''The Game of Love'' is the Greek singer
Helena Paparizou's second English-language international album after the release of ''
My Number One
"My Number One" is a song recorded by Greek-Swedish singer Helena Paparizou, written by Manos Psaltakis, Christos Dantis, Natalia Germanou and produced by Christos Dantis. It was the at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, held in Kyiv, awarding ...
'' in 2005. It was first released in
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 ...
on 25 October 2006.
The album is composed of 12 tracks and a bonus track; seven of these had been previously released on Paparizou's previous album ''
Iparhi Logos'', and another was released exclusively to
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
as the official song of the European Athletics Championships. Five of the songs were just English translations of Greek songs as well as two covers. The album was Paparizou's second album in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
. The album has enjoyed mild success in
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 ...
and
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 ge ...
where it topped the charts and quickly attained platinum certification, while it failed to chart in other countries.
Album information
Released as an attempt to break the international market, the album was originally intended to be released all over
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, including
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Australia,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, in at least 45 countries initially, with a possible release in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. However, after little to no promotional performances by Paparizou, and the failure of the album in
Sweden and lack of success of the singles, the international release of the album became an aborted project by
Sony BMG and thus it was released in only 14 countries. Paparizou had also stated at the time, that she did not wish to leave her family and loved ones behind in Greece, to go out and try to make a career internationally. She had stated that if it meant to be, it will happen on its own.
The album contains 13 tracks, 7 of which have already been released, 6 songs are
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
translations of
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 ...
songs released on album Helena's previous album ''
Υπάρχει Λόγος''. The song "
Heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
" has already been released as a single in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and
Sweden. The 6 remaining tracks have been written especially for this album. It also includes the hit single "
Mambo!" which had success in many charts around the world. In the Japanese version of ''The Game of Love'', "It's Gone Tomorrow" is not included.
The songs "Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)" and "
Teardrops" have been written by Elena herself. There is also a bonus track called "Ό,τι Αξίζει Είναι Οι Στιγμές" (Oti Axizi Ine I Stigmes (Le Bonheur)), which was originally a song by
Manos Hadjidakis
Manos may refer to:
Films
* ''The Hands'' (Spanish: ''Las manos''), a 2006 Argentinean-Italian film
* '' Manos: The Hands of Fate'', 1966 horror film
Music
* Manos (band), German Black metal band
* ''Manos'' (album), by The Spinanes
Other use ...
, and was a big hit in France in 1962. "You Set My Heart on Fire" belongs to
Tina Charles.
In December 2007, the song "It's Gone Tomorrow" ''(Iparhi Logos)'' (Originally track 9) was removed from ''The Game of Love'' because of problems with the original lyricist. All copies with the track still on store shelves were returned to Sony BMG with new copies being sent out minus that track. The new version also came with the
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...
logo on the front cover, as well as Helena's Nokia advertisement picture inside the CD booklet. The CD also comes in a special paper case that the jewel case slides into.
Track listing
Bonus tracks
South African Edition
Japanese Edition
Singles
"
Mambo!"
:The first single from the album was "
Mambo!". The song was released as a CD single almost a full year prior to the album's release in Greece and Cyprus in November 2005. After the album's release, the song was released all across Europe where it charted on various national charts, as well as the United States.
"
Heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
"
:The second single from the album was "
Heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
". The song was the official theme song of the
2006 European Championships in Athletics
The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Championsh ...
in Sweden. The song was released only in Sweden as a CD single in August 2006, prior to the album's release, where it topped the Swedish single charts.
"
Gigolo
A gigolo () is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship, often living in her residence or having to be present at her beck and call.
The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifes ...
"
:The third single from the album was "
Gigolo
A gigolo () is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship, often living in her residence or having to be present at her beck and call.
The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifes ...
". The song was released as a radio single in Greece and Cyprus in July 2006, prior to the album's release. The song was later released as a CD single in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
, where it charted on various national charts.
"Teardrops"
:The last single from the album was "Teardrops". The song was only released to radio stations in Greece and Cyprus in December 2006, where it reached number one on both of the countries respective airplay charts.
Release history
Charts
References
External links
Helena's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Game of Love, The
Helena Paparizou albums
2006 albums
Albums produced by Twin
Sony Music Greece albums