Secret Combination (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Secret Combination


Artist = Kalomoira
from Album = Secret Combination
B-side =
Released = Start date|2008|02|6|df=yes
(see release history)
Format = Radio Single,
Digital download,
CD single
Recorded = 2007-2008
Genre = Europop, R&B
Length = 3:00
Label = Heaven Music, Catchy Tunes
Writer = Poseidonas Giannopoulos, Konstadinos Pantzis
Producer =
Certification =
Chart position =
Last single = "Gine Mazi Mou Paidi"
(2006)
This single = "Secret Combination"
(2008)
Next single =
Misc = Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Name = Secret Combination
Audio file = secretcombinationsample.oggInfobox ESC entry
song = flagicon|Greece "Secret Combination"


caption = Eurovision Promotional Cover
year = 2008
country = Greece
artist = Kalomoira
as =
with =
language = English
languages =
composer = Konstantinos Pantzis
lyricist = Poseidonas Giannopoulos
conductor =
place = 3rd
points = 218
place_semi = 1st
points_semi = 156
lyrics = [http://www.diggiloo.net/?2008gr from Diggiloo Thrush]
clip =
prev = Yassou Maria
prev_link = Yassou Maria
next =
next_link =

"Secret Combination" is a song and CD single by Greek singer Kalomoira. It was Greece's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 and the first single released from Kalomoira's fourth studio album titled "Secret Combination the Album". It earned third place in the Eurovision final, finishing behind Russia and Ukraine, despite leading early in the final vote. Since the contest, the song has become a successful hit throughout Europe peaking at #1 in Greece and Cyprus, and reaching the top 40 singles in Turkey, Denmark, Sweden and Finland's download chart, all achieved as a result of digital sales alone. It also charted in Belgium, Ireland, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, and even Canada.

Background

It was officially released to the media and radios by ERT on February 6 2008. [cite web |title=ERT announces date and venue for national final |url=http://www.oikotimes.com/v2/index.php?file=articles&id=1883 "Oikotimes". Retrieved on January 23, 2008] The song was Kalomoira's entry in a three way race to be Greece's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. She battled both Chrispa and Kostas Martakis for the spot. The final decision was made on February 27 2008 - Kalomoira won, and after competing in the semi-final on 20 May 2008 she represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest final on 24 May in Belgrade, Serbia. Her song was performed 21st out of 25. Her and Kostas Martakis's songs were leaked onto the internet on February 3, three days before the official release, although the leaked versions were uncompleted demos. [cite web |title=Two national final songs leaked on the web |url=http://www.oikotimes.com/v2/index.php?file=articles&id=2427 "Oikotimes". Retrieved on February 11 2008] The song was released as a digital download on February 12 2008 and a CD single on March 28 2008. [cite web |title=Η ΚΑΛΟΜΟΙΡΑ ΕΚΠΡΟΣΩΠΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ ΣΤΗ EUROVISIOΝ 2008 |url=http://www.heavenmusic.gr/articleDetail/0,3702,175802,00.htmlGr icon "Heaven Music". Retrieved on March 28 2008.] Kalomoira has stated that she plans to record a Greek language version of "Secret Combination" after the contest. [cite web |title=Greece: OGAE Serbia welcomes Kalomira |url=http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/11183Gr icon "ESCToday". Retrieved on April 22 2008.] It's been the most successful Eurovision Song Contest 2008 song in terms of downloads on iTunes & chart peaks.

Eurovision

National Final

Kalomoira appeared on stage in a short J-Lo dress,cite web |title=Kalomira (NF, 2008) in New York for J LO clothes |url=http://www.oikotimes.com/v2/index.php?file=articles&id=2538 "Oikotimes". Retrieved on March 22 2008] accompanied by 4 male back up dancers. At the start of the show, the 4 dancers hold her up on top of themselves, while she is laying down. Later she comes down, and starts dancing with them. Each of the dancers has a letter painted under their undershirts and at the end of the song, they stand next to each other spelling the word "love". Kalomoira won the National Final with 167,000 votes and for the first time in number of years, the media didn't doubt the result of the selection.cite web |title=High TV rates in Greece, poor televoting figures |url=http://www.oikotimes.com/v2/index.php?file=articles&id=2745 "Oikotimes". Retrieved on March 18 2008]

Semi-final

Kalomoira was scheduled to presented "Secret Combination" 19th (last) in the first semi-final on May 20 2008. Konstantinos Pantzis, the composer, announced that there would be a few tweaks to the song for its appearance at Eurovision. [cite web |title=Η νέα έκδοση του Secret combination |url=http://www.eurovision-greece.com/news/2008/March/news13.htmlGr icon "Eurovision-Greece". Retrieved on March 21 2008.] The changes included a new beat to the introduction and a few changes to the chorus. ERT announced that this new version would be presented to the European Broadcasting Union as the official version of the song. [cite web |title=Greece: Eurovision Version of Secret Combination |url=http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/10856Gr icon "ESCToday". Retrieved on March 23 2008.]

Kalomoira performed 19th, the last act of the night. The stage show included new choreography, as well as Victoria Halkiti and Nektarios Georgiadis as backing vocalists.cite web |title=Kalomoira hails 3rd in EUROVISION! Well done to Greece!
url=http://www.lgr.co.uk/music/news/12899/kalomoira-hails-3rd-in-eurovision-well-done-to-greece/ "London Greek Radio". Retrieved on May 26 2008. ] There was also a large book on stage that Kalomoira stepped out of when singing the lyrics "an open book". At the same moment, Kalomira changed her outfit converting it from a pink dress into a mini-silver skirt. [cite web|url=http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/10687|title=Tonight live: Greece decides Eurovision entry|last=Viniker|first=Barry|date=2008-02-27|publisher="ESCToday"|accessdate=2008-08-08] She wore clothes exclusively by J-Lo and managed to finish first receiving 156 points.

Final

Kalomoira performed a repeat of her semi-final performance at the Eurovision Final held on May 24 2008. She presented "Secret Combination" 21st on the night after Azerbaijan and before Spain. Having led initially in the voting, Kalomoira finished in third place behind Russia and Ukraine, receiving 218 points. The song received 12 points from United Kingdom, Germany, Albania, San Marino, Cyprus and Romania. On the other hand, Latvia, Iceland, Portugal, Finland, Norway and Lithuania were the only countries that did not vote it in their top ten, thereby giving it no points. The British LGR radio station commented "Visually, the presentation was quite addictively enticing, with a stunningly gorgeous Kalomoira, her singing/dance capabilities and her three acrobatic male dancers. The purple-heart gimmick carved out of the giant, life-sized book, proving ingenious".cite news |url=http://www.lgr.co.uk/music/news/13012/secret-combination-storms-into-uk-top-40/ |title='Secret Combination' storms into UK TOP 40 |publisher= "London Greek Radio" |date=28 May 2008 |accessdate=2008-05-29]

Music video

The shooting lasted nearly twenty consecutive hours, and it was exhausting for Kalomoira and for the team that worked under the guidance of director Costas Kapetanidi. The director decided to focus on the face of the young performer and so chose to do the shoot in a studio and not outdoors. Sometimes alone, sometimes flanked by dancers, Kalomoira danced and sang while wearing clothes selected from the collection of J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez.cite web |title=Έτοιμο το videoclip! |url=http://eurovision.ert.gr/el/nea/etoimo-to-videoclip.htmGr icon "Eurovision-Greece". Retrieved on March 17 2008.] In some scenes of the video, impressive objects with bright colors such as a red Ducati motor bike, a huge disco ball, and big letters with the title of the song were used. [cite web |title=Greece 2008: Kalomoira - Secret Combination |url=http://www.esctoday.com/multimedia/showVid.php?id=L30uAyXXCUkGr icon "ESCToday". Retrieved on March 22 2008.] The choreography was by Svitailof Ivan and the styling was George Segredaki and Constantine Koutsomichou while the hair and make-up were overseen by Dimitris Giannetos. Through the video clip, Kalomoira reveals another side of: sexy, feminine, charming but always innocent and sweet in a quick clip of the montage. In the video edition, the song has changed a lot. On March 14 2008, NET exclusively aired the official Eurovision video clip of Secret combination during their evening news at 20:00 CET. International fans were able to watch through a satellite broadcast on ERT World.cite web |title=Official Eurovision video aired tonight |url=http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/10869 "ESCToday". Retrieved on March 23 2008] Critical reaction to the song was mostly positive.

Track listing

# "Secret Combination" (Eurovision 2008 Mix) - 3:00
# "Secret Combination" (Mystic Soumka Mix) - 4:06
# "Secret Combination" (Electropop Mix) - 3:33
# "Secret Combination" (Backing Track Mix) - 3:00

Release history

Reception

Critical reaction to the song was mostly positive, with the entertainment reporter from BBC News Michael Osborn describing it as "a perky pop song with a definite Greek flavour." [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7376968.stm#10 |title=Eurovision vote 2008: Top 10 |publisher= "BBC News" |date=25 May 2008|accessdate=2008-05-29] The British LGR radio station described the song as a "infectiously catchy, ethno R&B song" and it stayed 6 weeks in radio's Top 20 Chart.

Chart performance

The popularity of the single leading up to the "Eurovision Song Contest", and the positive critical reception received, ensured the commercial success of "Secret Combination" as a CD and radio single in Greece and Cyprus. The song topped the Greek Singles Chart and Digital Singles Chart for two weeks, before being knocked-off by Madonna’s and Justin Timberlake’s "4 Minutes" to second place. Furthermore, due to relentlessly strong airplay, both on the radio and of its promotional video, the single topped the Airplay Charts in Greece and Cyprus as well as the Greek and Cypriot music television network "MAD TV’s" video chart. The song is, as of June 12, 2008, number 3 in the Greek Singles Chart.

Elsewhere, "Secret Combination" was released solely as a digital download from February 26, 2008 , where the song became fairly successful in Europe considering it was never released physically nor to radio stations. On "iTunes", it topped the Greek Songs Top 100 Chart on 24 May and, following the "Eurovision Song Contest", it appeared in all EU Top 100 World Songs Charts, peaking at #1 in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. It also peaked at #2 in Austria, Germany and Luxembourg, at #4 in Denmark, and at #6 in France. Moreover, the "Electropop Mix" also charted in the Swedish Top 100 World Songs Charts at #2. Outside Europe, the song also managed to chart in the Australian and Canadian "iTunes" Top 100 World Songs Charts at #2 and #7 respectively.

On national charts, "Secret Combination" peaked in the Finish Download Chart at #29 and entered many European singles charts, despite not having a physical release in those countries, thus charting on downloads alone. On 29 May, 2008 the song debuted at #50 in the Swedish Top 60 Chart and peaked at #38 the following week. Additionally, on 30 May, 2008 the song debuted at #29 on the Danish Singles Top 40 and in the Irish Singles Chart at #46. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted on the midweek chart at #33 but by 2 June, 2008 had reached #71 in the week-end chart. Elsewhere in Europe, the song peaked at #3 in the Adria region (comprised of former Yugoslav countries), according to "MTV Adria", as well as peaking at #18 in Turkey’s "Billboard" Top 20 Chart, at #19 in the Belgian "Ultratip" Chart due to digital sales and airplay (specifically, in Flanders), and at #67 in the European Official Top 100 - all positions attained via downloads from "iTunes" alone.

Charts and certifications

See also

* Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

References