Sunday 3 March 2024

CYPRUS 2024

The Cypriot song was revealed on February 29th - with the première of the song on the Eurovision Song Contest youtube channel. Way back in September, CyBC revealed that they had internally selected their singer and the chosen song would be in production. The Cypriot song for Malmö is "Liar" by Silia Kapsis.

Vasiliki Silia Kapsis is Australian and has a Cypriot father and Greek mother. She explored the Arts from a young age as her father was a singer. She joined the Australian Youth Performing Arts Company which lead to numerous performances of acting, singing and dancing around the globe. She made her acting debut in a short film called Pearly Gates and also presents on Australia's Nickelodeon channel. Her debut single was released in 2023 with 3 follow up songs released throughout that same year She has also worked with the ImmaBeast Dance Company in Los Angeles and was nominated for Aussie/Kiwi Legend of the Year at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 2023. 

Liar is a mid-tempo dancy pop song. The backing track is low-level during the verses and ramps up a little bit more in the chorus but overall it is rather nondescript and would sound rather boring on its own without the vocal. This track has a nice compact verse with lines that repeat in both verses. There is then a refrain which keeps up the same kind of feel but is a more upbeat  The songs then pulls back before dropping with the beat back into the chorus. The chorus has a lot of repetition of the title of the song although the the overall tempo feels a little bit stilted. During the final minute, 30 seconds or so is mostly instrumental which will almost definitely be used for a dance break section. There is then one final chorus before ending on the name of the song.

This song attempts to hark back to Cyprus' success period with female-lead dance-infused bangers. The video really leans into Silia's immense dancing ability and the connection she makes down the camera, with the male dancers and the other characters in the video. The narrative of the video is a little weak and I'd rather have watched a staged gig or club night than all the additional 'get your own back' storyline. Silia wears an eye-catching gold suit which stands out within the dark setting of the video. Silia can definitely dance but how well she can dance, sing, emote, fire up the crowd and get the televoters on side - all at the same time - is another thing. Although this track has a strong beat, the songwriting here is not up to scratch. The lyrics are simplistic and the tune overly complicated. I feel the melody and rhythm of the verses is more memorable than the chorus, even if the lyrics are pretty tame. Although there is a beat, it plods along rather than gee you up. I feel that quickening it up could make it into quite a fun pop song or even slowed down to make a more heartfelt ballad. Overall this song feels very posed and sassy compared to the more raw and emotional songs on the table. I am also not quite sure who would vote for this over some of the more diverse acts in semi one.

ARTIST - Silia Kapsis
SONG - Liar
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Dimitris Kontopoulos, Elke Tiel


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