Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
| Eurovision Song Contest 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Cyprus | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | A Song for Europe | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-finals: 11 February 2006 12 February 2006 Final 22 February 2006 | |||
| Selected entrant | Annet Artani | |||
| Selected song | "Why Angels Cry" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | Peter Yiannakis | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (15th) | |||
| Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Why Angels Cry" written by Peter Yiannakis and performed by Annet Artani. The Cypriot entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece was determined on 22 February 2006, having been selected through the national final A Song for Europe organised by the country's public broadcasting service Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC). A Song for Europe saw 20 competing entries split between two semi-final rounds leading to a 10-entry final.
Cyprus was drawn to compete ninth in the semi-final of the contest, held on 18 May 2006 at the Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall. At the end of the night, the nation placed 15th in the field of 23 entries, receiving 57 points in total, though failing to qualify for the final.
Background[]
Prior to the 2006 contest, Cyprus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 23 times since its first entry in 1981.[1] It then participated yearly, only missing the 1988 contest when its selected song "Thimame" by Yiannis Dimitrou was disqualified for being previously released,[2] and the 2001 contest when it was relegated. To this point, the country's 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 in 2004 with "Stronger Every Minute" performed by Lisa Andreas.[1] Cyprus' least successful result was in 1986 when it placed last with the song "Tora Zo" by Elpida, receiving only four points in total.[1]
Before Eurovision[]
A Song for Europe[]
A Song for Europe was the national final format developed by CyBC in order to select Cyprus' entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The competition commenced on 11 February 2006 and concluded with the final on 22 February 2006. The three shows took place at the CyBC Studio 3 in Nicosia and were hosted by Alex Michael and Christina Marouchou. The shows were broadcast on RIK 1, RIK Sat as well as online via the broadcaster's website cybc.cy. The show was also broadcast in Greece via the channel ERT Sat.[3]
Format[]
The competition consisted of three shows: two semi-finals on 11 and 12 February 2006, respectively, and the final on 22 February 2006. Each semi-final included ten competing entries and the top five progressed to the final, which selected the winner from the remaining ten entries. Results during the semi-finals were determined exclusively by public televoting. In the final, the winner was determined by regional televoting. The voting results of each of the five regions in Cyprus were converted to points from 1-8, 10 and 12 and assigned to the ten competing entries. A sixth set of votes was also assigned to the entries based on the overall voting result.[4]
Competing entries[]
Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 24 September 2005 and early December 2005. Artists and composers from any nationality were able to submit entries, however songs could not be submitted to other broadcasters participating in the 2006 contest. At the conclusion of the deadline, 114 entries were received by CyBC. Twenty entries were selected by a selection committee and announced on 4 January 2006.[5] Between 11 and 12 January 2006, nine entries were disqualified as they had either been submitted to other broadcasters participating in the 2006 contest, or had been released before the broadcast of the semi-finals. They were replaced by an additional nine entries from the remaining submissions received.[6][7]
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Andreas Konstatinidis | "Love on the Weekend" | Michalis Rousos, John Vickers |
| Annet Artani | "Why Angels Cry" | Peter Yiannakis |
| Antonis Poorkou and Elena Georgiou | "To s'agapo" (Το σ'αγαπώ) | Antonis Poorkou, Elena Georgiou |
| Constantinos Andronikou | "Everytime I Close My Eyes" | Konstantinos Andronikou, Giorgos Ktorides |
| Eleftheria feat. Maria Zorli | "Play That Melody to Me" | Eric Babak |
| Eleni Andreou | "Just Your Smile" | Valeria Partali |
| Eleni Skarpari | "Don't Crack Now" | Mike Connaris, Paul Brown |
| Evagoras Evagorou and Chrisi Andreou | "Land of Yesterday" | Petros Moschovakis, Joyce Kokkinou, Michalis Hadjimichail |
| Giorgos Gavriel | "If You Asked Me to Lie" | Matheson Bayley |
| Heleni and the Jetz | "Invincible" | Mike Connaris, Tarn-Marie Taylor |
| Irini Athanassiou | "Just a Dance" | Marios Anastasiou, Christina Georgiou |
| Lefki Stylianou | "Lost in Love" | Lefki Stylianou, Antreas Paraskeva |
| Liana | "I Need You to Need Me" | Michael Neofitou, Sotira Hadjipanayi |
| Lizzi Marcroft | "When I See You Dreamin'" | Dimitris Laskaridis, Lizzi Marcroft |
| Marina Solonos | "I'm a Fighter" | John Themis, Rachel Charles, Marina Solonos |
| Marios Tofi | "Congratulations" | Christodoulos Siganos, Valentino |
| Nick Nikolaou and Viky Anastasiou | "Funky" | Christos Kiriakidis |
| Patrick Babak | "We All Are Heroes" | Eric Babak, Patrick Babak |
| Theodoti Alexandrou | "Night's Shadows" | Fotis Mousoulidis, Kiriakos Pastides |
| Valando Tryfonos | "After You" | Giannis Charalampous, Natasa Tyrimou, Valando Tryfonos |
| Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|
| "Break of Dawn" | Ola Larson, Fredrik Hult, Jonas Engstrand |
| "C'est la vie" | Tomasz Galkowski, Katarzyna Szczolek |
| "Come Back My Heart" | Jesús María Pérez, Amaya Martínez Barrio |
| "Forever and For Good" | Eric Babak, Patrick Babak |
| "I Will Always Love You" | Tony Back |
| "It's Over" | Tomasz Galkowski, Mel Baranowska |
| "Join the Samba" | Ola Larson, Fredrik Hult, Jonas Engstrand |
| "Things Just Work Out Sometimes" | Stig Nygard, Nina Lassander |
| "This Is the Night" | Timo Tulone |
Semi-finals[]
The first semi-final took place on 11 February 2006. Ten entries competed and public televoting selected the top five entries to progress to the final: "Love on the Weekend" performed by Andreas Konstatinidis, "I'm a Fighter" performed by Marina Solonos, "Just Your Smile" performed by Eleni Andreou, "Funky" performed by Nick Nikolaou and Vicky Anastassiou and "Why Angels Cry" performed by Annet Artani. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show featured guest performances by 1990 Spanish Eurovision entrants Azúcar Moreno and 1998, 2005 and 2009 Maltese Eurovision entrant Chiara.[8]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andreas Konstatinidis | "Love on the Weekend" | Finalist |
| 2 | Marina Solonos | "I'm a Fighter" | Finalist |
| 3 | Heleni and the Jetz | "Invincible" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Eleni Andreou | "Just Your Smile" | Finalist |
| 5 | Irini Athanassiou | "Just a Dance" | Eliminated |
| 6 | Giorgos Gavriel | "If You Asked Me to Lie" | Eliminated |
| 7 | Liana | "I Need You to Need Me" | Eliminated |
| 8 | Lizzi Marcroft | "When I See You Dreamin'" | Eliminated |
| 9 | Nick Nikolaou and Vicky Anastassiou | "Funky" | Finalist |
| 10 | Annet Artani | "Why Angels Cry" | Finalist |
The second semi-final took place on 12 February 2006. Ten entries competed and public televoting selected the top five entries to progress to the final: "Play That Melody to Me" performed by Eleftheria feat. Maria Zorli, "Land of Yesterday" performed by Evagoras Evagorou and Chrisi Andreou, "Congratulations" performed by Marios Tofi, "Everytime I Close My Eyes" performed by Constantinos Andronikou and "After You" performed by Valando Tryfonos. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show featured guest performances by Maro Litra and 2000 British Eurovision entrant Nicki French.[8]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eleftheria feat. Maria Zorli | "Play That Melody to Me" | Finalist |
| 2 | Lefki Stylianou | "Lost in Love" | Eliminated |
| 3 | Evagoras Evagorou and Chrisi Andreou | "Land of Yesterday" | Finalist |
| 4 | Theodoti Alexandrou | "Night's Shadows" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Marios Tofi | "Congratulations" | Finalist |
| 6 | Constantinos Andronikou | "Everytime I Close My Eyes" | Finalist |
| 7 | Patrick Babak | "We All Are Heroes" | Eliminated |
| 8 | Antonis Poorkou and Elena Georgiou | "To s'agapo" (Το σ'αγαπώ) | Eliminated |
| 9 | Valando Tryfonos | "After You" | Finalist |
| 10 | Eleni Skarpari | "Don't Crack Now" | Eliminated |
Final[]
The final took place on 22 February 2006. The ten entries selected from the preceding two semi-finals competed and the winner, "Why Angels Cry" performed by Annet Artani, was selected by regional televoting.[4] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show featured guest performances by Stavros Konstantinou, 1984 and 1992 Irish Eurovision entrant Linda Martin and 2001 and 2006 Maltese Eurovision entrant Fabrizio Faniello.[3][8] "Why Angels Cry" was written by Peter Yiannakis, who had previously co-wrote Cyprus's 1986 entry "Tora Zo". Artani was born in New York and had performed as a backing vocalist for Britney Spears while also writing her song "Everytime" (2004).[9]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Paphos | Limassol | Larnaca | Famagusta | Nicosia | Cyprus (overall) | Total points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eleftheria feat. Maria Zorli | "Play That Melody to Me" | 12 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 7 |
| 2 | Marina Solonos | "I'm a Fighter" | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 9 |
| 3 | Annet Artani | "Why Angels Cry" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 51 | 1 |
| 4 | Evagoras Evagorou and Chrisi Andreou | "Land of Yesterday" | 8 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 44 | 3 |
| 5 | Andreas Konstantinidis | "Love on the Weekend" | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 35 | 5 |
| 6 | Marios Tofi | "Congratulations" | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 46 | 2 |
| 7 | Constantinos Andronikou | "Everytime I Close My Eyes" | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 25 | 8 |
| 8 | Eleni Andreou | "Just Your Smile" | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 10 |
| 9 | Nick Nikolaou and Viky Anastasiou | "Funky" | 1 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 34 | 6 |
| 10 | Valando Tryfonos | "After You" | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 41 | 4 |
Promotion[]
To promote the nation's entry, Artani performed "Why Angels Cry" at Greece's national final on 15 March.[10] Her promotional tour also included stops in Bosnia & Herzegovina Malta, Moldova and Romania.[11] In Bosnia & Herzegovina, she appeared in a part of the Eurovision Special Feminnem Show on 28 April along with Turkey's entrant Sibel Tüzün.[12] In the days before the contest, the Cypriot welcome party was held in Athens and was attended by entrants from Belgium, Albania and Turkey.[13]
To further promote the entry, "Why Angel Cry" was included on Artani's album Mia Foni, released in early April 2006.[14]
At Eurovision[]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 took place at the O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece and consisted of one semi-final on 18 May, and the final on 20 May 2006.[15] According to the Eurovision rules at the time, selected countries, except the host nation and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), were required to qualify from the semi-final to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progressed to the final. Because Cyprus placed 18th at the 2005 contest, the nation had to compete in the Eurovision semi-final.
At the semi-final on 18 May, Artani performed "Why Angels Cry" ninth, following Ireland and preceding Monaco. For her performance, she was joined by five backing vocalists (Konstantinos Andronikou, Keanna Johnson, Anna Iliadou, Riana Athanasiou and Giorgos Georgiou) with whom she had previously performed on Britney Spears' Dream Within A Dream Tour.[11][16] The song placed 15th in the semi-final with 57 points, failing to qualify the final.[17]
Voting[]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Cyprus in the final, as well as by the country in the semi-final and final of the contest.
Points awarded to Cyprus[]
| Score | Country |
|---|---|
| 12 points |  Greece
|
| 10 points |  Monaco
|
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points |
|
| 3 points |  Ukraine
|
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Points awarded by Cyprus[]
|
|
References[]
- ^ a b c "History by Country: Cyprus". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ O'Connor 2010, p. 212.
- ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (22 February 2006). "Tonight: Cyprus decides for Athens". ESCToday. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Bakker, Sietse (22 February 2006). "Annette Artani to represent Cyprus in Athens". ESCToday. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
- ^ Bakker, Sietse (4 January 2006). "CyBC announces song titles and writers". ESCToday. Retrieved 24 November 2006.
- ^ a b c Bakker, Sietse (11 January 2006). "Controversial problems Cyprus reach climax". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Bakker, Sietse (12 January 2006). "Two new changes on Cypriot list". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Mantzilas, Dimitrios (11 January 2019). "Κύπρος 2006: Αννέτ Αρτάνι με σκάνδαλα, μπάχαλα, σούφερα, σκύβαλα και ντράβαλα". INFE Greece (in Greek).
- ^ Bakker, Sietse (12 April 2006). "Athens 2006: Cyprus". ESCToday. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ West-Soley, Richard (15 March 2006). "Everything for Greece". ESCToday. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (26 April 2006). "UPD Short news about the participants". ESCToday. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ West-Soley, Richard (14 April 2006). "Eurovision season on Bosnian TV". ESCToday. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ Bakker, Sietse (15 May 2006). "Last night: get the party going!". ESCToday. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ Bakker, Sietse (4 April 2006). "UPD Newsflash: Croatia, the Netherlands and Cyprus". ESCToday. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ "Athens 2006 – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ Grech, Deo (30 March 2006). "Annet Artani's plans for Athens revealed in Malta". ESCToday. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ "Semi-Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Results of the Semi-Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "Results of the Grand Final of Athens 2006". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
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Note: Entries scored out are when Cyprus did not compete | |||||||||||||||
- Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
- Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
- 2006 in Cyprus