Despina Vandi

Despina Vandi (Greek: Δέσποινα Βανδή; pronounced [ðesˈpina ˈvanði]), born as Despina Malea (Greek: Δέσποινα Μαλέα) on 22 July 1969, is a Greek singer of Pontic Greek ancestry. Born in Tübingen near Stuttgart, Germany, Vandi's family returned to Kavala, Greece when she was six years old. After moving to Athens in the early 1990s, Vandi signed with Minos EMI and released two albums Gela Mou (1994) and Esena Perimeno (1996). She then began an exclusive collaboration with songwriter/producer Phoebus and struck commercial success with her third album, Deka Endoles (1997), followed by the multi-platinum Profities (1999), where she established a more "pop" stage performance style and image, becoming one of the most prominent portrayers of the laïko/pop genre.

Her single "Ipofero" (2000) became the best-selling single of all-time in Greece. Following Phoebus' departure from Minos EMI, Vandi followed him to the newly formed independent label Heaven Music and released Gia (2001), which became and remains her biggest commercial success, as well as one of the best-selling albums of all time in Greece and Cyprus. Vandi also released the album abroad and the self-titled single "Gia", topping the US Billboard Hot Dance Airplay and making her the first Greek artist to top a Billboard chart. She returned with Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou (2004), which was certified multi-platinum and became her fourth album to achieve six-figure sales. In 2007 10 Hronia Mazi, a ten-year celebration of her collaboration with Pheobus was released, followed by her eighth studio album C'est La Vie. In 2012 she released the album Allaxa, which was certified 2x platinum sales and has been her first double platinum record since 2005.

Rising Star

Rising Star may refer to:

Places

Film and TV

Heaven Music

Heaven Music is an independent record label in Athens, Greece, founded in 2001 by ANT1 Group. It is known for signing new and young artists.

Overview

During its first five years of operation under the control of George Levendis, Heaven Music was credited with certifications of a four-time platinum album, three double platinum albums, five platinum albums and twenty-four gold albums, as well as one double platinum, one platinum and eight golden CD-singles.

Heaven had an exclusive contract with the songwriter Phoebus since the company's founding until he left in late 2009. He is well known in Greece and Cyprus for his work with many popular singers and having produced several multi-platinum albums.

Heaven has shown a pattern of interest in new and young singers. It cooperated with parent company's talent show Fame Story, the Greek version of the Star Academy franchise, and signed several of its contestants.

Heaven has worked to promote its artists outside of Greece. In 2002, Heaven began a collaboration with the Ministry of Sound, a leading dance label in Europe, exposing Despina Vandi's album Gia, which was already certified multi-platinum in Greece, across Europe and North America.

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie ins and merchandising could be used in toys are marketing campaigns for food and other products. Although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they came into prominence in the 1980s when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip" or "film clip". Since the creation and increased popularity of YouTube, mainstream artists now promote new music videos by releasing trailers of short promos on the site for their upcoming song and music video. Consequentially, YouTube has been converted into a social media platform for celebrities and artists to market themselves to their fans and audiences.

ANT1

Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece and Cyprus. The alternate spelling is play on words in Greek; ena (ένα) is the Greek number 1 (one), thus ANT1 is pronounced the same as Antenna (Αντέννα).

It launched on 31 December 1989, the same year as rival Mega Channel, and is owned by ANT1 Group. ANT1 had been the most-popular network in Greece for years with its line up of hit series including popular dramas Lampsi and Kalimera Zoi. Programming consists of comedies, dramas, news, current affairs programs, game shows and entertainment shows.

The first broadcast was on 31 December 1989. One of the concept executive producers has been Nico Mastorakis who brought with him several original (for the Greek viewers) ideas after his stay in the United States. Programs like Wheel of Fortune (Greek version), and Oi Men Kai Oi Den were immediately among the top-ten shows in Greece. Cartoons used to be offered in the morning; most were shown in the Greek language.

Antenna also runs Easy 97.2 and Rythmos 94.9 (a local pop-music radio station in Athens), as well as international networks Antenna Satellite (from North America), Antenna Pacific (Australia) and Antenna Europe (from Europe and outside of the Balkans) which broadcast the best of ANT1 programming to audiences abroad. ANT1 has also launched a digital channel, Antenna Gold, that airs programming from Antenna's programming library including many number-one hit shows. It airs in North America via Dish Network.