Stefanos Xypolitas ( el, Στέφανος Ξυπολητάς, ), known professionally as Nino ( el, Νίνο, links=no ), is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

singer. He rose to fame in 2003 after appearing as a contestant on the debut season of the television show ''

Fame Story Fame Story was a Greece, Greek reality TV show that was a licensed version of Endemol's Star Academy on the ANT1 network. It has been one of the most successful Greek TV shows of recent years. The contestants gave a weekly performance in a 2½&nd ...

''. He has since released five studio albums.

Biography

Early life

Nino was born Stefanos Sakellarios Xypolitas in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

on 29 June 1981, and shortly after moved with his family to

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

. His first experience with music was at age three, when his parents gave him a piano as a gift. At a young age Nino wrote his first song, titled "Eisai To Pio Omorfo Pou Iparhi" ("You are the most beautiful that exists"), dedicated to his mother. He learned to play the

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

, guitar (electric classical), drums, harmonica,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, and bass by the age of 16. His first real performance was at age 15 live at a night club, where he gained impressions. He started to take music seriously at the age 16. After school, Nino moved to Athens to pursue a music career, where he attended various auditions, while attending college for sound designing at the same time. Shortly after, Nino accepted to perform at a large night club back in Rhodes, and moved back. After a successful concert-series, Nino then went on and performed in

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Personal life

Ιn May 2007, Nino was a victim of an armed attack. Two strangers riding on a motorcycle "squeezed" his car in an attempt to stop him on a road 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 ...

. Neither himself nor his brother, who was also in the car, were injured. From 2008 to 2010, Nino dated Doukissa Nomikou. He then dated Chrysi Vardinoyannis whom he married in 2012, having two children: George Skeyos (born 2013) and Karen Agapi (born 2014). Their marriage ended in August 2017.

Career

2002–2003: Fame Story era

After a few years of performing at small venues, Nino decided to audition for the first season of "

2004: After Fame Story and Debut album

After being eliminated from "Fame Story", he received offers from various Greek labels acting as second optionners, as he was bound to sign to

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 ...

, the record company that had the management rights on the players of the game, and which a subsidiary of Ant-1 TV, airing Fame story. During the winter season of 2003–04, Nino appeared alongside

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 ...

, Konstantinos Christoforou, and Hi-5 for a series of concert at club "Diogenis Studio". Follow those appearances, in early 2004, he appeared alongside

Apostolia Zoi Apostolia Zoi ( el, Αποστολία Ζώη, ) is a popular Greek singer who was born in Elassona, Greece, and she grew up in Volos. She has released four studio albums. Biography Early life At the age of 14, Apostolia moved to Thessaloniki to ...

Elena Paparizou Helena Paparizou (; , ; born 31 January 1962) is a Swedish-born Greek singer, songwriter and television personality. Born and raised in Sweden to Greek parents, she enrolled in various arts schools before launching a career in Sweden in 1999 as ...

, and

Thanos Petrelis Athanasios (Thanos) Petrelis (Greek: Θάνος Πετρέλης, born September 27, 1975) is a Greek singer. He has released four albums and several singles. Career ''Fame Story'' Petrelis was born in Athens, Greece. He finished third in the ...

in a series of concerts at club Thalassa. In July 2004, Nino released his debut album titled ''Nino, Nino, Nino''. The album contained 13 songs, mostly love ballads, along with songs containing folk and pop elements. The music for seven of the songs wewasenned by the then up-and-coming composer Kyriakos Papadopoulos. Additional music was penned by Christoforos Germenis and Takis Damaschis while two songs from the album were also penned by Grigoris Petrakos, a fellow gamer from "Fame Story". The lyrics were written by Vasilis Yiannopoulos, while

Natalia Germanou Natalia Germanou ( el, Ναταλία Γερμανού; born 22 June 1965 ) is a Greek songwriter, television hostess, radio producer and journalist. Germanou has written lyrics for many popular singers such as Anna Vissi, Despina Vandi, Mihalis ...

wrote the lyrics for the song "Horis Na Se Ksero" ("Without knowing you"). The album debuted at No. 1 on Greek Album Chart and after 3 weeks was certified gold selling more than 20,000 copies. The album spawned many airplay hits such as "Kalimera", "Sa Navagoi", "As Telionoume", etc. After three months the album reached platinum status. Reception of the album was generally well perceived, while a magazine wrote "''The El Nino phenomenon has just reached''". For the winter season that followed, Nino appeared alongside

Peggy Zina Panagiota-Calliope Chrysicopoulou ( el, Παναγιώτα-Καλλιόπη Χρυσικοπούλου; born 8 March 1975), known professionally as Peggy Zina ( el, Πέγκυ Ζήνα), is a Greek singer. She made her recording debut in 1995 wi ...

and Kostas Karafotis (another player within fame Story) for a series of concerts at the Apollon Club in Athens.

2005–2006: ''Eilikrinis'' and ''Epireastika''

During the first half of 2005, Nino accompanied

for part of her world tour to Australia and the United Kingdom. Following the success of his debut album, Nino started working on his second album. Nino returned in November 2005 with a more mature sounding album titled ''Ilikrinis'' (Honest), containing 15 songs. The album featured more

laika Laika (russian: link=no, Лайка; – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecra ...

than his previous album. The first single from the album was "Fovamai" (I'm Scared), which gained substantial airplay. "Gia Na Eimai Ilikrinis" (To be honest) and "Sexy" were further released as radio singles. The album was certified gold. In March 2006, Nino released his third studio album ''Epireastika'' (Influenced), which included 11 songs. The cover of the album depicted Nino as a statue after special treatment, while it was notable for differing from traditional album covers that the Greek audience was accustomed to until that point. Stamatis Gonidis wrote two more songs, and they collaborated successfully for a series of concerts all winter long at club "Thalassa". The first single "Erota Mou" (My love) was a radio hit, while the music video was criticized for being too explicit. In September 2006, Nino accompanied

Natassa Theodoridou Natasa Theodoridou ( el, Νατάσα Θεοδωρίδου; born October 24, 1970 in Thessaloniki) is a Greek singer. She is the only female Greek artist to have her first three albums achieve platinum status. She has been certified for a total ...

on tour to the United States and Canada. For promotion of the album, Nino appeared alongside

and Pashalis Terzis for a series of concerts at the Iera Odos Club in Athens during the winter season. Following those appearances, the show moved to club "Odeon" in

during the first half of 2007.

2007–present: ''Thavmata'' and ''I Parastasi Arxizei''

In May 2007, Nino and his brother were attacked near Thessaloniki's airport, while returning to their hotel after his live appearance at a local club. Two people on a motorcycle shot their car with seventeen bullets fired from a Kalashnikov gun. No one was injured. The motorcycle driver and another passenger approached the car and began to shoot. The driver and the accompanying motorcycle then disappeared while police found seven bullet casings in the area. A year and a half after the release of his third album, Nino released his fourth one titled ''Thavmata'' (Miracles) on 29 October 2007. Many well-known composers and lyricists collaborated again with Nino on the album. Nino had a hand in writing many of the songs. The first single was "Thavmata", which received some success on the radio. On 31 October 2007, Nino appeared with

for a concert in

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 ...

's Eleftheria Stadium. During the first half of 2008, Nino appeared alongside

Chrispa Chrispa ( el, Χρύσπα, born Chrisanthi-Pagona Pyttiropoulou on 7 December 1982) is a Greek singer. She has released five studio albums. Early life Chrispa was born Chrisanthi-Pagona Pitiropoulou (Chris-pa) in Athens, Greece on 7 December 1 ...

and Andreas Stamos at Thalassa Club in Athens for the promotion of his album. During the winter season, Nino reunited with

and

Kostas Karafotis Kostas or Costas ( el, Κώστας) is a Greek given name and surname. As a given name it is the hypocorism for Konstantinos (Constantine). Given name * Costas Andreou, Greek musician * Kostas Antetokounmpo (born 1997), a Greek basketball player * ...

for a series of concerts at VOX Club, Athens. At the start of 2009, Nino took a break from music to complete his compulsory military service in the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

, which he completed in January 2010. Nino took a

Leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...

in June 2009 and performed a cover of the song "

I Kissed a Girl "I Kissed a Girl" is the debut single of American singer Katy Perry from her second studio album, ''One of the Boys'' (2008). It was released on April 28, 2008, by Capitol Records as the lead single from the record. Perry co-wrote the song with ...

" with the band ''Kokkina Hallia'' at the 2009 MAD Video Music Awards. Nino's fifth studio album, ''I Parastasi Arhizei'' (''The show begins''), although recorded in 2008 was finally released on 22 November 2009. The album, originally planned to be released in October 2008, was delayed due to a rift created between Nino and

after his unwillingness to renew his contract with the label. Nino's contract with the label ended in November 2009, forcing the label to grudgingly release the album as stipulated under their contract. The album, which contains 11 songs, was released via Espresso newspaper Sunday issue, as a premium give-away. The album was released with no promotion, and will not be re-issued by the company. Thus, it is "limited edition". On 11 December 2009, Nino signed a five-year contract with Greek songwriter

Phoebus Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

's record label, called ''

The Spicy Effect The Spicy Effect, commonly referred to as Spicy or Spicy Music, is a Greek independent record label founded in 2009 by songwriter and record producer Phoebus, in association with the investment arm of Nea Tileorasi. Overview After eight years ...

'', the same day

Elli Kokkinou Elli Kokkinou (; el, Έλλη Κοκκίνου) (born 24 July 1970) is a Greek singer. Sony BMG Greece. Retrieved on February 20, 2008 She is among the most popular singers in Greece today and has performed together with many notable Greek nam ...

was signed. He previously collaborated with Phoebus for a song on

's album, " Sto Kokkino". On 14 May 2010, Nino released his first digital-only single, titled "Theos" (God), promoted in exclusivity on affiliated radio station Dromos FM. He performed the song live, for the first time, on 19 May 2010 at the ''Playmate 2010'' beauty contest aired by affiliated TV station Star Channel . The song was released the next day as a

music download A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...

on 20 May 2010. A second single titled "14 Flevari" (14 February) followed on 27 January 2010. and was available, physically, only a few days at Valentine's week, within a "Love" postal card. During the summer of 2011, Phoebus produced a new digital-single titled "OK". All three Spicy digital releases were issued at the end of 2011, in a compilation titled "The Spicy Collection, vol 1", along with other digital releases.

Discography

*2003: ''Nino Nino Nino'' *2004: ''Eilikrinis'' *2006: ''Epireastika'' *2007: ''Thavmata'' *2008: ''I Parastasi Arxizei'' *2015: ''Erhetai I Nihta''

External links

Official Web SiteOfficial YouTube ChannelNino on FacebookNino on Twitter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nino Xypolitas 1981 births Greek laïko singers 21st-century Greek male singers Greek pop singers Heaven Music artists Living people MAD Video Music Awards winners Star Academy participants The Spicy Effect artists Swedish people of Greek descent People from Rhodes