Country Greece Languages Greek Lyricist(s) Yiannis Malachias | As Thalassa Composer(s) Yiannis Valvis | |
Artist(s) Dionisia Karoki, Yiannis Valvis | ||
Mia Krifi Evesthisia (Greek script Μια κρυφή ευαισθησία, English translation: "A Hidden Sensitivity") was the Greek entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, performed in Greek by Thalassa.
The song was performed second on the night (following Croatia's Danijela with "Neka mi ne svane" and preceding France's Marie Line with "Où aller"). At the close of voting, it had received 12 points - all from Cyprus - placing 20th in a field of 25.
The song deals with the obsessive feelings felt in a relationship, with the singer suggesting that she will "walk in your [her lover's] imagination". For their Eurovision appearance, Thalassa featured the female vocalist Dionysia Karoki, who wore an unusual, knee-length black dress. The song had a gentle verse, which exploded into the catchy chorus.
The Greek entry caused a bit of controversy. The song's composer was not happy with the way the group's performance was to be filmed and demanded changes. When his demands were not met, the group threatened to quit the contest on the morning of the final day of rehearsals, and on the afternoon, they pulled out. Only minutes after their withdrawal, however, the group returned to the green room, having decided to go through with the performance after all, without the composer attending them on the scene. The song's composer, Yiannis Valvis, was not permitted to attend the contest in general, on account of the number of aggressive tantrums he had had when things were not going his way.
With the rapid expansion of the Contest, the decision was taken to restrict entry to those countries which had performed better over the previous 5 years, a group which did not include Greece. Thus, Greece was not invited to the 1999 Contest. Neither did they enter the 2000 Contest. Thus, the song was succeeded as Greek representative at the 2001 Contest by Antique with "(I Would) Die for You".