El Diablo (Elena Tsagrinou song)

"El Diablo" is a song recorded by Greek singer Elena Tsagrinou, released as a single on 28 February 2021 for her album with the same name. It was written and composed by Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, Laurell Barker, Oxa and Thomas Stengaard. The song represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, after being internally selected by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC).

"El Diablo"
The official cover for "El diablo"
Single by Elena Tsagrinou
from the album El Diablo – The Album
Released28 February 2021 (2021-02-28)
Length3:01
LabelPanik
Songwriter(s)
  • Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt
  • Laurell Barker
  • Cleiton "OXA" Sia
  • Thomas Stengaard
Producer(s)
  • Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt
  • Thomas Stengaard
Elena Tsagrinou singles chronology
"Amore"
(2020)		 "El Diablo"
(2021)
Music video
"El diablo" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2021 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
  • Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt
  • Laurell Barker
  • Cleiton "OXA" Sia
  • Thomas Stengaard
Lyricist(s)
  • Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt
  • Laurell Barker
  • Cleiton "OXA" Sia
  • Thomas Stengaard
Finals performance
Semi-final result
6th
Semi-final points
170
Final result
16th
Final points
94
Entry chronology
◄ "Running" (2020)
"Ela" (2022) ►

Background and composition

"El Diablo" was written and composed by Jimmy "Joker" Thörnfeldt, Laurell Barker, Oxa and Thomas Stengaard.[1] The song's meaning was described as about "falling in love with someone as bad as the devil",[1][2] used as a metaphor for Stockholm Syndrome. The song's title was revealed on 25 November along with Tsagrinou's announcement that she would represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam.[1] The song was released on 28 February 2021.[3]

Release and promotion

A music video for "El Diablo" was filmed in Athens. A preview of "El Diablo" was presented to the public on 24 February 2021 during the RIK 1 programme Happy Hour, hosted by Andreas Giortsios. The official preview video for the song, directed by George Benioudakis was also available on the Panik Records mobile app and website.[4] The music video was hosted on the website until 27 February; the following day, the song and full-length music video were officially released to the public.[3]

Controversy and criticism

Upon the song's release, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation received numerous threatening phone calls. Just over 20,000 people signed on Avaaz to urge for the cancellation of the country's Eurovision participation.[5] The track received criticism from some members of the public, as well as a few public figures on the island for the inclusion of the lyrics "I fell in love/ I fell in love/ I gave my heart to El Diablo". The Church of Cyprus felt that the song was offensive, disrespectful and unrepresentative, and demanded that the state broadcaster CyBC withdraw Cyprus' Eurovision entry. However, the song had the full support by the government, the CyBC and the majority of the public in Cyprus.[6] The government has since publicly rejected the reactions from religious and conservative groups, claiming it respects both spiritual rights but also the freedom of artistic expression.[7] In February 2021, Orthodox Christians in Cyprus launched an online petition to ask the withdrawal from the Eurovision Song Contest.[8]

Eurovision Song Contest
Main article: Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

Internal selection

In November 2020, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) announced Greek singer Elena Tsagrinou as the Cypriot representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "El Diablo".[1] Prior to her selection, Tsagrinou called Eurovision an institution that she'd been following for many years. She added that if the right song was found, it would be her pleasure and honour to compete.[1]

In Rotterdam

The 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest took place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and consisted of two semi-finals on 18 May and 20 May 2021, and the grand final on 22 May 2021.[9] According to the Eurovision rules, each participating country, except the host country and the "Big Five", consisting of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final.[10] On 17 November 2020, it was announced that Cyprus would be performing in the second half of the first semi-final of the contest.[11] During this second semi-final, Cyprus performed as 8th act and ended in 6th place with 170 points, qualifying the country for the final.[12] In the final, Cyprus performed as 1st act and ended in 16th place with 94 points.[13]

Charts
Chart performance for "El Diablo"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[14] 2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 6
Greece (IFPI)[16] 9
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)[17] 14
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 60
Latvia (EHR)[19] 3
Lithuania (AGATA)[20] 8
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 31
Norway (VG-lista)[22] 13
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 20
UK Singles (OCC)[24] 86
UK Indie (OCC)[25] 19

Certifications
Certifications for "El Diablo"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Greece (IFPI Greece)[26] Gold 1,000,000†

† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release history for "El Diablo"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 28 February 2021
  • Panik
[27]

References
  1. Adams, William Lee (25 November 2020). "Cyprus: Elena Tsagrinou will sing 'El Diablo' at Eurovision 2021". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  2. "Elena Tsagrinou will represent Cyprus at Eurovision 2021!". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 25 November 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  3. "El Diablo: Δειτε Αποκλειστικα Το Music Video Της Κυπρου Για Την Eurovision" (in Greek). Panik Records. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  4. Granger, Anthony (24 February 2021). "Today: Cyprus Reveals Its Entry For Eurovision 2021". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  5. "Eurovision: Απειλούν να κάψουν τον σταθμό ΡΙΚ για το τραγούδι 'El Diablo' της Κύπρου". Lifo (in Greek). Lifo. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  6. Braithwaite, Sharon; Liakos, Chris; Kolirin, Lianne (3 March 2021). "Church of Cyprus calls for country's entry to Eurovision to be dropped for promoting devil-worship". CNN. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  7. Hadjicostis, Menelaos (6 March 2021). "Protesters say out with Cyprus' 'Satanic' Eurovision entry". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  8. "Cyprus Eurovision entry sparks backlash over 'satanic' lyrics". Deutsche Welle. 27 February 2021.
  9. "Rotterdam 2021–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  10. "Rules–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 12 January 2017. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  11. Groot, Evert (17 November 2020). "2020 Semi-Final line-up to stay for 2021". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  12. "First Semi-Final of Rotterdam 2021 - Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021.
  13. "Grand Final of Rotterdam 2021 - Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021.
  14. "Elena Tsagrinou – El diablo" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  15. "Elena Tsagrinou: El diablo" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  16. "Official IFPI Charts Digital Singles Chart (Local) Week: 21/2021". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  17. "Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  18. "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  19. "EHR Top 40 Datums: 23.07.2021" (in Latvian). European Hit Radio. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  20. "2021 21-os SAVAITĖS (gegužės 21-27 d.) SINGLŲ TOP100" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 28 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  21. "Elena Tsagrinou – El diablo" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  22. "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single 2021-21". VG-lista. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  23. "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 21". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  25. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  26. "IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Εβδομάδα: 22/2021" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  27. "El diablo – Single by Elena Tsagrinou on Apple Music Greece". Apple Music. 28 February 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
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