Cyprus 2022: Andromache with ‘Ela’

Cyprus are aiming for an impressive 7th consecutive final appearance with Andromache tasked with keeping the streak alive for the Island nation:

The criticisms of this are fairly easy to sum up: good domestic hit, great for any visit Cyprus/Greece promotional spot but not a contest song being a bit too ‘background music’. I was also looking for them to change things up a little from her previous work just to make this more impactful for a competitive setting and it is amusing how 10 guys were required to put this together.

There is something here however that makes me think those negatives of this being a typical Greek summery song and not much else may turn out to be it’s strength. As simple as it may be, this is the type of music that reaches out from the area with this being along the lines of some of the most watched songs internationally on YouTube. Sometimes the televote is a simple thing and entries that fit into national perceptions or stereotypes over-achieve. This does give of a warm and likeable vibe without having any real moments or impact putting it as a polar opposite to ‘El Diablo’ last year. I said on release of that how despite it ticking a lot of boxes it was soulless and this may be the reverse of that. It may not be as ‘good’ as a song, but it will be better at getting people to pick up the phone.

If the staging can bring out a warm and summery atmosphere that will play better in May than now this could be another Cypriot entry to watch although a low top 10 placing feels the limit given this is too basic for substantial jury support.

I don’t see this having an issue in qualifying. Greece is a notable loss but there’s enough regional and diaspora countries and a few connected songwriters (Sweden, Azerbaijan) there making this an alright semi despite the first half draw.

Personal Rating: 8/10

Competitive Rating: 7/10

Early Prediction: Semi 2 5th-9th, Final 9th-13th