Eurovision 2015: Greece

I'm not talking about this type of Greek.

Greece has been a powerhouse at the Eurovision Song Contest for the past 10 years--winning the contest back in 2005 and successfully making the finals every year since.

This year the Greek national final took place on March 4th with a two hour show from a concert hall in Athens,  Five acts competed to represent their country and a whole lot of former Eurovision contestants performed their songs.  (Seriously, the competition started an hour into the contest because they had so many former contestants on the bill.)

After years of sending high-octane dance numbers, Greece has send a straightforward ballad that features no traditional Greek instrumentation.   (It's rather shocking.)

Maria Elena Kyriakou   "One Last Breath"

Athough it's a rather middling affair with a "Bond theme" feeling reminiscent of last year's winner, it's quite easy to understand why Kyriakou won with a sweep of the jury and televote.   The other four songs had problems with either their composition or performance which made "One Last Breath" the obvious choice.

Thomai Apergi & Legend   "Jazz and Sirtaki"

Shaya Hansen   "Sunshine"

It also didn't hurt that Kyriakou is the winner of The Voice Greece, where she was a fan favorite being saved by the audience multiple times.   Eurosong 2015--60 Years of Music was hers to lose.

As for her chances...   Yeah, Greece is qualifying.  There's no question about that.   It's not likely to challenge for the win, but will place respectably enough.  Greece can't really afford Eurovision, so they sent the perfect song to give them a respectable result without forcing them into shelling out money they don't have.