In the spotlight: Stefania
23 April 2020 at 10:10 CESTGreek broadcaster ERT internally selected Greek-Dutch singer Stefania Liberakakis, otherwise known as Stefania, with the song SUPERG!RL, as their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020. Stefania was set to perform during the first half of the Second Semi-Final on 14 May.
Who is Stefania?
Stefania is a 17-year-old Greek-Dutch singer, actress, presenter and YouTuber who was born and raised in the Netherlands. Her passion for music was identified at a very early age. By the time she turned 10, she applied to compete in The Voice Kids, where she made it through to the audition stage. Soon after, she became a member of the children’s choir, Kinderen voor Kinderen.
Stefania is no stranger to Eurovision either. In 2016, an internal committee selected her to represent the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Valetta, as part of the girl-band, Kisses. They finished in 8th place with the song, Kisses and Dancin.
Her first solo single was released in 2018 with another 3 following in 2019. She then broke into the Greek market at MAD VMA performing a cover of the song Con Calma. Her talents don’t stop at singing either. Stefania has been involved in 3 Dutch movies and acts as the lead in the well-known teenage series, Brugklas.
READ MORE: Stefania's participant profile
Greek composer and producer Dimitris Kontopoulos describes Stefania’s voice as very powerful, however, he noted the difficulties in sourcing the right song that matched her age and her personality. He finally settled on the song SUPERG!RL which he collaborated on with Arcade - a group of songwriters and producers from Greece.
SUPERG!RL is about encouraging teenagers to believe in themselves and to follow their dreams. It describes Stefania’s journey as a young, working woman who juggles her responsibilities as a student with her passion for singing.
Kosta Karydas, who directed the music video in Athens, Greece, said: "We came up with a story with surrealistic elements. We followed a young woman who finds the strength to embrace her special abilities in a society that perceives her as an outcast. It is a journey to explore her inner strength."
Karydaswho had nothing but praise for the team behind the video and expressed admiration for Stefania’s professionalism and acting skills.
Stefania and Kalomira (Greece 2008) recently teamed up with composer and producer Dimitris Kontopoulos for the so-called 'Q sessions' Dimitris is recording. In these sessions, Dimitris, who has worked with many successful Eurovision entries like Scream, You Are The Only One, Hold Me and This Is Our Night, collaborates with a long list of artists to perform songs that he has composed. In this edition, Stefania and Kalomira sing the iconic Eurovision hit Shady Lady with Dimitris on the keys. The original version of Shady Lady was sung by Eurovision runner-up Ani Lorak.
Stefania recently participated in the #HugsForESC2020 challenge on Instagram after she was nominated by fellow Dutch participant, Jeangu Macrooy. She said: “Thank you @jeangu_macrooy for nominating me for the #HugForESC2020 challenge! 🤗 I’m passing it along to my special friend @destinyofficial_x from Malta 💞 #allofmylove”.
You can follow Stefania on the following social media platforms:
LISTEN: Stream SUPERG!RL and other Eurovision 2020 songs on Spotify
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
Greece first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 and has never finished last in the competition. Greece won in 2005 in Kyiv, with Helena Paparizou and the song My Number One, but until then, it had only finished in the top 5 on 4 occasions.
Greece held the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 in Athens, where their representative, Anna Vissi placed 9th in the Grand Final with the song Everything. From the beginning of the century, the country started to experiment with different styles of music and different language combinations, which led to the country placing consistently inside the top 10 up until 2012.
READ MORE: Greece's country page
Katerine Duska finished in 19th place in the Grand Final for Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song Better Love.