Opa (song)

"Opa" (Greek: ΏΠΑ!, IPA: [ˈopa]) is a song recorded by Greek singer Giorgos Alkaios. The song was written by Giorgos Alkaios himself, Giannis Antoniou, Dimitris Hortarias, Manos Hortarias, Dionisis Shinas, Tolis sxoinas, Kassiani Karagioule and Stavros Apostolou. It is best known as the Greek entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, held in Oslo.[1][2]

"Opa"
Single by Giorgos Alkaios
Released26 February 2010 (2010-02-26)
GenreLaïko
Length3:02
LabelFriends Music Factory
Songwriter(s)
  • Giorgos Alkaios
  • Giannis Antoniou
  • Friends (Dimitris Hortarias
  • Manos Hortarias
  • Dionisis Shinas
  • Tolis Sxoinas
  • Kassiani Karagioule
  • Stavros Apostolou)
Producer(s)Giorgos Alkaios
Eurovision Song Contest 2010 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Languages
Greek, English
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Giannis Antoniou & Friends
Finals performance
Semi-final result
2nd
Semi-final points
133
Final result
8th
Final points
140
Entry chronology
◄ "This Is Our Night" (2009)
"Watch My Dance" (2011) ►
Official performance video
"OPA (Final) on YouTube

The song was released by broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) on 26 February 2010 along with the other candidate songs from the national final,[3] while a digital download was released on 12 March 2010 in association with Universal Music Greece.[4]

Background and composition

Alkaios had originally written the music to the song about two years prior, with no intention of submitting it for the Eurovision Song Contest at the time.[5] After lyricist Giannis Antoniou heard the music a year later, he and asked Alkaios to write lyrics for it.[5] In the process, other musicians and employees from Friends Music Factory including Dionisis Shinas, Kassiani Kargiule, Dimitris Hortarias, Stavros Apostolou, Tolis Schinas, and Manos Hortarias amongst others, wrote and contributed half of the lyrics for the song.[6] Upon completion, good friend and musician Dionisis Shinas along with Giannis Antoniou urged Alkaios to submit the song to broadcaster ERT to take part in the national final.[7] Originally only intending to be the composer of the song, Alkaios agreed to submit the song, and Schinas hand delivered the song to ERT's offices.[5] Later, it was decided that Alkaios would perform the song on stage along with "friends".[5]

The entry marks the first Greek Eurovision entry since 1998 to be sung entirely in Greek. "Opa" is a Greek interjection used to express joy or high spirits, especially when dancing.[8] According to Alkaios, 'Opa' is a happy word and just what people need in a time of trouble. The song is all about leaving the past behind and starting all over again.[5] In a world shaken by the 2008 economic circumstances, Alkaios believes people just needed to say 'Opa' and move on.[9] Pertaining to the tie of 'Opa' in the song with the current economic situation in the world, Alkaios stated:

I think Greek people want to say an 'Opa' and get out and ... you know, break a plate, and you know, very ... with dance, and feelings, and smile. Live or leave it. This is the word that we sing.[9]

Music video and promotion

Due to economic difficulties that the national Greek television (ERT) was facing, the broadcaster was only willing to use the national final performance as the official music video for the song which was released on 19 March 2010.[10][11] Although ERT released a music video for the song from the live performance, Alkaios financed the production of another music video which was directed by Sherif Francis.[10] The music video was shot in Milos.[10]

Eurovision Song Contest
Main article: Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

Ellinikós Telikós 2010

Seven acts competed on 12 March 2010 in the Greek National Final.[12] The song was performed fourth in the final by Alkaios along with "Friends", which consisted of musicians Gogua Iakovos, Evgenios Buli, Petros Zlatkos and Anastasios Kanaridis who acted as backing vocalists and backing dancers, along with Lazos Ioannidis who plays the lyre during the song's break.[13]

At the end of voting, "Opa" was revealed as the winner.[1]
DrawArtistSongPlace[14]
1 Christos Hatzinasios "Illusion" -
2 Sunny Baltzi & Second Skin "Game of Life" -
3 Manos Pyrovolakis feat. Eleni Foureira "Kivotos tou Noe" (Noah's ark) 2
4 Giorgos Alkaios & Friends "Opa" 1
5 Yorgos Karadimos "Polemao" (I'm fighting) 3
6 Melisses "O Kinezos" (Chinese) -
7 Émigré "Touch me Deep Inside" -

In Oslo

Greece competed 13th in the second half of the first semi-final of the contest on 25 May in Oslo, Norway.[15][16] The performance in the contest differed from the one in the national final.[17] Alkaios passed the first semi-final, coming in 2nd place, behind Belgium,[18] and went on to perform in the final on 29 May 2010. In the end, Greece came 8th,[19] with 141 points, while for most of the duration of the voting, Greece was in the top 3 (and even came 1st for a while). It was the highest placing non-English song of the contest. "Opa" was the most popular song for the jury in the United Kingdom, being awarded the full 12 points. Following Eurovision, "Opa" was formally adopted by Bournemouth University in the UK as their fieldwork anthem on the excavation programme throughout June and July 2010.[20]

Track listing
  • Digital download
  1. "Opa" – 3:02

Release history
Region Date Label Format
Greece 26 February 2010 (2010-02-26) Friends Music Factory Airplay
Cyprus
Greece 12 March 2010 (2010-03-12) Universal Music, Friends Music Factory Digital download
Cyprus

Charts
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[21] 37
Finnish Singles Chart[22] 20
Greek Digital Singles Chart[23][24] 4
UK Singles Chart[25] 110

Cover Versions

The Israeli Mizrahi singer Omer Adam released a version of this song in the Hebrew language in October 2010 called "Hopa".[26] The song is also a track from his debut album, Names Mimeh.

See also
  • "Opa Opa", a 1992 song by Notis Sfakianakis

References
  1. Montebello, Edward (13 March 2010). "Greece sends Giorgos Alkaios & Friends to Eurovision". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 16 March 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  2. Escudero, Victor (12 March 2010). "Giorgos Alkaios & Friends will wave the Greek flag in Oslo". EBU. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  3. Floras, Stella (26 February 2010). "Greece: Final songs online ahead of schedule". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  4. "Opa - Single by Giorgos Alkaios & Friends". iTunes. 28 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  5. Floras, Stella (13 March 2010). "Greece: Alkaios says Opa is a happy word". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 16 March 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  6. Staff (15 March 2010). ""Who is Who" George Alkaios & Friends Contest". ERT. Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  7. Zervas, Pavlo (26 January 2010). "Eurovision 2010 – Ο Γ. Αλκαίος μιλάει στο Music Corner!". Musiccorner.gr. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  8. Babiniotis, Dictionary of Modern Greek
  9. Vranis, Michalis (11 March 2010). "Greece: The Alkaios and Emigre interviews". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 14 March 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  10. Staff (20 March 2010). "Ο Γιώργος Αλκαίος πληρώνει για το clip του" (in Greek). MAD TV. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  11. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "George Alkaios & Friends - OPA (official video)". YouTube.
  12. Klier, Marcus (12 March 2010). "Tonight: National final in Greece". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 15 March 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  13. Neophytou, Tony (10 March 2010). "Giorgos Alkaios eyes Eurovision win". London Greek Radio. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  14. Kaziri, Ghassan Al (15 March 2010). "60,000 votes cast; three songs tied". Oikotimes.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  15. Staff (23 March 2010). "Greece Appears 13th on the ESC Stage News". ERT. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  16. Klier, Marcus (7 February 2010). "Semi final allocation for Oslo determined". ESC Today. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  17. Staff (18 March 2010). Ο Γιώργος Αλκαίος ετοιμάζει εκπλήξεις (in Greek). MAD TV. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  18. "Stories". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  19. "Stories". Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  20. "Durotriges Research Page and Dig Diary | Centre for Archaeology, Anthropology & Heritage | Bournemouth University". Archived from the original on 9 December 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  21. "Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart". Ultratop. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  22. "Finnish Singles Chart". Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  23. "Billboard Greek Digital Singles Chart". Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  24. Greek Digital Singles Chart Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  25. "UK Singles Chart". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  26. "Omer Adam - Hopa". YouTube. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
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