The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual song
competition broadcasted across Europe and the countries of the European
Broadcasting Union since 1956. The original purpose of the contest was to bring
the countries of Europe together after the war and was also designed to test
live broadcasting. Since the contest was made, the countries participating in
the contest have three minutes to perform on stage. In such a short amount of
time, various elements are used on stage such as genre, color schemes, costuming,
staging, language, and the ethnicity of the artists as well. It is through the
use of these visual and literary devices in Greece Eurovision performances from
2015 to 2017, that you can learn how these devices contribute to the country’s
attitudes toward diversity and represent the country’s identity overall.
The first performance, “One Last Breath,” a
heartbreak song sung in English by Greek vocal artist, Maria Elena Kyriakou
(2015), contains various components similar to most slow ballad love songs. The
artist’s performance was a simple, yet emotional piece woven with multiple
devices. Kyriakou was clad in an elegant and shimmery, silver and black gown,
while her piano accompanist was only dressed in black. The costuming meshed
well with the ballad because the dark color tones represented and contributed
to the sadness of the song. The costume choice also created a central focus on
Kyriakou as the audience could not really see the piano player from many of the
camera angles. Also, for the entirety of the performance, the staging featured
a spotlight on Kyriakou, creating a space of isolation for the singer which
deepened the emotional appeal of the song. Throughout the performance, the
staging also mimicked the singer’s feelings and the song. For example, towards
the end of the song, when the tempo shift occurred, Kyriakou’s singing became
more powerful. The blue staging surrounding Kyriakou started to change pace as
well and become more powerful, whereas it was slower and more subtle in the
beginning. This suggests that the artist wanted her audience to be invested in
the performance and feel what she was feeling through the song. Moreover, the
blue color scheme was also a factor in the overall performance as the color
could be associated with heartbreak and sadness. As for the lyrics, they tell a
story of heartbreak and betrayal. The lyrics “my light has fade, I feel
betrayed” and later the verse “just pain, fake love and drunken lie” can
mean that the singer feels betrayed
because of all the pain and fake love in their relationship, but she sings “I’m
begging you take me /wherever you have gone….nothing left, I just have/ one
last breath” which can mean that the singer is dying of heartbreak, and even
though she went through all this pain, she still wants her love to come back
(“Maria” 2015). With these various elements in mind, the comparison to the next
entry is quite different.
As stated before, Greece’s entry for 2016’s Song
Contest is a different genre and tone compared with the previous year. The song
is “Utopian Land,” sung in Greek, Pontic Greek, and English, by the Greek band
Argo (2016). The song is infused with hip-hop sounds, but at the same time,
resonates with “folklore (Pontian) tunes” (“Argo,” 2016). This, plus the added
element of traditional instruments such as the lyre and tabo, are all elements
of “ancestral legacy” (“Argo,” 2016). The song itself is positive and about
“people coming together for a better world” (“Argo,” 2016). Argo wanted to
“represent [their] country in the best possible way,” and their use of
traditional instruments was for the reason to “make a difference to the rhythm”
(“Argo,” 2016). The hip-hop music plus the use of traditional instruments
suggests that Argo wanted to represent Greece while also creating a song that
would energize the crowd and appeal to the pop style side of Eurovision. The
song is about the refugee crisis and the lyric “utopian land” means that the
Argo wants people to unite and overcome this problem (Xifaras). Additionally,
the song is sung in Greek, Pontic Greek, and English which could represent the
Pontic Greek refugee crisis as the costuming itself is related to Pontian
clothing. Compared with Kyriakou’s costuming, Argo is dressed in white.
Specifically, the female members were dressed in white outfits, while the male
members were dressed in white shirts and brown baggy trousers. This is a huge
contrast to Kyriakou’s costuming and song choice as she was in dark colors to
go with her slow heartbreak song. Additionally, the use of wide camera view
occurs whenever the chorus began: “we are the rise in the rising sun” and at
that point, an orange/yellow LED sun would appear and swirl in the background,
emphasizing the lyrics and also creating the image of the sun in the
performance. Moreover, the lyric “dance with us and have some fun” plus the
staging and color scheme suggests that the band wanted the audience to feel
happy and energetic (“Argo,” 2016). Compared with the earlier performance, the
purpose of the use of color is slightly similar to Kyriakou’s as blue
represented the mood of heartbreak while the use of orange represented the
happy mood of Argo’s song.
The last performance, “This is Love” sung
entirely in English by Greek artist Demy, is another love song (2017). The
choice of singing a love song is similar to the 2015 performance by Kyriakou,
but the performance cannot be more different. As opposed to Kyriakou’s elegant,
and slow ballad, Demy’s is more of a pop and vibrant performance. Also, in
contrast to Kyriakou’s costuming, but similar to Argo’s, Demy is wearing a
light pink dress and her dancers are wearing white shorts but are shirtless.
The costuming adds to vibrant, energetic piece with its light color tones which
suggests that the artist wanted her audience to feel joyous and energetic
through the song. Focusing on the song itself, at first glance, it seems to be
a generic love song, but after watching the performance, the song seems to
allude to the LGBTQ community. The performance can be interpreted that way
because of the choreography and the lyric “everywhere, this is love.” As for
the dancers themselves, the choreography throughout the performance reflects
the lyrics as for example, when the lyric “this is love” is sung, the two
dancers create a heart and they do so at the end, distinctly looking at each
other. As for the lyric itself “everywhere, this is love” could possibly mean
that Greece welcomes all types of love, and combining those two elements can
refer to the LGBTQ community. Considering the color schemes and staging, Demy’s
performance combines the 2015 and 2016 year as the camera angles are in the
same fashion as the earlier performances as well as there are common colors
featured in them. For example, like Argo’s performance, the staging coincides
with the lyrics. In the beginning of the song, Demy is alone and the staging is
blue, with stars projected onto the background as well as water and puddles.
The stars in the back allude to the lyrics “this is love reaching out for
stars” while the water can represent the lyrics “watch the river running dry”
or “I won’t let you see me cry” (“Demy,” 2017). Then, at the chorus, there is a
quick shift to red and yellow, and those colors could symbolize love. Moreover,
the objects floating in the background at the time could either be yellow tears
or yellow stars, and both can connect to either of the lyrics above. A little
further into the performance, a hologram of Demy appears, and this could
connect to the lyrics “reaching out for the stars,” because the hologram is
floating up, or “watch the river running dry” because Demy seems to be floating
on a river. If that is the case, then the hologram connects back to the use of
water in the background of the song in the beginning as well as the tub of
water the dancers perform in for the majority of the time. Overall, compared
with the other performances, there are a few similarities and differences.
Greece’s Eurovision entries from 2015-2017 are
quite different but tell a few things about the country’s stance on diversity.
Musically, Greece is rather diverse across their performances, but the genre of
each song is more or less conventional within the song contest. For example,
they all use typical genres usually performed in Eurovision such as a slow
ballad love song, a hip-hop, upbeat song, and a vibrant and preppy love song.
On the other hand, it can be said that these styles of music are associated
with the country, and in fact, Greece is musically diverse, but nonetheless,
each performance is different from the next, showcasing musical diversity. For
one out of the three songs, the artists try to represent the traditions of
their country by using traditional instruments and infusing that with their
music. By picking a genre that is pretty popular to the public, but by also
trying to infuse their own culture and traditions, this suggests that Greece is
trying to connect musically with the audience of Eurovision while also trying
to bring Greece’s culture to the stage. Additionally, Argo sends a message
about the refugee crisis and that they welcome refugees to their country. As
for Demy, her performance suggests that she was singing about the lgbtq
community, meaning that Greece is welcoming and culturally diverse. Also, the
songs sung in English suggests that Greece is open to showing cultural
diversity to the rest of the world and inviting by speaking in a language that
a majority of viewers would understand. However, as all the artists were Greek,
this presents a lack of cultural diversity. This suggests that Greece is not as
open to showing the rest of Europe other performers other than Greece based
artists. Overall, each song represents Greece in a different light. There is
one about heartbreak and betrayal, another that sends a political message, and
lastly, one that is welcoming to the LGBTQ community, which suggests that
Greece is an open and progressive society.
Words: 1812
Citations
Argo. (2016a). Utopian land (Greece). Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Stockholm [DVD]
Baarn, NL: Universal Music Group
Demy. (2017a). This is love (Greece). Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Kiev [DVD]
Baarn, NL: Universal Music Group
Kyriakou, M. E. (2015). One last breath (Greece).
Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Vienna. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD6epZ-YWSc
Maria
Elena Kyriakou (2015). Eurovision.tv. Retrieved
from
Xifaras, B. (2016). Greece: Argo release
Eurovision song "Utopian Land". Retrieved from http://wiwibloggs.com/2016/03/10/greece-argo-release-eurovision-song-utopian-land/11616/
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