Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Ira Konstantinidis: I dont want any wind in my hair or flames and fireworks around me

Photo: NRK
Ready for the 2nd MGP interview? Here are the answers of IRA KONSTANTINIDIS:
Name: Ira Konstanse Grødum Konstantinidis
Birthday: 5.august
Height: idk, 170 maybe?
Favorite color: black
Favorite food: At the moment it has to be subway
Eye color: brown and green
Where are you right now? At home
3 things that make you happy: friends, free food/samples and the soundtrack of Saturday night fever
Home alone and you are bored. What do you do? I would probably watch some really trashy reality TV. TLC and MTV are the best at this kind. Shout out to the people from My Strange Addiction. You keep me entertained.
What is the strangest thing you have in your room? It’s a Tokio Hotel calendar, still hanging on my wall from my sister’s emo phase.
What are you really good at? I feel like I am good at reading people and see past the person they are presenting and trying to be, and seeing thru them in a way. 
What are you really bad at? Being focused at one thing, like being able to watch a movie without doing other things at the same time (unless it’s a very good movie, like “trainspotting”, which is the most recent movie I was able to watch without checking Facebook.)
Childhood idol: I loved Gwen Stefani and Fergie. Gwen was a very individual and experimental pop singer and Fergie was really independent and tough. 
Childhood memory: Christmas at my grandparent’s house. I think that’s why I love Christmas as much as i do now. 
Tell me something no one knows about you: There is this scene in Mio min mio that freaks me out and makes me feel really weird. Its where this kid grabs on to a flying heads beard and travels away to some imaginary land and falls into the arms of his biological father. 
What would you do if you were invisible? I would do everything that I originally have to pay to do and probably listen to people’s conversations without them knowing. 
Favorite movie: I don’t really watch movies, but the kinds I like are some really weird ones that discuss subjects that are sometimes considered taboo. I really like movies from Harmony Korine. Some of my favorites that I can name from the top of my head are Gummo, Mysterious Skin, Beautiful Thing, The Dreamers and Saturday Night Fever. 
Favorite TV series: The Office(US)!!! All time favorite show!!! 
Tell me a super power you wish you had: If eating whatever you like without consequences is a superpower then i would love that. If not, I would like to go whenever i want, travel into a movie like Say Anything from the 80s and be the girl that lloyd dobler holds up a boom box for.
What is your guilty pleasure? Trey Songz
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: I have a list dedicated to these songs on my Spotify, but it changes very often. The songs that usually make me the happiest are the ones that make me relive good memories.  But my all time favorite song to make me get up and dance is “get down on it” by Kool and the Gang. Or listening to the Greek summer mix of the most recent summers always makes me happy even though I hate that kind of music. It’s more of a nostalgic thing. 
If you were a product, how would you sell yourself? In a way I am a product now, but I wouldn’t be anything other than my self even though that’s a boring and cliché answer.
Can you teach me some interesting words in norwegian?  Harry – a name in english, but a word in norwegian meaning something or someone is tacky, often referring to the culture of small towns and the countryside. Faen – a useful swearword for either a moment of anger or disappointment towards an event. Serr?  – an abbreviation of the word seriøst which means seriously. Sånn serr? = like seriously? A useful expression in a situation where somebody tells you an interesting story that also surprises you.  
Hello Ira! Welcome to MGP! How are you?
GOOD !! 

How would you describe yourself as an artist?
That's very hard to answer this early in my “career”. I don’t think I have found myself as an artist yet. Through Eurovision I think I will find myself a lot more, and kind of know where the line is drawn between whom I am as an artist and who I am as a person; what image I want to have. But at least on stage I think I show some confidence and that I enjoy performing, it feels very natural.

You are one of the participants of MGP 2015. How did it all begin?
It started with a Facebook message where Blikstad asked me if I wanted to sing lead on a song he was making. He told me the day before the demo was supposed to be sent in. He gave me some time to listen to it, get to know the song, and then I was just thrown in to the studio to track it. The song was so new for me to process that while tracking I still had to hold the text in front of me.

"We Don't Worry" is the title of your song and its written by Ali Pirzad, Julie Bergan, Øyvind Blikstad and Bjarte Giske. How did you feel working with them?
I couldn’t be happier with the people I’m working with. I was worried that I would work with people that would have a really strong idea of how I should be and how the song should be, but they basically let me do whatever I want. They all have their own fields that they know very well. I am very lucky to work with Ali who knows the business and guides me through my way.  
Whats the story behind the song?
The guys who wrote this song wants to give the listener a feeling that simply makes you want to let go of all your worries, and enjoy the good things in life!

Describe the song with 4 words:
Soul, happiness, authenticity, freedom

Lets talk about the performance, what can we expect to see on stage?
Well, nothing is concluded yet, but I am at least very certain of what I don’t want to do/have on stage. I def do not want any wind in my hair or flames and fireworks around me. I am not the biggest fan of that, but i mean, who knows? Eurovision can probably turn anybody into a diva and a fan of glam. 
But something I am very conscious about is to steer away from the classic and expected show for happy youthful pop songs. I don’t want to do anything too expected, but at the same time, is there anything that is expected in a Eurovision show?

This year the orchestra is back in MGP, how do you feel about it?
Cool, fun, it’s exciting. I hope it will add something extra to this year’s Norwegian finale. On this year’s MGP, NRK has just stepped up to another level.

Do you already know what you are going to wear for the final?
I know for sure that I’m at least not wearing heels........ or a formal dress. Or anything formal for that matter! I'm going express my individual style, but transformed into stage wear of course. I really love retro and urban clothing, and just in general I love clothing that you can find at a local flee market or a thrift shop. I think stylists have had a challenge so far dressing me, because I just happen to hate everything that looks “stage appropriate”. I have a very individual taste, haha. But it will not be boring! At the moment I am picturing myself wearing an outfit that is white from head to toe hmmm we will see

Did you watch Eurovision 2014?
I did not watch it last year, but I watched it yesterday actually (the Norwegian finale at least), just to prepare myself and picture myself being there, since that’s something that I cant seem to do. If Norway passed, I would have to pick Carl Espen as my fav from last year hehe

What do you like about Eurovision?
I really like the way it unites Europe. It’s an experience that I easily can share with my friends in Greece and Norway. I also love how it has given me this huge platform to present myself as an artist and to be known in several countries, which is a very hard thing to do on your own. And through my participation in Eurovision, I have realized how many dedicated fans this show has and a lot of people have traditions watching the show with their family or friends. 

What do you dislike about Eurovision?
The way people tend to vote for certain countries, not thinking about the song or the performance, and mixing in politics and geography. 
Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word:
Greece: AMAZING! SUMMER! HAPPINESS!
Stage: spotlight
Cat: not a fan
Nightmare: dreams
Fangirling: just stop
Clones: what
Amy Winehouse: hair
Dreams: nightmare (hehe)

What are your plans for 2015?
I am soon 18, so I am hoping my mom will let me travel alone this summer!! But in hence to my career, I don’t have any specific plans. My only focus at the moment is MGP.

Is there anything you want to say to close the interview?
I LUV EUROVISION and I am very happy to be a part of all of this!! Thank u!
If you want to see more of me, check out the links underneath
https://www.facebook.com/irakonstantinidis
http://instagram.com/iragk/
http://nrk.no/mgp/ira-konstantinidis-1.12155579
Photo: NRK
Thanks to Ira for this awesome interview! All the best in MGP!

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