Manolis Psaltakis, the composer of the famous Eurovision song My Number One, which brought Greece its first victory in 2005, expressed his frustration over the behavior of Elena Paparizou and Sakis Rouvas during the national final held on the night of Thursday, January 30.

In a social media post, he vented his anger, saying that the hosts failed to mention his name as the creator of the song before Elena Paparizou’s performance on the Christmas Theater stage.

He even warned that if this happens again, he will prohibit her from performing the song, calling on both the singer and the production team to respect his contribution.

“Sakis Rouvas, when you say My Number One, you will say Manos Psaltakis and not Paparizou. The same goes for her because if this happens again, I give you my word—I will forbid her from ever singing my song again. Remember that, Paparizou, ERT, and anyone else who disrespects me by not mentioning my name,” he wrote on his personal Facebook account.

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After the competing artists performed their songs and while the audience voting was still ongoing, Paparizou took the stage in a white dress and started with a cover of the popular song Die For You, earning thunderous applause from the crowd. This was the song she had performed as part of Antique when they represented Greece in Eurovision in 2001.

During her performance, the rhythm suddenly shifted, and Elena Paparizou continued by singing the iconic My Number One, the song that secured Greece’s Eurovision victory two decades ago.

My Number One was composed by Manos Psaltakis and Christos Dantis, with lyrics by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou.