Popular Greek singer/songwriter Monika Christodoulou told Greek weekly tabloid, Protothema, she was surprised that her song “Ellas 21” met with a huge social media backlash.
The song, released on Monika’s Facebook page on Greece’s national 25 March holiday, was accompanied by an image of the artwork, “The ruins of Missolonghi”, by Eugene Delacroix. The lyrics, written by Monika’s husband Stavros Xenidis, who is not a professional lyricist, extol the virtues and struggles of Greece. There were strong reactions to the song by people who either liked it or loathed it, and it sparked strong debate.
Monika told Protothema that the song was inspired while she was driving a year ago at a time when numerous events were being announced for the Bicentenary of Greek Independence. The work was neither commissioned or part of organised celebrations for the occasion, and was just a personal release she felt compelled to create.
“A few hours after the song was released, some friends called me on the telephone to ask whether I was aware of the commotion,” Monika said. “The truth is that I could in no way have imagined that my spontaneous initiative to write a song and post it on my personal page without collaboration with any institution, group or movement could cause such a huge fuss, without that meaning that it is bad for an artist to participate in official organisations. I, as a person and an artist, never felt authorised to speak officially on national or political matters. That is why I purposefully don’t express myself publically nor on social media. I’ve never taken a stance on matters which don’t concern music. Who am i to influence the views and opinions of others? This is a huge responsibility. I only express myself and my music is just my way of expressing what I feel. Nothing more.”
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