eurovision blog post 2

 Cyprus 2018-Fuego Analysis 

National Identity

National Identity, referenced from Blog Post 1, is the relationship between a person to their nation, that gives a sense of belonging. Cyprus’ national identity is expressed through its religion and national language. Cyprus’ 2018 Eurovision performance of “Fuego” contradicts Cyprus’ national identity, because it caters to the tourist gaze rather than Cyprus’ recognizable qualities. 

Performance Analysis 

Cyprus competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 with the song “Fuego,” performed by Eleni Foureira. During this contest, Eurovision was held in Lisbon, Portugal. Cyprus’ significant events in 2018 included the gas dispute between Turkey and Cyprus, where Turkey announced the intention to continue gas exploration (“2018 in Cyprus,” 2021). Turkey was to explore the east Mediterranean waters for natural gas. Despite tensions rising between Turkey and Cyprus, there seems to be no correlation between “Fuego” and the natural gas exploration dispute.

About the Artist and Composers

Eleni Foureira's nationality is Greek, though her origin is Albania. Foureira has been “dubbed the 'Queen of Pop', [and] has had several successes in both Greece and Cyprus,” (Eurovision p.1). Foureira previously performed with Manor Pyrovalakis in the Greek national final for Eurovision in 2010, performing “Kivotos tou Noe,” (“Eleni Foureira,” 2024), and placed 2nd. She later attempted to represent Greece in Eurovision, though she was rejected multiple times, and chose to represent Cyprus in 2018 with the song “Fuego.”

The lyricist of “Fuego” were Alec Papaconstantinou, Geraldo Sandell, Anderz Wrethov, Viktor Svensson, and Dedrick. All the lyricists have Swedish descent, though Alex Papaconstantinou is also Greek, and Geraldo Sandell is also Brazilian. Composers Papaconstantinou, Svensson, and Sandell have a history of creating Latin music with artists like Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, and Marc Anthony. 

Sweden has had a history of success in Eurovision and “occupies the first position in[…]total ranking since 2011. They secured the win in 2012 and 2015, and finished third in 2011 and 2014,” (harskamp, 2022, p.5). Because of Sweden’s history of success, many countries use songs inspired by or produced by Swedish musicians (harskamo, 2022, p. 6). Cyprus has had a history of poor ranking in Eurovision, where they have achieved no wins and have placed at best 5th place before Foureira’s performance in 2018. Collaborating with successful Swedish musicians who previously composed for Cyprus could be to give Cyprus a better chance at placing well.

Performance 

Eleni Foureira’s performance of “Fuego” begins with her walking with water-like projections in the background, which turn red once the performance begins. Red becomes a common color in the performance, along with bright pink, purple, and orange in the stage lights and projections. Fire is shown throughout the rest of the performance, in screen projections, pyrotechnics, and Foureira’s outfit, which is a red-flamed body suit. The fire relates to the song “Fuego,” where the lyrics repeat in the chorus, “coz I’m burning up and I ain’t coolin’ down, yeah I got /the fire,” and how “Fuego” translates to fire in Spanish. Foureira sings and dances in the entire performance, and is accompanied by backup dancers too. There is a small break of dancing, though, during the bridge of the song to show flames projecting out the sides of her. Foureira, though continues dancing in the instrumental break. During the instrumental break, projections of flames surround Foureira along with pyrotechnics across the entire stage. The choreography is lively to match the song being a high-energy.

Lyrics

The lyrics in “Fuego” tend to be repetitive, repeating “Fuego” in the chorus. “Fuego” is about the passion in relationships, with the repeated fire theme being a metaphor for the intensity of the relationship. Fire is often used as a metaphor for passion, energy, and power. Lyrics stating "Yeah the eyes of lioness/ Feel the power/ They ain’t lying,” (Eurovision, p.1), is about the power Foureira holds in the relationship. A lioness is often a metaphor for fierceness and strength. The repetitiveness of the song allows for the lyrics to be easily tangible, and creates a catchy melody. Creating a high-energy, simple “self-empowering” song can be useful when wanting to place well in the Eurovision Song Contest, where its repetitiveness is memorable. The Lyrics of “Fuego” are mostly in English, where “Fuego” is the only Spanish lyric. Performing in English, rather than Greek, could be to appeal to the West. Western European culture tends to do well in Eurovision, where between 1975 and 1992, "11 were won by one of the Western Bloc nations,” (Yair, 1995, p. 156). Though Cyprus is considered a part of Western Europe, its national language is Greek, so performing in English allows for a higher chance to do well because it appeals to Western culture.  

Overall Response

Eleni Foureira’s performance of “Fuego” ranked well in the finals, giving Cyprus its best result of 2nd place. Though “Fuego” performed well overall, there was controversy involving Foureira’s representation of Cyprus in Eurovision. Because Foureira was born in Albania and attempted to represent Greece, though rejected, people were upset that she had no affiliation to Cyprus and Cyprus’ culture. People argued that “Albanians [want] to be Greek,” (Konstandi, p.1), which relates to people’s relations to national identity. Because of Foureira’s Albanian origin, people felt that Cyprus would not be properly represented by a person who was not from Cyprus. Also, the performers’ dances were viewed as overly sexual. Cyprus tends to send “conservative” songs into Eurovision while Greece tends to send in more “seductive” music. There was criticism from Cypriots because Foureira represented Cyprus, with one person stating “I certainly wouldn’t like my daughters to dress like Foureira,” (Kondastandi, p.1) and “I just don’t get why we couldn’t have a sexy Cypriot girl singing a sexy Cypriot song,” (Kondastandi, p.1). Despite the praise from critics, Cypriots felt as though their Country was not represented accurately for their national identity.

Tourist Gaze

The “tourist gaze” is defined by Catherine Baker (2008) as “tourist expectations about the foreign destination [that] are ‘constructed through difference’ to their everyday routines,” (p.181). People from other nations become influenced, usually through media, to create expectations of a separate nation’s culture. This can sometimes lead to stereotyping a nation. The “tourist gaze” is often found in Cyprus’ submissions, which is commonly represented by Latin music and hyper-sexualization between Latinas and Latinos (Baker, 2008, p.181). “Fuego” is an example of the “tourist gaze,” as it adds Latin elements, and hyper-sexualization, that do not correctly depict Cyprus’ national identity. Latin elements include the bright red, pink, purple, and orange in Foureira’s outfit, and stage lighting. Also, “Fuego” translates to fire in Spanish, though Spanish is not a national language in Cyprus. Hyper-sexualization of Foureira’s outfits and choreography was also controversial because Cypriots felt it did not represent their reserved culture. Displaying Cyprus as a part of Latin culture gives outsiders different expectations of Cyprus’ identity. 

Novelty Performance

A novelty performance is said to be a Eurovision performance that is remembered for being different than a typical performance. A novelty song will have an unusual technique/voice quality, will be about something other than love, will have a presentational gimmick, or will be innovative (Chalkley, p.1). “Fuego” can be argued that it is a novelty song/performance because of its lyricism as it can be seen as self-empowering. Lyrics like “[…]the eyes of a lioness/ Feel the power/ They ain’t lying” and “[…] I’m burning up I ain’t coolin’ down, yeah I got/ the fire,” (Eurovision, p.1). The lyrics can be taken as a form of self-expression, and becoming comfortable in your identity. The lyrics can also be viewed as a love song and the passion that comes with being in a relationship with Foureira. Because Foureira mentions love in the lyrics “oh your love is like wild wild fire,” (Eurovision, p.1), “Fuego” can be perceived as a love song. 

“Fuego” could, however, be considered a novelty song because of Foureira’s ability to dance while singing. Chalkley (2017) states “A novelty song can be constructed around the particular skill of an artist,”(p.1). Foureira had quick-moving choreography during the entire performance and only stopped momentarily during the bridge of the song before returning during the instrumental break. Although it is common to see performers in Eurovision dance in their performance, Foureira uses her background in dance to perform the entire song while singing. Critics praised Foureira for her performance, stating “anyone who can move like that, sing like that and – most importantly — can do both at the same time flawlessly deserves to be in front of millions,” (Percy, 2019, p.1). Because of Foureira’s high-energy performance and unique dances, many claimed “Fuego” as highly memorable. 

‘Fuego” and National Identity

Although “Fuego” was a well-praised performance, it has little significance to Cyprus’ national identity. The tourist gaze plays a role in this, as “Fuego” holds Latin elements such as the bright colors in the lighting, projections, and outfits, and the use of Spanish in the title, “Fuego.” Cypriots criticized the performance for the hyper-sexualization of the performance, saying it was not like the usual “reserved” image that had represented Cyprus’ song submissions in previous years. Also, the composers of “Fuego” each had Swedish descent and experience with Latin music and artists, and were not affiliated with Cyprus. Incorporating Latin experience into the song “Fuego” gives an image to outsiders that does not align with Cyprus’ national identity. Foureira’s nationality, is Greek, however, her origin is Albania. Despite her pre-Eurovision success in Cyprus and Greece, she has had no affiliation with Cyprus’ nation. This was controversial for the Cypriots because their nation was not represented by a person from Cyprus, but was represented by someone who was rejected from Greece. 

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References 

Baker, C. (2008). Wild Dances and Dying Wolves: Simulation, Essentialization, and National Identity at the Eurovision Song Contest. Popular Communication, 6(3), 173-189. https://primo.seattleu.edu/view/action/uresolver.do?operation=resolveService&package_service_id=7241547140001868&institutionId=1868&customerId=1840&VE=true

Chalkley, E. (2017, May 2nd). Gimmicks, Glitter and Glam: Eurovisions’ Novelty Song Contest. ESC Insight. https://escinsight.com/2017/05/02/eurovision-song-contest-novelty-songs/

Harskamp, J. (2022). The National Contests Behind International Success: A Musical Comparison of the Eurovision Song Contest, the Festival di Sanremo and the Melodifestivalen. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. https://eprints.illc.uva.nl/id/eprint/2206/1/MoL-2022-09.text.pdf

Konstandi, G. ‘She’s a pure Albanian’: the Greek Cypriot diaspora’s response to Eleni Fouereira as a re-affirmation of racial and religious intolerance. The Cambridge Language Collective. https://www.thecambridgelanguagecollective.com/current-affairs/eleni-foureira-eurovision-greece-cyprus-xenophobia

Yair, G. (1995). ‘Unite Unite Europe’ The political and cultural structures of Europe as reflected in the Eurovision Song Contest. Social Networks, 17(2), (147-161). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/037887339500253K

Eleni Foureira. In Eurovision. https://eurovision.tv/participant/eleni-foureira 

2018 in Cyprus. (2021, January 18th). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_in_Cyprus