Greece 2023: Victor Vernicos with ‘What They Say’

After a messy internal selection process Greece have finally unveiled Victor's full song for Eurovision.

I'm not going to jump too far into the whole national identity argument but I'll just say ERT haven't really been paying attention to the trends of the last years, as well as what is catches the eye and gets interest both domestically and internationally. This does make more sense as the Victor Jorgensen entry for Denmark.

Regardless, it's not a debate people would be having if a. The song was any good or b. Victor an established name. He has a nice voice but ‘What They Say’ is a meandering, anonymous entry that fades away after a promising start. These things are subjective but in terms of composition (not lyrics) this is one of the weakest songs of the year with some odd decisions all round. None of it's components fit together very well.

To add to the concerns there's a distinct lack of effort around the entire contest this year and it really feels like there's not much ambition (see the 10 minute job with the music video as an example). Victor is a young artist who would need the support I doubt the delegation will give him and this feels like a year of treading water and entering for the sake of it.

Anyway competitevly as mentioned I am nervous for the staging and live whilst a first half draw is not ideal. Cyprus are here to lend 12 points but take from the other in delivering a better song I expect to be prioritised by the record label behind the pair. Semi 2 is a bit of an enigma so I'll put this on the borderline for now until we get the last couple and can start doing some maths. If it makes the final I’d expect it to struggle with moderate jury support and a very low televote.

Personal Rating: 2/10

Competitve Rating: 4/10

Early Prediction: Semi Two 9th-12th, 19th-24th if in the final.