Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
| Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |
 Greece
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| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | National Final 60% Televoting/SMS 40% Judging panel |
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| Selection date(s) | February 27, 2008 | |||
| Selected entrant | Kalomira | |||
| Selected song | "Secret Combination" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Qualified (1st, 156 points) | |||
| Final result | 3rd, 218 points | |||
| Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Greece entered the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Secret Combination", written by Konstantinos Pantzis with lyrics by Poseidonas Giannopoulos. The song was performed by Kalomoira, an American singer of Greek descent who had previously won a Greek talent show. In February 2008, as part of the selection process organized by the Greek national broadcaster Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT), three competing artists—Chrispa, Kostas Martakis, and Kalomoira—performed their prospective entries live during a televised broadcast watched by nearly two million viewers. "Secret Combination" was selected to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest by a combination of a public televote and panel of judges.
Following a promotional tour of many European cities, "Secret Combination" came first in the first of the Eurovision semi-finals at Belgrade in May, and was seen as a possible competition winner. In Greece's twenty-ninth Eurovision appearance on May 24, "Secret Combination" initially led the voting with full marks from six countries. However, the song ultimately finished third, behind Russia and Ukraine. Greece had previously won the competition in 2005.
After the show, the song went on to chart in several European countries, reaching number one in Greece and Cyprus. Kalomoira, citing differences with her record label, briefly moved to the United States before returning to Greece in January 2009; she regards her Eurovision performance as a pivotal moment in her career, and stated in an interview that her desire was for the people of Greece to be proud of her performance, regardless of the competition's outcome.
Prior to the 2008 Contest, Greece had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-eight times since its first entry in 1974, winning it in 2005 with the song "My Number One" performed by Elena Paparizou, and being placed third twice: in 2001 with the song "Die for You" performed by the duo Antique and in 2004 with "Shake It" performed by Sakis Rouvas. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Greece has had a top ten placing each year. Greece's least successful result was in 1998 when it placed twentieth with the song "Mia Krifi Evesthisia" by Thalassa, receiving only twelve points in total, all from Cyprus.
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