Tamta for Cyprus 2019

🇨🇾 Cyprus 2019 / “Replay”

Photograph by Kynthia Kindeli

Grand Final | 13th Place | 109 points

Semi Final 1 | 9th Place | 148 points | Qualified

Tamta Goduadze, who simply goes by Tamta, is a Georgian-Greek singer who was chosen internally by Cyprus to represent the country with the song “Replay” at Tel Aviv 2019. She is a pop star in Greece and Cyprus, coming to the spotlight when she first appears on the Greek version of Pop Idol, Super Idol. Though originally from Tbilisi, she moved to Athens with her daughter, mother, and brother after divorcing her husband when she was 20. Her last proper album was released in 2010, but she’s kept up her popularity with the releases of numerous singles.

“Replay”, lyrically, speaks of a lover who cannot get enough of her and one that’s she’s too happy to oblige. Compositionally and thematically, the song relates to Cyprus’s previous entry, “Fuego”, and it’s major success as last year’s runner up. The song was crafted by the same team with the intention of repeating their success, especially as a country that tends to see middling results.

Tamta, born in Georgia while under the USSR, married her boyfriend at age 16 and gave birth to a daughter. The marriage only lasted six years, after which Tamta moved to Greece and competed in Super Idol, finishing second. Her strong finish built up her career over night, releasing charting albums and starring in several musical productions. She previously attempted to represent Greece at Belgrade 2008, and has worked with Eurovision artists such as Helena Paparizou (Greece 2005), Mihai Traistariu (Romania 2006), and Mikolas Josef (Czechia 2018). Beyond her music, she has also served as a judge on the Greek and Georgian editions of the X Factor. 

Tamta came in ninth in the first semi-final and ultimately came in thirteenth during the final, where she received the maximum of 12 points from both Greece and Georgia due to Cyprus’s cultural ties to the former and her kinship with the latter.

Watch “Replay” below, and follow Tamta on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Listen to her discography on Spotify.