Fuego (Eleni Foureira song)
"Fuego" is a song by Greek singer Eleni Foureira. It was composed, written and produced by Alex P, Geraldo Sandell, Viktor Svensson, Anderz Wrethov and Didrick and is described as a dance-pop song. "Fuego" was internally selected by the national broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation to represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. The song qualified for the final where it reached second place in a field of twenty-six scoring a total of 436 points marking the country's highest placement to date, and receiving points from every other participating country  in that year's contest. The accompanying music video for the song was premiered onto the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 12 March 2018. Background and composition. On 1 February 2018, "Fuego" was confirmed as the Cypriot entry for the Eurovision Song Contest by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), with the network selecting the entry internally. "Fuego" was entirely written and produced by Alex P, Geraldo Sandell, Viktor Svensson, Anderz Wrethov and Didrick, and its title is the Spanish word for "fire". Prior to Foureira's recording of the song, it was initially offered to Greek -Swedish singer Helena Paparizou and Greek-Georgian singer Tamta. The demo version of "Fuego" recorded by Paparizou was leaked online in April 2018. Foureira described the theme of the song as female empowerment, and that she wanted to "show the fire that women have inside them". Steve Holden of BBC News noted the song's "instant hook" and memorable lyrics. A Spanish version was included as part of the single's release and was translated by Natalis Ruby Rubero and Edwin Serrano. Music video and promotion. On 2 March, "Fuego" and its accompanying music video was premiered on CyBC's  evening news bulletin. The video, directed by Apollon Papatheoharis, was filmed in February 2018 near the Piraeus Municipal Theatre in Piraeus and in the town of Marathon, and depicts Foureira in various costumes taking "a visual and spiritual journey that shows off her versatility." As the Cypriot Eurovision participation was sponsored by fruit company Fyffes, the video includes product placement of their bananas and pineapples. Foureira flew to Lisbon on 14 March to film the Cypriot postcard that was broadcast before she performed on the Eurovision stage as a means of promoting the country. She is seen walking through the  streets of Lisbon and arrives at the Ribeira Market to shop and cook local Portuguese cuisine with the chef Justa Nobre. Foureira flew to the Swedish capital of Stockholm in mid-April and spent a week in the country acquainting herself with her troupe and rehearsing to make adjustments to her performance for the Eurovision Song Contest. After the contest, Telemundo used the Spanish version as the official song for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 in France. It was also featured in the third and sixth episode of the second season of the Spanish television show "Élite". At  Eurovision. Internal selection. CyBC began to hold internal meetings to discuss the eligibility and rules of its national final to select the artist for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in June 2017. Auditions began on 23 November in front of the expert jury which was composed of choreographer Charis Savvas, Melodifestivalen producer and 1992 Swedish Eurovision entrant Christer Björkman and producer Alex P. CyBC stopped the auditions in January 2018 and selected the artist and the song internally. On 1 February, Eleni Foureira was confirmed as the Cypriot entrant for the 2018 contest by CyBC and would perform the song  Fuego. In a press conference after a short video about her was broadcast, she said she would promise to perform to the best of her ability in Lisbon, saying "I would like to say a big thank you to CyBC and all the Cypriot people, for giving me this opportunity. It is a great honour for me to represent this wonderful country which has supported me so much for all of these years." In Lisbon. According to Eurovision rules, all nations except for the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required  to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held in Lisbon City Hall, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. "Fuego" was placed into  the first semi-final to be held on 8 May, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. Semi-final. On 7 and 8 May, dress rehearsals for the first semi-final took place, including the jury show on 7 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. On the day of the first semi-final, bookmakers considered Cyprus to be the most likely country to secure qualification to the final on 12 May. At the 8 May sem-final, "Fuego" was performed 19th on the night, following the  entry from Ireland. Foureira appeared in a glittery gold sequin catsuit, designed by Greek fashion designer Vrettos Vrettakos. She wore a black mini jacket with a transparent area around her stomach and golden high-heel boots. She was joined by four female backing dancers dressed in black and silver catsuits and transparent stiletto heels to ensure Foureira would be the primary focus. The performance began with the front and centre of Foureira's silhouette against a light tunnel illuminated blue by laser lights. After she walked through the tunnel and began performing the lights changed to red for the first  verse of "Fuego", which was also when her backing dancers entered the choreography. The choreography included Foureira whipping around her hair, side stepping, hip swivelling, and catwalk strutting across the stage with her troupe. Sections of the second part of the show featured smoke in shades of purple, and fireballs emerging from the edge of the circular stage. Both of these were also digitally recreated on the large screen projector behind Foureira. The stage director of the Cypriot performance was choreographer Sacha Jean-Baptiste who had been involved in the Eurovision Song Contest since the 2016 edition. At the end  of the first semi-final, Cyprus was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that "Fuego" had placed second in the first semi-final, receiving a total of 262 points, 173 points from the televoting and 89 points from the juries. Final. Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held where Cyprus was drawn to compete in the second half of the final; 25th in the running order, following the entry from Ireland and before the entry from Italy. On the day of the  grand final, bookmakers considered Cyprus the favourites to win the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in its history. Foureira once again took part in dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Foureira performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 12 May. Cyprus took their best ever result in the Eurovision Song Contest as "Fuego" placed second in the final, scoring 436 points: 253 points from the televoting and 183 points from the juries, including  twelve points from the juries of Belarus, Greece, Ireland, Malta, Spain and Sweden. Points awarded to Cyprus. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Cyprus in both the contest's first semi-final and final, as well as the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the show. Covers from other Eurovision entrants. The song has been widely covered by entrants from other Eurovision Song Contests including: