed to the next phase, the artist must have received at least three "yes" from the jury. Twenty out of the fifty-five artists proceeded to the next phase.
The second phase, the Eurochallenges, consisted of two shows and included the same parts as the auditions with the only difference being in the Eurostudio. During the first show of the phase, the twenty artists were asked to make a stage performance of their songs. The jury then decided which ten artists would proceed to the next Eurochallenge. During the second show of the phase, the ten artists performed a Eurovision entry of the past 60 years solely with a piano. There were also journalists interviewing each contestant. As in the first show of the phase, the jury decide the six artists that would proceed to the final.
The public voting for the final began after the second Eurochallenge on 25 January 2015 and concluded on 1 February 2015 during the final of the selection. In the final, the six artists performed their song and the winning song of the selection will be decided through a 50/50 jury-televoting deliberation.

Auditions

The auditions consisted of six shows with the first show being on 7 December 2014 and the last show being on 11 January 2015. Out of the fifty-five participants, twenty advanced to the Eurochallenge.
; Table key

Audition 1 (7 December 2014)

The first audition was broadcast on 7 December 2014. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.
DrawArtistSongOlympiouPanayiPatroklouTryfonosResult
1Eva Diva"My Number One" Qualified
1Eva Diva"Come and Fight for Freedom"Qualified
2Nikolas Levendis"Nocturne" Did not qualify
2Nikolas Levendis"Chlomi selini"Did not qualify
3Emily Charalambous"Sweet People" Qualified
3Emily Charalambous"Right In"Qualified
4Nikolas Mavromichalis"Volare" Did not qualify
4Nikolas Mavromichalis"Ena kafe mazi"Did not qualify
5Christodoula Tsaggara"An me thimasai" Did not qualify
5Christodoula Tsaggara"Kori tis Mesogeiou"Did not qualify
6Ifigenia Loukaidou & Lyrical Eye"Euphoria" Did not qualify
6Ifigenia Loukaidou & Lyrical Eye"Remember My Love"Did not qualify
7Charalambos "Luna" Iosif"Hold Me Now" Qualified
7Charalambos "Luna" Iosif"I Wanna Dance "Qualified
8Elena Kousi"Love Shine a Light" Did not qualify
8Elena Kousi"Just Another Girl"Did not qualify
9Maria Evangelou"Where Are You?" Qualified
9Maria Evangelou"Still"Qualified

Audition 2 (14 December 2014)

The second audition was broadcast on 14 December 2014. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.
DrawArtistSongOlympiouPanayiPatroklouTryfonosResult
1Christina Tselepou"Waterloo" Qualified
1Christina Tselepou"In These Arms"Qualified
2Valence"Only Love Survives" Qualified
2Valence"Scared"Qualified
3Charalambos "Luna" Iosif"Hold Me Now" Did not qualify
3Charalambos "Luna" Iosif"Call for Me"Did not qualify
4Lady Ava"Go" Did not qualify
4Lady Ava"Until the End of Time"Did not qualify
5Pieros Kezou"Power to All Our Friends" Qualified
5Pieros Kezou"Said It All Before"Qualified
6Kostas Archondous"Hold Me Now" Did not qualify
6Kostas Archondous"Steko akoma"Did not qualify
7Mariana Moskofian & Christiana Hadjiordanous"Is It True?" Qualified
7Mariana Moskofian & Christiana Hadjiordanous"Sailing Ships, Pirates and Dragons"Qualified
8Ioanna Protopapa"Touch My Fire" Qualified
8Ioanna Protopapa"Beat of My Heart"Qualified

Audition 3 (21 December 2014)

The third audition was broadcast on 21 December 2014. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.
DrawArtistSongOlympiouPanayiPatroklouTryfonosResult
1Eleni Irakleous"Ein bißchen Frieden" Qualified
1Eleni Irakleous"Dawn"Qualified
2Eleonora"Only Teardrops" Did not qualify
2Eleonora"Heaven on Earth"Did not qualify
3Anastasia Liberos"Stronger Every Minute" Did not qualify
3Anastasia Liberos"Unicorn"Did not qualify
4Doody"Euphoria" Qualified
4Doody"Magic"Qualified
5Evagoras Evagorou"Fairytale" Did not qualify
5Evagoras Evagorou"Chorevo mambo"Did not qualify
6Nearchos Evangelou & Charis Savva"In a Moment Like This" Qualified
6Nearchos Evangelou & Charis Savva"Deila den agapo"Qualified
7Christina Papaioannou"Is It True?" Did not qualify
7Christina Papaioannou"You Can't Stop Love"Did not qualify
8Lady Ava"Same Heart" Did not qualify
8Lady Ava"The Key Is Love"Did not qualify
9DJ Perform feat. Stalo Patsia"I Anixi" Did not qualify
9DJ Perform feat. Stalo Patsia"My Aura Is Bright"Did not qualify
10Christos Rialas"Watch My Dance" Qualified
10Christos Rialas"Meine"Qualified

Audition 4 (28 December 2014)

The fourth audition was broadcast on 28 December 2014. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.
DrawArtistSongOlympiouPanayiPatroklouTryfonosResult
1Lucy Sofroniou"Stronger Every Minute" Did not qualify
1Lucy Sofroniou"Lonely"Did not qualify
2Groove Therapy"Satellite" Did not qualify
2Groove Therapy"#Is this Real Life"Did not qualify
3Nikos Trikkis"Genesis" Did not qualify
3Nikos Trikkis"Eimai edo"Did not qualify
4Minus One"Poupée de cire, poupée de son" Qualified
4Minus One"Shine"Qualified
5Kostas Karaiskos"My Number One" Did not qualify
5Kostas Karaiskos"Rainbow"Did not qualify
6Nelena Paparisva"Euphoria" Did not qualify
6Nelena Paparisva"Run Run Run"Did not qualify
7Konstantinos Michailoudi"I Anixi" Did not qualify
7Konstantinos Michailoudi"Stand Up"Did not qualify
8Giannis Karagiannis"Stronger Every Minute" Qualified
8Giannis Karagiannis"One Thing I Should Have Done"Qualified
9The Knockouts"Hold Me Now" Did not qualify
9The Knockouts"Real You"Did not qualify
10Stella Stilianou"Mono Yia Mas" Did not qualify
10Stella Stilianou"Thelo na gino oranos"Did not qualify

Audition 5 (5 January 2015)

The fifth audition was broadcast on 5 January 2015. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.
DrawArtistSongOlympiouPanayiPatroklouTryfonosResult
1Yuri Melikov"Hold Me Now" Qualified
1Yuri Melikov"Victorious"Qualified
2Christina Stilianou"Stronger Every Minute" Did not qualify
2Christina Stilianou"Lonely Nights"Did not qualify
3Apollonia"Only Teardrops" Qualified
3Apollonia"Don't Give Up on Me "Qualified
4Neofitos Stratis"Non ho l'età" Did not qualify
4Neofitos Stratis"Rebound"Did not qualify
5Flirt"Euphoria" Did not qualify
5Flirt"Let Your Mind Free"Did not qualify
6Helena"Euphoria" Did not qualify
6Helena"No Money No Honey"Did not qualify
7Georgiou Konstantina"Is It True?" Did not qualify
7Georgiou Konstantina"When We Used to Be"Did not qualify
8Hovig"I Anixi" Qualified
8Hovig"Stone in a River"Qualified
9Maria Evangelou"Cliché Love Song" Did not qualify
9Maria Evangelou"Play Me Like a Pop Song"Did not qualify

Audition 6 (11 January 2015)

The sixth audition was broadcast on 11 January 2015. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest entry and their national selection songs. The show was pre-recorded and the songs of the artists were not heard in full. The artists that got three "yes" from the judges advanced to the Eurochallenges. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou and Tasos Tryfonos.
DrawArtistSongOlympiouPanayiPatroklouTryfonosResult
1Maria Pavlou"Believe" Did not qualify
1Maria Pavlou"Tha sou tragoudiso"Did not qualify
2Olivia Sofokli"Euphoria" Did not qualify
2Olivia Sofokli"Miracle"Did not qualify
3Gore Melian"Without Your Love" Did not qualify
3Gore Melian"Your Love"Did not qualify
4Panagiotis Koufogiannis"Fairytale" Qualified
4Panagiotis Koufogiannis"Without Your Love"Qualified
5Adrenaline by Kristis Koupatos"Satellite" Did not qualify
5Adrenaline by Kristis Koupatos"Live Your Myth"Did not qualify
6Miria Pampori"Cool Vibes" Did not qualify
6Miria Pampori"Find Me"Did not qualify
7Stella Stilianou"Olou Tou Kosmou I Elpida" Did not qualify
7Stella Stilianou"Thelo na chatho"Did not qualify
8Kyriakos Georgiou"Volare" Qualified
8Kyriakos Georgiou"Shake Dat"Qualified

Eurochallenges

The Eurochallenges consisted of two shows, originally scheduled to take place on 18 and 25 January 2015. However, some days before the first show's broadcast, it was revealed that the shows would be broadcast two days earlier than expected, on 16 and 23 January 2015. Out of the twenty participants, six advanced to the final.

Eurochallenge 1 (16 January 2015)

The first Eurochallenge was broadcast on 16 January 2015. Each artist performed their national selection songs in full. After a voting procedure, the ten artists that got the most points from the judges advanced to the next Eurochallenge. The judging panel consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou, Tasos Tryfonos, Christer Björkman and Dimitris Kontopoulos.
DrawArtistSongSongwriterResult
1Emily Charalambous"Right In"Andreas Anastasiou, Jonas Gladnikoff, Sara Ljunggren, Zinon ZindilisEliminated
2Doody"Magic"Constantinos Christoforou, Zenon ZindilisAdvanced
3Nearchos Evangelou & Charis Savva"Deila den agapo"Nearchos EvangelouAdvanced
4Christos Rialas"Meine"Nikolas Mavresis, SalinaAdvanced
5Mariana Moskofian & Christiana Hadjiordanous"Sailing Ships, Pirates and Dragons"Giorgos MoysiEliminated
6Minus One"Shine"Giorgos Solonos, Amarina Solonos, Francois MichelettoAdvanced
7Giannis Karagiannis"One Thing I Should Have Done"Mike Connaris, Giannis KaragiannisAdvanced
8Apollonia"Don't Give Up On Me "Apollonia LysandrouEliminated
9Maria Evangelou"Still"Layla Kay Lif, Maria Louiza EvangelouEliminated
10Eleni Irakleous"Dawn"Eleni IrakleousEliminated
11Yuri Melikov"Victorious"Clyde Ward, Yuri MelikovEliminated
12Hovig"Stone in a River"Argyro ChristodoulidouAdvanced
13Panagiotis Koufogiannis"Without Your Love"Nasos Lambrianides, Nikoletta Filippou, Mariefi OrfanidouAdvanced
14Valence"Scared"Chrysovalantis NicolaouEliminated
15Kyriakos Georgiou"Shake Dat"Mathias Kallenberger, Andreas Berlin, Andreas AnastasiouEliminated
16Charalambos "Luna" Iosif"I Wanna Dance "Charalambos "Luna" IosifEliminated
17Christina Tselepou"In These Arms"Andreas Georgallis, Peter Svensson, Erik AnjouAdvanced
18Ioanna Protopapa"Beat of My Heart"John Themis, Ioanna Protopapa, Katerina ThemistokleousAdvanced
19Eva Diva"Come and Fight for Freedom"Henrik Bie, Magnus Josefsson, Eva Kyriakou, Mattias OlssonEliminated
20Pieros Kezou"Said It All Before"Pieros Kezou, Staffan StavertAdvanced

Eurochallenge 2 (23 January 2015)

The second Eurochallenge was broadcast on 23 January 2015. Each artist performed their national selection songs in full. After a voting procedure, the six artists that got the most points from the judges advanced to the grand final on 1 February 2015. The judging panel once again consisted of Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou, Tasos Tryfonos, Christer Björkman and Dimitris Kontopoulos.
DrawArtistSongResult
1Christina Tselepou"In These Arms"Eliminated
2Nearchos Evangelou & Charis Savva"Deila den agapo"Advanced
3Ioanna Protopapa"Beat of My Heart"Eliminated
4Giannis Karagiannis"One Thing I Should Have Done"Advanced
5Christos Rialas"Meine"Eliminated
6Hovig"Stone in a River"Advanced
7Minus One"Shine"Advanced
8Doody"Magic"Advanced
9Panagiotis Koufogiannis"Without Your Love"Advanced
10Pieros Kezou"Said It All Before"Eliminated

Final (1 February 2015)

The grand final was broadcast on 1 February 2015. Each artist performed their national selection songs in full. Voting lines for the Cypriot public opened at the end of the second Eurochallenge show. The method for ranking entries was a 50/50 combination of both telephone vote and the six jury members; Despina Olympiou, Alex Panayi, Elena Patroklou, Tasos Tryfonos, Nicola Caligiore, and Bruno Berberes.

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation. The European Broadcasting Union split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 26 January 2015, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Cyprus was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 21 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.
Once all the competing songs for the 2015 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Cyprus was set to perform in position 15, following the entry from Switzerland and before the entry from Slovenia. All three shows were televised on RIK 1, RIK SAT, RIK HD and Trito Programma with commentary by Melina Karageorgiou. The Cypriot spokesperson, who announced the Cypriot votes during the final, was Loukas Hamatsos.

Semi-final

John Karayiannis took part in technical rehearsals on 14 and 16 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 20 and 21 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.
At the start of the song the arena was plunged into darkness and John had a single spotlight shining down from above on him. The initial shots were all shot in black and white. John was dressed very smartly in a black suit and black tie, and was wearing his trademark glasses.
Gradually the light increases and the LED screens showed star-like background, with the lighting having various hues of blue, purple and orange. Around two minutes into the song this background exploded into flame-like bursts of light on key moments in the lyrics, especially on the 'I should' line.
At the end of the show, Cyprus was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that the Cyprus sixth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 87 points.

Final

Shortly after the second semi-final, a winner's press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Cyprus was drawn to compete in the first half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Cyprus was subsequently placed to perform in position 11, following the entry from Sweden and before the entry from Australia.
John Karayiannisonce again took part in dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Cyprus performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 23 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Cyprus placed twenty-second with 11 points.

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.
Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Cyprus had placed twenty-third with the public televote and ninth with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Cyprus scored 8 points finishing in tenth place, while in the jury vote, Cyprus placed ninth with 63 points. In the second semi-final, Cyprus placed eighth with the public televote receiving 80 points and eighth with the jury vote with 76 points.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Cyprus and awarded by Cyprus in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to Cyprus[Eurovision Song Contest 2015]

12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

  • 5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point
  • 12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

    5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point
  • Points awarded by Cyprus

    Semi-Final 2http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-year/contest?event=1573#Scoreboard [Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Semi-Final (1)], Eurovision

    Finalhttp://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/by-year/contest?event=1593#Scoreboard Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Grand Final , Eurovision

    Split voting results

    The following five members comprised the Cypriot jury:
    The Cypriot votes in the second semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.

    Final

    The Cypriot votes in the final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.