{{infobox film | name	Tickets| image | director Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach and Ermanno Olmi | starring | producer | released 2005| language English , Albanian , Italian | runtime 109 min | distributor }}

Tickets is a 2005 comedy-drama film directed by Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach and Ermanno Olmi.

See also

List of Iranian films

External links

Category:Iranian films Category:2005 films Category:Italian films Category:British films Category:Films directed by Ken Loach

fa:بلیت‌ها fr:Tickets (film) it:Tickets pl:Bilety ru:Билет на поезд (фильм) fi:Liput (elokuva) tr:Tickets (film)

name	Ken Loach
birth name	Kenneth Loach
birth date	June 17, 1936
birth place	Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, UK
years active	1962–present
wife	Lesley Ashton (1962-) }}

Kenneth "Ken" Loach (born 17 June 1936) is an English film and television director.

He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness (''Cathy Come Home''), labour rights (''Riff-Raff'') and child abuse at the hands social, political and economic pressures (''Kes'').

Early life and career

Loach was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, the son of Vivien (née Hamlin) and John Loach. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School and following two years in the Royal Air Force read law at St Peter's College, Oxford. There he performed in the now well-established comedy group, the Oxford Revue. He initially worked as an actor in repertory theatre, but in the early 1960s moved into television direction and was credited in this role on early episodes of ''Z-Cars'' in 1964.

In 1966, Loach made the influential docudrama ''Cathy Come Home'' portraying working class people affected by homelessness and unemployment, and presenting a powerful and influential critique of the workings of the Social Services. Soon afterwards with ''Poor Cow'' (1967) he started directing films for the cinema, and in 1969 made ''Kes'', the story of a troubled boy and his kestrel, based on the novel ''A Kestrel for a Knave'' by Barry Hines. The British Film Institute named it No 7 in its list of best British films of the twentieth century, published in 1999.

During the 1970s and '80s, Loach's films were less successful, often suffering from poor distribution, lack of interest and political censorship. His film ''The Save the Children Fund Film'' (1971) was commissioned by the charity, who subsequently disliked it so much they attempted to have the negative destroyed. It has never been shown in public; its belated premiere is due to take place on 1 September 2011.

In 1982, Loach and Central Independent Television were commissioned by Channel 4 to make ''Questions of Leadership'', a documentary series on the response of the British trade union movement to the challenge posed by the policies of the Thatcher government, which also gave members an opportunity to call their own leaders to account. The programmes were not broadcast by Channel 4, a decision Loach claimed was politically motivated. In 2004, for the first time, the real reason for this censorship was revealed, in Anthony Hayward's book ''Which Side Are You On? Ken Loach and His Films''. It emerged that the media tycoon Robert Maxwell had put pressure on Central's board, of which he had become a director, to withdraw ''Questions of Leadership'' at the time he was buying the ''Daily Mirror'' newspaper and needed the co-operation of union leaders, especially Frank Chapple of the electricians.

Another film, ''Which Side Are You On?'' (1985), about the songs and poems of the UK miners' strike, was commissioned by ITV's ''The South Bank Show'', but also banned. The film was eventually transmitted on Channel 4, but only after it won a major prize at the Berlin International Film Festival. Crucially, it was only shown towards the end of the miners' strike and not in the middle of the strike when it was originally scheduled.

The late 1980's and 1990s saw the production of a series of critically acclaimed and popular films such as "Hidden Agenda" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099768/), one of the rare films dealing with the political troubles in Northern Ireland, "Carla's Song" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115832/) set partially in Nicaragua, and "Land and Freedom" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114671/) examining the Republican resistance in the Spanish Civil War. "Land and Freedom" contains a quintessentially Loach sequence of a 20 minute political discussion amongst villagers trying to decide whether or not a village's smallholdings should be collectivized. During this period he was also awarded prizes at the Cannes Film Festival on three occasions. He directed the Courtroom Drama reconstructions in the docu-film ''McLibel'', concerning the longest libel trial in English history, which became a promotional disaster for the fast food chain. Interspersed with overtly political films were smaller dramas such as "Raining Stones" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107920/) a working class drama concerning an unemployed man's efforts to buy a communion dress for his young daughter.

On 28 May 2006, Loach won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival for his film ''The Wind That Shakes the Barley'', a film about the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Irish Civil War during the 1920s. In characteristic fashion this sweeping political-historical drama was followed by "It's a Free World" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0807054/) a story of one woman's attempt to establish an illegal placement service for migrant workers in London. Throughout the 2000's Loach continued to intersperse wider political dramas such as "Bread and Roses" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212826/) which focused on the Los Angeles janitors strike) and "Route Irish" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0807054/), set in the Iraq occupation, with smaller examinations of personal relationships. "Ae Fond Kiss" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380366/) explored an inter-racial love affair, "Sweet Sixteen" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313670/) a teenager's relationship with his mother, and "My Name is Joe" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151691/) an alcoholic's struggle to stay sober. His most commercially successful recent film is 2009's "Looking For Eric" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242545/), featuring a depressed postman's conversations with the ex-Manchester United football star, Eric Cantona (played by Cantona himself). A measure of Loach's difficulties gaining broad release for his work is the fact that this film ended up making only £12,000 profit (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/aug/28/ken-loach-class-riots-interview?INTCMP=SRCH).

In 2011 he released "Route Irish" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0807054/), an examination of private contractors working in the Iraqi occupation. A thematic consistency throughout his films, whether they examine broad political situations, or smaller intimate dramas, is his focus on personal relationships. The sweeping political dramas "(Land and Freedom", "Bread and Roses", "The Wind that Shakes the Barley") examine wider political forces in the context of relationships between family members ("Bread and Roses", "The Wind that Shakes the Barley", "Carla's Song"), comrades in struggle ("Land and Freedom") or close friends ("Route Irish"). In a 2011 interview for the Financial Times, Loach explains how "The politics are embedded into the characters and the narrative, which is a more sophisticated way of doing it" (http://www.slate.com/id/2302617/pagenum/2).

Loach lives with his wife, Lesley, in Bath, where he is a supporter of and shareholder in Bath City F.C. A short film concerning Bath FC is part of the DVD issue of "Looking for Erik". His son Jim Loach has also become a television and film director.

Loach is currently shooting his new film 'The Angel's Share'; he was spotted in June 2011 on set in a Scottish distillery. The film centers around a young Scottish troublemaker who is given one final opportunity to stay out of jail. Newcomer Paul Brannigan, 24, from Glasgow is set to play the lead role.

Film style

Loach's film work is characterised by a particular view of realism; he strives in every area of filmmaking to emphasise genuine interplay between actors, to the point where some scenes in his films appear unscripted. All scenes are carefully scripted, around which some improvisation can occur. The final script and the final film are actually very close. Loach values having a strong, creative partnership with scriptwriters, most recently with Paul Laverty, who has written nine feature films for Loach (including ''The Wind That Shakes The Barley'' and ''Sweet Sixteen''), and previously with Jim Allen (''Land & Freedom'') and Barry Hines (''Kes'').

In May 2010, Loach told Tom Lamont in an interview about the three films that have influenced him most: Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948), Milos Forman's Loves of a Blonde (1965) and Gillo Pontecorvo's Battle of Algiers (1966). De Sica's film had a particularly profound effect on Loach: "It made me realise that cinema could be about ordinary people and their dilemmas. It wasn't a film about stars, or riches or absurd adventures."

Rather than employing method actors, he prefers unknown talent who have had some of the life experience of the characters they portray. Loach's film work has been described as naturalistic; he emphasises the genuine interplay between actors, and foregoes over-dependence on special effects. He succeeds in creating a spontaneous, realistic atmosphere in scenes and many actors, from Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall to Robert Carlyle (''Carla's Song'' and ''Riff-Raff'') and Peter Mullan (''My Name Is Joe'') have praised the performances he coaxes from actors and how he treats them.

In ''Bread and Roses'', a film about immigrant cleaners in LA, many of the extras were Latino immigrant cleaners. Some were also trade union and grassroots activists. Some knew from their own experience the dangers of crossing the border into the US. Adrien Brody, the main actor, spent time with activists to understand his role better. Pilar Padilla, a Mexican actress and protagonist of the film, had to learn English in a crash course to play the part.

Loach makes great efforts to help the actors express themselves naturally and honestly. He believes that shooting in order, from first scene to last, helps the actors to find a response to their circumstances. Many actors in his films are often not given the full script at the beginning of a shoot, but rather they experience the story just as a fictional character might do. He will often give actors their scenes a couple of days in advance so they can learn their lines, but they still won't know what comes after that. If a scene involves shock or surprise for a character, the actor might not know what is about to happen. In ''Kes'' the boy actor, discovering the dead bird at the end, believed Loach had killed the bird, which he had become fond of during the filming (the crew used a dead bird found elsewhere). What is more, in the scene where Mr Gryce is searching the schoolboys, the small first year holding everybody else's cigarettes was under the impression that he was to give the headmaster a note and leave the office. Subsequently, when he is searched and found to be "a right little cigarette factory", he is caned alongside the other boys; hence, his look of shock and tears of pain are real. In ''Raining Stones'' one of the actresses visited at her house by a loan shark had no idea that he was going to force her to take off her wedding ring and give it to him as part payment. In ''Carla's Song'', the bus driver, played by Robert Carlyle, knew nothing of Carla's attempted suicide until he discovered her in the bath. In ''Looking For Eric'', the main actor Steve Evets discovered that football icon Eric Cantona was in the film only when he turned around to face him in a scene, with the camera rolling.

Loach opposes censorship in cinema and was outraged at the "18" certificate given to ''Sweet Sixteen''. Loach said,

Political activities

Throughout his career Loach's films have been shelved for political reasons. In a 2011 interview with the Guardian newspaper he said "It makes you angry, not on your own behalf, but on behalf of the people whose voices weren't allowed to be heard. When you had trade unions, ordinary people, rank and file, never been on television, never been interviewed, and they're not allowed to be heard, that's scandalous. And you see it over and over again. I mean, we heard very little from the kids in the riots. You hear some people being inarticulate in a hood, but very few people were actually allowed to speak" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/aug/28/ken-loach-class-riots-interview?INTCMP=SRCH). In the same interview his focus on working people's lives is explained thusly: "I think the underlying factors regarding the riots are plain for anyone with eyes to see … It seems to me any economic structure that could give young people a future has been destroyed. Traditionally young people would be drawn into the world of work, and into groups of adults who would send the boys for a lefthanded screwdriver, or a pot of elbow grease, and so they'd be sent up in that way, but they would also learn about responsibilities, and learn a trade, and be defined by their skills. Well, they destroyed that. Thatcher destroyed that. She consciously destroyed the workforces in places like the railways, for example, and the mines, and the steelworks … so that transition from adolescence to adulthood was destroyed, consciously, and knowingly." He argues that working people's struggles are inherently dramatic: "They live life very vividly, and the stakes are very high if you don't have a lot of money to cushion your life. Also, because they're the front line of what we came to call the class war. Either through being workers without work, or through being exploited where they were working. And I guess for a political reason, because we felt, and I still think, that if there is to be change, it will come from below. It won't come from people who have a lot to lose, it will come from people who will have everything to gain." (//www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/aug/28/ken-loach-class-riots-interview?INTCMP=SRCH). This explains how Loach regards politics and drama as intertwined, rather than existing in separate spheres.

A member of the Labour Party from the early 1960s, Loach left in the mid-1990s. In November 2004, he was elected to the national council of the Respect Coalition He stood for election to the European Parliament on a Respect mandate. He supports the Socialist Resistance organisation. Also, he supports the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of the State of Israel, backed by many intellectuals in Palestinian civil society, including writers, filmmakers, students, trade unions and human rights groups. PACBI is in turn part of a wider global international movement: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), that opposes actions by the Israeli State.

In 2007, Loach was one of more than 100 artists and writers who signed an open letter initiated by Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism and the South West Asian, North African Bay Area Queers (SWANABAQ) and calling on the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival "to honour calls for an international boycott of Israeli political and cultural institutions, by discontinuing Israeli consulate sponsorship of the LGBT film festival and not co-sponsoring events with the Israeli consulate." Loach also joined "54 international figures in the literary and cultural fields" in signing a letter that stated, in part, "celebrating 'Israel at 60' is tantamount to dancing on Palestinian graves to the haunting tune of lingering dispossession and multi-faceted injustice". The letter was published in the ''International Herald Tribune'' on 8 May 2008."

Responding to a report, which he described as "a red herring", on the growth of antisemitism since the beginning of the Gaza War, he has said: "If there has been a rise I am not surprised. In fact, it is perfectly understandable because Israel feeds feelings of anti-Semitism." He added "no-one can condone violence".

In May 2009, organisers of the Edinburgh International Film Festival returned a £300 grant from the Israeli Embassy after speaking with Ken Loach. The director was supporting a boycott of the festival called for by the PACBI campaign. In response, former Channel 4 chief executive Sir Jeremy Isaacs describing Loach's intervention as an act of censorship, he said: "They must not allow someone who has no real position, no rock to stand on, to interfere with their programming." Later, a spokesman for the EIFF said that although it had returned £300 to the Israeli Embassy, the festival itself would fund Israeli filmmaker Tali Shalom-Ezer's travel to Edinburgh out of its own budget. In an open letter to Ms Shalom Ezer, Ken Loach wrote "From the beginning, Israel and its supporters have attacked their critics as anti-semites or racists. It is a tactic to undermine rational debate. To be crystal clear: as a film maker you will receive a warm welcome in Edinburgh. You are not censored or rejected. The opposition was to the Festival’s taking money from the Israeli state". To his critics, he added later: "The boycott, as anyone who takes the trouble to investigate knows, is aimed at the Israeli state." Loach said he had a "respectful and reasoned" conversation with event organisers, saying they should not be accepting funds from Israel.

In June 2009, Loach, Paul Laverty (writer) and Rebecca O'Brien (producer) pulled their film ''Looking For Eric'' from the Melbourne International Film Festival, where the Israeli Embassy is a sponsor, after the festival declined the withdraw their sponsorship. The festival's chief executive, Richard Moore, compared Loach's tactics to blackmail, stating that "we will not participate in a boycott against the State of Israel, just as we would not contemplate boycotting films from China or other nations involved in difficult long-standing historical disputes.” Australian lawmaker Michael Danby also criticised Loach’s tactics stating that “Israelis and Australians have always had a lot in common, including contempt for the irritating British penchant for claiming cultural superiority. Melbourne is a very different place to Londonistan.”

Loach, Laverty and O'Brien subsequently wrote that: "We feel duty bound to take advice from those living at the sharp end inside the occupied territories. We would also encourage other filmmakers and actors invited to festivals to check for Israeli state backing before attending, and if so, to respect the boycott. Israeli filmmakers are not the target. State involvement is. In the grand scale of things it is a tiny contribution to a growing movement, but the example of South Africa should give us heart".

Loach has also expressed strong support for Chechen independence from Russia.

Loach is a Patron of several charities, including Doorway, a homeless charity in Nuneaton, and Developing Health and Independence (DHI) in Bath.

Together with John Pilger and Jemima Khan, Ken Loach was among the six people in court willing to offer surety for Julian Assange when he was arrested in London on 7 December 2010.. In a recent interview with ShortList magazine he said "It’s clear that he’s being set up. Clearly the Yanks want to get him back and either imprison him for a long time, or worse. We need a bit of solidarity with someone who has just told us things that we were entitled to know."

Honours

Loach turned down an OBE in 1977. In a ''Radio Times'' interview, published in March 2001, he said: "It's all the things I think are despicable: patronage, deferring to the monarchy and the name of the British Empire, which is a monument of exploitation and conquest."

Loach has been awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Birmingham, Staffordshire University, and Keele University. Oxford University awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree in June 2005. He is also an honorary fellow of his ''alma mater'', St Peter's College, Oxford. In May 2006, he was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship at the BAFTA TV Awards.

He received the 2003 Praemium Imperiale (lit. "World Culture Prize in Memory of His Imperial Highness Prince Takamatsu") in the category Film/Theatre.

Filmography

Television

''Catherine'' ("Teletale", 1964)

''Z-Cars'' (series, 1964)

''Diary of a Young Man'' (1964)

''Tap on the Shoulder'' (Play for Today, 1965)

''Wear a Very Big Hat'' (Play for Today, 1965)

''Three Clear Sundays'' (Play for Today, 1965)

''Up the Junction'' (Play for Today, 1965)

''The End of Arthur's Marriage'' (Play for Today, 1965)

''The Coming Out Party'' (Play for Today, 1965)

''Cathy Come Home'' (Play for Today, 1966)

''In Two Minds'' (Play for Today, 1967)

''The Golden Vision'' (Play for Today, 1968)

''The Big Flame'' (Play for Today, 1969)

''The Rank and the File'' (Play for Today, 1971)

''After a Lifetime'' ("Sunday Night Theatre", 1971)

''A Misfortune'' ("Full House", 1973)

''Days of Hope'' (mini-series, 1975)

''The Price of Coal'' (1977)

''The Gamekeeper'' (1980)

''Auditions'' (1980)

''A Question of Leadership'' (1981)

''The Red and the Blue: Impressions of Two Political Conferences - Autumn 1982'' (1983)

''Questions of Leadership'' (1983/4, untransmitted)

''Which Side Are You On?'' (1985)

''End of the Battle... Not the End of the War'' ("Diverse Reports", 1985)

''Time to Go'' ("Split Screen", 1989)

''The View From the Woodpile'' (1989)

''The Arthur Legend ("Dispatches", 1991)

''The Flickering Flame'' (1996)

''Another City: A Week in the Life of Bath's Football Club'' (1998)

Cinema

''Poor Cow'' (1967)

''Kes'' (1969) (as Kenneth Loach)

''The Save the Children Fund Film'' (1971)

''Family Life'' (1971)

''Black Jack'' (1979)

''Looks and Smiles'' (1981) (as Kenneth Loach)

''Fatherland'' (1986)

''Hidden Agenda'' (1990). Cannes Special Jury Prize.

''Riff-Raff'' (1991). European Film Award Best Picture

''Raining Stones'' (1993). Cannes Special Jury Prize.

''Ladybird Ladybird'' (1994)

''Land and Freedom'' (1995). FIPRESCI International Critics Prize; Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Film Festival; European Film Award Best Picture

''A Contemporary Case for Common Ownership'' (1995)

''Carla's Song'' (1996)

''The Flickering Flame'' (1997)

''My Name Is Joe'' (1998)

''Bread and Roses'' (2000)

''The Navigators'' (2001)

''Sweet Sixteen'' (2002)

''11'09"01 September 11 (segment "United Kingdom")'' (2002)

''Ae Fond Kiss...'' (2004)

''Tickets'' (2005), along with Ermanno Olmi and Abbas Kiarostami

''The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' (2006) Palme d'Or, Cannes

''It's a Free World...'' (2007) ''Screenplay Osella at 64th Venice Film Festival''

''Looking for Eric'' (2009)

''Route Irish'' (2010)

See also

Kitchen sink realism

References

External links

Ken Loach - Production Company and DVD box set

Ken Loach at MUBI

Ken Loach Filmography

Extensive Ken Loach Biography and Filmography

Interview with Loach about My Name is Joe

Interview with Loach from 1996 about Land and Freedom

Interview with Loach from 1998

Posters and Stills Gallery from the BFI

Interview: Ken Loach about Media, Culture and the Prospects for a New Liberatory Project, ''Democracy & Nature'', Vol. 5, No.1 (March 1999). [Ken Loach was interviewed by Theodoros Papadopoulos in December 1998].

Critical article of Ken Loach containing some information about his background.

Interview with Loach from 2010 about Route Irish

Interview with Ken Loach, interview about ''Route Irish'' in the ''Oxonian Review''

Literature on Ken Loach

Category:1936 births Category:Living people Category:People from Nuneaton Category:Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford Category:European Film Awards winners (people) Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:BBC people Category:British republicans Category:British socialists Category:César Award winners Category:British film directors Category:English film directors Category:British television directors Category:English television directors Category:Social realism

an:Ken Loach be:Кен Лоўч ca:Ken Loach cs:Ken Loach da:Ken Loach de:Ken Loach es:Ken Loach eo:Ken Loach eu:Ken Loach fa:کن لوچ fr:Ken Loach ga:Ken Loach gl:Ken Loach ko:켄 로치 id:Ken Loach it:Ken Loach he:קן לואץ' hu:Ken Loach mk:Кен Лоуч nl:Ken Loach ja:ケン・ローチ no:Ken Loach pl:Ken Loach pt:Ken Loach ru:Лоуч, Кен fi:Ken Loach sv:Ken Loach tg:Кен Лоч tr:Ken Loach zh:肯·洛區

Name	Neil Sedaka
Background	solo_singer
Born	March 13, 1939
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Instrument	Vocals, Multiple instruments
Genre	Pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, record producer
Years active	1955–present
Label	RCA Victor Records, MGM Records, Polydor Records, Rocket Records, Elektra Records, Neil Sedaka Music, Razor & Tie Records
Website	www.neilsedaka.com }}

Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939) is an American pop singer, pianist, and songwriter. His career has spanned over 50 years, during which time he has written many songs for himself and others, often working with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody.

Early life: Juilliard and The Brill Building

Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Mac Sedaka, a taxi driver, was of Sephardic Turkish-Jewish descent. ("Sedaka" is a variant of tzedaka, which translates in both Hebrew and Arabic as the word ''charity''). Sedaka's mother, Eleanor Appel Sedaka, was of Polish-Russian Jewish descent (or generally referred to as Ashkenazi-Jewish descent). He grew up in an apartment in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Sedaka is the cousin of singer Eydie Gormé, who retired from her professional career in 2009; her husband and former music duo partner, Steve Lawrence, continues to perform as a solo act.

Sedaka demonstrated musical aptitude in his second-grade choral class, and when his teacher sent a note home suggesting he take piano lessons, his mother took a part-time job in an Abraham & Straus department store for six months to pay for a second-hand upright. He took to the instrument immediately. In 1947, he auditioned successfully for a piano scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music's Preparatory Division for Children, which he attended on Saturdays. It was his mother's dream for him to become a renowned classical pianist such as the contemporary of the day, Van Cliburn. But although he practiced faithfully, another type of music was becoming a distraction.

He was discovering pop music, and when he was 13, a neighbor heard him playing and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist. They became two of the legendary Brill Building's composers, often remembered with the Tin Pan Alley music of the early 20th century. But as many people don't know, there were technically ''two'' "Brill Buildings" — the regal original located at 1619 Broadway at 49th Street in Manhattan, and a second building that also took on the moniker of a "Brill Building," located at 1650 Broadway at 51st Street, unofficially referred to as "Allegro Studios." It was at this second location, at music titan Don Kirshner's Aldon Music, from where many of the biggest hits of the late 1950s, well into the late '70s and beyond, were composed. In this 1½-block stretch of Broadway, the "Brill Building Sound" was brought forth, all with legendary composers working within roughly the same decade: Burt Bacharach & Hal David; Boyce & Hart; Neil Diamond; Carole King & Gerry Goffin; Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry; Leiber & Stoller; Laura Nyro; Paul Simon (working solely as a songwriter during this period); and Phil Spector. This is just a small list of the contemporaries that Sedaka and Greenfield worked among in the "Brill Building Sound"; they worked for Kirshner at Aldon Music, but routinely interacted with songwriters such as these and many more in the Brill music-block area.

They wrote songs together throughout much of their young lives, with Sedaka going on to being a major teen pop star and the pair also writing hits for a litany of other artists as well as for Sedaka's own career. However, when The Beatles and the British Invasion took American music in a wildly different direction, Sedaka was left without a recording career and decided a major change in his life was necessary, moving his family to the UK in the early 1970s. They mutually agreed that their partnership reached an end with "Our Last Song Together," and Sedaka began a new, highly successful composing partnership with British lyricist Phil Cody. After Sedaka returned to the US, however, the Sedaka/Greenfield team would eventually be reunified and continue until Greenfield's death in 1986.

Early career

Rise to Fame

After graduating from Lincoln High School, Sedaka and some of his classmates formed a band called The Tokens. The band had minor regional hits with songs like "While I Dream," "I Love My Baby," "Come Back Joe," and "Don't Go," before Sedaka launched out on his own in 1957. However, after a few personnel changes, in 1961, The Tokens would hit #1 on the ''Billboard'' pop charts with the international smash "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." Meanwhile, the very young Sedaka's first three solo singles, "Laura Lee," "Ring-a-Rockin'," and "Oh, Delilah!" failed to become hits (although "Ring-a-Rockin'" earned him the first of many appearances on Dick Clark's ''American Bandstand''). But they demonstrated his ability to perform as a solo singer, so RCA Victor signed him to a recording contract.

His first single for RCA, "The Diary," a song that he had previously offered to Little Anthony and the Imperials, reached #14 on the Billboard charts for Sedaka in 1958. His second single, "I Go Ape," was a modest success at #42, and his third single, "Crying My Heart Out for You," was a flop at #111 (although it went to #6 on the pop charts in Italy). Desperate for another hit, he bought several hit singles and listened to them repeatedly, studying the song structure, chord progressions, lyrics and harmonies — and he discovered that the hit songs of the day all shared the same basic musical anatomy. Armed with his newfound arsenal of musical knowledge, he set out to craft his next big hit song, and he promptly did exactly that: "Oh! Carol" delivered Sedaka his first domestic Top 10 hit, reaching #9 on the Hot 100 in 1959 and going to #1 on the Italian pop charts in 1960, giving Sedaka his first #1 ranking. The song was dedicated to his then-girlfriend, Carole King, a fellow Brill Building composer and rising pop star of her own. King would respond with her own novelty song, "Oh! Neil" later that year.

After establishing himself in 1958, Sedaka kept churning out new hits from 1960 to 1962. His flow of Top 30 hits during this period included: "Stairway to Heaven" (#9, 1960); "You Mean Everything to Me" (#17, 1960); "Run, Samson, Run" (#27, 1960); "Calendar Girl" (#4, 1961); "Little Devil" (#11, 1961); "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" (#6, 1961); his signature song, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" (#1, 1962), "Next Door to an Angel" (#5, 1962); Singles not making the Top 30 during this time period included "Sweet Little You" (#59, 1961) and "King of Clowns" (#45, 1962). RCA issued four LPs in the US and Britain of his works during this period, and also produced ''Scopitone'' and ''Cinebox'' videos of "Calendar Girl" in 1961, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" in 1962, and "The Dreamer" in 1963. He made regular appearances on such TV programs as ''American Bandstand'' and ''Shindig'' during this period.

Writing for other performers

Connie Francis

When Sedaka was not recording his own songs, he and Howard Greenfield were writing for other performers, most notably in their earliest days Connie Francis. As Francis explains at her concerts, she began searching for a new hit after her 1958 single "Who's Sorry Now?" She was introduced to Sedaka and Greenfield, who played every ballad they had written for her. Francis began writing in her diary while the two played the last of their songs. After they finished, Francis told them they wrote beautiful ballads but that they were too intellectual for the young generation. Sedaka suggested to Greenfield a song they had written that morning for a girl group. Greenfield protested because the song had been promised to the girl group, but Sedaka insisted on playing "Stupid Cupid." Francis told them they had just played her new hit. Francis' song reached #14 on the Billboard charts.

While Francis was writing in her diary, Sedaka asked her if he could read what she had written. After she refused, Sedaka was inspired to write "The Diary," his own first hit single. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote many of Connie Francis' hits, such as "Fallin'" and the "Theme from ''Where the Boys Are''," the film in which she starred. Although the latter hit the Top 5 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart and Francis had several #1 singles, "''Where the Boys Are''" eventually became her signature song.

Jimmy Clanton

Sedaka and Greenfield also wrote some of Jimmy Clanton's hits, such as "Another Sleepless Night," "What Am I Gonna Do?" and "All the Words in the World." Sedaka himself recorded each of these three songs: "Another Sleepless Night" appears on his ''Rock With Sedaka'' debut album; "What Am I Gonna Do?" was the B-side of "Going Home to Mary Lou" and appeared on his 1961 album ''Neil Sedaka Sings "Little Devil" and His Other Hits''; and "All the Words in the World" was recorded but was kept in the RCA vaults until 1977, at the height of Sedaka's return to popularity, when it was released on the album ''Neil Sedaka: The '50s and '60s''.

Foreign-language recordings

Neil Sedaka was very popular in Italy. Many of his English-language records were released there and proved quite successful, especially "Crying My Heart Out For You" (Italian #6, 1959) and "Oh! Carol" (Italian #1, 1960).

In 1961, Sedaka began to record some of his hits in Italian, starting with "Esagerata" and "Un Giorno Inutile", local versions of "Little Devil" and "I Must Be Dreaming". Other recordings were to follow, such as "Tu Non Lo Sai" ("Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"), "Il Re Dei Pagliacci" ("King of Clowns"), "I Tuoi Capricci" ("Look Inside Your Heart"), and "La Terza Luna" ("Waiting For Never"). "La Terza Luna" reached #1 on the Italian pop charts in April 1963. ''Cinebox'' videos exist for "La Terza Luna" and "I Tuoi Capricci". From a language standpoint, his recordings in Italian were flawless, with very little American accent, and most pronunciations were spotless. RCA Victor's Italiana office distributed his records in Italy and released three compilation LPs of Sedaka's Italian recordings.

Sedaka also recorded in Spanish, German, Hebrew, and Japanese. He enjoyed popularity in Latin America for his Spanish-language recordings. Many of these were pressed onto 78 rpm discs.

The Mid-1960s and The British Invasion

Neil Sedaka would find that 1962 would provide him with one of his career's most important years, as "Next Door to an Angel" would make the Top 5, and this period's defining hit, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," would hit #1. But after 1962, Sedaka would find that his popularity had begun to wane. While 1963 singles "Alice In Wonderland" (#17), "Let's Go Steady Again" (#26), and "Bad Girl" (#33) all managed to hit the Top 40, "The Dreamer" (#47) did not, and, in fact, it would be more than another decade before Sedaka would see one of his singles hit the Top 10 again. After the release of "Bad Girl," Sedaka's career went into a sharp decline, hastened by The Beatles' arrival on the radio and especially their much-hyped February 1964 appearance on CBS' ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' and the rest of the so-called "British Invasion." When describing The Beatles' effect on his career in the mid-'60s, he puts it brusquely: "The Beatles — not good!" This negative effect is seen in the fact that, from 1964-66, only three of his singles even made it onto the Hot 100 at all: "Sunny" (#86, 1964), "The World Through a Tear" (#76, 1965), and "The Answer to My Prayer" (#89, 1965).

The ultimate insult came in the summer of 1964 when, after Sedaka had recorded the entire orchestration including himself on the piano and backing vocals along with a set of female backing vocals, he would hear what would go on to be the third Top 10 hit for rising star Gene Pitney with "It Hurts to Be in Love." Everything sounded very eerily the same to Neil...all except the man singing the song. By then, with the British Invasion already underway and RCA Victor clearly not pleased with Sedaka's recent declining performance on the record charts, the fact that Sedaka did not record the master recording track of the song in one of RCA's own studios — a well-understood requirement under the terms of his recording contract — RCA refused to accept Sedaka's radio-ready master recording, neither producing and distributing the single at retail nor promoting the song at major radio markets. Allegedly Sedaka was particularly angry about RCA's decision to let this song go, especially since it had been all of Neil's work, and he was convinced that it would be his "comeback" song (even though he had #1 and #5 singles less than two years earlier; output in the early '60s was demanding). As it turned out, his premonition was correct. Pitney was also eager for a hit single after a lengthy (by 1960s standards) dry spell, and since Gene had a similar, high-tenor vocal range to Neil's, the newly-available acquisition of Sedaka's master track of "It Hurts to Be in Love" allowed Pitney and his record label, Musicor, a perfect opportunity to recharge his own career. The only thing needed to do was to remove Sedaka's lead vocal track and replace it with Pitney's. Both Sedaka's original piano and backing vocals remained exactly intact, along with the female backing vocals. Discerning listeners can clearly hear Sedaka's backing vocals on the original version. Once Pitney's "Sedaka version" of the single was out and was a hit, he and his record company recorded new, alternate versions of "It Hurts to Be in Love," especially varying the drum tracks. But the main issue was to not let Pitney's popularity wane, so by issuing Sedaka's version with Pitney's vocal as quickly as possible, Pitney hit the Top 10, and the objective was achieved.

The same, however, could not be said for Neil Sedaka. When his contract with RCA expired at the end of 1966, RCA chose not to renew it, leaving Sedaka without a record label.

Although Sedaka's stature as a recording artist was at a low ebb in the late 1960s, he was able to maintain his career through songwriting. Thanks to the fact that his publisher, Aldon Music, was acquired by Screen Gems, two of his songs were recorded by The Monkees, and other hits in this period written by Sedaka included The Cyrkle's version of "We Had a Good Thing Goin'" and "Workin' on a Groovy Thing," a Top 40 R&B; hit for Patti Drew in 1968, and a Top 20 pop hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969. Also, "Make the Music Play" was included on Frankie Valli's charting album ''Timeless''.

On an episode of the quiz show ''I've Got a Secret'' in 1965, Sedaka's secret was that he was to represent the United States in classical piano at the 1966 Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, and he made quite an impression on the panelists with his bravura performance of Frederic Chopin's "Fantasie Impromptu" on the show. Prior to his piano performance, panelist Henry Morgan challenged Sedaka with the fact that the Soviet bureaucracy despises — and, in fact, outlaws — rock 'n' roll music and that any Western music that young Russians have was by underground smuggling. This exchange continued before the panel learned that Sedaka was to represent the USA at the Tchaikovsky classical piano competition, which Van Cliburn had won in 1958. Unfortunately, Morgan's warning turned out to be true. Despite Sedaka's classical roots, because of Sedaka's "other" life as a pop star, he was disqualified by the USSR as the U.S.' entrant for the competition.

Sedaka also made an appearance in the 1968 movie ''Playgirl Killer'', with a scene of him performing a song called "The Waterbug."

The late 1960s to early '70s

Sedaka worked to revive his solo career in the early 1970s. Despite his waning chart appeal in the USA in the late 1960s, he remained very popular as a concert attraction, notably in the UK and Australia. Years later he thanked Bob Rogers and Australia for standing by him. "... You know, Bob, in my lean years — I called them ''The Hungry Years'' — it was Bob Rogers and Australia who welcomed me." He made several trips to Australia to play cabaret dates, and his commercial comeback began when the single "Star-Crossed Lovers" became a major hit there. The song went to #5 nationally in April 1969 — giving Sedaka his first charting single anywhere in four years. It also came in at #5 in ''Go-Set'' magazine's list of the Top 40 Australian singles of 1969.

Later that year, with the support of Festival Records, he recorded a new LP of original material entitled ''Workin' on a Groovy Thing'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''Sounds of Sedaka'') at Festival Studios in Sydney. It was co-produced by Festival staff producer Pat Aulton, with arrangements by John Farrar (who later achieved international fame for his work with Olivia Newton-John) and backing by Australian session musicians including guitarist Jimmy Doyle (Ayers Rock) and noted jazz musician-composer John Sangster.

The single lifted from the album, "Wheeling, West Virginia," reached #20 in Australia in early 1970. The LP is also notable because it was Sedaka's first album to include collaborations with writers other than longtime lyricist Howard Greenfield; the title track featured lyrics by Roger Atkins and four other songs were co-written with Carole Bayer Sager, who subsequently embarked on an enormously successful collaboration songwriting with Aussie expat singer-songwriter Peter Allen, who would become known as "The Boy from Oz" in addition to being married to Liza Minnelli and having the incomparable Judy Garland for a mother-in-law.

In 1971, Sedaka released the ''Emergence''. Singles from that album included "I'm A Song (Sing Me)," "Silent Movies," "Superbird," and "Rosemary Blue." ''Emergence'' and the next year's ''Solitaire'' album were both released on the RCA Victor label, marking a short-lived reunion between Sedaka and RCA. Good friend and New York music impresario Don Kirshner attempted to make the U.S. release of ''Emergence'' a comeback for Sedaka, but the album and single releases had no appreciable success. After the failure of ''Emergence'' in the U.S., Sedaka left his hometown of New York and moved his family to the UK.

In 1972, Sedaka embarked on a successful English tour and in June recorded the ''Solitaire'' album at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, working with the four future members of 10cc (best known to American audiophiles for "I'm Not in Love" and "The Things We Do for Love"). As well as the title track, which was successfully covered by Andy Williams (UK Top 5 singles chart) and The Carpenters (US Top 20), it included two UK Top 40 singles, including "Beautiful You," which also charted briefly in America, Sedaka's first US chart appearance in ten years; but its minor performance did little to generate interest in restarting Sedaka's career.

The mid- to late 1970s

A year later he reconvened with the Strawberry team, who had by then charted with their own debut ''10cc'' album, to record ''The Tra-La Days Are Over'' for MGM Records, which started the second phase of his career and included his original version of the hit song "Love Will Keep Us Together" (also a US #1 hit two years later for The Captain & Tennille). This album also marked the effective end of his writing partnership with Greenfield, commemorated by the track "Our Last Song Together." They would reunite, however, and begin composing together again before Greenfield's death in 1986. From 1974 onward, Sedaka's records were issued in Europe and around the world on the Polydor label. His first album of new material with Polydor was ''Laughter in the Rain''.

In the US, Sedaka's records were issued first on the Rocket label from 1974–77 and on the Elektra label from 1977-81. It was Sedaka's association with Rocket Records that helped resurrect his career in the States, for Elton John signed Sedaka to Rocket Records upon discovering that Sedaka had no formal U.S. recording contract. "We couldn't believe our luck," John remembered in Elizabeth Rosenthal's "His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John." Sedaka returned to the U.S. album charts with the release of ''Sedaka's Back'', a compilation of songs from three British albums he had already recorded in Britain, namely "Solitaire," "The Tra-La Days Are Over," and "Laughter In The Rain." It was only the second Sedaka album ever to chart in the U.S. Sedaka was known principally as a singles artist to that point, his only other American charting album being "Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits," a compilation of his early singles, according to Rosenthal's research.

Although the single was released in the autumn of 1974 and was slow in building, eventually Sedaka found himself once again topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles charts with "Laughter in the Rain" in early 1975. One of Sedaka's most well-received compositions during this period was the second single, "The Immigrant" (US pop #22, US AC #1). Critics hailed its beautiful orchestration and evocative lyrics: wistful, nostalgic, and no doubt enhanced and embellished by both pride and disillusion with the state of affairs in the contemporary life in the nation in which Sedaka was raised. It was at one time welcoming of strangers from afar, willing to allow emigrants from faraway lands to enter our shores as immigrants, being allowed to try to find a place in that new home of their dreams – possibly not necessarily as perfect as initially hoped – but still the great land called America.

But it was also was a protest ode dedicated to his friend (ironically, a former Beatle who had shooed him across the Atlantic in the opposite direction), John Lennon. The U.S. Government was repeatedly denying him permanent resident status. Eventually, he did receive that request, only to be assassinated by a deranged fan's bullet in Sedaka's own hometown of New York City, slightly more than five years after this song was on the charts and the radio. The third consecutive Billboard Top 25 hit from ''Sedaka's Back'' was the uptempo rocker "That's When the Music Takes Me" (US pop #25, US AC #7). This song was a rarity at the time as it was one of the few songs Sedaka wrote by himself, without a collaborator. It remains today his standard curtain-call concert closer.

Sedaka and Greenfield co-wrote "Love Will Keep Us Together," a No. 1 hit for The Captain & Tennille and the biggest hit for the entire year of 1975. Toni Tennille paid tribute to Sedaka's welcome return to music-business success with her ad lib of "Sedaka is back" in the outro while she was laying down her own background vocals for the track. "Captain" Daryl Dragon and Toni also recorded a Spanish-language version of the song the same year that cracked the top half of ''Billboard'''s Hot 100 chart ("Por Amor Viviremos," US pop #49).

In 1975, Sedaka was the opening act for The Carpenters on their world tour. According to ''The Carpenters: The Untold Story'' by Ray Coleman, manager Sherwin Bash fired Sedaka at the request of Richard Carpenter, allegedly because Sedaka was becoming more popular than the Carpenters. The firing resulted in a media backlash against The Carpenters after Sedaka publicly announced he was off the tour. This, however, was before Karen and Richard recorded Sedaka's "Solitaire" which became a Top 20 hit for the duo. Richard Carpenter denied that he fired Sedaka for "stealing their show", stating they were proud of Sedaka's success. However, Bash was fired as The Carpenters' manager a short time after.

In late 1975, Sedaka earned more chart success with the release of his second Rocket album, ''The Hungry Years''. This album was an American edition of Sedaka's British Polydor album "Overnight Success". Near the close of 1975 and lasting into early 1976, Sedaka would have another big single with "Bad Blood". The song stayed at #1 for three weeks and was certified Gold^® by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the most individual commercially successful single of his career. Elton John provided uncredited backing vocals for "Bad Blood" and has been credited by Sedaka as being responsible for his breakthrough back into the US pop music scene.

Another highlight from "The Hungry Years" was Sedaka's new version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do." His 1962 original, a #1 hit single, was an upbeat pop song, while the remake was a ballad, based on a similar arrangement used by Lenny Welch when he recorded a version of it in 1970. Sedaka's ballad version hit #8 on the Hot 100 in early 1976, making him the only artist to ever record entirely reworked and rearranged versions of the same song to reach the Top 10 by the same artist. Sedaka's second version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in 1976. The same year, Elvis Presley recorded the Sedaka song "Solitaire". This was followed by Sedaka's Top 20 hit "Love in the Shadows", also from 1976.

Later in 1976, Sedaka released a second (and final) collaboration with Elton John, with Elton once again on uncredited backing vocals on the title song to Sedaka's third and final Rocket album "Steppin' Out". While it would crack the Hot 100's Top 40, it would also signal the beginning of a slowdown in Sedaka's music sales and radio play not unlike what he experienced in 1964 when The Beatles and the "British Invasion" arrived. In this version of another fading of his music sales, it was the arrival of the disco era. In 1977, Sedaka, now with Elektra Records, released his next album "A Song" which had moderate success. While Sedaka attempted to release disco-themed music himself in the late 1970s, his album sales were weak and singles could not get a foothold on the radio. In 1980, Sedaka had his final Top 20 hit with "Should've Never Let You Go", which he recorded as a duet with his then 17-year-old daughter, Dara.

Throughout the 1970s, Sedaka's old record company, RCA, would re-issue his 1960s-era songs on several compilation LPs on the RCA Victor and RCA Camden labels, a practice which continues to this day. Sedaka also released one final album of new material with RCA, consisting of a live concert he gave in Sydney, Australia. The album was released on the RCA International label in Australia and Europe as ''Neil Sedaka on Stage'' in 1974. It saw a US release on the RCA Victor label in 1976 as ''Sedaka Live In Australia''. The songs on the album were mostly cover versions of rock and pop songs from the previous twenty-five years, such as "Proud Mary", "Everything Is Beautiful", and "The Father Of Girls." RCA and Sedaka have been at odds for decades over ownership rights over Sedaka's original master tapes from his late 1950s/early 1960s hits. RCA has released assorted repackaging of his old hits, forcing Sedaka to re-record his old hits and make them sound as close and authentic to the originals as possible.

The '80s and '90s: The struggles return

A change in record companies in the early 1980s also required him to, for the first time in his career, record cover versions of other artists' "oldies". Only two singles on two albums, spaced three years apart, managed to land on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart; none charted on the Hot 100 at all. Another duet with Dara, a remake of the Marvin Gaye-Tammi Terrell 1967 Top 5 smash "Your Precious Love", placed high enough on the AC chart (making the Top 15) for one final album to be released. But the second album's only release did not fare well on the AC chart, barely cracking its Top 40, and by 1985, Sedaka was once again without a recording contract. Concertgoers filled theatre seats while Sedaka created his own music label. That would assure that his catalog of hits would find the marketplace, and he released occasional CDs of self-produced new, original material.

Other successes

Ben Folds, an American pop singer, credited Sedaka on his "iTunes Originals" album as an inspiration for song publishing. Hearing Sedaka had a song published by the age of 13 gave Folds the goal of also getting a song published by his 13th birthday, despite the fact that Sedaka did not actually publish his first song until he was 16.

In 1985, songs composed by Sedaka were adapted for the Japanese anime TV series ''Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam''. These included the two opening themes "Zeta - Toki wo Koete" (originally in English as "Better Days Are Coming") and "Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete" (originally in English as "For Us to Decide", but the English version was never recorded), as well as the end theme "Hoshizora no Believe" (written as "Bad and Beautiful"). Due to copyright, the songs were replaced for the North American DVD.

In 1994, Sedaka provided the voice for Neil Moussaka, a parody of himself in Food Rocks, an attraction at Epcot from 1994-2006.

A musical comedy based around the songs of Sedaka, titled ''Breaking Up Is Hard to Do'', was written in 2005 by Erik Jackson and Ben H. Winters; it is now under license to Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

A biographical musical, ''Laughter in the Rain'', produced by Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield, starring Wayne Smith as Sedaka, had its world premiere at the Churchill Theatre, in the London borough of Bromley, on 4 March 2010. Sedaka attended the opening and joined the cast onstage for an impromptu curtain call of the title song.

The 21st century: Popularity yet again, a golden honor and ''The Music of'' His ''Life''

Sedaka maintains a rigorous concert schedule in the second decade of the 21st century, in the U.S. and around the world, despite having passed the age of 70. He was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1983, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was an October 2006 inductee of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. His ardent fans have appealed for his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, due to his longevity, contributions to contemporary music, and hit songwriting for himself and other artists.

''American Idol''

In May 2003, near the end of the second season of the hit Fox TV series ''American Idol'', Sedaka appeared as a guest judge and mentor to the five remaining finalists. (The "guest judge" aspect of the series has long since been discontinued.) Several of the contestants' performances from Sedaka's songbook sparked particular praise from the guest judge. One of those performances came from eventual third-place finalist Kimberley Locke, who sang the "Theme from ''Where the Boys Are''." The Sedaka/Greenfield composition was originally recorded by Connie Francis and has gone on to become her signature song. Francis also starred in the film of the same name. Sedaka termed Locke's performance "ear-licious."

Eventual Season 2 runnerup Clay Aiken chose Sedaka's 1972 song "Solitaire" for his performance. As Aiken explained to the studio and TV audiences, host Ryan Seacrest, and the four total judges, "Solitaire" had long been one of his mother's all-time favorite songs. When she learned that Sedaka was going to be a guest judge and that the finalists would be singing Sedaka's songs, she begged him to sing "Solitaire." The performance was uniformly given extraordinarily high praise by the judges (including perennial skeptic Simon Cowell), Sedaka was dissolved in tears, and he told Aiken that "Solitaire" now officially belonged to Clay, and offered to record and produce a single of the song or an entire CD with him.

Aiken signed a recording contract under 19 Entertainment, which always handles the season winner's radio/download-ready single at the conclusion of the season and then handles production of the winner's CD, which is worked on by the winner immediately after the season's conclusion and up to (and often during) the Top 10 summer tour, and then after the conclusion of the tour. (The winner of Season 2 was Ruben Studdard.) The objective is to have the CD ready for purchase or download for the holiday season. 19 Entertainment also provides management and finds recording companies for several of the best just-completed season's finalists.

Although it did not appear on his debut CD itself, Aiken recorded and added "Solitaire" as the B-side to the single "The Way," whose sales were faltering. "Solitaire" was quickly moved to the A-side, and radio airplay and single and download sales responded immediately. "Solitaire" hit #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Singles Sales chart and was, in fact, the top-selling single for all of 2004. It also hit the Top 5 on ''Billboard'''s Hot 100. Sedaka was invited back to ''American Idol'' to celebrate the success of "Solitaire" several times, as it continued to reach new milestones. Since then, Aiken has mined the Sedaka songbook again, recording a cover of probably Sedaka's best-known song, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," on the "deluxe version" of his 2010 CD release, ''Tried and True''.

Sedaka continues to be seen in the ''American Idol'' studio audience on at least an annual basis — most recently on May 19, 2011, when host Ryan Seacrest had Sedaka stand and greet the audience on-camera during Season 10's "Top 3" results show.

Guinness World Record

When Sedaka moved his family to the UK, British singer Tony Christie recorded and released the Sedaka/Greenfield composition "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo?" in 1971. The song did relatively well on the UK singles chart, peaking in the Top 20. The song would lie dormant for more than three decades, when UK comic Peter Kay lip-synched the song for a 2002 video in his TV series ''Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights''. Three years later, for the 2005 annual Comic Relief charity drive, he solicited a number of celebrity friends of his and updated the video, and it became an enormous hit. The original 1971 Tony Christie single was re-released to radio and CD/download sales, and hit #1 for seven weeks and was the biggest hit in Britain for all of 2005. When interviewed for an "extras" feature for a DVD set of a concert filmed in London on 7 April 2006 (see below), Neil jokingly had heard that Christie had retired and was "golfing in Spain." The sudden revival of "Amarillo" summoned Christie back to the UK for an unexpected return to fame. Sedaka also released the song in the U.S. in 1977 as the shortened "Amarillo," but it was only a mid-chart entry, peaking just shy of the Top 40. In early 2006, the song received new life yet again when it received a dance beat and revised lyrics to become a novelty hit for the UK team's FIFA World Cup finals with "Is This the Way to the (England) World Cup?" It was used yet again later that summer by the Central Band of the Royal British Legion prior to the Men's Finals of the 2006 Wimbledon tennis tournament.

On 7 April 2006, Sedaka was appearing at the Royal Albert Hall and filming for the above-referenced CD/DVD package, when he was interrupted mid-concert by a gentleman who walked onstage from the wings. The planned scenario was that Sedaka was to begin performing "Amarillo," and after one verse, the audience was to be surprised by the appearance of Christie for an eventual duet. But at the interruption, a seemingly annoyed Sedaka asked, "What is this?" As Sedaka would soon learn, the interloper was a representative from Guinness Records, and he was there to present Sedaka with an award from ''Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums'' for composing "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo?," the most successful UK single of the 21st century (up to that date, of course). (Sedaka's co-composer, Howard Greenfield, had passed away in 1986.) By all indications, the award presentation was indeed a surprise, and certainly a welcome one. Sedaka genuinely seemed bewildered by the sudden appearance of the Guinness representative from the wings (especially since Christie was due to appear from the opposite side of the stage, and not for at least 90 seconds). After the presentation, Sedaka proceeded into "Amarillo," Christie entered onstage to an eruption of cheers from the audience, and after the successful duet performance, the two men walked offstage together as the first half of Sedaka's concert came to a close – with the entertainer the latest recipient of a new Guinness World Record.

New recording contract, new chart success

Since Sedaka had lost his recording contract in the mid-1980s, he had used his own business, 'Neil Sedaka Music,' to finance the recording, production, and distribution of new CDs and repackaging of his existing catalog of music. Because of ongoing disputes with RCA Victor Records over the ownership of Sedaka's original late 1950s/early 1960s hits, in 1991, Sedaka re-recorded those early recordings, note-for-note. Sedaka had taken meticulous care of his voice over the years and still sang in the original keys recorded in his youth (and still does today). This allowed him to repackage his catalog to include both his early recordings along with his mid-to-late '70s hits and later recordings.

In early 2007, Sedaka signed his first recording contract in more than two decades with Razor and Tie Records, a small-but-growing, New York-based independent label with an talent roster that also includes Joan Baez, Vanessa Carlton, Foreigner, Joe Jackson, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The first release was ''The Definitive Collection'', a life-spanning compilation of his hits, along with outtakes and songs previously released but unavailable in CD and/or download format. It debuted in the Top 25 on ''Billboard'''s Top 200 Albums chart in May 2007, one of the highest-charting albums of his entire career. Best known as a "singles artist," this album chart activity was considered a significant comeback for the veteran entertainer. The last time Sedaka had an album on the Top 200 albums chart was in 1980, with his '79 album ''In the Pocket'' – when "Should've Never Let You Go," the 1980 duet with Sedaka and daughter Dara, was Sedaka's last Top 20 hit on the Hot 100 singles chart.

''Waking Up Is Hard to Do'' was Sedaka's next release with Razor and Tie, hitting the albums chart in May 2009. The CD was a children's album that used the melodies of many of Sedaka's best-known songs but changed the lyrics to fit, and hopefully have fun with, the everyday lives of babies and toddlers, along with their parents, grandparents, babysitters, and other caregivers. The CD title is an example. Lastly, ''The Music of My Life'' entered the albums chart in February 2010 and comprised almost all new material. The first track, "Do You Remember?" was produced by music producer, composer, and pianist David Foster. "Right or Wrong," co-written with original music partner Howard Greenfield, was done in traditional street-corner, layered doo-wop vocal harmonies with Sedaka overlaying his own voice to achieve the effect for which he was well known in his "early" heyday of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The final track, "You", has been previously released, but was remastered for this project. Neil Sedaka Music continues to be listed as co-producer along with Razor and Tie.

A concert performance on 26 October 2007 at the Lincoln Center in New York City paid homage to the 50th anniversary of Sedaka's debut in show business. Music impresario (and producer for ''The Music of My Life'' track "Do You Remember?") David Foster served as emcee. Other guests included The Captain and Tennille; Natalie Cole; Connie Francis; recording legend and decades-long Sedaka friend and former manager Don Kirshner; and new ''Solitaire'' "owner" Clay Aiken, amongst many others.

During his 2008 Australian tour, Sedaka premiered a new classical orchestral composition entitled "Joie de Vivre (Joy of Life)." Sedaka also toured The Philippines for his May 17, 2008 concert at the Araneta Coliseum.

In early 2010, his original uptempo version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (performed by a group of uncredited singers) was being heard as the impetus for a series of insurance TV commercials, featuring actor Dennis Haysbert assuring that TV viewers not insured by Allstate ''can'' break up with their current insurer without much ado at all.

On September 11, 2010, Sedaka performed to a public and TV audience at the Hyde Park, London, venue of the "Proms in the Park" for the BBC. The UK continues to be probably Sedaka's most welcoming nation, and has been since first moving his family there (temporarily) four decades ago. The irony of the place whose music scuttled his "first" career, namely The Beatles and the British Invasion, and yet has constantly welcomed him with open arms for more than 40 years, is not lost on him, he has stated in many interviews. Indeed, it was his work with the musicians who would, in a few years, become the hit-making group 10cc that brought him back to the U.S. as a major star with #1 hits and a number of other major Top 40 singles. The UK always takes up a major portion of Sedaka's touring year in the 21st century.

In early 2011, Sedaka recorded two duets (''Brighton'' and ''The Immigrant'') with the singer Jim Van Slyke for his Neil Sedaka tribute album,''The Sedaka Sessions.'' LML Records released this album in August of 2011.

Personal life

Sedaka attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, graduating in 1956. He has been married to his wife, Leba (Strassberg), since 1962. They have two children: a daughter, Dara, a recording artist and vocalist for television and radio commercials (who sang the female part on the Sedaka duet "Should've Never Let You Go"), and a son, Marc, a screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles with his wife Samantha and three children.

Pop culture references

In the ''Friends'' episode "The One With the Two Parties," Ross says that he is wearing the same eyeglass frames as Neil Sedaka.

In the lyrics to mini-opera "Billy the Mountain," on the album ''Just Another Band from L.A.'' by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, it is alleged that Studabacher Hoch "could sing like Neil Sedaka."

In the ''Boy Meets World'' episode "Killer Bees," Alan Matthews is being sarcastic when he says he could not find tickets to the Neil Sedaka concert.

In the ''That '70s Show'' first season episode "Career Day," there is a scene featuring Kitty and Eric in the car, and Fez and Hyde's mother in the lunchroom, singing along to "Bad Blood" while it's playing on the radio.

The indie compilation album ''Young Savage Florida'' contains a cover of "Stupid Cupid" by The Vodkats.

Sedaka appeared on an episode of ''King Of Queens'' entitled "Sandwiched Out" in 2005. On a different episode of ''King Of Queens'', Deacon sings karaoke to "Laughter In The Rain."

On the Canadian sketch comedy show ''Second City Television'', Eugene Levy portrays Sedaka during a sketch entitled 'Farm Film Report Celebrity Blowup.' The sketch also features John Candy and Joe Flaherty who make references to Sedaka's career and then watch as he explodes while performing.

Discography

Filmography

1968 - ''Playgirl Killer''

Autobiography

''Laughter in the Rain: My Own Story''. New York: Putnam 1982. ISBN 0-399-12744-5

References

Sources

Bloom, Ken. ''American song. The Complete musical Theater Companion. 1877–1995'', vol. 2, 2nd edition, Schirmer Books, 1996.

Clarke, Donald. ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Viking, 1989.

Ewen, David. ''American Songwriters. An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary'', H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.

diMartino, Dave. ''Singer-Songwriters, Pop Music's Performer-Composers, from A to Zevon'', Billboard Books, 1984.

Friedrich, Gary; Brown, Len. ''Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'', Tower Publications, 1970.

Lablanc, Michael. ''Contemporary Musicians'', vol. 4, Gale Research, 1991.

Larkin, Colin. ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Macmillan, 1992.

Lyman, Darryl. ''Great Jews in Music'', J. D. Publishers, 1986.

Sadie, Stanley; Hitchcock, H. Wiley (Ed.). ''The New Grove Dictionary of American Music''. Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1986.

Stambler, Irwin. ''Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul'', St. Martin's Press, 1974.

Sumrall, Harry. ''Pioneers of Rock and Roll. 100 Artists Who Changed the Face of Rock'', Billboard Books, 1994.

White, Mark. ''You Must Remember This ... Popular Songwriters 1900-1980'', Frederick Warner, 1983.

External links

Neil Sedaka's official site

Neil Sedaka For Fans

Petition: Send Neil Sedaka to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

The Neil Sedaka videos

Neil Sedaka's Biography by Michael Turner

The Neil Sedaka Appreciation Society

Category:1939 births Category:Living people Category:Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn, New York) alumni Category:Jewish American composers and songwriters Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American pop pianists Category:People from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn Category:American male singers Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Turkish descent Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:People from New York City Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Turkish Jews Category:Rocket Records artists

an:Neil Sedaka ast:Neil Sedaka bg:Нийл Седака da:Neil Sedaka de:Neil Sedaka es:Neil Sedaka fr:Neil Sedaka gl:Neil Sedaka it:Neil Sedaka he:ניל סדקה hu:Neil Sedaka nl:Neil Sedaka ja:ニール・セダカ pl:Neil Sedaka pt:Neil Sedaka ru:Седака, Нил sk:Neil Sedaka fi:Neil Sedaka sv:Neil Sedaka tr:Neil Sedaka zh:尼尔·萨达卡

Ermanno Olmi (born July 24, 1931 in Bergamo, Lombardy) is a renowned Italian film director.

Biography

Olmi was born in Bergamo, Lombardy. He is married to Loredana Detto, who played Antonietta Masetti in ''Il Posto''.

Olmi's films fit into the artistic mold of Italian neorealism, though Olmi would argue (and does argue, in an interview found on the Criterion Edition DVD of his 1961 film, ''Il Posto'') that this is the artistic tradition he is responding against because, he claimed, he used non-actors in authentic locations whereas neorealism used professional actors. However, many neorealist directors also used non-professional actors for secondary and sometimes even primary roles. His films, like most of those considered to be products of the neorealist movement, are shot in long, slow takes, and generally contain some sort of social commentary, though rarely do the neorealists wear their political opinions on their sleeves. Another film was ''I fidanzati''.

Perhaps his most important film is ''The Tree of Wooden Clogs'' (L'Albero degli zoccoli), which was awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. In 1983 his film ''Walking, Walking'' was screened out of competition at Cannes. In 1988, his ''La leggenda del santo bevitore'' (The Legend of the Holy Drinker), based on the novel by Joseph Roth and starring Rutger Hauer, won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival as well as a David di Donatello award.

His ''The Profession of Arms'' also a won David di Donatello award.

External links

Category:1931 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bergamo Category:Italian film directors

ca:Ermanno Olmi de:Ermanno Olmi es:Ermanno Olmi fr:Ermanno Olmi it:Ermanno Olmi lmo:Ermanno Olmi hu:Ermanno Olmi nl:Ermanno Olmi ja:エルマンノ・オルミ pt:Ermanno Olmi ru:Ольми, Эрманно fi:Ermanno Olmi tr:Ermanno Olmi

name	Elena Paparizou Έλενα Παπαρίζου
background	solo_singer
birth name	Eleni Paparizou
alias	Helena Paparizou
born	January 31, 1982 Borås, Västergötland, Sweden
origin	Stockholm, Sweden
instrument	Vocals
genre	Laïko, pop-folk, pop, dance
occupation	Singer, songwriter, model
years active	1999–present
label	Sony Greece, Bonnier Amigo, Moda, AATW
associated acts	Antique
website	www.HelenaPaparizou.com
notable instruments	}}

Eleni "Elena" Paparizou (, ; born 31 January 1982), usually referred to abroad as Helena Paparizou, is a Greek-Swedish singer and occasional songwriter, who was born and raised in Sweden by Greek parents. She began her career there in 1999 as a member of the duo Antique, while she also worked briefly as a model for a Swedish-Greek brand. After rising to recognition in Greece following its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001, the group based the remainder of its career there until Paparizou embarked on a solo career in 2003 and released her debut album ''Protereotita'' (2004), with emphasis on more pop sounds in addition to laïko. In 2005 she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Greece for the first time in the contest's history, with the song "My Number One", significantly contributing to her career. Following the victory, her album peaked at number one on the Greek Albums Chart and was certified double platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Greece, while she also briefly attempted a career beyond Greece with English-language material, charting in a few countries abroad. Her three subsequent albums ''Iparhi Logos'' (2006), ''The Game of Love'' (2006) and ''Vrisko To Logo Na Zo'' (2008) all peaked at number one in Greece and reached platinum sales. Her fifth studio album, ''Giro Apo T' Oneiro'' (2010), was also certified platinum.

Paparizou has also won three Arion Music Awards, a European Border Breakers Award, 15 MAD Video Music Awards—more than any other artist— and an MTV Europe Music Award. On 14 March 2010, prior to the release of her fifth album, Alpha TV ranked her as the 14th top certified female artist in the nation's phonographic era (since 1960), totaling seven platinum and four gold records. Paparizou was the most successful debuting female artist of the 2000s and established herself as one of the top pop artists of the latter half of the decade. As of 2010, she has been certified for the sales of 209 thousand albums, 47.5 thousand singles, and 30 thousand digital downloads by IFPI Greece, in addition to 100 thousand total record sales in Greece as part of Antique, as well as 24 thousand certified albums in Cyprus, and 20 thousand singles in Sweden during her solo career. In 2010, ''Forbes'' listed Paparizou as the 21st most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece and fourth highest ranked singer.

Early life

Elena Paparizou was born on 31 January 1982 in Borås, Västergötland, Sweden, the youngest child of Greek immigrant parents Georgios Paparizos and Efrosini "Froso" Paparizou. Paparizou's mother had moved to Borås in 1960 and worked in factories, while during a trip back to her hometown she met Paparizou's father and they got married. The two moved to Borås in 1970. In 1985, the family moved to Greece to live in Volos with relatives because Paparizou suffered from asthma and her lungs could not endure the cold Scandinavian climate. They returned after two years when the problem was resolved, thereon living in the town of Örgryte, Gothenburg. Because of this early move, Paparizou spoke Greek as a first language. As a child, she did not hang out with many Swedish children, and attended a Greek-language school. Throughout her childhood, she continued suffering from breathing problems, was once rushed to the hospital because of them, and recalls feeling like she had left her body at least twice. She continues to suffer from the issue and often carries an inhaler onstage for when she loses her breath.

Paparizou became interested in the arts at a young age and her parents soon involved her in singing, dancing and acting training in combination with her academic studies at school. At age seven she began lessons in piano, ballet and traditional dances. She performed for the first time in front of a Greek audience at age 11 singing Christos Dantis' "Moro Mou". By age 13, Paparizou had realized she wanted to become a singer and decided to take a serious approach in preparation for it, her first experiences being with Greek music. At the age of 14, Paparizou formed her first group Soul Funkomatic with three Hispanic teenagers and only played hip hop music, while saving money to record songs; two years later the group disbanded. On 29 October 1998, 13 of Paparizou's close friends died in the Gothenburg nightclub fire during a hip hop party that left 63 people dead and more than 200 injured. Paparizou had begged her mother to let her go to the party, but was not allowed to attend. After losing her friends, Paparizou decided to abandon singing, and she started classes at the Art Performing School where she studied theater, acting, television and directing.

Recording career

1999–2003: Antique era

In 1999, some DJ friends of her brother's asked her to make a demo of the Notis Sfakianakis hit "Opa Opa". Paparizou told them that the lyrics are for a man, so she asked to sing it with childhood friend Nikos Panagiotidis, whom she had met through her siblings at a Greek diaspora celebration in Stockholm. At that time, some record producers were undergoing a project to sign a duo consisting of a male and a female that would sing covers of traditional Greek hits. They came into contact with Paparizou who recommended Panagiotidis, and together they formed Antique, signing to the newly-formed independent label Bonnier Music. They settled on the name "Antique" because it left an impression of being "classic" and "timeless". Paparizou admitted that Greek music had been something of an acquired taste for her, and that the name was probably a reflection of her childhood impression of it being something rather distant and old-fashioned; something that she only really associated with her summer vacations in Greece. Their debut single "Opa Opa" became a hit in Sweden and eventually entered the top ten in Sweden and Norway, making them the first act to enter into the Swedish top five with a song sung in Greek. Their later singles "Dinata Dinata", "Follow Me" and "Moro Mou" also charted well.

Although relatively unknown in Greece, the duo entered the national final to be Greece's representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 in Copenhagen, Denmark with the song "(I Would) Die for You", written by Nikos Terzis with lyrics by Antonis Pappas. Placing joint first in the national final, they were declared winners by default as they had won the public vote. The song placed third in the actual contest with 147 points; although equaled by later entries, it was the best placing Greece had ever received until Paparizou won the contest as a solo artist in 2005. The song went on to become their biggest hit in Greece, reaching Platinum status, while it peaked at number three in Sweden, and charted elsewhere. Antique's success in the contest led to them earning recognition in Greece and working there for the remainder of their career. In continuation, they recorded four studio albums that achieved mild success, performed a small European and North American tour, and collaborated with artists such as Katy Garbi and Slavi Trifonov. Following their course as Antique, Paparizou and Panagiotidis decided to pursue solo careers, however Panagiotidis would not manage to establish himself as a solo act. Initially, negative criticism relating to the disbandment centered around Paparizou, who was accused of abandoning her friend for her own career interests; however, Paparizou responded by saying that the split was not permanent, but rather a mutual decision to try other things, with plans of a reunion in mind.

2003–05: Solo development, ''Protereotita'', and Eurovision

In late 2003, Paparizou signed a solo recording contract with Sony Music Greece and released her debut single "Anapandites Kliseis", a double A-side with "Treli Kardia", which peaked at number one on the Greek Top 50 Singles Chart and was certified Gold by IFPI Greece. The video of "Anapandites Kliseis" won her a MAD Video Music Award in 2004 for Best Dance Video and was nominated for Best Video by a New Artist, while a duet of the song with its writer Christos Dantis was performed at the ceremony. During the winter season of 2003–04, Paparizou was the opening act for Antonis Remos and Giannis Spanos at the Stadio Piraios nightclub. On 25 August 2004, she released her debut solo album, ''Protereotita'' from which "Anditheseis", "Katse Kala" and "Stin Kardia Mou Mono Thlipsi" were released as singles. The album earned Paparizou her first Arion Award for Best Female Pop Singer, while the videos of "Katse Kala" and "Treli Kardia" won her MAD Awards for Best Female Video and Best Direction, respectively. Originally, the album had moderate success, but after Paparizou's Eurovision win the following year and subsequent reissues it was certified double Platinum by IFPI Greece. To capitalize on the success, it was reissued as ''Protereotita: Euro Edition'' in single and double disc format, while it was released as a compilation in some European countries as ''My Number One'', peaking at number 13 in Sweden. It spun off three singles: ("My Number One", "The Light in Our Soul and "A Brighter Day"), peaking at number one, three and 24, respectively, in the aforementioned country, while charting to a lesser extent elsewhere. "My Number One" charted in a number of countries and was released in the United States by Moda Records with remixes in August 2006, peaking at number eight on the ''Bilboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart. The ''Euro Edition'' became Paparizou's first album to reach number one and earned her another Arion for Best Female Pop Singer, with "My Number One" peaking at number one on the Singles Chart, being certified Platinum, and becoming her first number-one airplay hit, while "The Light in Our Soul"/"To Fos Sti Psyhi" peaked at two. Paparizou released a new CD single "Mambo!", peaking at number one on both the Singles Chart for 10 weeks and gaining Platinum status, as well as the airplay charts, remaining her most successful single to date. The CD single itself was the second highest-selling single of the year, surpassing her Eurovision-winner "My Number One". She performed "My Number One" at the MAD VMAs in 2005 and in 2006 was awarded three honors for Best Pop Video ("The Light in Our Soul"), Best Video by a Female Artist ("My Number One"), and Artist of the Year ("Mambo!"). The album was reissued for a third time as ''Protereotita: Euro Edition + Mambo!'' in November. In 2007, Paparizou was awarded with a European Border Breakers Award at the Midem Festival in Cannes, France for the international editions of her debut album, recognized by the European Union as one of the year's ten new artists to have success with their debut albums abroad. In promotion of the album, Paparizou was the opening act to the spring 2004 season show at Thalassa, sharing the stage with three other young artists, Apostolia Zoi, Nino and Thanos Petrelis, followed by performing as the opening act at Fever for Sakis Rouvas and Giorgos Mazonakis for the winter season.

Paparizou began residing in Greece permanently in 2004 and after a long selection process led by national broadcaster Hellenic Radio and Television (ERT), she was internally selected as Greece's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kiev, Ukraine. Paparizou had not been an original choice of the broadcaster, who had been trying to secure a high profile artist and thus she was viewed as a possible back-up when the other deals failed to materialize. At the time, she expressed that no-one had wanted her to participate in Eurovision. The song "My Number One", composed by Dantis with lyrics by him and Natalia Germanou, was chosen by both the jury vote and televote in the Greek national final as the entry, defeating "Let's Get Wild" and "OK"; the fourth song, "The Light in Our Soul", was disqualified due to being released prior to the deadline. Although her first name had previously always been spelled "Elena", Paparizou chose to promote herself as "Helena" as her Eurovision appearance approached, citing for it to stand out from other names that are popular in other countries; thus the spelling with the H has since been used on all non-Greek promotions and releases, although she has since stated that she prefers to be known as "Elena". Paparizou went on tour across Europe to promote the song. During this time, she was appointed an ambassador of the Greek Ministry of Tourism by its Μinister, Dimitris Avramopoulos, who invested 500 thousand euros into her campaign to promote Greece during her time abroad through merchandise and advertisements that aired throughout Europe. His decision, deemed a publicity stunt, was reviewed tepidly by colleagues; however, impressed with the result, he issued Paparizou to fulfill the role for the following year. On 21 May she won the contest for Greece for the first time in history, earning 230 points and the maximum 12 points from ten nations—tied for the most in one night up until that point. The moment of the victory garnered the highest television viewing ratings in Greek history and provoked mass celebrations on the streets of Athens, while she was also greeted by various government officials, including then Minister of State Theodoros Roussopoulos and then Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis at a reception at the Maximos Mansion, upon return.

Paparizou's Eurovision victory catapulted her from a relatively minor celebrity to a notable music act, cementing her solo career and giving her some international exposure. On 14 July she performed at the birthday gala of Princess Victoria of Sweden where while ascending the stage to greet the royal family, King Carl XVI Gustaf stood to embrace Paparizou instead of offering a handshake, causing controversy for putting his hand on her back, lower than what is socially acceptable. The Royal Court later issued a statement that his hand slipped. She subsequently toured Europe, performing in all countries that gave her 12 points, while a tour of North America and Australia for the Greek diaspora with Nikos Kourkoulis followed. Paparizou stated that should she ever consider doing anything Eurovision oriented again it would have to be for her birth country of Sweden, since she already had her turn with Greece. After serving as an opening act on numerous occasions, Paparizou performed as a main act at Fever for the 2005–06 season. Georgia Laimou of E-go, an affiliate of the newspaper ''Eleftheros Typos'', gave the show a poor review, citing unprofessional elements and weak vocal performances and noted that the show was lacking in attendance, particularly the elite groups who often reserve the front row tables.

2006–07: ''Iparhi Logos'', ''The Game of Love'', and soundtracks

In January 2006, Paparizou was one of 25 artists who participated in the group Simmeteho Energa in the recording of the charity single "Eho Ti Dinami", which was released as a CD Single in support of the Greek Cancer Society. Paparizou was one of eight main vocalists. Paparizou's second album, ''Iparhi Logos'', was released in Greece on 12 April 2006 to good critical reception. In promotion, Paparizou performed the title track at the Arion Music Awards. The album, a two disc set, contained both previously released material and live recordings from her MAD Secret Concert held in December 2005, being the first edition of the series. The album peaked at number one in both Greece and Cyprus and generated three hit singles ("Iparhi Logos", "Gigolo" and "An Ihes Erthi Pio Noris"). It topped the Greek Albums Chart for multiple weeks and was certified platinum by IFPI Greece after seven months for shipments of 30 thousand copies and also reaching Platinum in Cyprus for shipments of six thousand copies. A cover of Celine Dion's "Just Walk Away" was released as a promo single, while the Greek version of "Mambo!" was also included. Paparizou won MAD VMAs for Best Video by a Female Artist ("Gigolo") and Best-Dressed Artist in a Video ("An Ihes Erthi Pio Noris") out of five nominations and also opened the show singing "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" and "Min Fevgeis"; the album was also nominated for two Cyprus Music Awards in 2007, where she also performed. The album was reissued in February 2007 as ''Iparhi Logos: Platinum Edition'' to include Paparizou's number one hit "Mazi Sou", one of two songs she contributed for the soundtrack of the television series of the same name, "Fos" from the ''Barbie kai I Dodeka Vasilopoules'' soundtrack released in 2006, and her newest hit single, a cover of Voula Georgouti's rebetiko "Min Fevgeis", which reached number two. Prior to the reissue, the singles were also released on the EP single ''Fos'', which reached number 1 on the Greek Top 50 Singles Chart and was certified Gold, making it her fourth consecutive number-one hit on that chart. On May 20, 2006, Paparizou opened the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens with "My Number One" and later performed "Mambo!" to promote her song internationally, however, ERT ran commercials during the performance and thus it was not broadcast in many nations. Paparizou's song "Heroes" was the official song of the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, where it was performed at the event. The single was released in Sweden and Finland, becoming her second number-one hit in the former.

Following Eurovision, Paparizou expressed interest in beginning an international career and her debut English-language album ''The Game of Love'' was released on 25 October 2006 and was followed by releases in 14 countries covering Europe and South Africa by April 2007, although this was much less than had been expected in hopes of kicking off an international career. In Greece and Cyprus, the album went to number one and received Platinum certifications. Considered a "foreign" release, the album was only eligible to chart on the Greek Foreign Albums Chart, which it topped. It also topped the mixed Greek Albums Chart and was certified platinum by IFPI Greece after 11 weeks on the chart in January 2007, denoting shipments of 15 thousand copies. "Teardrops", a number-one hit, was released as the first Greek single from the album, as "Mambo!" and "Gigolo" were previously released on ''Iparhi Logos'', as was much of the album's material. The album failed to chart in many countries, peaking at 18 in Sweden and becoming her least successful album there since Antique's debut ''Mera Me Ti Mera''. Thus her label cancelled many of the foreign releases. "Mambo!" charted in Sweden at number 5 and became Gold, while it was also released in five other countries and promoted by others. A new video was filmed for the song that was targeted towards a broader audience. The song charted in a few countries, but its success was limited outside of Sweden, with no official European release date being announced. The single failed to make any impact on any major market. It was also planned to be released in the United States by Moda, however those plans were later abandoned. The third international single was planned to be "The Game of Love" and was scheduled for an April 2007 release but was canceled due to the album's lack of success, and also since her latest "Gigolo" was not overly successful, peaking at number 11, her second lowest charting single in Sweden, and failing to chart well elsewhere.

In early 2007, Paparizou became the spokesperson of Nokia Greece, her previous sponsor, and released the song "Ola Ine Mousiki" in October 2007 for promotion. She also collaborated with retailer Plaisio and released a limited edition MP4 player called "MP4 Total Helena" (2GB) by Turbo-X, containing a special compilation and music videos, being additionally released as "TH4" MP4 in 2008 to include her new album material and exclusive content. She released a cover of Blind Melon's "3 Is a Magic Number" in Sweden as part of a television advertisement for a mobile phone company; it peaked at number 18, while she also was featured on TV presenter Nikos Aliagas' song "I Zilia Monaksia", a cover of the Pascal Obispo hit "L'envie d'Aimer", for his album project ''Rendez-Vous''. She also released the song "To Fili Tis Zois" for the soundtrack of the film of the same name, reaching number one for five weeks and becoming her most successful airplay single, as well as one of the most successful songs of the late 2000s. It was nominated for four MAD VMAs, winning Best Pop Video, while she won Artist of the Year for "Mazi Sou", while "I Zilia Monaxia" also picked up a nomination, totaling six nominations in 2008. The single was the first digital single to be certified Gold in Greece since the marketing trend became popular in 2006.

2008–09: ''Vrisko To Logo Na Zo''

Paparizou released her fourth album, ''Vrisko To Logo Na Zo'' on 12 June 2008. The album generated four singles, "Porta Gia Ton Ourano", "I Kardia Sou Petra", "Pirotehnimata", and "Eisai I Foni". The music video of "Pirotehnimata" won Paparizou two awards at the sixth MAD Video Music Awards for Best Pop Video and Video of the Year and was nominated for Sexiest Video, while "I Kardia Sou Petra" won for Female Artist of the Year and "Porta Gia Ton Ourano" was nominated for Artist of the Year. Paparizou promoted a more rock-inspired image for the album, which differed from her previous pop/laïko style. However, the album and its concept received mixed reviews. The album was certified Gold in its first week, eventually peaking at number one and being certified Platinum after three months and becoming overall the second best-selling album of the year in both domestic and mixed domains; in Cyprus it peaked at two and was certified Platinum.

In June, Paparizou opened the MAD Video Music Awards 2008 with a remix of "Porta Gia Ton Ourano" with Madonna's 4 Minutes" and was featured in the performance of hip hop group Stavento of their hit "Mesa Sou"; both songs were released as digital downloads and promo singles in promotion of the album, while Paparizou's duet version of Spanish group Chambao's single "Papeles Mojados" received some play in Spanish clubs. She then embarked on her To Party Arhizei tour, her first national tour, from 2 July to 19 September. The finale of the tour, set for Herakleion, Crete three days later, was cancelled due to whether conditions and Paparizou substituted the concert with two shows in October 2009 at the club Anadromes. It grossed 192 thousand attendants over 29 locations, selling out the Thessaloniki venue. Following the tour, the album was reissued as ''The Deluxe Edition'' in December and featured a video of the show titled ''Live in Concert'', which was also available individually. A further reissue of the album set to include Paparizou's newly recorded material (including the new single "Tha 'Mai Allios" and MAD Secret Concert tracks) was scheduled for the fall 2009, but this was shelved when the singer opted to record a new studio album for 2010.

Paparizou was featured on the Bonnier soundtrack project ''Alla Himlens Änglar'', released in August, where she contributed her first Swedish-language songs: "Allt jag vill" (Everything I want) and "Genom krig och kärlek" (Through war and love). On 23 October 2008, she was one of the artists featured in a concert at the Siemens Arena in Vilnius, Lithuania that was attended by approximately 10 thousand people, while from 30 October to 9 April she once again appeared alongside Paschalis Terzis at Iera Odos with Manos Pirovolakis as the opening act. From 14 May to September, Paparizou was the main act at Thalassa: People's Stage, a concert-themed club stage, which had recently become more popular in Greece and was a first for the singer. 15.50 and Stavento served as supporting acts; after a brief intermission, the show was resumed with the latter being replaced with Loukas Giorkas. Paparizou returned to the stage of MAD Secret Concerts on 26 May, the eighth edition of the series, featuring acts like 15.50, De Niro, Dimos Anastasiadis, Giorgos Sabanis, and Mironas Stratis, with a video release titled ''MAD Secret Concert Vol.II'' being released in the fall. Paparizou went on hiatus in the winter season to spend time with her mother in Sweden and record her new album. An English-language album had also been announced for 2009, however, those plans did not materialize because of her father's sudden death, although three songs have been recorded, one of which is a tribute to him.

2010–present: ''Giro Apo T' Oneiro'' and ''Greatest Hits & More''

Paparizou's fifth studio album ''Giro Apo T' Oneiro'' was released on 29 March and generated the singles "Tha 'Mai Allios", "An Isouna Agapi", "Psahno Tin Alitheia" and "Girna Me Sto Htes". The song "Tha 'Mai Allios", which was released a year before the album, served as the singer's first advertisement for soft-drink Ivi's and won her an MTV Europe Award for Best Greek Act, placing her in the preliminary nominations of Best European Act, missing the official nominations by one spot by finishing sixth The song's video also won the MAD Video Music Award for Video of the Year and was nominated for Best Pop Video, while "An Isouna Agapi" won the award for Sexiest Video and received nominations for Female Artist of the Year and Artist of the Year. For its release, Paparizou embraced the new marketing trend of releasing new albums with Sunday newspapers, and did so with the 28 March edition of the nation-wide ''RealNews'', followed by a physical release the next day in standard and deluxe editions, the latter featuring video. 11 days following its release, it was announced that the album had achieved total shipments of 140 thousand units physically and via newspaper. However, newspaper shipments are not taken into consideration by IFPI. In a radio interview in August 2010, Paparizou stated that the album had sold enough physical copies to be certified Platinum by IFPI. On 6 November 2010, Paparizou was awarded platinum certification, with shipments of at least 12,000 units, for ''Giro Apo T' Oneiro'' by IFPI Greece at the grand opening of the new Metropolis music store at The Mall Athens.

Paparizou and Onirama embarked on their joint Fisika Mazi Tour beginning on 30 June at Theatro Petras as part of the Stone Festival in Petroupoli. A surprise inspection by the SDOE at the Kefalonia stop of the tour which found the production guilty of tax violations was the subject of controversy; it was revealed that eight thousand five hundred concert tickets were left unstamped and the contract fees of the performing artists had not been submitted. The singer claimed she did not have any knowledge of the occurrences and that she has no affiliation with the production group apart from as a performer. She was one of eight artists who performed at the first MAD Fanatics concert, a tribute to Michael Jackson, closing the show with covers of "Heal the World" and "You Are Not Alone". For the winter season Paparizou appears alongside Antonis Remos at Diogenis Studio, for which she reportedly is paid 10 thousand euros per night, four thousand euros less than her previous season of performances. Paparizou was featured on Albert Hammond's greatest hits album ''Legend'' on the tracks "Enredao" and its English-language counterpart "Tangled Up in Tears".

On 2 February 2011, Paparizou was one of eight acts of MAD TV's first charity fashion music show MADWalk, an equivalent to the international Fashion Rocks, where she represented fashion designer Apostolos Mitropoulos and performed her new single "Baby It's Over", which will be included on her triple greatest hits album ''Greatest Hits & More'' to be released in late March. She also appeared at the Flight Night Club in Sofia, Bulgaria on 8 February.

Musical style and performance

Influences

Paparizou has said that her parents had absolutely no musical background and the only person in her family who sang was her paternal grandmother. During her years in the village she would gather the people around the monasteries and sing hymns at weddings and baptisms, which inspired Paparizou to sing. While her first musical experiences were with international music, predominantly musicals, her musical roots are in traditional Greek music such as laiko and rebetiko as she was exposed to the music of Vassilis Tsitsanis, Markos Vamvakaris, Stelios Kazantzidis, Mimis Plaisas, and Giannis Spanos through her parents. However, as a child, she considered these genres to be distant and old-fashioned and only associated them with her summer holidays in Greece. In her teenage years, she began listening to a broad range of music including R&B; and soul, however, her biggest musical influences were female pop singers such as Madonna, Céline Dion, Tina Turner and Janet Jackson. Later on, she also cited frequent collaborator Paschalis Terzis for teaching her to be a better vocalist on a technical level. Paparizou has also stated that she was a big fan of the Eurovision Song Contest for years before she first participated in 2001.

Music and themes

During her solo career, Paparizou has transformed her musical style and image from laiko to pop to more rock-inspired styles on a whim, however, some critics attribute this to a lack of personal style and following trends of the times in order for commercial success rather than it being a form of artistic expression. Paparizou has also been known to follow the trends of international female pop stars of the time with some comparissons having been made by music critics. Songs like "The Light in Our Soul" to Celine Dion's love-themed pop ballads, "Let's Get Wild" to Anastacia, "Somebody's Burning" to Beyonce Knowles and "Carpe Diem" to Shakira.

Similar to Antique's work, all of Paparizou's albums have included a sizable amount of covers and translations. Following Antique's distinct style of blending traditional Greek music with Nordic disco sounds, with her debut solo album ''Protereotita'', Paparizou focused on more pop sounds in addition to laiko and the songs were directed towards the club market; however, Giorgos Mastorakis of Music Corner stated that despite the image change, the album was not too different than what the public had become used to from Antique, being described as "pop moments (with keen laiko ... 'garnish')." In addition, the album contained many writers from both Greece and Sweden, which –according to Mastorakis– led to the album's sound to be varying. The more stylistically interesting songs from the album included the title track which followed a more R&B; style, while the song "Katse Kala" was described as having an "original sound."

Following her Eurovision win, Paparizou witnessed increased popularity and was often promoted more as a pop singer by the media. In his review of the ''Euro Edition'' of ''Protereotita'', Pavlos Zervas of Music Corner was highly impressed with the album and believed that its contemporary style could potentially be an international hit, supporting the singer more so in English-language recordings; In his review of ''Iparhi Logos'', Zervas even went as far as to say that apart from Sakis Rouvas, the nation's primary pop performer, Paparizou was the only artist supporting the pop/dance genre so well in Greece, adding that anything that she chose to sing at the moment would become a hit. He used Paparizou as an example that big name producers like Giorgos Theofanous and Phoebus are not needed to create hits. Material-wise, he maintained that the numerous covers were the album's strong point, while "Gigolo" was characterized by "witty" lyrics in an overall pattern that followed her hit "Mambo!" and previous hits. Nevertheless, he considered that the laiko material on the album contradicted the pop ones and made her overall sound less focused.

Paparizou's first English-language album The Game of Love was anticipated amongst Greek consumers and featured a fairly similar sound to ''Iparhi Logos'', with over half of the album's material being taken from the aforementioned album. Zervas also reviewed this album, saying that it contained many different styles such as dance, hip hop, slow jams and latin, following a typical recipe of American music. Zervas believed that international female pop singers did not have much above Paparizou, saying that the album's success would depend solely on promotion efforts, although internationally affiliated record companies were less impressed. Zervas' impression was that while he believed in the material's potential, he thought that if Paparizou continued her current trends and performance style at laiko nightclubs ambitions for an international career would come to a disappointment.

For ''Vrisko To Logo Na Zo'', her fourth album, Paparizou minimized the laiko influences and promoted a more pop/rock sound and image; in contrast with her first three albums that followed a similar approach of blending laiko and dance-pop songs. The overall album concept was given generally mixed reviews; Evianna Nikoleri of Music Corner commented that on its positive notes the album was carefully crafted and had a good European-like production. The rock elements of the album were thought to be minor, with some occasional guitar riffs, while she maintained that Paparizou was following the current trend of pop/laiko female singers promoting a rock image, something that she credited Despina Vandi for commencing;

For ''Giro Apo T' Oneiro'', Paparizou worked with the same group she had two years prior with minimal changes. However, she toned down the image she had created with her previous album; while many of the songs still contained rock influences, she also re-embraced dance-pop and pop-folk, while to a lesser extent incorporated electronic and lounge, and set an overall pop theme for the album.

While some critics have said that her material's lyrics have flow, they have also criticized them as being generic and trivial, focusing on typical love clichés; Nikoleri stated that while songs like "I Kardia Sou Petra", "Kita Brosta", "Pios" grab attention, not a single song escapes from the typical love themes of 'you left and I want you back,' 'I love you but I will get over you,' etc.," citing it as an area for improvement. Paparizou has contributed a couple of tracks as a songwriter on all of her studio albums with the exception of ''Iparhi Logos'' (although she did write the lyrics of the Antique song "Why?" which was one of the album's live covers), with these writing ventures being nearly universally collaborations with at least one other songwriter. She has contributed lyrics to "Treli Kardia" (''Protereotita''), "Carpe Diem" and "Teardrops" (''The Game of Love''), and "Mathe Prota N'agapas" (''Vrisko To Logo Na Zo''), while on ''Vrisko To Logo Na Zo'' she made her first musical contributions on the afforementioned track and "Den Tha 'Mai 'Do" and later on "Filarakia" (''Giro Apo T' Oneiro''), which was also her first solo writing credit.

Makis Kalamaris of Avopolis alleged that there were two types of artists: quality and commercial, labelling Paparizou as the latter, although he noted that she is an artist that some artists from the quality side have shown a liking for because despite her material's level, she defends it in the best possible way.

Vocal style

Aris Kavatzikis of ''Close Up'' described Paparizou as having a "metallic voice." Especially following the disbandment of Antique, Paparizou's voice was characterized as possessing a "deep, sensual" tone. Paparizou possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range; from her Antique years up until 2005, she performed in a vocal range of C₄ to B₆. Critics have continuously argued over whether laïko or pop material best suits the artist vocally, usually coming to completely opposite conclusions, especially when country of origin varies. Both Giorgos Mastorakis and Pavlos Zervas of Music Corner maintained that she was capable in both, with Zervas being more adament about her limiting her performances to the dance-pop genre in support of her post-Eurovision image, adding that in her live cover of "Just Walk Away" she used her vocal abilities in their entirety. Zervas also supported her more in English-language recordings, mostly because of her non-Greek accent. Makis Kalamaris of Avopolis also felt similarly about these points and dismissed her pop-rock attempts. In contrast, Swedish critic Dan Backman of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' felt that Paparizou was no exception to the rule that musical artists sound better in their native language, describing her vocal performances as "expressive" in Greek and "bland" in English. He also consistently selected her pure laïko songs, such as "Stin Kardia Mou Mono Thlipsi", "I Zoi Sou Zari", M'angaliazei To Skotadi", and "O,ti Axizi Ine I Stigmes" as being best suited to her voice rather than her contemporary or hybrid material, suggesting her voice may possess "the right dramatic nerve" for the style.

Reception to Paparizou's vocals has been mixed. Some critics have felt that they are at least sufficient, with Kalamaris describing her albilities as "not insignificant". Alternately, others have felt that her vocals are technically unskilled and have in particular criticized her live vocal performances. In general her vocals have been viewed as one of her weaker points of appeal. ''Nitro'' was skeptical of Paparizou's musical abilities overall, saying that if the world was a fair place, it would be widely acknowledged that she "has simply a pretty face, while the voice behind that belongs to a less pretty singer." Others have also been under the opinion that she does not sell primarily based on her voice, but rather on her public image and styling. Zervas opined favourably of her vocals, writing that on the ''Euro Edition'' EP, Paparizou's voice seemed "adaptable" and "pliable" to the details of each of the album's songs, from the ballads to the uptempo ones. Critic Georgia Laimou of ''Eleftheros Typos'', however, highly disagreed with this statement. She noticed that since her Eurovision win, Paparizou sang with more force and a new-found confidence but also found that she has a tendency to "yell" her notes. Through hearing the artist sing her own songs as well as covers, she found that Paparizou sings all genres and styles of songs in the exact same, monotonous voice and has a very limited vocal range, apparently possessing only one comfortable key, overall being unimpressed by her live performance. In 2008, Evianna Nikoleri noticed an improvement in Paparizou's voice, suggesting that ''Vrisko To Logo Na Zo'' contained her best vocal performance on an album. However, as the difficulty level of the songs progressed, the more Paparizou's excessive yelling became noticable, as a result of trying to to prove her volume and push her range to reach high notes, being panned by critics on songs such as "Eisai I Foni" and "Den Tha 'Mai 'Do". Nikoleri stated that she felt that Paparizou, like most laïko-pop female singers, believed that singing loudly was synonymous with singing well or possessing a naturally big voice and compared her to Despina Vandi, who she credited with starting the trend. Nevertheless, Makis Kalamaris, who believed the album to be quite mediocre, saying it was based mostly on "beatless rock scratches and mellow ballads", said that Paparizou saved most of the material just with her lively delivery of it. He felt similarly about ''Giro Apo T' Oneiro'', whose material he also found lackluster.

In addition to often losing her breath onstage due to her asthma, for which she has to carry an inhaler, Paparizou is also a cigarette smoker, having started some time during childhood, an action which can provide damage to one's vocal chords. In Greece, it is often common for certain television programs or events to be lip-synced, often due to technical restrictions and these are made known to the public. Some programs offer the option of performing live, although Paparizou has almost always chosen the lip-sync option, even in performances where there is no choreography to complicate the execution, with the exception of some more low-key performances where she has sung along with a piano. However, on several occasions since serving as a frontwoman for Antique, the singer has been criticized for using a full playback track during "live" stage performances, such as at clubs or concerts, something that a lot of Greek singers are known to do but is less socially acceptable.

Image

Fashion and style

During her career as Antique, Paparizou was known to have a simplistic look with a lack of styling, representing a young girl; she made a transition into a more feminine and sexualized style after going solo. Paparizou was known for a revealing style of dress, which was a contrast from her "good girl" image. She made hot pants her signature look, showcasing her legs as her most prominent physical feature, and was also known to wear mini-dresses and five-inch high heels. In promotion of the album ''Vrisko To Logo Na Zo'', Paparizou promoted a more rock-inspired image than she had previously been associated with, appearing more aggressive in dark tones in both wardrobe and make-up. The look was completed with multiple new piercings, including her ear cartilage, tongue, and most notably, her nostril, wearing a wire chain to connect it to her ear piercing. Evianna Nikoleri maintained that Paparizou was following the current trend of pop/laiko female singers promoting a rock image, something that she credited Despina Vandi for commencing. Makis Kalamaris of Avopolis also agreed that this new image was more so for mainstream success rather than artistic expression, but added that Paparizou, knowing her limitations, was slowly easing into it rather than suddenly presenting this rock persona, adding that she was probably the only case of a Greek female singer being able to imitate trends of international females without singing in skiladiko clubs and at the same time cloning herself into Madonna, which made her stand out against the current mainstream scene. Paparizou's make-up artist Giannis Marketakis has stated that while their relationship began strictly professionally, they have since become like siblings, further saying that Paparizou always gives input on her look and fashion, and follows fashion trends closely. Despite this, Paparizou has said that she avoids extremeties in her fashion choices. In ''The Game of Love'', Paparizou gives credit to Al Giga, her stylist, for making her love fashion and herself, while she also acknowledges Roberto Cavalli —who has provided the majority of her wardrobe since Eurovision 2005— for his input.

Public image

On 14 March 2010, Alpha TV ranked Paparizou as the 14th top-certified female artist in the nation's 50-year phonographic industry, on a list titled the "30 Most Popular Greek Female Singers of the Past 50 Years," with certifications totalling seven Platinum and four Gold records. This made Paparizou the youngest artist on the list, the only artist under the age of 30, as well as the only artist to emerge in the 2000s (in her solo career). In 2010, ''Forbes'' listed her as the 21st most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece, and the fourth highest ranked singer. She is regarded as the most successful female pop singer of the second half of the 2000s. While in years previous to this a supposed rivalry between Anna Vissi and Despina Vandi received heavy media attention and competition as to which artist would ultimately come out on top, Paparizou essentially replaced the two musicians as the top contemporary female artist in their absences during the latter half of the decade. In reviewing her comeback album, ''Apagorevmeno'' (2008) after three years since her last release, Haris Simvoulidis of Avopolis alleged that Vissi gave the impression of trying to catch up to her contemporaries, Paparizou and Peggy Zina, who were the most culturally relevant female acts of that era. However, by the end of the decade her popularity was in decline as was most of the laïko-pop scene and image-based singers, partially due to hardships faced by the Greek music industry including piracy, the financial crisis, and changing musical tastes.

Paparizou established a public image described as that of the "Greek every-girl" or the "girl next door," making her an icon for teenage girls, while her songs have become a staple for young people during auditions at reality music shows such as ''Greek Idol'' as well as having inspired younger artists such as ''Idol'' runner-up Nicole Paparistodimou. Paparizou became known for the way she approached the media; she has been known to apologize in her interviews, laugh throughout, and "embodies the good girl and not the femme fatale, she wants to be likeable" and projects a "child-woman" rather than a diva, thus staying family-friendly. However, she has also spoken candidly to reporters about issues concerning her personal life, plastic surgery, and weight. She has also been referred to as an anti-star, while Ivi reportedly selected her to be the face of their "Fersou Fisika" (act natural) campaign for representing all of the corresponding qualities, such as freshness, naturalness, authenticity, good will, and humour. A biography of the artist on Alpha TV's ''Kafes Me Tin Eleni'' stated that Paparizou's appeal was not due to her voice, her songs, nor her body, but rather that she represents the qualities and limitations of the average person. Paparizou has said that she likes to present herself in moderation; she herself ranked her star power as moderate in the Greek star system, the level she finds appropriate for artists, adding that she believed that her public image would never be able to overcome that of the girl next door in the eyes of the Greek public. However, E! Entertainment Television also described her as "sultry," ranking her at number 16 on their ''25 Sexiest Women'' and ''25 Sexiest Pop Divas'' of 2008, making her one of only two Greek celebrities —along with Kostas Martakis— to ever be featured on one of the network's lists. In 2009, she admitted to having undergone breast augmentation at the age of 26 after wishing to do so since she was 18. This made her the first Greek female celebrity to admit having undergone the afforementioned procedure, something which was reviewed positively by some media personalities. Paparizou also performed as the main act at the artistic portion of the Athens Pride 2010, supporting LGBT people of Greece. She has had promotional deals with Skechers, Nokia Greece, Organics Hair Care, and Ivi, and through record label association has promoted Sony Ericsson (both Greece and Sweden), TIM Hellas, Vivodi, and Coca-Cola.

In 2008, Paparizou, who was known for her slim figure, was scrutinized for her weight gain during the 2007–08 season when she took a break from performing. Paparizou openly stated that she had gained 10 kg (22 lbs), however she had already lost 7 (15) of them. She had previously stated that she gains at least that amount every time she goes on break, adding that it would have been possible for her to gain up to 15 kg (33 lbs). As she had first stated in 2006, she was dissatisfied with discriminative ideals towards both men and women and threatened to put on weight the following year. This was followed by another weight gain in 2009; her new image distanced her from the one she became known with circa Eurovision 2005. As the media became more concerned with her weight Paparizou expressed her disapproval of this, stating "I am a singer, not a model." In her 2010 video shoots it was reported that Paparizou asked only for close-up shots due to this issue. Paparizou had also faced scrutiny for her weight on another occasion during the Eurovision 2001 era where media made claims of her having anorexia nervosa; Paparizou admitted that for her appearance in the contest she had lost too much weight and had dropped down to 51 kg.

Personal life

Paparizou at one point during her youth followed Buddhism, but eventually began following the Greek Orthodox religion once again as she believes it suits her better. She has been involved in a long term relationship with fellow Swedish-born Greek Toni Mavridis, whom she was introduced to as a musician by a friend of her sister's at a restaurant called Mykonos when she was only 17, while Mavridis is 11 years her senior. Mavridis became an impresario for Antique and has written songs on all of Paparizou's solo albums, while he also serves as her manager. Mavridis had approached Paparizou for only one month before their relationship commenced and she left her parents' home to live with him in Stockholm. The two had a traditional Greek engagement celebration with their relatives on December 24, 2000 and have been engaged since; however, Paparizou has said that Mavridis has never officially proposed to her and that she would prefer that he do this in the Western tradition of going down on one knee. Paparizou's lack of fluency in the Greek language was often a subject of the media, although she began to improve it following her Eurovision win, having bought a home with Mavridis in the Athens suburb of Glyfada in 2006. Mavridis has suggested the idea of the two getting married in Las Vegas, Nevada, while Paparizou has also already chosen a koumbara, her good friend Roxani. On many occasions, Paparizou has commented on starting a family with Mavridis; in ''Celebrity'', Paparizou was quoted as saying "I believe that family is the most natural thing, the thing I want in my life. And what is my preference? To not have kids so I can continue my career? One day it will end. I cannot be on stage everyday, like I am now at 25," while in ''Nitro'' she said "No [Mavridis is not my first relationship], but I think he is my last. He is the person I want to have kids with. I think he is the best father they could have. If I don't have kids with him, then I will adopt." In the August 2010 issue of Life & Style, Paparizou revealed that she would like to have a child within the next year to two years. In 2011 Paparizou took a break from the Greek music scene and returned to Sweden alone. It was reported that she and Mavridis had been separated for nearly three months and were in the process of splitting their shared wealth and placing their Glyfada home for sale. On 29 June 2011, Mavridis confirmed that they had ended their relationship after 12 years together.

Paparizou's father died suddenly on 25 December 2008 of a heart attack during the family's Christmas Day celebrations. Paparizou stopped her performances at Iera Odos to be with family in Sweden before resuming her show. She later stated her belief that her father would have lived had the ambulance been prompt, blaming medical incompetency. She has been suffering from depression since, citing it as the second occurrence since she was a teenager.

Discography

''Protereotita'' (2004)

''Iparhi Logos'' (2006)

''The Game of Love'' (2006)

''Vrisko To Logo Na Zo'' (2008)

''Giro Apo T' Oneiro'' (2010)

Tours

Concert tours

Headlining

"My Number One" Eurovision Promo Tour (2005)

Eurovision Winner's Tour (2005)

To Party Arhizei (2008)

Fisika Mazi (with Onirama) (2010)

Resident shows

Main act

Fever (with Giorgos Tsalikis and Christos Pazis) (2005–06)

Iera Odos (with Paschalis Terzis and Nino) (2006–07)

Odeon (with Paschalis Terzis and Nino) (2007)

Iera Odos (with Paschalis Terzis and Manos Pirovolakis) (2008–09)

Thalassa: People's Stage (with Stavento and 15:50, Pt.2: Loukas Giorkas and 15:50) (2009)

Diogenis Studio (with Antonis Remos) (2010–11)

Opening act

Studio Piraios (opening act for Antonis Remos and Giannis Spanos) (2003–04)

Fever (opening act for Sakis Rouvas and Giorgos Mazonakis) (2004–05)

Thalassa (with Apostolia Zoi, Nino, and Thanos Petrelis) (2004)

Awards

See also

List of Greeks

List of Swedes

Notes

Citations

External links

Official Elena Paparizou websites:

Website

Facebook MySpace Twitter YouTube Official Fan Club

Elena Paparizou at Sony Music Entertainment Greece

Helena Paparizou on the Internet Movie Database

Category:1982 births Category:Antique (duo) Category:Arion Music Awards winners Category:Bonnier Amigo Music Group artists Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Sweden Category:Elena Paparizou Category:English-language singers Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2001 Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2005 Category:Eurovision Song Contest winners Category:Greek dance musicians Category:Greek Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Greek female models Category:Greek female singers Category:Greek laïko singers Category:Greek lyricists Category:Greek pop singers Category:Greek songwriters Category:Living people Category:MAD Video Music Awards winners Category:Modern Greek-language singers Category:People from Gothenburg Category:People from Borås Municipality Category:Pop folk singers Category:Sony Music Greece artists Category:Swedish dance musicians Category:Swedish female models Category:Swedish female singers Category:Swedish people of Greek descent Category:Swedish pop singers

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