Minus One are a Cypriot rock band formed in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

in 2009. They gained prominence in 2016 for representing Cyprus in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

History

Minus One began as a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of c ...

band, but later started performing their own music. They tried to represent Cyprus in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

with the song "Shine", but placed third in the national final. After being internally selected, they represented Cyprus in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Heroes (Måns Zelmerlöw song), Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organis ...

with the song "Alter Ego", which they co-wrote with Swedish musician Thomas G:son. The band reached 8th place with 164 points in the semi-final, and finished in 21st place with 96 points in the final. As a part of their "Alter Ego Tour" in 2016, the band performed in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In February 2017, they opened for British musician Glenn Hughes on his Resonate Tour in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. On 16 December 2017, the band released a cover of the 1964 song "

You Don't Own Me "You Don't Own Me" is a pop song written by Philadelphia songwriters John Madara and David White and recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, when she was 17 years old. The song was Gore's second most successful recording and her last top-ten single ...

", originally performed by

Lesley Gore Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein, May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. At the age of 16, she recorded her first hit song " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She follow ...

. In the Minus One version, the band is joined by 15-year-old Cypriot singer Semeli Panayiotou. Minus One's first album, ''Red Black White'', was released on 14 December 2018. It was recorded at Medley Studios in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and released by Danish label Mighty Music.

Band members

Current

* Andreas Kapatais – lead vocals * Constantinos Amerikanos – guitar, backing vocals * Harrys Pari – guitar * Orestis Savva – bass * Christopher Ioannides – drums

* Francois Micheletto – lead vocals * George Solonos – guitar, backing vocals * Antonis Loizides – bass * Maxim Theofanides – bass

Discography

Studio albums

* Red Black White - 2018 * Got It Covered - 2021

EP

* The Bologna Season - 2017

Singles

* Alter Ego - 2016 * The Potato Song - 2016 * Save Me - 2016 * You Don't Own Me - 2017 * Girl - 2018 * What's Up - 2019 * My Girl - Where Did You Sleep Last Night - 2020 * What's Up? - 2021 * Oh Pretty Woman - 2021

References

Cypriot rock music groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants {{Cyprus-stub