| "Alcohol Is Free" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ||||
| Single by Koza Mostra feat. Agathonas Iakovidis | ||||
| from the album Keep Up The Rhythm | ||||
| Released | February 11, 2013 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:58 | |||
| Label | Platinum Records | |||
| Songwriter | Ilias Kozas | |||
| Producer | Koza Mostra | |||
| Koza Mostra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2013 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist | ||||
| Languages | ||||
| Composer | Ilias Kozas | |||
| Lyricist | Stathis Pahidis | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 2nd | |||
| Semi-final points | 121 | |||
| Final result | 6th | |||
| Final points | 152 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Aphrodisiac" (2012) | ||||
| "Rise Up" (2014) ► | ||||
| Official performance video | ||||
| "Alcohol Is Free (Second Semi-Final) on YouTube "Alcohol Is Free (Final) on YouTube | ||||
"Alcohol Is Free" is a song performed by Koza Mostra and Agathonas Iakovidis. It was the Greek entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013,where it eventually came 6th at the finals. [1] It was composed as a mix of ska,punk and rebetiko music styles. [2] The song's chorus is sung in English while the rest of it is in Greek. [3] It was performed at Eurovision with the performers wearing kilts. [4] The song also included a number of allusions to the Greek government-debt crisis and a feeling of suffering as a result of it. [5]
At the Eurovision Song Contest,"Alcohol is Free" was placed in the second semi-final where it was performed 9th in the running order. [3] The song was voted through to compete in the final. [6] There it was selected to play 21st in the Eurovision final running order. [7] The song eventually finished 6th in the competition after receiving the maximum of 12 points from Cyprus and San Marino while also receiving high marks from Albania,Armenia,Russia,and the United Kingdom. [8] "Alcohol is Free" was also the highest-ranking song not sung primarily in English. [9]
The song was praised by critics,with the British Daily Mirror newspaper calling it "certifiably brilliant madness". [4] A panel of music critics rated it as 67%. Czech musician Stano Simor criticized its melody as being too similar to Russian folk songs. [10] Neos Kosmos ,a Greek-Australian newspaper,opined that "Alcohol is Free" had gained a cult following because it contrasted with Europop music while maintaining Greek folk music. [11]
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Greece Digital Songs ( Billboard ) [12] | 1 |
| Germany (GfK) [13] | 85 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) [14] | 95 |
| UK Indie (OCC) [15] | 30 |