Exclusive / Greece 2015: the official announcement

Fotis Konstantopoulos (Greece)

ATHENS, GREECE – Greek national broadcaster and MAD TV confirmed today the five participants for the Greek national final, Eurosong 2015 – a MAD show which will take place on March 4th. The venue and the host(s) have not yet announced. The songs will be presented in a press event at the end of the month

MARIA ELENA KYRIAKOU

Maria Elena Kiriakou was born on 11 January 1984 in Larnaca, Cyprus and has lived there since then. She has two siblings; one brother Kyriacos Pavlou and one sister. At the age of 13, her mother registered her at a music school. Years later, she studied philosophy at the University of Ioannina and during the first year she got a proposition from Giannis Ploutarchos which she did not accept as she preferred to concentrate on her studying. After 2 years in the University of Ioannina she decided to move back to her home country. She then continued her studies in the University of Cyprus. After her graduation she opened her own tutorial class. In 2011, her mother applied for Marie Elena to audition for Greek Idol but did not go to the auditions. Kiriakou auditioned for The Voice of Greece at the age of twenty-nine. Kiriakou won the series and a record deal with Universal Music Greece.

SHAYA

Shaya was born in Denmark to a Danish father and a multiracial Guyanese mother of Greenlandic and Indian descent. The family moved to Sweden after her parents’ divorce when she was 6. At the age of 12, Shaya and her family immigrated once more, settling in Thessaloniki, Greece. Her mother was a disc jockey before Shaya’s birth. Although Shaya enjoyed singing and dancing from a young age, including performing with SambaSchools in Copenhagen Carnival, she became interested in becoming a singer by luck when she was persuaded to get on stage to sing a song with co-workers after work at a club she worked at in Kavala around age 18.

C:REAL

C:Real (pronounced as “see real” or “serial”) are a popular Greek pop rock band. They are characterized by their pop rock sound and live performances. The group was created in 1996 by composer, lyricist, and producer Takis Damaschis. Their first single was released a little after the creation of group and was titled “A New Religion”. One year later in 1997, they released their second single titled “Visions of You” featuring Sarah Jane Morris.[3] The single was released in 30 countries, which was considered a world success for the fairly new group. In June 1997, C:Real released their debut album titled Realtime. C:Real parted ways with Heaven Music and resigned with Sony Music Greece in June 2010. Their upcoming studio album is tentatively scheduled for release in October 2010. In November 2010, a message on the groups Facebook fan page by founder Takis Damashis announced that lead vocalist Irini Douka has decided to depart from the band, choosing to embark on a solo career instead. Damashis stated that Irini is a big part of C:Real’s history, and deserves respect. Furthermore, Damashis stated that if they choose to stay together, they will pick a new lead singer that has a totally different voice and look than Irini, Georgia Lazopoulou. He elaborated that the group would have a totally different image and sound, and would not be a bad copy of their former version.

THOMAÏ APERGI

Apergi was born on 23 December 1988, in Tinos. Her first audience was her parents to whom she would give concerts every night when she was still a child. She studied music from a young age together with classical and electric guitar lessons as well as vocals, hence forming her own unique artistic personality. She attended the University of Patras. Her distinctive voice and her musical influences lead her to the exploration of smooth jazz, dance bossa nova, downtempo electronica, funk, soul and jazz music, while the songs she chose to sing the past years inspire her audience with a sensational movement accompanied by a saxophone and a piano. A spicy touch in her appearances is the nights she spent singing manouche and gypsy swing, with her band Night & Day. Apergi participated in Eurosong 2013 – a MAD show, the national final which selected the Greek entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. Her song, One Last Kiss, was one of the favourites to win. However she did not manage to win and came third out of four participants. In April 2013, Apergi became a contestant in the first season of the reality show, Your Face Sounds Familiar.

BARRICE

Barrice was born in Russia and lives in Greece and he was chosen as a talent in Amita Motion competition. (We hope to get more information about the artist soon)