Marina Satti is in luck! She’s heading to Malmö to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, with her song “ZARI.”
Put your hands up Europe, Marina Satti is bringing a fusion of Greek, Balkan, and urban pop sounds to the Eurovision stage. And it’s not by chance that Marina gets to represent her country at the Eurovision Song Contest. She was chosen by Greek broadcaster ERT, who then put out a call for songs alongside Marina’s record label Golden Records and Minos EMI (a Universal Music Company).
ZARI, which means “Dice” was finally chosen as Marina’s Eurovision song, and it’s got a top team of writers behind it. One of those people is Jordan Palmer, who has written hits for Carly Rae Jepson, Aloe Blacc, and Eurovision 2019 winner Duncan Laurence. Double Grammy winning producer, songwriter, and artist Gino the Ghost also worked on the track, and so did Jay Stolar, who’s worked with Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez and Camila Cabello.
Marina has a background as a classical pianist and classical singer, and went on to study at the internationally acclaimed Berklee College of Music in the USA. She studied orchestration, production, and jazz, which all comes through in her music today. Born in Athens to a Sudanese father and Cretan mother, she’s been able to create a unique blend of musical traditions.
The dice fell in Marina’s favour when she once got to sing with American jazz artist Bobby McFerrin, and it’s a moment she’ll remember forever. The 10-time Grammy Award winner is best known for his hit Don’t Worry, Be Happy.
Marina has performed with some amazing people, but she’s also performed in amazing places. She once gave a concert inside a volcano… even with the Eurovision stage to offer, we’re not sure we can top that location.
When it comes to Eurovision inspiration, Marina looks up to Michalis Rakintzis, who competed for Greece in 2002 with the song S.A.G.A.P.O. Michalis finished in 17th place, and while it might not be the most well-remembered of Greece’s modern-era Eurovision entries, it’s stuck in Marina’s mind and she loved how crazy the performance was. It includes a brilliant dance routine that the TikTokers of today would be proud of. Is it time for a renaissance?
Just before she was signed by her music label, Marina’s Greek language song TUCUTUM went viral in 2023 — the song had a lot of fun with Balkan trap trends. She’s also a big fan of urban sounds, as well as pop and rap. Some of her favourite songs include Kanye West and Travis Scott’s Wash Us In The Blood, Doja Cat’s Paint The Town Red, and M.I.A.’s Bad Girls.
As she heads towards Sweden, Marina is most looking forward to the parties, and judging by her music videos she’ll be up and dancing in no time.
One of the things she associates with Sweden is ABBA (of course), and now she just needs to know one thing — will Europe take a chance on ZARI?
Look out for Marina on upcoming episodes of the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast.
You can learn more about Marina Satti from Greece right here.
You can listen to all 37 songs of Eurovision 2024 via your favourite streaming service or watch the music videos on our YouTube channel.
The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Malmö, Sweden on Tuesday 7 May (First Semi-Final), Thursday 9 May (Second Semi-Final) and Saturday 11 May (Grand Final) 2024.
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