What would the Eurovision be without "Chypre, douze points"? It is hard to imagine the Song Contest without this beautiful island in the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea. And what would the voting be without the 'same procedure as every year'? Cyprus has always profited from those 12 points from Greece and vice versa - it has been like this for generations… Cyprus' high quality entries were often left unrecognised by the international public - maybe because their sound was a bit too traditional Greek. To avoid this, Greece started sending in more contemporary pop-songs to the final over the recent years. Songs like "To Katalava Arga" by Lia Vishy (Gothenburg 1985), "Teriazoume" by Evridiki (Malmö 1992) or "Monogiamas" sung by Constantinos in Oslo 1996.

The Cypriote entry this year is completely different from the previous years though. Their 16 year old singer Lisa Andreas is going to compete against 21 other countries with a song called "Stronger Every Minute". It is a simple and wonderfully powerful ballad, which is totally different from any other song Cyprus has ever sent to the Contest. Sometimes one has to be different in order to be heard! Lisa's voice is very touching and her interpretation of the song honest and sensual. Indeed a very strong entry from Cyprus this year! Congratulations!