Name | Anna VissiΆννα Βίσση |
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Background | solo_singer |
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Alias | Anna Vishy |
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Born | December 20, 1957Pyla, Larnaca, Cyprus |
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Origin | Athens, Greece |
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Instrument | Vocals |
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Genre | Contemporary laika, laika, folk, pop, dance |
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Occupation | Singer-songwriter, composer, actress |
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Voice type | Mezzo-soprano |
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Years active | 1973–present |
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Label | Minos (1970-1978),Columbia Graphophone Company (1978-1984), CarVi (1982), Sony Music Entertainment Greece (1984-present),Vanilla/Moda (2005) |
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Associated acts | Epikouri, Nikos Karvelas |
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Url | www.annavissi.net www.annavissilive.com |
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Anna Vissi (; born December 20, 1957), known as Anna Vishy in Cypriot Greek, is a Cypriot–Greek singer, songwriter and actress, known mainly in Greece and her native country of Cyprus, with some international success within Europe, the United States and elsewhere. In the 1980s, Vissi began an exclusive collaboration with Nikos Karvelas, resulting in one of the most successful music partnerships in the nation's history.
From 1995 to 2009, Vissi received 30 Platinum certifications in Greece and has become one of the country's best-selling female artists, having sold over 9.5 million records worldwide. She would eventually appear with a number of well-known Greek singers, such as George Dalaras, Haris Alexiou, and Vasilis Papakonstantinou, in the famous nightclubs of Plaka, in Athens. During this time she also studied the law at the University of Athens. Her first important collaboration, alongside George Dalaras, was with composer Stavros Koujioumtzis. Koujioumtzis composed two songs for Vissi, S' Agapo ("I Love You") and Sta Hronia tis Ipomonis ("In The Years of Patience"). She also collaborated with many important Greek composers such as Mikis Theodorakis (1974/1975), Georgios Hadjinassios (1974), Doros Giorgiadis (1974), Nikos Karvelas (who later became her husband; 1975) and Mihalis Terzis (1976).
Late 1970s: Career beginnings
In 1977 she went on tour with
George Dalaras and
Haris Alexiou, giving concerts with the most notable at the Rainbow,
London (June). In the same year, she released her first album named
As Kanoume Apopse Mian Arhi and won the prize for best singer and best song (
As Kanoume Apopse Mian Arhi) of the year at the Annual Song Festival of
Thessaloniki (Palais des Sports). In 1978 she was proposed by ERT (Greek National Television) to represent
Greece at the 23rd
Eurovision Song Contest. There were two candidate songs:
Poso S' Agapo and
O Kyrios Nobel. Finally, due to controversies between the composers of the songs, her participation was disqualified and
Tania Tsanaklidou went to the contest. Her second album
Kitrino Galazio was released in 1979 and produced the hit
Aftos Pou Perimeno ("The one I'm waiting for"). The album reached platinum status and became the best selling record of the year in Greece. In the same year she realesed her third album
Nai ("Yes") reaching gold status with 50.000 units sold. The album produced the hits
Oso Eho Foni ("As long as I have my voice") and
Methysmeni Politeia ("Drunken state"). One year later her forth selftitled album
Anna Vissi was released reaching gold status. In 1982, she represented her native
Cyprus at the
27th Eurovision Song Contest with the song she composed herself,
Mono I Agapi ("Only love"), which ended fifth with 85 points scoring
Cyprus its highest position to date. The songs were not released on any album or CD single until 2006, when both were released on CD single in time for Vissi's third Eurovision appearance. "Mono I Agapi", however, was released as a 7-inch single in 1982 with an English version titled
I'm Gonna Be A Fool for You as a
b-side.
1983–1989: Collaboration and marriage to Nikos Karvelas
In May of 1983, she married
Nikos Karvelas, a
composer, with whom she collaborated in 1975 and in November she gave birth to her daughter Sofia. After their marriage, she started a close collaboration with
Karvelas. Since 1975, all her releases have become gold or platinum and have included songs by Karvelas. In 1986, she participated at the Cypriot National Final for Eurovision Song Contest with the song
Thelo Na Gino Star ("I Want To Be A Star"), taking second place. This song is still unreleased up to date.
In 1984, Vissi left her record company Columbia and joined Sony Music, a collaboration that lasts until today. In March of 1984, she released Na 'Hes Kardia ("If You Had a Heart"). The album was certified gold. The following year her seventh album Kati Simveni ("Something Is Happening") was released which included one of her most famous songs, titled "Dodeka" ["Twelve (O'Clock)"] and reached gold status selling 80.000 units. In 1986 I Epomeni Kinisi ("The Next Move") was released. The album included the hit Pragmata ("Things") and went platinum, becoming the best selling record of the year. In February of 1988 she released her ninth album Tora ("Now") and in December the album Empnefsi! ("Inspiration!") which went gold.
In 1988, she made her debut as a radio producer on ANT1 Radio. Her radio program was titled after one of her songs Ta Koritsia Einai Atakta ("Girls Are Naughty") and was aired every weekend. In the same year, she participated with the song Klaio ("I'm Crying") at the Greek National Final for Eurovision Song Contest, finishing third.
In 1989, she released the highly successful studio album Fotia (Fire), being one of the first albums to feature western sounds. The lead single Pseftika ("Fake") became a big hit and the album reached platinum status, selling 180.000 copies and becoming the second best selling record of 1990. She performed at "Diogenis Palace" in that same year, Athens's biggest nightclub/music hall at the time.
1990–1995: Theatrical work and television
.]]
In the early 1990s, she continued performing around
Greece with
Nikos Karvelas, with appearances at "Diogenis Palace" and then at "Rex". In November 1991, Vissi and
Karvelas starred in the first Greek rock opera,
Daimones ("Demons"). It was based on a libretto by Stavros Sideras and staged at Attikon Theater in
Athens for two years.
Roger Williams was the director and Anna Vissi (Queen & Rozanne), Yannis Samsiaris (Daniel), Bessy Malfa (Witch & Loa) and John Modinos (Inquisitor) were the leading actors.
Daimones was played on foreign TV stations and attracted the attention of Broadway agents. A year later, in October 1993, Vissi landed the leading role of Aphrodite, in the one-act opera
Ode to the Gods by Stavros Sideras. It was held only once in
Limassol,
Cyprus, during the celebrations for the Commonwealth Day. Then-president of the Republic of
Cyprus,
Glafkos Clerides, and
Queen Elizabeth II, were amongst the audience.
The following years, Karvelas and Vissi released the albums Lambo (1992), Emeis (1992), Live! (1993), Re! (1994), and O! Kypros (1995), an album with traditional Cypriot songs.
In 1994, she was the hostess on the ANT1 weekly TV show Me Agapi, Anna. The show was canceled and in 2008 the production company filed a lawsuit against Vissi claiming "unprofessional behavior of the singer" because the agreement was for 40 episodes and Vissi dropped out after 10 episodes.
In April 1997, Vissi released Travma which went gold in twelve days and triple platinum in six months, eventually selling 170 thousand copies. The album eventually achieved triple platinum status, having sold 130 thousand copies as of 2009. During the summer of 1998, Vissi presented a show at club "Asteria".
Later that year, Vissi gave a charity concert at the Presidential Palace in Cyprus, with the presidential orchestra of the Russian Confederacy (Telethon) and continued with two concerts in London, in February 1999 (Forum Music Theatre, Palladium Theatre). Shortly after, there was also a mini-tour in the U.S.A., giving concerts in Los Angeles, Atlantic City, Chicago, Boston and New York (Madison Square Garden). The Los Angeles Times wrote: "A performance so charismatic, so filled with sheer magnetic talent... expect big things from this potential new international star", while the New York Times wrote: "With raised arms and delicately stepping feet, she was no unapproachable, packaged pop diva, but an irrepressible entertainer".
In New York City, Vissi performed a mini-concert for her fans at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. This performance was part of a series of events hosted by the Virgin Megastore, promoting some of the world's biggest stars, with Vissi being the only Greek singer to receive this honor. The event was promoted throughout the tri-state area by KTU (radio station) and was part of "Anna Vissi day" at the biggest Virgin Megastore in the U.S.A..
2000–2001: Everything I Am and Kravgi
Followed by a short break from music, in April 2000 Vissi performed at
London's Royal Albert Hall, at the so-called "millennium show," singing in front of people from Sony International, marketing managers from
Europe, and fans from the
United Kingdom. a song later made famous by Australian singer
Kylie Minogue and included in Minogue's album
Light Years.
Some months later, her first international single was released titled "Everything I Am", containing the original version and three remixes of the song (Almighty Mix, Eiffel 65 RMX, Groove Brothers Remix), and a song with both Greek and English lyrics called "Moro Mou, No Tomorrow". She also filmed her first music video of a song off that single, directed by Antti Jokinen (Solar films, Finland), that cost 80,000,000 drachmas ($310,000).
Apart from the English-language single, she also released the Greek-language single "Agapi Ipervoliki" on an EP of the same name containing six new songs. To promote the single, she started appearances at "Asteria" club with Karvelas and the boy band ONE, with Shaun Fernandez as the choreographer.
In September 2000, she gave a charity concert at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia, in front of 12,000 people, with ONE and a group of dancers from Sony International. She sang songs from the very beginning of her career to her then-current career (1973–2001).
At the same year, she released her international English-language album, called Everything I Am, which although started as ambition effort to launch an international career, failed to chart in the United States. In Greece, after a week, the album reached gold status (20,000+ copies), while Australia, South Africa, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Turkey, Finland, Norway, and Asia started to promote it, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time in Greece.
Some months later, she started appearances with Garbi and ONE at "Fever", The play, which was staged at Pallas Theatre in Athens, it was written by Karvelas, directed by Giannis Kakleas and was accompanied by a symphony orchestra conducted by Giorgos Niarhos. Mala premiered on January 19 and received positive reviews, mostly. The musical was also shown on Mega Channel a year later. An album containing the songs performed at the play was also released and charted.
In late 2002, Vissi released the album X, which was produced by George De Angelis.
2004–2005: "Call Me" and Nylon
On March 31, 2004, Vissi performed in the Liberty Square in
Nicosia, at a concert part of the celebrations for
Cyprus's entry at the
European Union, after an official invitation from the
Republic of Cyprus. In May 2004, she went on a small tour in
England and the
United States, which went platinum in its first week of release.After that concert, she moved to the
United States, for the preparation and promotion of her single "
Call Me". In the
United States, the single was released by
Moda Records, which, during its collaboration with Vissi, was called Vanilla/Moda Records. It features twelve remixes, and went to number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music Club Play chart and number two on the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart. This performance was considered by many her comeback to the Greek music scene after being absent for more than a year.
On September 27, 2005, Vissi released a new Greek album titled Nylon.Shortly after, in October 2005, the album was released as a dual disc, the first ever to be released in Greece. The album is different than other albums Vissi had released up to then, with a more rock feel to it, as well as a mix of other genres including rock, dance, ballads and hip-hop. She also visited Malta, Cyprus, Albania, Serbia & Montenegro, Romania, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belgium, and ended her tour on May 10, 2006 in Israel.
On April 19, 2006 she released a CD single for her Eurovision entry "Everything". It featured the original version of "Everything" and a remix of it by DJ Valentino and Christodoulos Siganos. She then also re-released Nylon as , which includes all of the songs from her album Nylon, as well as the entry song "Everything" in original, remixed and karaoke version. She also had a concert on September 8, 2006 at G.S.P. Stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus, which kick-started her Greek mini-tour.
In February 2008, Vissi signed to Maple Jam Music Group for the management of the release of her upcoming Greek and English albums. With Cosmote sponsoring the album, three songs from the album were released on November 26, 2008, exclusively on the Cosmote online music store.
Vissi's Greek album Apagorevmeno was released on December 9, 2008, including songs by Patrick Leonard, Adam Cohen, Kara DioGuardi, Glen Ballard, Dan Wilson, Yiannis Kefonedes and Vissi herself. The production of this album was done by Vissi herself, Greg Ladanyi, Patrick Leonard, CJ Vanston and Yiannis Kefonedes. In August 2009, Apagorevmeno became the first album to have four top 10 singles on the official Greek download chart by Billboard since the launch of the chart. As with Nylon, it was cited as a relative commercial failure by Eleftheros Typos and furthered the commercial decline Vissi had faced in the 2000s.
On February 24, 2009, Vissi re-newed her contract with Sony Music Entertainment Greece. but Vissi had said she would finish her commitments to "The Fabulous Show" prior to releasing it, thus pushing the date back to 2010. On December 8, 2010 during a radio interview in Athens, Vissi confirmed that works for her english-languaged album are still on, and this album will also feature Karvelas english-languaged songs.
performing at Athinon Arena in 2011.]]
In July 2010, Vissi confirmed she was currently filming a documentary with film director and friend Christine Crokos, which focuses on Vissi's everyday life.
According to music site "Tralala.gr", the new Greek album would feature songs by Nikos Karvelas, Yiorgos Sambanis, Yiannis Kefonides, Yiannis Christodoulopoulos, Alex Papaconstantinou, and Dimitris Kontopoulos, respectively. This is Vissi's second year in a row appearing at "Athinon Arena".Elena Paparizouwith My Number One
| title=Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest
| years=19802006
| after=Giannis Dimitraswith Feggari KalokerinoSarbelwith Yassou Maria
}}
Category:1957 births
Category:Anna Vissi
Category:Arion Music Awards winners
Category:Cypriot actors
Category:Cypriot composers
Category:Cypriot Eurovision Song Contest entrants
Category:Cypriot female singers
Category:Cypriot pop singers
Category:Cypriot songwriters
Category:English-language singers
Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1980
Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1982
Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2006
Category:Greek Cypriot people
Category:Greek dance musicians
Category:Greek Eurovision Song Contest entrants
Category:Greek Pop Corn Music Awards winners
Category:People from Larnaca
Category:Living people
Category:MAD Video Music Awards winners
Category:Modern Greek-language singers
Category:Sony Music Greece artists
Category:Thessaloniki Song Festival winners