#Helena Paparizou

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Antique - Opa Opa 1999

"Opa Opa" is a song originally by Greek singer Notis Sfakianakis, released as a single from his second album Ise Ena Pistoli in 1992. It is a laïko dance song and was written and produced by singer Giorgos Alkaios.

The song has been covered by a number of artists, taking it to further success abroad. In 1999, Swedish-Greek duo Antique covered it as their debut single with Eurodance elements, reaching the top ten across Scandinavia. Despina Vandi recorded an English-language cover, which reached the top 20 of several markets in Europe and North America.

Antique is a Greek singing duo consisting of Helena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis, originating from Sweden and combining Greek popular music and lyrics with a Nordic dance-pop beat. Both Paparizou and Panagiotidis were born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. In 2001, Antique represented Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "(I Would) Die For You", ending with a third place, and in 2005 Paparizou went solo and won the contest for Greece with "My Number One". After 19 years of hiatus the group reunited in March 2022 and released a cover hit song from 90's meant to be their comeback in music industry.

"Opa Opa" received a total of 66,6% yes votes!

[fuckyeahelenapaparizou]

Helena Paparizou with Carola | Allsång på Skansen, July 2005

[ceruleanharley]

QUEEN MOTHER IS BACK you truly are number one helena baby

[branzinos]

ELENI FOUREIRA + HELENA PAPARIZOU 🎶MAD VMAs 2023

[gaymer-hag-stan]

2004, 2007, 2008 - Rigged. Ruslana, Marija Serifovic and Dima Bilan all won because of Eastern European bloc voting

2005 - Rigged. Helena Paparizou won because of Balkan bloc voting

2006 - Lordi shouldn't win because they promote Satan worship through their music

2014 - Rigged. Conchita Wurst won because of LGBT voting / they're trying to force it down our throats

2015 - Måns shouldn't win because he's homophobic / Heroes shouldn't win because it's a copy of Descendants of the Sun (correct me if I'm wrong on this one; people were definitely saying that it was too derivative of a popular song at the time, I don't remember if that was its name)

2016 - Rigged. Jamala's win was political

2017 - Rigged. Salvador Sobral won because of his heart condition

2018 - Netta won because she was a joke entry. The contest is of poor quality / She is promoting overweight body types as the new standard (I'm not even joking, people actually said that)

2021 - Måneskin should be stripped of their title as champions because Damiano did cocaine

2022 - Rigged. Kalush Orchestra won because of the war

2023 - Rigged. Loreen won due to Sweden celebrating 50 years from their first win next year.

Can you STOP and take a moment to realize how ridiculous you all sound?

And yes, these are all things people actually said at the time, in case you don't remember or forget easily (or out of convenience)

[belog-grada-crna-princeza]

I like to think I can be so willed And never do what you say I'll never hear you And never do what you say

Look my eyes are just holograms Look your love has drawn red from my hands From my hands you know you'll never be More than twist in my sobriety

[casismycherrypiebaby]

This sing-along was all I needed fucking screamed when these icons came on stage yesterday

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2006: The Interval Act and Other Performances

From the outset, ERT is putting Greek history and culture at the forefront of its musical offering at Eurovision. It kicks off with perhaps one of the greatest opening musical montages in Eurovision history. A host of camp versions of mythological Greek figures act out Eurovision songs from the past including Nel blu dipinto di blu and Save Your Kisses for Me. There's nothing quite like witnessing Prometheus taking fire from the gods while miming along to A-Ba-Ni-Bi to tell you that Eurovision has arrived.

Our two hosts join in with the final rendition of Love Shine a Light as the pantheon is raised high above the stage. Straight from the overture and into the main body of the night seamlessly.

The small breaks in the running order to let the stage crew have a small breather are simple cutaways to the green room (semi-final) and time lapsed montage footage of the behind the scenes preparations - something that is almost a tradition at this point.

The interval for the semi-final is the traditional local dance culture, ranging from swirly-skirted women rotating, to the more linear Greek line dancing. Pan makes an appearance with a flute in what looks like the middle of a labyrinth - although that's myth-mixing, so I'm not sure I'm correct.

The final also opens with a bang. There's a sun full of Icaruses that slowly approaches the stage like a meteorite threatening the Earth in a 1950s B-movie. I'm not sure what health and safety assessments were required to strap at least twelve gold painted men to a massive globe suspended from the ceiling then winch it hither and thither through the air, but I hope their skimpy gold trunks were unsoiled. It looks terrifying.

While this is occurring, Foteini Darra is singing a piece composed especially for the opening of the final - The Mermaid Song - which has some of the most forced lyrics I've heard. There's a ballet going on around her to represent the sea and the wind. For a finale, resplendent in a white suit, Sakis enters on wires descending from the roof in a John Travolta pose. Maria enters similarly on wires, but she has a whole lot more trepidation and less élan floating around above the massive audience. You can sense her relief when she reaches the stage and her harness is removed by the ballet dancers.

This is followed by our first dose of Helena Paparizou for the evening, opening with a reprise of last year's winning song My Number One. She's back as the voting is taking place to perform her big Greek hit Mambo! The voting sequence itself is launched by former Luxembourg Eurovision representative Nana Mouskouri, born on Crete and one of Greece's most famous contemporary figures.

The main interval is another ballet/dance sequence commissioned by ERT for the evening. This one is 4000 Years of Greek Song which takes in everything from chants from Oracles, through a sequence that seems to imply that Greece taught birds to sing. The are larger than life puppets, and a section that's approaching but isn't quite Zorba the Greek.

The highlight is that opening mix of Eurovision's past. It's possibly the first show-opening medley of songs that I can remember and definitely one designed to highlight the stage and get you in the mood both for Eurovision itself as well as a night of siting in an amphitheatre watching Greek culture.

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #784:

Helena Paparizou (Greece 2005) has performed as a guest during Eurovision in 2021 and 2024 due to the consistent popularity of her winning song "My Number One."

[Source]

Greece, Eurovision.tv.

[idontevenleeknow]

Elena you will always be our queen

[lu-in-the-sky-w-diamonds]

category is face και η παπαρίζου πάντα θα κερδίζει

[lookthetart]

Now that Loreen has officially completed her fall from grace, can we all agree that the crown of non-controversial beloved ex winner and queen of Eurovision belongs to Helena Paparizou

[fuckyeahelenapaparizou]

Helena Paparizou in 2024

[taevisionceo]

💭 #ThoughtInTheNight FOR A LONG TIME I WAS WANDERING THROUGH LIFE IN TOTAL DISGUISE. BUT NOW I FOUND MY PLACE… MY TRUE HOME… AND I CAN ONLY BE BY YOUR SIDE. YOU CHANGED MY WORLD… YOU CHANGED MY LIFE… AND THE DISGUISE IS GONE… I FEEL FREE AND MORE ALIVE THAN EVER. YOU MAKE ME SMILE… YOU’VE FILLED MY LIFE WITH JOY AND HAPPINESS… AND MY WORLD WITH LIGHT AND COLOR… AND YOU ALSO MAKE ME CRY… THEY ARE TEARS OF LOVE… BUT THEN YOU GIVE ME WINGS AND YOU MAKE ME FLY. WHATEVER YOU DO, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS… I’LL ALWAYS BE BY YOUR SIDE… BECAUSE YOU’RE MY LIFE.

[gaymer-hag-stan]

In anticipation of today's Winner, I wanna share my three all time favourite Eurovision acts

1. Ruslana - 🇺🇦 Ukraine - 2004 - Wild Dances

An absolute LEGEND. Queen gave it her all. This is such a powerful performance. A true classic. She is powerful and she commands the stage.

2. Helena Paparizou - 🇬🇷 Greece - My Number One - 2005

This is not out of national bias. She is an absolute legend. The Lyra part is one of the most iconic gimmicks in the history of the contest. She looks hot, she can sing, she can dance. Amazing.

3. Sertab Erener - 🇹🇷 Turkey - Everyway That I Can - 2003

This is actually the first winner I have childhood memories of. The first show I actually watched was 2004 but I still remember seeing her on TV afterwards. At the time I couldn't understand the lyrics and, admittedly, a woman begging for her lover to get back with her is not it BUT! Hear me out. Sertab is such a commanding force on stage that it cancels out the sexism. Yes she is begging for her former man but, I mean look at her. She is powerful, she is a queen. She will fuck him up if he tries anything funny. The impact of her iconic dance break is still felt today, I mean Sacha Jean-Baptiste literally had Remo Forrer do the exact same bondage thing this year, and the part where she goes "HA!" before belly dancing is peak Eurovision.

Y'all are either too young to remember them or have shit taste, because I barely see them get the recognition and acknowledgement they deserve online and I'm here to change that.

This was the strongest string of consecutive girl boss winners and I honestly can only hope we can ever reach this level of excellence again. Sing in your native language, sing in English, sing in Swahili, I don't care, just PLEASE bring in girl bop songs with an ethnic vibe much much more often and then PLEASE, tasteless Europe, show proper respect to the actual Queens of the contest and vote for songs like that more often and give them higher placings!

That's the herstory lesson for today. Dismissed.

[turkeyeurovisioncommunity]

ANNA VISSI TO A GREAT CONCERT AT HER HOMELAND

Larnaca, Cyprus, had a fascinated night few days ago, September 30th. Anna Vissi, mostly known to Europeans as a Eurovision contestant for Greece 1980 & 2006, Cyprus 1982, made a special night concert at her birthland with a more than 50.000 live audience in Platia Evropis. Even the official event's starting time was scheduled at 21:00, gates opened for her first fans arrived at 14:00!

The concert was planned to be a special celebration for artist's 50th anniversary since her debut in discography. During a brake of Anna's performance Major of Larnaca honored her by giving the Golden Key of the city!

Fans enjoyed the special night by the great performer but also the guests event included. Anna had duets with other Greek and Cypriot music artists, amongst them euro-stars such as Keti Garbi (Greece 1993), Helena Paparizou (Greece 2005 and 2001-as part of Antique) and Lia Vissi, Anna's sister, (backing vocalist for Greece 1979 and Cyprus 1985 main performer). Audience had a sang-along with Anna & Helena duet as they performed together their latest Eurovision entries- mayor hits "Everything" and "My Number 1" respectively, while social media in Greece and Cyprus got busy about snippet videos of the whole stunning night!

Anna Vissi is still considered as the biggest music-star of the Greek speaking music industry and with this celebration-concert proved it in the best way!