JADAR

★★★★★

Eleni Foureira, one of the biggest artists in Greece, Cyprus and Albania – and one of the hottest stars to come out of Eurovision, where she placed second in 2018 – has finally embarked on another European tour, with a stop at O2 Forum Kentish Town in London – a glamorous Grecian gig.

Such a momentous occasion was Foureira’s long-awaited return to London that she had not one but two opening acts. The first was British-Cypriot artist Antigoni, who already has almost 600,000 followers on Instagram; she was accompanied by two dancers and sang with Mario Constantinou and Ace Clvrk (‘Is It You’).

Antigoni, who was dressed like a Greek goddess gone bellydancing, proudly proclaimed that “Cyprus is in the Middle East.” It was great to see a Cypriot artist not only recognise this but also be proud of it. She even has a song called ‘Habibi’, which she performed, as well as a collaboration with Egyptian artist Ahmed Saad called ‘El Helwa Zahra’.

The highlight of her set had to be a medley of ‘Tillirkotissa’ (a Cypriot folk song perhaps most famously covered by Michalis Violaris) and ‘Ta Rialia’ (which Michalis based on a song in a book by Theodoulos Kallinikos).

Antigoni, with her Shakira-like mein, gorgeous voice and killer moves, was a total diva. She admitted that it is her dream to represent Cyprus at Eurovision – and, as a huge Eurovision fan who covered the contest in Liverpool, I think that she could do very well.

The second opening act, Louis Georgiou – also known mononymously as LOUIS – is a Greece-based Cypriot artist of partial Italian descent. He is Foureira’s only backing vocalist – she recognised his talent and let him have a moment to shine. LOUIS is not only a fantastic singer but also a captivating performer. There’s something endearingly and nostalgically 2000s American boyband about him but he’s also fresh, hip and modern. His setlist included Duncan Laurence’s Eurovision-winning ‘ARCADE’, one of the biggest songs ever to come out of the contest, the year before Foureira competed – and he did a wonderful job with it.

Foureira, supported by both male and female dancers, opened her set with ‘Disco-Tech’, a collaboration with ARCADE. Scantily clad in leather, she wore shorts (well, basically knickers with two pieces of material at the sides of her thighs), a bra trop, an open, sleeveless jacket, and gloves that covered her elbows. As they say, “If you got it, flaunt it” – and Foureira has got it!

Her setlist included much of her new album, Hybrid, which came out just days before the London concert, as well as her older stuff. Whilst most of her music is dance-based, Hybrid is more electronic and high velocity. A lot of female artists have gone that way in recent years, appealing massively to the queer community, who make up a large chunk of Foureira’s fan base. Most of the audience were Greek and Albanian, but there were also plenty of people from other countries, including the UK, so Foureira made sure to speak in English.

Towards the end of her set, Foureira performed the song that everybody had been waiting for, ‘Fuego’. As a lifelong Eurovision fan, it is always incredible seeing my favourite Eurovision songs performed live. My favourite artists are always the exotic divas, such as Turkey’s Sertab Erner (‘Everyway That I Can’) and Hadise (‘Düm Tek Tek’) – and, of course, Foureira.

Foureira closed the show with the Greek-language version of fan favourite ‘Caramela’, a vivacious dance song combining both traditional and modern sounds. The song is, arguably, representative of Foureira, herself, who honours her heritage but is unafraid to be experimental and innovative with her sound, look and performance.

Foureira tours Europe until November 4.

Photo: Jay Darcy @ JaDar