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Above: Anna Vissil
Anna Vissi is a Cypriot pop artist that is deemed to be one of the most famous and best selling Greek musician / singer of all time. Some of Vissi’s hit songs consist of the following: “O, Ti Kosmos Baba”, “To Palio t Aeroplano”, “Mia Mikri Psihoula”, “As Kanoume Apopse Mia Arhi”, “Kos Nobel”, “Love Is A Lonely Weekend”, “Call Me”, “Still In Love With You” and “Nylon.” She is also famously compared to and is known as “The Greek Madonna” in a lot of countries. Vissi, who’s successful was very much celebrated in Greece as well as in Cyprus – her homeland, was born on December 20, 1957. She also garnered quite a bit of fame in the US soil. Vissi is also recognized not only as a musician / artist but also a songwriter, composer and actress. She has been active in the music industry from 1973 till the present. She is under the record label EMI from 1977-1982. In 1983, she transferred to CarVi. The pop sensation is with Sony BMG starting from 1984.
Memoirs
Early Beginnings
It was in the town of Pyla in Larnaca, Cyprus that Anna Vissi was born in. Even at a very early stage in her life, she had already started singing. Her first initial formal musical training began when she was only six (6) years old. This transpired in a local conservatory. Vissi then go herself into a talent competition at the tender age of twelve (12) and won first prize. Her first ever TV appearance was with “Y. Kotsonis opus Ayia Tilliria,” wherein she became the front act or the main singer a little over two (2) year. When Vissi’s entire family migrated to Athens, Greece in 1973, it enabled her to follow her desire to take up her studies at the National Conservatory. This would ultimately lead to her performing with several renowned and celebrated Greek artists with the likes of Vasilis Papakonstantinou, George Dalaras and Haris Alexiou. This happened in the illustrious nightclubs found in Plaka, Athens. Amazingly enough, Vissi was able to take up law at the University of Athens. One of her significant collaboration was initially with Georgios Dalaras along with Stavros Koujioumtzis, a composer who wrote two song s for her: “S’ Agapo and Sta Chronia tis Ypomonis.” Other famous Greek composers that were vital to her success as an artist were the following: Mikis Theodorakis (1974/1975), Georgios Hadjinassios (1974), Doros Giorgiadis (1974), Nikos Karvelas (who then turned out to be her husband; 1975) and Mihalis Terzis (1976).
Latter Part of the 70’s
It was during 1977 when Vissi had a tour with Georgios Dalaras and Haris Alexiou. They were able to deliver successful performances, especially at the most famous at Rainbow, London. It was also during that same year that she was able to achieve the prize for the best singer and best song (As Kanoume Apopse mia Arhi) of the year held at the Annual Song Festival of Thessaloniki (Palais des Sports). At the 23rd Eurovision Song Contest in 1978, Vissi had been given a proposal by the ERT (Greek National Television) to personify Greece. For the duration of that period, there were choosing between two songs of Vissi. It was either “Poso S’Agapo” or “Kyrios Nobel”. Unfortunately, due to a number of controversies regarding the composers of the said songs, her involvement with the event was debarred and the one to represent Greece was Tania Tsanaklidou.
Vissi in the 1980s
The Eurovision Song Contest (1980-1982)
During the 25th Eurovision Song Contest in 1980, Vissi was able to represent Greece. She used the song “Autoshop” and with that, she got the 13th position along with 30 points. She then represented her homeland Cyprus two (2) years later. This was held at the 27th ESC and she choose the song “Mono I Agapi”. This song allowed her to get the 5th position along with 85 points. The only sad thing about this was that even though the song “Mono I Agapi” was composed by Anna Vissi herself, people actually doubted her. Many thought that it was Nikos Karvelas who created the words of that song.
Better Half - Nikos Karvelas (1983-1990)
The composer Nikos Karvelas, the person she was able to work with in 1975 turned out to be more than just someone she could collaborate with; she actually married him in 1983 and he officially became her husband. From 1975, all the songs that Vissi released were converted to gold or platinum. It isn’t surprising then that Anna, stringing George Dalaras and haris Alexiou along, became one of the best selling Greek artists of all time. Vissi then took a part at the Cypriot National Final for Eurovision Song Contest in 1986 with her song: “Thelo Na Gino Star” – this garnered her the second (2nd) spot. Weirdly enough, this song of hers has yet been released till this day. The albums that gained her most success were “I Epomeni Kinisi”, “Tora” and “Empnefsi”. She was able to expand her skills and talent in 1988 – she then began her stint as a radio producer on ANT1 Radio. Vissi’s radio show had the same title as one of her songs (Ta Koritsia Einai Atakta) which had air play during the weekends. During this time, she was able to involve herself with the Greek National Final for Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Kleo” which gave her the third (3rd) spot. She then released her studio album “Fotia” (Fire) the following year with its debut single “Pseftika”. That song created such a buzz that it ended up being the biggest hit of the year – with its blend of ethnic and pop dance genre, it formed a new sound that was new and energizing. This gave her the opportunity to execute an excellent performance at the “Diogenis Palace”, Athens’ largest night club during that era.
Vissi in the 1990s
Demones (1990-1992)
All throughout the 1990s, Vissi was able to conjure up stunning performances in Greece and best of all, her husband Nikos Karvelas was able to play a part in it. She embarked on her tour beginning with her appearances at the Diogenis Pallace followed by her show entitle: presenting the famous Anna Vissi Show. Karvelas’s and Vissi’s dream soon came true. In November of 1991, they were able to do the first Greek Rock Opera: Demones. This was a rock opera was taken from the words of Stavros Sideras. This was done at the Theatre in Athens for the length of two years. The director of that opera was Roger Williams. The main characters of Demones were Anna Vissi (Queen, Rozanne), Yannis Samsiaris (Daniel), and John Modinos (Inquisitor). This was critically acclaimed. Demones was also shown on international TV stations and acquired the fascination of Broadway agents.
1992-1994
Vissi was able to snatch the main character – Aphrodite, with the opera entitled: “Ode to the Gods” by Stavros Sideras. This was done a year later on October 1993. This was only shown once in Limassil, Cyprus which occurred during the festive Commonwealth Day. Prestigious individuals that were watching this happen to be the previous president of the Republic of Cyprus, Glafkos Kleridis and Queen Elizabeth II. In the next couple of years, Karvelas and Vissi were able to release more albums that earned gold and platinum status. The couple included “Lampo!” that was enhanced with Latin influences, “Emis, Live!”, “Re!” and “O! Kypros” that has customary Cypriot tunes.
Klima Tropiko and Travma (1994-1998)
Vissil soon found herself being a hostess in 1994 on the ANT1 weekly TV show “Me Agapi, Anna”. A year after that, she concocted a concert in Cyprus with the goal of backing up the defenses of the said island. The album “Klima Tropiko” of Vissil was released in 1996 that went double platinum. After having over 40 triumphant concerts performed all over Greece, Vissil was able to accumulate an impressive three-hour show at the club, Gazi. With the request of the Mayor of the city of Athens, Vissil was able to showcase her talents on New Year’s Eve at the Parliament Square with an audience of a little over 20,000 people which was also view all over Greece via the television medium. At that same year, she released yet again, another album that hit gold in less than two (2) weeks and became a three time platinum in the course of six (6) months. The album was called: “Travma”.
Antidoto (1998-2000)
Vissil released an album in 1998 which was entitled: “Antodoto”. This sold 80,000 copies in a week’s time destroying all prior records. She also gave sold-out performances in London and had a mini tour in the US with rave reviews. The main highlight of her US tour was her show at the Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York City. It was jam packed and sold-out. She again got awesome reviews form the New York Times.
Vissil’s Memorable Events (2000 – 2007)
· Carried out a performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall with a ‘millennium show’ with an audience from Sony International, marketing managers from Europe and supporters from UK.
· Was a special guest and performed at the yearly Miss Universe in May 2000 and sang her hit “On a Night Like This”
· Released her first international single “Everything I am” in 2000.
· Did a charity concert at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia on September 2000.
· The album “Kravgi” which was released in November 2000 and garnered double platinum status in just hours of its introduction in the market becoming a 7x platinum.
· Her second international album was released called “Still in Love with You”.
· She became the lead singer of the impressive production in Bucharest in June 26, 2001.
· Sang for 3 hours on September 3 during her Cyprus concert performing for more than 18,000 fans.
· Became an accomplished actress with her performance at the musical theater “Mala, i Mousiki tou Anemou”.
· Gave out a sold-out performance at the Tzirion Stadium in Limassol on September 2003.
· Performed at the Liberty Square in Nicosia is a celebration for Cyprus’ being part of the European Union on March 31, 2004.
· Did a mini tour on May 2004 in US and England.
· Performed at the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens as the closing act on August 29, 2004.
· Moved to the US for the promotion of her single “Call me”. Topped the charts at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music Club Play chart and number 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart.
· Performed for the Coca-Cola Sound-Wave in Mykonos on August 2005.
· Released a Greek Album on September 2005 entitld “Nylon” acquiring the top spot within 24 hours.
· Carried-out performances at Club Votanikos in Athens, Greece on November 2005.
· Choose to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.
· Did a European tour starting on April 12, 2006 and ended on May 10, 2006. (Russia, visited Malta, Cyprus, Albania, Serbia & Montenegro, Romania, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belgi and Israel)
· Did her US tour in 2007 and began her world tour.
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