Interview if Elena in the Greek magazine,DOWNTOWN
Psychologically, I enter the competition part.
I now think a little more that I want a very good position.
It is a difficult time because you have so many things to do in a very short time.
But I kept a piece of advice given to me by Eleni Foureira.
She told me to be myself and to enjoy it.
It sounds simple but it's very important.
I try to enjoy it and have a good time
The program is very demanding and daily, without breaks. I wake up relatively early for me, around 10 in the morning. Every day there are interviews for the promo of the song, after fittings with Silia Kritharioti who will dress me on stage - we really talk about long rehearsals of the dress and then I continue with five-hour rehearsals with my choreographer. In between I eat what I have prepared in taper since the morning
It's like this process is maturing me a bit. At first I understand that I have to have as much fun as I do because it is only a moment and we have to live it now. This is how I walk now, in this mood. I want to be happy at every moment
It is a pity that we will be limited in a certain context, but we have even decided to have a perfect time in it. We will not be able to go outside the hotel and outside the venue where the competition will take place. I told my friends on the night of Eurovision to take me constantly with video calls, to see them, to get energy to come out even better.
Of course, we also have the eurofans who are everywhere and send you energy from now through social media.
"I received a message from El Diablo"
My act will not go unnoticed.
Make tacos with chili that night because it will be very hot.
Besides, the lyrics of the song say: "All this spicy melts my icy".
I received a message from El Diablo.
I mean it.
My song has been written by four awesome producers.
One of them, Oxa, was having an affair with a boy.
So this guy texted me on Instagram and said ‘I was El Diablo. I'm glad you sang this song, knowing that it was written for me. '
I was crazy, I was shivering.
I have a huge prominence that I was not used to.
It seems huge to me that suddenly people from all over the world who watch Eurovision know me, send me messages, watch my songs.
It scares me a little to tell you the truth.
Two or three years ago I could not cope.
The stress part was once a big issue for me.
I was incredibly anxious.
One day, I stopped on my own.
I said enough.
Can you imagine now reading what they wrote about my song, looking for bets and all that?
My parents nag me sometimes. You know, the familiar, especially with my mom: “Do you eat, my love? You have lost a lot of weight ". But she is my savior. In the video clip she was with me for 16 hours, taking care of me. Artists always want a hug, always someone next to us to baby us.
I always had the feeling in the past that I had to change and that was causing me damage.
Because as a person I always go above and beyond, Ι want to give the best, whatever they asked me, I tried to achieve it to be liked by them. This is self-destructive. I put on clothes I didn't want, clothes that others liked. I've been wondering for years: am I good enough for this job, am I the right size? They made me not feel good about my body type.
You go through a phase of doing things because it is so, without knowing if you are doing well. I tried it. I sang folk songs in the shops where I performed, I experimented in front of people. I sang songs of Paola for example, but it wasn't me.
That's when I realized I was really pop.
Elena is pop.
The representative of Cyprus did not hesitate to refer to the "battle" with cancer given by her partner, Mike.
She referred to her reaction when she found out and the lesson all this gave to her that gave her .
Read the excerpt of the interview:
How is Mike?
He is well. He has one more fear with the coronavirus, because he now belongs to the vulnerable groups, but he will get the vaccine soon and he will be better.
He literally does not see man. We do not live together, because due to my obligations I am forced not to wear a mask in some places, so we do not want to risk it. But we talk all day with video calling.
How did you react when you found out about his health problem?
It was a huge shock. He is a young child who at his best moment had a very serious health problem. I could not believe it.
At first, I thought the worst. I was very scared, because you never know what is coming in life. The man has been in the house for a year and a half, how long can he last? It is very stressful to be able to do nothing.
What did this story teach you?
To be very true and to love even more those who love me. And of course I understood the fact. That everything is once in a lifetime and that what we live we must live it really and truly.