Imagine, if you will, Emmerdale in the near future. I’ve looked into my Crystal Ball and seen that Moira will move to Stockholm and sing in a music contest!! There is a facial similarity but that, thankfully (but for which one?) is where the similarity ends.
Kaliopi, a veteran of this contest by now, comes on and sings a Balkan ballad by numbers in a simple black frock very nicely indeed. She does a bit o the old wailing, a bit of the old emoting and everything else you would expect her to do but, and this is where Dona stands out, it’s done with a clear passion about what she is singing and how she is delivering it.
If you contrast this and Nicky then there is a 100000% difference. Kaliopi looks assured, warm, confident, knows where the camera is and sings to the audience at home. Nicky didn’t do any of those things and what’s more, for Kaliopi some thought has gone into the staging using colours effectively.
It’s probably qualifying but finishing bottom 10 in the final, but that’s not a bad thing… It’s just a thing.