| "My Number One" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byHelena Paparizou | ||||
| from the albumProtereotita: Euro EditionandMy Number One | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 24 March 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
| Studio | Vox | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:58 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Composers |
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| Lyricists |
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| Producer | Christos Dantis | |||
| Helena Paparizou singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "My Number One" onYouTube | ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 US cover forMy Number One | ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2005 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist | ||||
| Language | English | |||
| Composers |
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| Lyricists |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 1st | |||
| Final points | 230 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Shake It" (2004) | ||||
| "Everything" (2006) ► | ||||
| Official performance video | ||||
| "My Number One" (Final) onYouTube | ||||
"My Number One" is a song recorded byGreek-Swedish singerHelena Paparizou with music composed by Manolis Psaltakis[a] andChristos Dantis, lyrics written by Dantis andNatalia Germanou, and produced by Dantis. Itrepresented Greece in theEurovision Song Contest 2005, held inKyiv, resulting in the country's only ever victory in the contest.
"My Number One" was composed by Manolis Psaltakis andChristos Dantis, with lyrics by Dantis andNatalia Germanou, and produced by Dantis. The composition had initially been credited only to Dantis, however, a 2013 lawsuit by musician Manolis Psaltakis resulted in the credit being assigned also to him.[1]
The song is notable for casting elements oftraditional Greek music in a contemporarydance music setting: its arrangement includesbouzoukis and a solo featuring aCretan lyra.[2][3] The song's lyrics describe the singer's appreciation for her lover who is lauded as her "number one" and "the only treasure [she]'ll ever have".[4]
Paparizou released "My Number One" as a single, with the release of a Swedish album which contained the song following, and a Greek re-released of her first albumProtereotita featuring the song and the other songs in the running for the national final. It sold over 90,000 copies in Greece and was certified double platinum.
Shortly after the song was selected for Eurovision, itsmusic video was shot in one day at theThessaloniki Science Center and Technology Museum inThessaloniki. Paparizou then went on a European promotional tour visiting over twenty countries on her tour, and singing on various television shows, as well as giving many interviews.
In early 2006, it was announced that "My Number One" and "Mambo!" would be remixed and released in the United States byModa Records. On 22 August, a maxi CD single was released to record stores, featuring ten remixes, and the original song;[5] the mixes were also released as digital downloads on 4 June.[6] The music video of "My Number One" premiered in the United States in 2006. There were two separate videos. One is the original video, that was also shown in Europe. The second is a re-edited version of the same video, to the beat of the Josh Harris Remix from the CD Single.
TheHellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) internally selectedHelena Paparizou as its performer for the50th edition of theEurovision Song Contest. ERT then selected four songs –"My Number One", "OK", "Let's Get Wild", and "The Light in Our Soul"– to be performed by her in a televisednational final aired on 2 March 2005. Shortly before the national final, it was revealed that "The Light in Our Soul" had been already released by Big Alice, thus it was disqualified, leaving out only three songs. "My Number One" gained a combined 66.47% from televoting and jury votes winning the competition and becoming theGreek entry for Eurovision. The chorus of the song had already become a chant forAEK Athens supporters.
On 21 May 2005, the final for the Eurovision Song Contest was held at thePalace of Sports inKyiv hosted by theNational Television Company of Ukraine (NTU), and broadcast live throughout the continent. As Greece had finished third at theprevious contest, the song had been pre-qualified for the final. Paparizou performed "My Number One" nineteenth on the evening, followingCroatia's "Vukovi umiru sami" byBoris Novković and LADO and precedingRussia's "Nobody Hurt No One" byNatalia Podolskaya.[7] During her performance, she did a stage show of the song, choreographed byFokas Evangelinos.[8] Some of the memorable visuals from the show include her dancing a traditional GreekPontian dance, the four dancers making the shape on the number 1 of the floor –showed from aerial camera– and her playing an imaginarylyra while her dancers pick her up.
At the close of voting, it had received 230 points, finishing at the head of a twenty-four-strong field, winning the contest.[9] "My Number One" held two Eurovision records: it was the first song scored an average of only 6.05 points per jury, the lowest average for a winning song at the time;[b] and it had the most sets of 12 points given out to one country until then, tying withUnited Kingdom's1997 entry "Love Shine a Light".[c]
After its win Eurovision, a mass party started on the streets ofAthens. People went out onto the streets with Greek flags, and started singing "My Number One", as well as honking car horns. This was similar to when Greece wonEuro 2004, the2005 Eurobasket title and when Greece won the silver medal in the2006 FIBA World Championship. When Paparizou arrived back to Greece from Kyiv, mass crowds met her at theAthens International Airport, where she held up a Greek flag and the trophy.
"My Number One" was one of fourteen songs chosen by Eurovision fans and aEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) reference group, from among the 992 songs that had ever participated in the contest, to participate in the fiftieth anniversary competitionCongratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest held on 22 October 2005 inCopenhagen.[10] Paparizou performed the song in the competition, where it was named as one of the five greatest Eurovision entries of all time, earning the 4th place.[11]
As the winning broadcaster, the EBU gave ERT the responsibility to host the2006 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The semi-final held on 18 May 2006, opened with a medley of former Eurovision songs performed by different Greek gods, with all the cast finishing with "My Number One". The final held on 20 May 2006, opened with a ballet dance, after which Paparizou was introduced as the reigning winner and she performed the song. She also performed "Mambo!" at the interval act and presented the trophy to the winners.[12]
On 22 May 2021, the interval act "Rock the Roof" in theEurovision Song Contest 2021 final featured a revamped version of "My Number One" performed by Paparizou.[13] On 9 May 2024, she performed the song as part of a sing-along interval act in the second semi-final of the2024 contest held inMalmö, Sweden.[d][15]
European 2-track CD single
Scandinavian 2-track CD single
European CD maxi-single
| US CD maxi-single
|
Credits adapted from liner notes.[16]
After the Eurovision victory, the video for the song was released in several countries throughout Europe. It went to #1 in both Greece and Paparizou's native Sweden for 4 weeks and was certified gold in both countries. The song was played constantly in Greece all through the summer. The success of the single is credited to the popular remix fromChris "The Greek" Panaghi which Sony (Greece) commissioned for the remix.
The song peaked on the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart at number 8 and number 25 on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales. In September 2006, theGeorgie’s #1 Radio Anthem Mix was added to popular American retailerAbercrombie & Fitch's store playlist nationwide.[17]
Charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden (GLF)[35] | Gold | 10,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Country | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | 24 March 2005 | Sony BMG | |
| Sweden | 4 May 2005[36] | Bonnier Amigo | CD single,digital download |
| Finland | |||
| Denmark | 30 May 2005[36] | ||
| Norway | |||
| Germany | Sony BMG | ||
| Austria | |||
| Netherlands | 6 June 2005[36] | CD single | |
| Belgium | |||
| Portugal | 7 June 2005[36] | ||
| Italy | 1 July 2005[36] | CD Single, digital download | |
| United States | 4 June 2006[6] | Moda | Digital download |
| 22 August 2006[5] | CD single |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| Preceded by "Wild Dances" byRuslana | Eurovision Song Contest winners 2005 | Succeeded by |
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| Related articles | |
