Cyprus did not announce a return to the 2021 for the first 2020 outsider Sandro, and have plumped for Greek star Elena Tsagrinou for the 2021 Eurovision in Rotterdam.
The artist has pedigree in the Greek music scene and it is no accident that the EBU Press release has the fact that she is with Panik Records in the first paragraph.
This is a 26 year old artist with enough experience to perform on the Eurovision stage. Her back catalogue is in pop/dance music and we expect Cyprus to keep to the same style as 'Fuego'/'Replay' - both songs which took Cyprus to the Grand Final.
There are big enough names behind the songwriting and production team who can list 'She Got Me', 'Rise Like A Phoenix' and 'Only Teardrops' between them in various ways. Music production values will be plenty high enough. Cyprus could have something here. Our best prediction right now is that the song 'El Diablo' is going to be very much 'Fuego' 2.0. 'Fuego' did not captivate the betting market until rehearsals began in 2018. The market was cautious with Tamta to avoid history repeating itself in 2019 and it may be again this year.
Much will depend on whether the package can come together in May. 'El Diablo' gives an anticipation of a fiery, possibly angry theme that could be difficult to pull off in a way that gets more than the hardcore vote. Execution and character are key, and I'd be cautious if Elena is the solution.
In November the betting markets are just warming up (indeed the first bet on the Betfair Exchange was placed today, £11 on Iceland at 8.2) but I would expect this price to settle around the 50-1 mark in coming weeks. A demo or leak of a good Europop banger may drive that down further while the early NFs begin (that happened with 'Replay') but it's likely the most important thing here is less the song, and more the marriage of it with the artist.
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