GREECE – It was just announced through their social media, that STUDIO 4, an afternoon show on ERT1 will reveal today the final five finalists for the national preselection procedure.

Team oikotimes exclusively revealed to you that there will not be a national selection but an internal one with the five songs being evaluated by a specific jury to be announced by the Greek national broadcaster.

THE FIVE FINALISTS ARE

• Good Job Nicky
• Lou Is
• Joanna Drigo
• Ilias Kozas (Greece 2013 as lead singer of Koza Mostra)
• Amanda Tenfjord Georgiadis

It was made clear by ERT’s STUDIO 4 hosts that prior to this announcement none of the applicants had a clue and the qualifiers will be notified alongside the public announcement.

Now, the five finalists and their teams will be called on ERT to present the complete ideas for Eurovision 2022 in order for the final decision to be reached potentially before the end of the year.

There were 28 applicants with 40 songs in total, according to ERT.

MEET THE PARTICIPANTS

Amanda may not be the biggest name, but she is said to have buckets of talent that is catching the attention and ears of Greece’s decision-makers. Amanda Georgiadis, a 24-year-old Greek singer, lives in Norway and was studying to be a doctor until recently. Her website goes into greater detail: “She continued to write music and enter music contests while studying medicine, and it was for fun that she decided to sign up for a showcase festival in Trondheim, where she caught the eye of a record label and, just like that, she was signed.” Her debut EP, First Impression, highlights the beauty of her voice as well as her modern singer-songwriter appeal. It’s a vibe that works well across borders. She magically combines modern pop, folk, electronic, and ambient sounds, all wrapped up in Nordic cool.

Good Job Nicky, whose real name is Nikola Varthakouri, is riding a wave of success. The 26-year-old, who is managed by Cobalt Music, debuted with his debut single “Blue” in January. It demonstrates his melodic voice and distinct sound, which is soulful, bluesy, and tinged with alternative pop. We especially like his quirky video presentation, which captures his bohemian edge and artistic spirit. Showbiz runs in his veins as the youngest child of celebrated musician Giannis Parios and talkshow host Sofia Aliberti. According to Greek media, he is “one of the most famous fashion icons of his generation,” and major brands appear to agree. He is currently a part of the SUPERDRY Autumn/Winter 2021 campaign.

With the party song “Alcohol is Free,” he led Greece to a sixth-place finish in 2013. Now, Koza Mostra’s lead singer, Ilias Koza, is looking to make his own Eurovision comeback. As part of the internal selection process, the charismatic singer submitted three songs to Greek broadcaster ERT. According to sources, all of his submissions were “worthy” of representing Greece, implying that he himself had some difficult decisions to make. Ilias wrote two of the songs, and the third was co-written with some Swedish hitmakers. Ilias is best known as the frontman of Koza Mostra, but his songs have been submitted as solo works.

Joanna Drigo is one of the most promising, young upcoming singers and songwriters in Greece, who has started her career in music with the release of her debut album Kapies ores geniounte ta onira (There’s a time that dreams are born), released by EMI. The first step was taken after being chosen to take part in the live performances of Filippos Pliatsikas, one of the founding members of the legendary band, named Pyx Lax. Joanna’s collaboration with Filippos brought upon the recording of her first album, with two songs ‘Vicky’ and ‘Allergia stis desmefseis’, setting her as one of the most interesting English and Greek-speaking artists in Greece. Joanna later released a second album Zugos stin kardia and some other singles over the years, distinguishing for her numerous, engaging live performances. In 2021 her paths crossed with Spring T(h)ree, a group of ambitious and visionary music producers with long years of experience in music production, song-writing and artists’ promotion. The result of their collaboration is a fresh and original sound, with their first single ‘Foolish games’, while other singles are yet to come.”

Lou Is (Louiza Sofianopoulou) is not a newcomer to music events. She comes from an artistic family and her contact with music and song starts from the first years of her life. Before she started singing, her steps led her to the path of acting. Lessons that helped her a lot to express her feelings on stage. It has been available in studios and concert venues for more than 15 years. She has collaborated with some of the biggest names in Greek discography such as Giannis Kotsiras, Manolis Famellos, Eleni Vitali, Dimitra Galani, Fivos Delivorias, Maria Farantouri and the unforgettable Lavrentis Machairitsas. He also participated in the projects of Dimitris Baslam (“The Gargalist”, “The Agisilagos” and “The Angry Concrete Mixer”) as well as the tributes “Heroes – A Tribute to David Bowie” (under the auspices of the UN) and “A Tribute to Leonard” Cohen ”.