.svg)
.svg)
![Anna Vissi - Protereotita (Sample), NEW SONG 2010 [fannatics.gr]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110526054400im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4JYWEaioM5c/0.jpg "Anna Vissi - Protereotita (Sample), NEW SONG 2010 [fannatics.gr]")
| Name | ProtereotitaΠροτεραιότητα |
|---|---|
| Type | studio |
| Artist | Elena Paparizou |
| Cover | Elena Paparizou - Protereotita Cover art.jpg |
| Released | August 25, 2004 (see release history) |
| Recorded | 2003-2005 |
| Genre | Pop folk, laïko, dance-pop |
| Length | 67:21 (Original) 35:46/103:07 (Euro Edition, single/both discs) 45:23 (My Number One)120:51 (Euro Edition + Mambo!, three discs) |
| Language | Greek (Original) English (Euro Edition, My Number One, Euro Edition + Mambo!) |
| Label | Sony Music Greece/Columbia |
| Producer | Christos Dantis, Toni Mavridis |
| This album | Protereotita(2004) |
| Next album | Iparhi Logos (2006) |
Protereotita (; ), is the debut solo album by Greek singer Elena Paparizou, released on August 25, 2004 by Sony Music Greece. The album's first single, Anapandites Kliseis, was released as a CD-single prior to the album's release and reached number 1 on the Greek IFPI singles chart. The album was also re-released twice in Greece, and once internationally as My Number One. Overall, there are five different editions available of the album. The original album was only a mild success, however, following Paparizou's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest the Euro Edition peaked at number one on the charts and was certified platinum by the IFPI. The album was later certified double platinum in early 2006; as IFPI was making a transition in lowering their sales thresholds at that time, this would imply sales of at least 60,000 copies, although sales of up to 87,000 have been claimed.
Before her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, Paparizou re-released the album with the title "Protereotita: Euro-Edition" on March 31, 2005. The album included a bonus CD which contained 11 new tracks that included her Greek national final songs, including "My Number One". "My Number One" was Paparizou's second CD single to go to number 1 on the Greek charts.
At the end of 2005 Paparizou re-released the album for the third and final time in Greece and Cyprus as Protereotita: Euro-Edition + Mambo!. This edition included all of the songs from Protereotita: Euro Edition and the songs from the "Mambo!" CD single. Protereotita -including both re-releases- become a huge commercial success for Paparizou, considering that the album was released only in Greece and Cyprus.
The album was also released internationally with the title My Number One in May 2005. My Number One included most of the songs from Protereotita: Euro-Edition, and was released in many parts of Europe including Sweden, Turkey , Switzerland, Hungary, Finland, Slovenia, Russia, Denmark, Poland, the Netherlands and Spain.
#"Anapandites Kliseis" (CD) (Directed by Manolis Tzirakis) #"Treli Kardia" (Directed by Giorgos Gavalos/View Studio) #"Katse Kala" (Directed by Giorgos Gavalos/View Studio) #"Antitheseis" (Directed by Manolis Tzirakis) #"Stin Kardia Mou Mono Thlipsi" (Directed by Manolis Tzirakis) #"My Number One" (CD) (Directed by Kostas Kapetanidis) #"The Light in Our Soul" (CD) (Directed by Manolis Tzirakis) #"Mambo!" (CD) (Directed by Manolis Tzirakis)
"My Number One" :The first single released from My Number One was Elena's winning song from the 2005 Eurovision song contest "My Number One". The single went to number one in Sweden for 4 very successful weeks. The single stayed on the charts for 29 weeks overall. In Europe it was a big hit, charting in many countries in singles charts and having airplay success.
"The Light in Our Soul" :The second single to be released from the album was "The Light in Our Soul" which was another successful single from the album and peaked at number three. The single was only released in Sweden. The song stayed a hit in Sweden over the summer and stayed on the charts for 24 weeks. It was still in the Swedish charts in early 2006. It had airplay success in certain european countries even if it wasn't released anywhere except Sweden.
"A Brighter Day" :The last single to be released from the album was "A Brighter Day." This was in Elena's least successful single to date as a solo artist in Sweden. The single reached number twenty-four (#24) and stayed on the charts for 10 weeks. The reason the single peaked at a low chart position was due to Elena promoting her new single "Mambo!" in Greece and did not have the time to promote "A Brighter Day" in Sweden. Also, no video was filmed for the single which might have contributed to its lack of success.
My Number One debuted on the Swedish charts at 34 and peaked at 13, remaining in that position for two weeks. The album stayed on the chart for 22 weeks (5½ months) with its last charted position 36 on October 27, 2005.
Category:Double albums Category:Elena Paparizou albums Category:2004 albums Category:2005 albums Category:Debut albums Category:Greek-language albums Category:Sony Music Greece albums
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| 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 |
| Url | www.HelenaPaparizou.com |
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 182 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 certifed 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.
, Illinois, in September 2005.]]
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. 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. 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 orientated 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.
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. "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.
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.
at Diogenis Studio on 2 January 2011.]]
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".
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.
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.
in 2003.]] 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.
Category:1982 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers 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
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Anna VissiΆννα Βίσση |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Alias | Anna Vishy |
| Born | December 20, 1957Pyla, Larnaca, Cyprus |
| Origin | Athens, Greece |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Genre | Contemporary laika, laika, folk, pop, dance |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, composer, actress |
| Voice type | Mezzo-soprano |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Label | Minos (1970-1978),Columbia Graphophone Company (1978-1984), CarVi (1982), Sony Music Entertainment Greece (1984-present),Vanilla/Moda (2005) |
| Associated acts | Epikouri, Nikos Karvelas |
| Url | www.annavissi.net www.annavissilive.com |
Anna Vissi (; born December 20, 1957), known as Anna Vishy in Cypriot Greek, is a Cypriot–Greek singer, songwriter and actress, known mainly in Greece and her native country of Cyprus, with some international success within Europe, the United States and elsewhere. In the 1980s, Vissi began an exclusive collaboration with Nikos Karvelas, resulting in one of the most successful music partnerships in the nation's history.
From 1995 to 2009, Vissi received 30 Platinum certifications in Greece and has become one of the country's best-selling female artists, having sold over 9.5 million records worldwide. Her album Kravgi still remains one of the best-selling albums of the 2000s, and one of the best-selling albums of all time, while two others —Travma and Antidoto— are also among the best-selling. She also had some success in the United States, reaching number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart with "Call Me". In 2010, Alpha TV ranked Vissi as the second top-certified female artist in Greece in the phonographic era (since 1960). Forbes listed Vissi as the 15th most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece and third highest ranked singer.
In 1973, her family moved to Athens, Greece, where she was able to pursue her studies at the National Conservatory.
For the winter of 1997-1998, Vissi made appearances at club Gazi. On New Year's Eve, by invitation of the Mayor of Athens, she performed in the Parliament Square in front of more than 20,000 people, an event which was broadcast on TV all over Greece and Cyprus. In March 1998, Vissi broke a record, winning seven Greek Music Awards for her album Travma.
A couple of months later, a new CD single was released with the songs "Crush", "Mavra Gyalia" and "Eleni", as well as a re-release of her multi-platinum album Travma, with a bonus CD containing songs from previous albums, only in Australia.
performing at Asteria in 1998.]] In April 1998, Vissi released her album titled Antidoto, which sold more than 80,000 copies in just a week, breaking all previous records to that point.
On May 13, 2000, she performed as a special guest star in her native Cyprus, at the 49th annual Miss Universe Pageant which took place at the Eleftheria Stadium in Nicosia. She sang for the very first time her song "On a Night Like This", It became triple platinum and finally settled at four-times platinum. It contained twelve songs by Russ Ballard, Mark Taylor, Graham Stack, Steve Torch, Paul Stanley, Tina Shafer, Julian Harris, Danielle Gerber and Nikos Karvelas. Producers of the album were Brian Rawling, Ric Wake and Peter Asher. with little success.
In November 2000, Kravgi was released. It was a double album with 24 new songs and included a duet with Katy Garbi. It reached 3× platinum status in one month, setting a record, and eventually went 7× platinum and having sold 175 thousand copies (350 thousand units) as of 2009, It is the top-certified album of the 2000s and stands as either the best selling or second best selling album of the decade, due to there being no public consensus between 170–200 thousand copies (340–400 thousand units) of Despina Vandi's Gia. while she accepted the invitation of the Mayor of Athens to perform in the Parliament Square, at the celebrations of the 2001 New Year's Eve.
Just before Easter, a second single off her international album was released. It was called "Still in Love with You" and contained remixes (Radio Edit, Soda Club Radio Mix, Soda Club Mix, Soda Club TV Track), with production by Brian Rawling.
On June 6, 2001, she was the main singer in a production in Bucharest (Unirii square, nearby river Dambovitei) along with the No Smoking band and the cinema director and producer Emir Kusturica. The concert (2001, Peace Odyssey) included a multimedia show, opening with a water screen. More than 150,000 people were present. Kusturica along with producer and director Angelos Hadjiandreou undertook the artistic direction of the event, marrying music with the most modern expression of art.
Three months later, on September 5, 2001, she gave a concert in Cyprus (GSP Stadium), singing in front of more than 18,000 viewers, for more than three hours where she was awarded for the seven-times platinum Kravgi.
In May 2003, Vissi performed with Nikos Karvelas and Irini Merkouri at "Boom" in Thessaloniki, Greece. On July 15, 2003, Vissi gave a concert at "A Plaz Voulas/Apollonies Aktes", with special guest star Nikos Karvelas.
In September 2003, Vissi gave another concert in Cyprus, at the Tzirion Stadium in Limassol, to celebrate her 30-year old career. At the same year, she was awarded with a prize for her whole contribution from the Cyprus Paralympic Organization, while a square in Larnaca was named after her. She also met and talked with the president of the Republic of Cyprus, in the Presidential Palace, in Nicosia.
Just before 2004, on December 5, 2003, Vissi released the double album Paraksenes Eikones which went 2x platinum in six months. This was Vissi's first album since 1981's Anna Vissi that included songs written by other composers besides Nikos Karvelas. The album produced many hits. To promote the album, she started appearing at "Diogenis Studio" for the winter season 2003-2004, with Konstantinos Christoforou, Nino and girl band Hi-5. with Labis Livieratos (with whom she collaborated in the early '90s), while in July, her album Paraksenes Eikones was re-released with a bonus CD single called Remixes 2004, which went gold.
On August 29, 2004, Vissi performed at the closing ceremony of the XXVIII Olympiad, in Athens. She then gave a concert in Cyprus on September 3, at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia, where she sang for the first time her new English song called "Call Me". , part of her promotional tour for "Call Me".]]
On December 20, 2004, Vissi released a live album and DVD, It sold 40 thousand copies. Vissi then performed at the legendary Copacabana in New York for the KTU PartyGras. During the winter and through to the summer of 2005, she went around to clubs as part of her Mini-U.S.A. Tour to promote "Call Me". Some of the clubs included "Central", "Mirage", "DNA", "The Sound Garden" and "Studio 9".
In July 2005, Vissi returned to Greece and released "Call Me" as a CD single by Sony BMG, along with a new English-language song titled "Lie". The single reached number one on the IFPI singles charts and achieved gold certification. In that same month, Vissi started recording her new Greek album. In August 2005, Anna took to the stage of the "Coca-Cola Sound-Wave", which was held in Mykonos. There she sang her new English song Lie and surprised fans and media by appearing on stage with half her head shaved. The album went platinum within 24 hours of its release and peaked at number one on the IFPI Greek Top 50 albums chart, selling 40 thousand copies. The dual disc version featured special footage from her and Nikos Karvelas in the studio. In the album, there is a song featuring the lead singer of the Greek hip-hop band Goin' Through called Erota I Polemo ("Love or War"). On November 24, 2005, Vissi started performances at "Votanikos" club in Athens, Greece with Goin' Through, Dimitris Korgialas and Despina Olympiou, which lasted until March 2006.
After the filming of the song's music video was completed, Vissi embarked on a promotional tour across Europe starting on April 12, 2006 with Russia. Euro Edition also contains the three other Greek Eurovision Preselection songs: "Beautiful Night", "Who Cares About Love" and "Welcome to the Party", which has entered the playlist of American satellite radio station "Sirius Beat".
During the contest, Vissi performed in the 16th spot of the night and appeared alone on stage, wearing a Jean-Paul Gaultier outfit. Although she had been one of the favorites during the pre-contest period, she only managed to get 9th place with 128 points (hers was one of the two pre-qualified entries to finish in the top 10, the other being Romania). The other eight songs were all qualified from the semi-final. Finland won the contest with the rock band Lordi and their song Hard Rock Hallelujah. In interviews prior to the contest, she had stated that if there was anyone she would like to lose to, it would be the Finnish entry. Lordi had also expressed their liking of the Greek song in interviews, too.
Following the contest, "Everything" was released in Finland on May 24, 2006, by Sony BMG Finland. It had already been released in Sweden and it peaked at 24. It featured a different cover, than the original single. The dual disc version of Nylon was also re-released with the Eurovision single. Vissi gave a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on May 27, 2006. The tour was called The Best of Anna Vissi 2006 and was covered by Alpha TV.
In the fall of 2006, she embarked on a Greek mini-tour, performing around Greece in sold-out concerts, as well as Cyprus with Goin' Through.
In the beginning of 2007, Vissi moved to Los Angeles, United States to start work on an English album. In February 2007, she accompanied longtime friend Patricia Field to the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, California, United States.
in 2007.]]
Vissi also embarked on a world tour in January 2007. She traveled to Australia with Konstantinos Christoforou and had three concerts in Melbourne and Sydney, and from April 10, 2007 through May 1, 2007, she toured North America. Along with Takis Zacharatos, she performed in Chicago, New York City, Atlantic City, Connecticut (Foxwoods), Los Angeles, Montreal, and Toronto. Vissi continued her tour in October 2007 with a European mini-tour. The concerts included Amsterdam and Brussels with her concert in Paris being cancelled without an explanation. During the tour, she stated that she was only half way through her world tour.
In September 2007, Sony BMG released a compilation titled The Essential Anna Vissi in select markets. The album contains seventeen tracks, including some of Vissi's biggest hits. It also includes the previously leaked, but unofficially released English song Is it Safe?.
In November 2007, she held a special charity concert in London for the "Oinoussian Benevolent Fund". It was held at the "Royal Opera House" in Covent Garden with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and she raised £250,000, excluding the entrance tickets costing £200.
On June 28, 2008, Vissi posted the song "Diri Dakta", that had been recorded previously, on her official MySpace profile for her fans; the song did not appear on her new album. Later in the year, on October 4, 2008, Vissi held a charity gala at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
A bonus track from the Greek album was released on October 29, 2008, along with its music video. The song, titled To Parelthon Mou ("My Past"), is the title track to the Greek film Bank Bang, released in December 2008. The music video for the song was filmed on October 22, 2008, at The Mall Athens. It was the first album since 1983 not to include any songs and, generally, any input by Nikos Karvelas. The reason she gave for this in an interview with "Down Town" magazine was that the two had got tired of each other, but clarified that this did not rule out a collaboration in the future. The album was certified gold in the first week of release, and reached number one on its second week on the charts before settling at 2x platinum status. As of April 2009, the album has sold 27 thousand copies. Although this was partially due to hardships faced by the Greek music industry including piracy, the financial crisis, and changing musical tastes, leading to a general decline of the laiko-pop scene and image-based singers.
Vissi had originally planned to start appearances at "Athinon Arena" in February 2009, as part of her comeback and for promotion of the new album, however, she decided to hold a big concert in Athens during the summer, instead, while she did not rule out a summer tour around Greece. The tour began in July 2009 and all appearances were sold-out throughout Greece. The tour ended with a concert at GSP Stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus, on September 25, 2009; overall, the tour was a success for Vissi, who had not performed for the Greek audience in four years.
On November 16, 2009, Apagorevmeno was re-released as Apagorevmeno+ with 3 new songs and two remixes in special ecological packaging. Vissi started appearances at "Athinon Arena" on November 6, 2009 with Greek band Ble, Yiorgos Sambanis, Mario, Vera Boufi, Elissavet Spanou, Michalis Zeis and DJ Dim Trik. The show was named "The Fabulous Show", after her then-latest single, Fabulous, which was included in Apagorevmeno+. The show marked the big comeback of Anna Vissi in the nightlife of Athens after four years of absence and received great reviews. Vissi was on stage for almost 4 hours every Friday and Sunday until closing night on March 20, 2010 in a fully crowded Athinon Arena. After the successful run in Athens the show moved to Thessaloniki on April 3, 2010 with spectacular attendance.
Currently, Vissi is appearing with Sakis Rouvas in a concert series at "Athinon Arena" in a show titled "Face2Face" for the winter season 2010-2011. This will be their first appearance and collaboration together since they both appeared together at club "Chaos" in 1996.
Category:1957 births Category:Anna Vissi Category:Arion Music Awards winners Category:Cypriot actors Category:Cypriot composers Category:Cypriot Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Cypriot female singers Category:Cypriot pop singers Category:Cypriot songwriters Category:English-language singers Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1980 Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1982 Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2006 Category:Greek Cypriot people Category:Greek dance musicians Category:Greek Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Greek Pop Corn Music Awards winners Category:People from Larnaca Category:Living people Category:MAD Video Music Awards winners Category:Modern Greek-language singers Category:Sony Music Greece artists Category:Thessaloniki Song Festival winners
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
