It was released as a CD single on 7 March 2007 by Sony BMG Greece, going gold in Greece on 7 June 2007.
Background
Conception
"Yassou Maria" was composed by Alex Papakonstantinou and Marcus Englöf with lyrics by Markus Sepehrmanesh.[1] Papakonstantinou is responsible for big hits by Elena Paparizou.
National Selection
On 16 February 2007, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) announced that it had internally selected Sarbel, Tamta, and Christos Dantis as the participants in the national final to select its song and performer for the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The competing songs were revealed on 7 February 2007.[2] On the national final, held on 28 February 2007, the public chose "Yassou Maria" performed by Sarbel as the winner voting 44.45% while the jury also appointed it winner giving 34.92%. All together, it got an average of 39.69% votes, winning the competition and becoming the Greek entry for Eurovision.[3]
At the national final, Sarbel was accompanied on stage by four female dancers, with blue lights and fire in the background. He wore black leather pants and a silver shirt. The choreography was complex, which led with some problems with his microphone.
The CD single was released on 7 March 2007 in Greece and Cyprus by Sony BMG Greece. It includes a duet by Swedish singer Cameron, as well as a remixed song and a Greeklish version of "Yassou Maria". It reached the top position in both countries, being certified gold in Greece.[4]
Eurovision
Sarbel performing "Yassou Maria" at Eurovision.
On 12 May 2007, the Eurovision Song Contest grand final was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki hosted by Yleisradio (YLE), and broadcast live throughout the continent. The song was not required to compete in the semi-final since Greece's entry at the previous contest, had reached the top ten –it was ninth–. Sarbel performed "Yassou Maria" tenth on the evening. He went on stage with four girls with short dresses. They used the same dance routine as in the Greek national final, but with minor changes. These included the end part, which used ribbons attached to the girls' skirts during the end bridge, with Sarbel as sort of a puppeteer. Later the ribbons were used to make a heart around Sarbel and the girls at the very end.[5]
At the close of voting, the song received 139 points, finishing in seventh place, 1 point ahead of Armenia and 6 points behind Belarus.[6]
Track listing
"Yassou Maria"
"Mi Chica" (Greek/English/Spanish mix version) [Duet with Persian-Swedish singer Cameron]
"Yassou Maria" (Greeklish version)
"Enas Apo Mas" (Anyone of Us – A Stupid Mistake) [Holiday Mix by Dimitris Kontopoulos]
