Life looks much 'better in Spring' for Jon Lilygreen

In a two-hour show on the 7th of February, Cyprus chose Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders as its champion for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest. The winning song is a ballad, composed by Nasos Lambrianides and Melis Konstantinou, with Nasos Lambrianides also being the lyricist. In the show, the nine finalists performed in front of an enthusiastic studio audience.

The rules stated that only songwriters who have Cypriot origin or who have resided in the island for at least two years could take part. But the winning performer Jon Lilygreen is British, living in Newport. His band, The Islanders, consists of musicians from Cyprus, Wales, Norway and Scotland.

The winner was decided by a shared vote between the viewers and a five-member professional jury, in which both had a 50% stake. Jon Lilygreen & The Islanders was voted as number one by both the viewers and the jury.

Watch them perform their song in the video below.

Who are they?

It is amazing what you can do over the internet these days and no one knows this better than Cypriot song writers Nasos Lambrianides and Melis Konstantinou.

After penning a song called Life Looks Better In Spring they decided to enter it in the Cyprus selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. But they had a problem – they didn’t have anyone to produce it OR sing it.

So, like most people these days who are looking for something – they went online and hit the world-wide-web jackpot! Their surfing led them to Wales in the UK and to music producer Jon Gregory. Jon suggested that the song writers take a look at an online demo of musician Jon Lilygreen. They did, and they were blown away with his natural talent and invited him to sing for Cyprus. It was from there that Jon Lilygreen and the Islanders were born. 

Jon Lilygreen is 22 years old and comes from Wales in the United Kingdom. He is a professional working musician who has been involved with many styles of old and contemporary music. 

As well as singing, Jon composes his own songs and is a very talented guitar player. He is well known in his home town of Newport where he performs acoustic sets at local clubs.

They'll perform fourteenth in the second Semi-Final on the 27th of May in Oslo, Norway.