Alex Papaconstantinou will compose Cyprus’ entry for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, it has been revealed.
Today the Cypriot broadcaster CyBC revealed that Alex Papaconstantinou, better known as Alex P, will compose the island’s Eurovision 2018 song. Alex is a Swedish songwriter of Greek descent, and is a multi-award winning songwriter and producer. He has worked with a number of big names, including Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Kelly Rowland, Nicki Minaj and Khaled. He co-wrote and co-produced hits such as Enrique Iglesias’ “I Like How It Feels” and Khaled’s “C’est la vie”.
Alex also has an extensive and successful history at Eurovision itself, having co-written three past entries – Sarbel’s “Yassou Maria” (Greece 2007), “Always” by Aysel & Arash (Azerbaijan 2009) and Ivi Ademou’s “La La Love” (Cyprus 2012). Two of those entries finished in the top 10 in their respective contests, with “Always” finishing in 3rd place in Moscow. Alex also co-wrote the 2016 Polish national final fan favourite, Margaret’s “Cool Me Down”, and has worked with Eurovision alumni Elena Paparizou (Greece 2001 & 2005) and Anna Vissi (Greece 1980 & 2006, Cyprus 1982).
Back in August, Infe Greece reported that CyBC had chosen the composer of their 2018 Eurovision entry, and Alex was hotly tipped to be the mystery composer. It was confirmed a few weeks later that Cyprus would select their participant through a national final, their first since John Karagiannis was selected to represent the island in 2015. His song “One Thing I Should Have Done” marked Cyprus’ return to the contest after a year’s break, and took his country to their first final since 2012. However, as Alex P is the only composer involved in this year’s Cypriot selection, it is unclear how many songs and artists will compete to represent Cyprus in Lisbon in May.
Cyprus have qualified for the Eurovision final for the last three years on the run, their longest streak of qualifications since the semi-final system began in 2004. Their most successful result of late was Minus One’s 21st place finish in 2016. Last year they were represented by Hovig in Kyiv, who also finished in 21st place in the grand final with 68 points.
Source: Eurovision.tv
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Cyprus debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981. Their best result in the contest came in the form of three fifth place finishes. Their highest points finish came in 2004 when Lisa Andreas performed “Stronger Every Minute” in Istanbul, Turkey. She finished 5th in the final scoring 170 points, which included 12 points from Greece. Cyprus withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014 due to financial difficulties, but returned again in 2015 where they were represented by John Karagiannis.
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