Greece GREECE 2021 - Stefania - Last Dance

[escYOUnited]

My heart was born a radical
Electric and dynamical
I never listened to the remedies
With no forevers, no eternities
Holding on beyond the night
For a shadow that feels right
Holding on beyond the night to you

If the dreams we made are made of fire
I would give a life just to live the dream again
If our hearts are hanging on a wire
Let's forget the world below and dance until the end

Let's dance
Our last dance
A rockin' romance
This ain't our last dance
Let's dance
Oh-oh-oh-ooh-ooh
Oh-woah-woah-ooh
Oh-oh-oh-ooh-ooh-ooh

My heart was born in neon lights
Floating in space like satellites
Looking for signs of life tonight
As we collide in black and white
Holdin' on beyond the night
For a shadow that feels right
Holdin' on beyond the night for you

If the dreams we made are made of fire
I would give a life just to live the dream again

Let's dance
Oh, last dance
A rockin' romance
This ain't our last dance
Let's dance
Oh-oh-oh-ooh-ooh
Oh-woah-woah-ooh
This ain't our last dance

Take a deeper breath before we touch
Running out of time, let's use it up
And hold me before the morning comes

Let's dance
Oh-oh
A rockin' romance
This ain't our last dance
Let's dance​

 

[spinachpie]

I've watched a few more reactions and it seems that escunited reactions are not consistent with what others think, in that they loved it. Wiwibloggs reaction was also underwhelming, apart from William.

Be interesting to see the full rehearsal for ourselves!

 

[Citelis]

Reactions are mostly positive but not too much. Probably that staging is designed to look good on t/v but no matter what people on Greek pages need to calm down because at the end they will get disappointed again.

 

[Shadowfuxcs]

It seems to be quite competitive. Some reactions are nitpicking because they judge it as potential winner and there are a lot of comparisons with Russia 2016 for some reason. This is not a winning song guys. It shouldn't be judged based on its winning chances.
Also I don't get the critisism about whether the staging is fitting the song thematically. Last time I checked it was "last dance, oh last dance, rocking romance, oooooh last dance". It's literally an entry about nothing that is aiming for top 10 at best and so far the staging seems to be effective. If all the effects were working perfectly there would be no need for rehearshals.

Oh by the way I am happy they threw the stereotypes out of the window this year, both in the song itself and in the staging (there are mythological elements in the video but they are not the same references we have seen over and over again). No bouzouki, no random "ethnic" instrumental and dancing section, no "Grecian goddess" styling, no recycled tourism mottos from the 80's. Hope it stays that way in the future.

 

[0scar]

I'm pretty sure that, if qualifies, Stefania will get our 12 televoting points. At least the 10.

 

[crashworld]

I'm pretty sure that, if qualifies, Stefania will get our 12 televoting points. At least the 10.

Just because she is a Dutch?

 

[0scar]

Just because she is a Dutch?

Yeah, provided that het song and performance are enjoyable as well!
She's getting some media coverage here in the Netherlands as well, I'd say almost just as much as Jeangu and she has a huge fanbase among Dutch teens, which only increased after being selected for Eurovision. They will be voting en masse for her.
Also, it will definitely be mentioned by our commentators that she's Dutch and so her performance will stick better to the casual viewer than others.

If the song and performance were bad, the Dutch were the first to distance themselves from her though lol, but luckily it isn't.

 

[Nicholas123]

Stefania gave her heart to El Diablo too! Horns grew on her head!

 

[spinachpie]

Reactions are mostly positive but not too much. Probably that staging is designed to look good on t/v but no matter what people on Greek pages need to calm down because at the end they will get disappointed again.

Greeks just seem very defensive with any criticism. Not so much on here, but elsewhere, it feels crazy.

 

[Shadowfuxcs]

Indeed I checked the comment section in a Greek website and it is extremely toxic. Most of the Greek fans are stuck in the 00's and have not realized how the contest evolved though the years. They dismiss anything remotely original that does not include a conventionally attractive woman dancing with 4 other people and they discover conspiracies behind any comment made in youtube reviews.

Also it's hilarious how a handfull of Greek bloggers make noise every year when Greece rehearses and then the same people write articles stating how Greece had the most warm reception and any negative comment made by the press is part of a conspiracy that includes every single competing country apart from Greece and Cyprus along with the EU and the NATO.

 

[Ezio]

I think the result for Greece is sill unpredictable.

The song itself is a hard sell, because it is not meaningful and there is a lot of competition in the fuego department.

If the performance ends up being a show-off of technology, I think we can count Greece out for the final.

My personal fuego department ranking right now is as follows

1st San Marino by a lot
2nd Malta
3rd Croatia
4th Serbia
5th Greece
6th Cyprus
7th Moldova
8th Azerbaijan
9th Latvia

 

[Ezio]

Based on the rehearsal snippets and personal preference, I would not like many of them advancing to the final honestly.
1 Cyprus
2 Croatia
3 Serbia
4 Moldova
5 Azerbaijan
6 Greece
7 Malta
8 San Marino

I would like to think that a lot of fuego would be put in the semis eventually, however, there is also a lot of drowsiness and quirkiness in the semis, that would also cancel each other out.

San Marino and Malta put last is a statement, but not a sincere one imho..

 

[Ezio]

Well, it's all been there done that. Eurovision climaxed in 2018 and since then it's just a lot of fuego and dramatic ballads, but nothing new.

Since '18, all subsequent editions feel so stale, '21 the most

 

[stephanos13]

Also it's hilarious how a handfull of Greek bloggers make noise every year when Greece rehearses and then the same people write articles stating how Greece had the most warm reception and any negative comment made by the press is part of a conspiracy that includes every single competing country apart from Greece and Cyprus along with the EU and the NATO.

I stopped caring what the Greek media has to say about Eurovision many years ago.

When Greece or Cyprus have a good song they overhype everything to the extreme, create unrealistic expectations and end up making more bad than good.
When they don't have a good song they don't even bother covering.

 

[Stan34]

I've been following this forum for a few days now and I created an account just because I wanted to echo on this topic...
I understand Greek fans wanting a good placement after so many years of disappointments but this isn't the way forward.
Eg Fansites constantly raising the expectations for the staging which made some Greek fans think Greece could contend for the win.
Greek interviewers asking Stefania how she feels about being in the odds top 10 only adds on massive pressure to her and I can't imagine what reactions she would get if that doesn't happen.
In the end, due to some slightly negative feedback there's already conspiracy theories about politics as if the contest in recent years hasn't proved ANY country can do well. Perhaps all the desperation about the 'never seen before' staging ended up being detrimental? Wouldn't it be better if this stage-show was a nice positive surprise instead?
Good luck to Stefania.. She's a very sweet girl and a great singer.

 

[Ana Raquel]

i like her outfit; i LOVE the backdrop; i'm not into the backing dancers' outfits though didn't quite fit the package

 

[spinachpie]

Well, it's all been there done that. Eurovision climaxed in 2018 and since then it's just a lot of fuego and dramatic ballads, but nothing new.

Since '18, all subsequent editions feel so stale, '21 the most

Maybe I was watching different Eurovisions, lol, but Fuego was not new or innovative in 2018 (this is not a criticism of the song, Eleni or the performance, before anyone shoots me - it was one of my favourite Eurovision performances ever).

If you are saying 'Fuego songs' are uptempo ethnic songs, we have had those since forever at the contest, consistently. Perhaps since Sertab.

From your list, it seems any uptempo song is a 'Fuego song'? I guess, just because Fuego finished second, every uptempo song is 'Fuego'? No disrespect, I just don't understand it...

Eurovision will always be 90% ballads and uptempo songs. It reflects the most popular music to audiences.

We also have Ukraine, Russia, Iceland, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, bringing unique songs to the contest this year, so not sure I agree on stale.

 

[NemesisNick]

I've produced this video, containing my views on the song representing Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021: Stefania - "Last Dance"
Nemesis Nick Talks Eurovision: Greece 2021

 

[tararaaam]

Well, if the technical problems are not fixed, this is not going to final…

 

[Ezio]

6 points. Catchy song, one of the better bops, but not the best. Hate the staging so far.

 

[Shadowfuxcs]

The technical problems are to be expected based on the ambition of the staging. The rehearsals are happening exactly to correct such issues and it sounds like there are already improvements from the first rehearsal. What I got is that the section that is shown in the snippet is the one that is most problematic.