Australian-born singer Silia Kapsis will be Cyprus’s flagbearer at Eurovision 2024 and will be one of the youngest contestants of this edition, as she is only 17 years old. But she was on everyone’s shortlist of favorite representatives to represent the country in Malmö before OGAE Greece revealed the big news last September.
Who is Silia Kapsis?
Silia Kapsis was born in Sydney on December 5, 2006. She is the daughter of Cypriot singer Giórgos Kapsís. From a very young age, she has been involved in the world of music, already taking the stage at the age of four.
She has been the lead singer of the Australian Youth Performing Arts Company (AYPAC) and one of the lead singers at numerous high-level events worldwide. One of her notable performances was a solo performance at the birthday celebration of American actor and director Alex Russell.
In 2022, she released her first song, “Who Am I?”, which she had written and composed at the age of 12. Her subsequent singles, “No Boys Allowed” and “Disco Dancer,” were released in March and May 2023, respectively, and she debuted her new single before 2024, titled “Night Out,” inspired by R&B and pop.
She has worked with world-renowned choreographers and was selected for the ImmaBeast Dance Company in Los Angeles. Additionally, she has danced with Stephen tWitch Boss on The Jennifer Hudson Show. The young artist also appeared in a dance documentary produced by Taboo, a member of The Black-Eyed Peas.
In addition to singing and dancing, Silia Kapsis has also played the role of Zoe, the main protagonist in the short film Pearly Gates, and has worked on several television projects for Nickelodeon, appearing as a regular host on Nick News. She closed out 2023 with a nomination at the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards.
“Liar” the Cypriot entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
“Liar” is written entirely in English by Elke Tiel and Dimitris Kontopoulos, responsible for more than a dozen Eurovision songs, including Ukraine’s “Shady Lady” in 2008, the Eurovision attempts of Sakis Rouvas, and those of Russian Sergey Lazarev.
Notable authorships include Greece’s Stefania’s “Last Dance” in 2021 and Moldova’s Natalia Gordienko’s “Sugar.” The song addresses disappointment and betrayal by someone who turns out to be a liar. Silia discovers the truth about that person and expresses her disappointment and frustration for having trusted a liar. It emphasizes the need for that person to confront their own actions and acknowledge the impact of their lies on others.
Lyrics of «Liar»
Waking up in the morning and I’m
I’m feeling like ooh-la-la
It’s about to go down cause I found out the truth, la-la
9 o clock in the morning and I know this is our last night
I know what I’m doing cause
Yeah I got it on black and white
Should’ve known that you are a liar
But I looked the other way
Should’ve known you’re a trouble maker
But you act too nice to hate
I knew we couldn’t get much higher
But you promised the world to me
Do you see that you light my fire
Now I know what I know
Because of you
I’ll make it through
Take a look at yourself
Cause that is what you need to do, to do
Cause the only problem in this room
Is about you, about you
Cause you’re a liar
Liar, Liar, Liar
You lie
Waking up in the morning and I’m
I’m feeling like ooh-la-la
Now I know that your heart and your mind don’t align, la-la
I can see it in your eyes that you don’t like to be this way
I know that you’re fighting back
Guys like you can’t be changed
Should’ve known that you are a liar
But I looked the other way
Should’ve known you’re a trouble maker
But you act too nice to hate
I knew we couldn’t get much higher
But you promised the world to me
Do you see that you light my fire
Now I know what I know
Because of you
I’ll make it through
Take a look at yourself
Cause that is what you need to do, to do
Cause the only problem in this room
Is about you, about you
Cause you’re a liar
Because of you
I’ll make it through
Take a look at yourself
Cause that is what you need to do, to do
Cause the only problem in this room
Is about you, about you
Cause you’re a liar
Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest
Cyprus debuted in the festival in 1981 with Island and the song “Monika,” with which they achieved a sixth place. Since their debut in the contest, they have only been absent from it in 1988, 2001, and 2014.
Their best result was the second place obtained by Eleni Foureira in 2018, scoring 436 points, their highest score to date. They have reached the Top 5 on three other occasions.In 1988, they withdrew from the competition because their song did not meet the selection requirements, and in 2001, they did not qualify for the festival due to low results in previous editions.
Most Cypriot songs have been sung in Greek or English, except in 2000 when Italian was included, and in 2007 when it was performed in French. Since the introduction of the semifinals in the festival, Cyprus has managed to qualify for the final in 11 out of 18 editions. The last time the country failed to qualify was in 2022 when Andromache represented them with the song “Ela.” This was the first time since their return in 2015 that they did not make it to the final.
Andrew Lambrou was Cyprus’ flagbearer in 2023 with the song “Break a Broken Heart.” The Australian of Greek Cypriot origin managed to reach the grand final and obtain a twelfth position with 126 points, being their second best placement since 2005.