Greece’s Eurovision hopefuls say Turkey’s ‘Live It Up’ has attitude

While fans of the Eurovision Song Contest are counting down the days until this year’s pop extravaganza, entrants have already started traveling around Europe promoting their songs.

Among this year’s entrants, Greece seems to have a great chance of achieving a good score with a duet between pop singer Loucas Yiorkas and rapper Stereo Mike. The duo will present their fusion song “Watch My Dance,” a catchy number that combines traditional Greek music with hip hop flavor, at next month’s contest in Germany.

Yiorkas, the winner of Greece’s version of the “X Factor” in the 2008-2009 season, says he is trying to break his personal record with the Eurovision bid. Stereo Mike, in the meantime, is the first winner of the MTV Europe Music Awards’ Best Greek Act category. Yiorkas and Stereo Mike were in İstanbul recently as part of their Eurovision promotion tour as guests of record company EMI Music Turkey and we had a chance to speak about their music:

Loucas, you are the winner of the “X Factor,” and now you are representing Greece in the 56th Eurovision Song Contest, aren’t you tired of competitions?

Yiorkas: Actually, I’m trying to break my own personal records with this but what I’m after is not the prize, I am challenging myself, in a way. I feel more powerful competing and if I succeed I come up with new targets. So, what I care about the most in Eurovision is not the prize, we care about our performance on stage and we are so excited about the Eurovision experience.

Your Eurovision song is titled “Watch My Dance” and you are not dancing at all throughout the song. Shall we see dancers on the stage?

Stereo Mike: We are combining traditional music with hip hop, so you will see both folk dancers and break dancers on stage. Break dancers accompany the rap parts while folk dancers accompany Loucas’ part. There’s going to be four dancers accompanying us during our stage performance.

What do you think about the Turkish entry “Live It Up”?

Yiorkas: We met the members of Yüksek Sadakat in Amsterdam. I feel like they have a rocker attitude in the way they talk and the way they act, so they perfectly represent this song.

Stereo Mike: I love to listen to punk rock and hip hop in my daily life and one of the bands giving me so much inspiration is the Beastie Boys and what attracts me about Beastie Boys is their attitude. “Live It Up” is a good rock song that has attitude.

Which countries do you think are the most likely to get the highest scores in this year’s Eurovision show?

Yiorkas: I think there are many cool songs. I guess the quality of this year’s songs is quite high and I like Turkey’s rock song.

Stereo Mike: There are many different styles in this years’ contest. Belgium is presenting an a capella song with [the vocal ensemble] Witloof Bay. Their song “With Love Baby” is challenging.

Throughout its history Eurovision has witnessed legendary international acts. Who are your favorites?

Yiorkas: I think Johnny Logan is a legendary name from Eurovision history as a three-time winner, and all his songs were really great.

Stereo Mike: It’s not been so long, but my favorite is Patricia Kaas. One of the legendary names of Eurovision is Abba, for sure. Although I am not a fan, I feel like they’ve found the all-time formula for a perfect pop song.

Loucas, you began studying music at an early age, playing classical guitar. When did you discover that singing is your true passion?

Yiorkas: I remember myself, guitar in my hand, going to school, but singing anyway. Singing has always been a passion for me and now I realize my passion as a professional singer. It’s a real honor for me to represent Greece in Eurovision.

Loucas, let’s talk about your career a bit. After your X Factor victory, you released your single “Den Fantazese” [You Cannot Imagine], written by George Theophanous. How was the reaction to your first single in Greece?

Yiorkas: George Theophanous was on the jury of X Factor and he is one of the greatest songwriters. I was so lucky having him writing my first songs. I first released an EP titled “Mazi,” which consists of five songs, and I released my first single “Den Fantazese” and that album went gold, receiving quite a beautiful reaction in Greece. I guess this is because of Theophanous, because he is a great songwriter.

Stereo Mike, you have a brilliant educational background in music and you also teach music. What do you think about Loucas’ music?

Stereo Mike: I chose my major in music technology and got a master’s degree in sound production. Now I am giving lectures on music production at the University of Westminster. I just love Loucas’ voice. After all the years I’ve been in London, this song is giving me a chance to go back to my roots. I feel like we complete each other through the fusion of the song and through our attitudes.

If you had the chance, which Turkish singer would you like to collaborate with?

Yiorkas: I love the music and everything about Laço Tayfa, but if I had a chance to collaborate with a Turkish singer on stage, I would die to sing with Sertab Erener, she has an excellent voice.

Stereo Mike: I’d rather work with [the rapper] Ceza; I am sure he would be surprised if he knew how many Greek fans he has. Sıla is also one of my favorites as a pop singer.

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