Greece’s young hopeful: What they say about Victor Vernicos

After writing songs since he was 11 years old, the 16-year-old singer has already done enough to impress Greek broadcaster ERT. They selected him to represent the country at Eurovision, after bringing together an expert and audience committee. Luckily for Victor, he came out on top. With one UK city turning into a massive Eurovision festival, there’ll be no losing his way in Liverpool.

On Tuesday 2 May, the young star headed to the stage wearing a short, sand-coloured suit and as he got started, a huge video wall displayed a giant Victor. After all the rain in his music video, a few of the Eurovision crew turned up to Victor’s first rehearsal with umbrellas — which are always good to have on hand in the UK anyway. Not a downpour in sight, this time he brought real live pyro. And despite the heat from the smoke, that voice sent a few chills around the audience.

The official Eurovision Live Blog was on site for Victor’s impressive first rehearsal, saying: "His signature dance move is an infectious bounce that will have the arena jumping next Thursday - Ed Sheeran is one of his musical influences, and you can definitely feel the Sheeran vibe in What They Say. A confident and uplifting performance, and the Greek delegation should be very happy with that."

Victor is proud of both his Greek and Danish heritage, but Greek food wins the battle of cultural cuisine. He told us that in one sitting, he can eat 10 souvlaki pitas (grilled meat and vegetables served in pita bread) and that he'll often be found at the kiosk for loukoumades, which are a delicious-sounding kind of Greek donut.

Victor’s Scandinavian heritage might be coming into play when he says how much he loves Eurovision winner Fairytale by Alexander Rybak (or he might just have excellent taste). He’s also a big fan of Beatles classic Yesterday and the epic track from Eurovision winner Måneskin, Coraline. Much like Victor’s own music, he’s inspired by songs that give off big emotions.

Victor told the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast that he always uses his own experiences when he’s writing songs. He’s only 16 now, and penned the song a couple of years ago, when he was hit by a brand new emotion. “I wrote it when I was 14, the first time I ever felt a real anxiety. And that anxiety came from realising that my dreams could actually be fulfilled. And that was quite overwhelming for a 14-year-old to take in.”

There’s more from Victor on Episode 14 of the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast.

You can learn more about Victor Vernicos from Greece right here.