“I woke up one day and I had an email sitting in my inbox. The gist of it saying the Cypriot team had been looking at me for three years, and that they were very interested in me representing Cyprus at the next Eurovision.”
This is how 24-year-old Sydneysider ’s Eurovision Song Contest story began. He questioned how legitimate this email could be or how close to a Eurovision performance he was, but he replied, arranged a few meetings to discuss the process and is now gearing up for the performance of his life, putting into action all the work he has put in, not only over the past six months, but since the age of five when his parents first enrolled him in music school.
“It was a no-brainer to say yes once I met with the team, and there are so many different things that come with this opportunity; it’s a 24-hour job going through Eurovision,” says Lambrou. When he’s not playing Xbox, watching Harry Potter or hanging with his friends at the gym where he also works, he’s attending interviews, planning and workshopping stage productions, training his vocal chords, practising several times a day and ticking off a list of daily tasks that he is given by his team to complete. “I just have to remember to take it at my own pace, get excited and trust this process, and give an absolutely epic performance.”
Thrilled to be representing Cyprus at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest: Andrew Lambrou. Source: Nikos Zikos
The Australian singer has been watching Eurovision with his family his entire life. “I come from your typical Australian-Greek-Cypriot family, and my family really love to celebrate and share all the traditions from Greece and Cyprus right here in our family home in Australia. I eat the house down and we eat together, we celebrate together and we will be at Eurovision together,” he explains.
He has felt more than ready for this moment, especially after being part of SBS’s Eurovision: Australia Decides competition last year. Since then, Lambrou has sparked much social joy and garnered quite a following across his social media profiles, especially after announcing his entry and power ballad track, ‘Break a Broken Heart,’ which he will sing at this year’s competition.
Andrew Lambrou with his big Australian-Greek-Cypriot family. Source: Supplied
“Out of about 100 songs, this track was the one I wanted to perform, and I was very lucky and grateful that the team also agreed with me, so it made the decision really smooth,” he tells SBS.
Lambrou wants to keep challenging himself vocally, and while the track itself doesn’t have any Greek or Cypriot language, he is still persevering with his lessons. He has managed a few trips back and forth since the official announcement and has spent a couple of weeks in Cyprus and Greece visiting his grandparents’ villages in Pathos for the first time, before arriving in Liverpool.
Lambrou speaks so lovingly about his family and his appreciation for what his parents and family have done for him over the years. He has incredible memories of his uncle playing the bouzouki and an abundance of Greek music filling their house, even though he didn’t quite understand the lyrics.
He talks of the abundance of food at any occasion and most recently, it was a bowl of Greek , a lemon, parsley and egg chicken soup, and trahana, a Cypriot staple featuring bulgur wheat that has been boiled and sun-dried and cooked in soup, which is a big part of his family’s Orthodox Easter. But the food conversation always seemed to go back to pastries and, in particular, in what Andrew describes as “the best cheesy bread that we get to make every year for Easter!”
Lambrou’s family will be joining him in Liverpool while his grandparents, friends and colleagues in Australia will be watching it on TV and regardless of where anyone is, he is absolutely delighted and determined to give his Semi Final performance every ounce of energy to ensure it’s one that everyone can feel proud of.
Andrew Lambrou preparing to give it his all for Cyprus on the Eurovision stage. Andrew will be performing in Semi Final 2. Source: Corinne Cumming / EBU
We all know nerves can get the better of us, but according to Lambrou, it’s his family that seem to get nervous every time he steps out to perform. “At the end of the day, being an artist, the pressure is all on you. You can do as much work as you like, but at the end of the day, it’s me on that stage, no one else, and it’s all up to me. I just need to do whatever it takes to get into my zone and keep calm, listen to my body and turn any nervous energy into performance energy.”
It’s not often you get to watch your sibling or child plan their dream Eurovision stage performance (for real, not the one we all have playing out in our minds on loop every May), so chances are it’s probably all anyone wants to talk about. “My friends and family couldn’t believe it. The official Eurovision Instagram page posted a photo announcing I would sing for Cyprus, and I just started getting this massive flood of messages and people commenting on everything and it went absolutely crazy!”
While we have received glimpses from rehearsals, the final performance and staging are top secret (an attempt to bribe it out of him with a flaounes didn’t work). We are almost certain we won’t have a repeat of 2018’s Cyprus entrant Eleni Foureira’s rhinestoned catsuit, intense flames and hairography this time around, but she did place second, so Cyprus certainly have their placing wits about them. He did share that he has been consistently rehearsing with a movement coach and it certainly sounds like the silhouettes on stage will look to complement his power ballad vocals.
“I just need to do whatever it takes to get into my zone and keep calm, listen to my body and turn any nervous energy into performance energy.” Source: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
Many artists over the years have not been shy about their . From last year’s Danish-Swedish punk band REDDI’s drummer needing to drop her drumsticks a couple of times before going on, to Georgian rock band Circus Mircus hinting they had to do push-ups to shake off any nervous energy, Lambrou doesn’t seem to have anything too specific or zany and keeps it pretty simple. A hot cup of tea with honey, plenty of water, not much food and a strong tendency to listen to Enya right before he goes on.
So what else is on his current playlist? “Chilled music gets me really calm; extremely epic tracks and classic get me in the zone; and then some upbeat more motivational songs and anything The Weekend keep me excited for what I’m about to perform. Plus, I’ve been listening to ‘Break a Broken Heart’ by me, over five thousand times, because I have to practise all time,” he laughs.
Lambrou isn’t particularly superstitious, but he will be wearing a Christening cross, from his yiayia and a bracelet with a Greek mati on it from his godmother for good luck. I suppose it can’t hurt when you’re baring your heart and unleashing your moves in front of over 160 million viewers.
“Once you’re in the Eurovision bubble, it’s like a lifelong fanbase and family that will always remember you,” he says. So warm up those vocal chords and aim them at your Liverpudlian pals and TV screens. Eurovision season is well and truly here, and it’s safe to say Andrew Lambrou is hoping to win, not break, hearts come Semi Final 2.
Watch Andrew Lambrou's semi-final LIVE from 5am, Friday 12 May, and in the primetime repeat on Saturday 13 May. For all the options on how to watch the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest live on SBS and SBS On Demand between 10 and 14 May, go here:
Listen to Australia Eurovision Takeover playlist on Apple Music.
Listen to Ultimate Eurovision Rock Songs playlist on Apple Music.
