Eleftheria Eleftheriou ( el, Ελευθερία Ελευθερίου; ; born 12 May 1989) is a

Greek-Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greeks, Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest Ethnolinguistic group, ethnolinguistic community. Accordin ...

singer, musician, and actress. She came to prominence through her participation in the second season of the Greek version of ''The X Factor''. Shortly after her elimination, Sony Music Greece signed her and submitted her as a candidate to represent

Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song " Opa", written by Giorgos Alkaios, Giannis Antoniou and Friends Music Factory. The song was performed by Alkaios and Friends. To select their entry for the 2010 contest, whi ...

. She was later disqualified from the national final, following the leak of her song onto the internet by an unknown party. Eleftheriou had previously participated in the Cypriot national final for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Athens, Greece, following the country's victory at the with the song "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...

with the song "Play That Melody To Me" featuring Maria Zorli, finishing seventh in the final. Eleftheriou represented

Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Their selected song "Aphrodisiac" was written by Dimitri Stassos, Mikaela Stenström and Dajana Lööf, and was performed by Eleftheria Eleftheriou, who had pr ...

, with the song "

Aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...

", where she placed 17th (9th on the televoting).

Early life

Eleftheriou was born and raised in Frenaros. She enjoyed singing, drawing, dancing, and sports as a child. At the age of nine, she started courses at a conservatory. From a young age, she started learning piano, theory, harmony, and history of music. At the age of 15, she started voice lessons, and at age 16, she started participating as a soloist in the

Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation ( gr, Ραδιοφωνικό Ίδρυμα Κύπρου , tr, Kıbrıs Radyo Yayın Kurumu), or CyBC (ΡΙΚ, KRYK), is Cyprus' public broadcasting service. It transmits island-wide on four radio and two domestic ...

's national folk orchestra. That same year, Eleftheriou was a candidate to represent

Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Why Angels Cry" written by Peter Yiannakis. The song was performed by Annet Artani. The Cypriot broadcaster Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) organised the national final ...

with the song "Play That Melody to Me" featuring Maria Zorli. Although she qualified to the final from the first semi-final, she finished seventh overall in the national final. Despite not winning the national final, Eleftheriou decided to continue studying music and performance, enrolling at the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

. She started singing solo in the Cypriot music scenes at the age of 18, and performed in the musical ''Rent'' in

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

for one season.

Career

2008–2009: ''The X Factor''

In 2008, Eleftheriou auditioned for

the first season ''The First Season'' is a Canadian drama film, released in 1989. The film stars Kate Trotter as Alex Cauldwell, a woman in British Columbia who, following the death of her fisherman husband Frank (Dwight Koss), tries to support herself and her dau ...

of new talent show '' The X Factor Greece''. Although she received three out of four yeses from the judges and was granted a spot in boot-camp, she decided not to participate in the show. A year later in 2009, Eleftheriou once again tried out for the show, and received four out of four yeses. Despite being a favourite to win, Eleftheriou was voted off the show during the fifth live episode. The host and singer

Sakis Rouvas Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas ( el, Αναστάσιος "Σάκης" Ρουβάς, ; born 5 January 1972), also known mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek singer, film and television actor, businessman and former pole vaulter and model. Born in Cor ...

offered her a spot to sing with him at the Club he was appearing for the winter season live on the show, which she accepted.

Performances

* Live 1 – "Den Milo Gia Mia Nihta Ego" (Original Singer:

Eleftheria Arvanitaki Eleftheria Arvanitaki (Greek: Ελευθερία Αρβανιτάκη) (born 17 October 1957 in Piraeus) is a Greek folk singer. She originates from the island of Icaria. Arvanitaki has worked with important musicians, such as Cesária Évora, Ar ...

) * Live 2 – "Kopse Kai Mirase Sta Dio" (Original Singer: Eleonora Zouganeli) * Live 3 – "Kathe Fora Pou Me Kitazeis (Original Singer: Alkistis Protopsalti) * Live 4 – Opening: "Girls Just wanna have fun"; Competition: "Stin Diskotek" (Original Singer: Elpida) * Live 5 – " No One" (Original Singer:

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

) * Live 9 – "Methismeni Politeia" (Original Singer:

Anna Vissi Anna Vissi ( el, Άννα Βίσση, , ; born 20 December 1957), is a Greek Cypriot singer and songwriter. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed ...

) (Special guest singer on Christmas live special)

2010–2011: Professional debut and Eurovision 2010

Shortly after her elimination, Sony Music Greece signed Eleftheria and submitted her as a candidate to represent

. A week before the formal presentation of the songs by Greek broadcast ERT, Eleftheriou's song "Tables are Turning" was leaked onto the web by an unknown party. As a result, the song was disqualified from the national final, while the leak also forced the broadcaster to release the rest of the national final songs prematurely the next day, in fear of further leaks. Despite the disqualification, she released the song in Greek as "Kentro Tou Kosmou" as the first single off her debut album. A music video was shot and released shortly after. Both Greek and English versions of the song were released as digital downloads on 5 March 2010. Eleftheriou started appearing with Sakis Rouvas and

Tamta Tamta Goduadze ( ka, თამთა გოდუაძე; el, Τάμτα Γκοντουάτζε, Támta Gkontouátze; born 10 January 1981), known mononymously as Tamta, is a Georgian-Greek singer. She first achieved popularity in Greece in ...

at ''S-Club'' on 11 December 2009. On 19 August 2010, she started appearing with

Nikos Vertis Nikolaos Arvanitidis (Greek: Νικόλαος Αρβανιτίδης; 21 August 1976), better known by his stage name Nikos Vertis (Greek: Νίκος Βέρτης) is a popular Greek singer. He was born in Gorinchem, Netherlands and his origin is ...

at club ''Orama'' in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. Initially scheduled to end by the beginning of October, the shows proved to be a success and have been extended throughout October. On 6 October 2010, Eleftheriou released her new single titled "Otan Hamilonoume To Fos" (When we dim the lights) with music by Giannis Iermias and lyrics by Faidon Samsidis. In March 2011, Eleftheria was featured on DJ duo HouseTwins' track "Never", credited under the name Elle. An accompanying music video featuring her was also released. On 1 December 2011, Eleftheriou announced that she had left Sony Music Greece and signed with Universal Music Greece. She stated that it was her choice to leave Sony Music, as Universal Music made her a very good proposal. Eleftheriou further stated that she was currently in the process of searching for new songs to record.

2012–present: Eurovision 2012

On 5 March 2012, it was announced that Eleftheria was one of four acts competing to represent

, with the song "

". On 12 March 2012, Eleftheria won the national selection and represented

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

which was held in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, Azerbaijan. During the contest, Eleftheria was reunited with fellow ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' contestant

Ivi Adamou Ivi Adamou ( el, Ήβη Αδάμου, ; born 24 November 1993) is a Greek-Cypriot singer. She was born and raised in Agia Napa, Cyprus and currently resides in Alexandroupoli, Greece. Adamou rose to recognition in Greece and Cyprus following he ...

who represented

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. In the final she placed 17th (9th on the televoting) Following Eurovision, in June 2012 Eleftheriou embarked on a summer tour around Greece named the "Aphrodisiac Tour". In July 2012, Eleftheriou released the English language single "Hearts Collide". A music video shot and directed by Kostantinos Rigos on 14 June 2012 at the

port of Piraeus The Port of Piraeus ( el, Λιμάνι του Πειραιά) is the chief sea port of Athens, Greece, located on the Saronic Gulf on the western coasts of the Aegean Sea, the largest port in Greece and List of busiest ports in Europe, one of the ...

, was released on 4 July 2012. "Hearts Collide" is pop-dance song penned by Obeda and Lunggren, and set the style and tone of Eleftheriou's artistic direction going forward. For the winter season of 2012–2013, she appeared alongside

Panos Kiamos Panos Kiamos (Greek: Πάνος Κιάμος, ) is a Greek laiko–pop singer. Early life Kiamos was born on 4 October 1975 in Athens, where he spent the rest of his adolescent life. In 1994, at the age of 18, he passed the entry exams for me ...

at his residency at Club 22 in Athens, Greece. Additionally, she will accompany Kiamos on his Australian tour in June 2013, as well as his summer concerts around Greece. In May 2013, Eleftheriou was featured on Romanian

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

project

Deepcentral Deepcentral is a Romanian pop duo with house music influences formed in 2009 by Romanian DJ George Călin (now known as Manuel Riva) and vocalist Doru Todoruț. Călin, the DJ of the duo had begun his musical career with the band Demmo, that als ...

's new song "Raindrops". The video was filmed on the island of

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...

, and will be released in June 2013 in Greece and Romania. Eleftheria followed up the release with her own solo single in mid-2013 with the name "Teleiosame". She appeared in the series ''

Your Face Sounds Familiar ''Your Face Sounds Familiar'' (Spanish: ''Tu cara me suena'') is a Spanish interactive reality television franchise series where celebrity contestants impersonate singers. The format, similar to Dutch television series ''Soundmixshow'', was f ...

'' in March 2014. Her first album, ''Teleiosame'', was released in March 2014. In 2021 she participated in the eighth season of Survivor Greece.

Performances on ''Your Face Sounds Familiar''

Discography

Digital singles

*2010 – "Kentro Tou Kosmou" (English version: Tables are turning) #3 at Turkish Singles Top 100 as a Tables Are Turning *2010 – "Otan Hamilonoume To Fos" *2011 – "Never" (Housetwins feat. Elle) *2012 – "

" *2012 – "Hearts Collide" *2012 – "Pumpin/Apokleistika" (Lucky Man Project feat. Eleftheria) *2012 – "Mystiko Mou" (Goin' Through feat. Eleftheria) *2012 – "Taksidi Sti Vrohi" *2013 – "Raindrops" (Deepcentral feat. Eleftheria) *2013 – "Pes Pos Me Thes" (TNS feat. Eleftheria) *2013 – "Teleiosame" *2014 – "Gia Sena" *2014 – "Eternally" (Mindtrap feat. Eleftheria) *2014 – "Oso Kai Na Thes" (James Sky feat. Eleftheria) *2015 – "Nyxtes Kaftes" *2016 – "Ston Kosmo Ton Diko Tis" *2017 – "Eish El-Donia" (MKE LDN feat. Tamer Ashour - Eleftheria) *2018 – "S' Efharisto" *2019 – "Bonita" *2019 – "Den Ehoume Shesi" (Eleftheria feat. Tartar) *2020 – "Calm Down" (Eleftheria feat. Koki) *2020 – "Oi Istories Mas" (Eleftheria feat.

Katerina Stikoudi Katerina Stikoudi ( el, Κατερίνα Στικούδη; 16 April 1985) is a Greek singer, model, actress, television host and ex-athlete on swimming. Stikoudi first gained media attention, in 2005, when she took part on Miss Star Hellas beauty ...

) *2021 – "Pame ela"

Music videos

*2010 – "Kentro Tou Kosmou" *2011 – "Never" (Housetwins feat. Elle) *2012 – "

" (Promotional music video) *2012 – "Hearts Collide" *2013 – "Mystiko Mou" (Goin' Through feat. Eleftheria) *2013 – "Raindrops" (Deepcentral feat. Eleftheria) *2013 – "Pes Pos Me Thes" (TNS feat. Eleftheria) *2013 – "Teleiosame" *2014 – "Gia Sena" *2014 – "Oso Kai Na Thes" (James Sky feat. Eleftheria) *2015 – "Nyxtes Kaftes" *2019 – "Bonita" *2019 – "Den Ehoume Shesi" (Eleftheria feat. Tartar) *2020 – "Calm Down" (Eleftheria feat. Koki) *2020 – "Oi Istories Mas" (Eleftheria feat.

)

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

MAD Video Music Awards 2012

, - , 2012 , "Never" , Video Clip Dance , , -

Cyprus Music Awards

, - , 2012 , Herself , Best Cypriot Artist , , -

Madame Figaro Awards

, - , 2012 , Herself , Best Cypriot Artist , , -

Lalore02 Awards

, - , 2013 , "Hearts Collide" , Best Song of the year , , - , 2013 , "Taksidi Sti Vroxi" , Best Song of the year , , - , 2014 , "Teleiosame" , Best Song of the year , , -

References

External links

* *
Eleftheria Eleftheriou
on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eleftheriou, Eleftheria 1989 births Living people Alumni of the University of Surrey Cypriot pop singers

Greek Cypriot people 21st-century Cypriot women singers Sony Music Greece artists People from Famagusta District Cypriot emigrants to Greece Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2012 Modern Greek-language singers Survivor Greece contestants