Eurovision 2004 - Number 25 - Lisa Andreas - "Stronger Every Minute"
How Lisa Andreas, a 16-year old singer in the pubs and clubs of Gillingham, Kent, England, managed to become the selection for Cyprus's entry to Eurovision 2004 is an unlikely tale. Although she was born in Gillingham, her mother is Greek Cypriot and song-writer Mike Connaris (who we've met before) had selected Cyprus as the venue for his next venture into song-writing for national finals. He has a ballad and he needed someone to sing it in the Cypriot national final.
I don't know if he knew Lisa and her mother from a history in the pubs of Kent, but he got them out to Nicosia to have a go. Unlike his previous entries, Stronger Every Minute won. Whether that was his song or Lisa's talent for ballad singing I'm unsure, but even in a vote that had 60% televoting - she won. Just.
That took her to Istanbul to represent Cyprus. Carrying all the political weight of that on her young shoulders, she was responsible for three remarkable things in the space of three minutes.
First there's the song - in a year of outstanding female ballads, this is the one that made it and perhaps that's got something to do with the start. In auditorium filled with thousands of fans she sings the first two lines completely acapella. Perfectly on pitch. You can hear some of the less well behaved audience members' audible rowdiness, but there are very few of them and when the music kicks in, everyone is suddenly awed.
Second, she's got the full vocal fry happening by the end. Her emotional connection to the song is intense and that truly comes across both on the screen and in the Abdi İpekçi Arena. Even if the song is a truly old-school ballad that could be from almost any era, her crumbling yet secretly strong voice melts hearts everywhere. It's a performance that demands full attention and maybe even a little tear.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, in the long shot towards the end of the song, there are Cypriot and Turkish flags. And Greek flags. In Istanbul. Speaking from the future of 2024, this what the EBU dream of when they say they're non-political. They mean that people come together regardless of nations and disputes. Calling it non-political is a misnomer. This is highly political and a 16-year old from Kent is responsible for three minutes of unity between people who in the 1970s were at war and boycotting Eurovision because the other party was competing. Eurovision doesn't fix political problems, but shows that it's possible for the political problems to be overcome. Those moments of peace arise spontaneously rather than get forced.
On the night, Lisa's magnificent, magnetic performance took her to fifth on the scoreboard, a result that Cyprus would not equal or exceed until 2018.
As is often the case with young performers, her success didn't lead to a singing career. She tried out for the 4th series of the UK X Factor, but only made the second round. Much more successful was her career in dance. She's an accomplished hip-hop dancer and has performed in the London Palladium and His Majesty's Theatre as a dancer. She later taught dance and now lives in the USA with her family.
