Sarbel
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| Sarbel | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Sarbel Michael | |
| Also known as | Sarbel | |
| Born | 14 May 1981 London, England |
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| Origin |  Greece |
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| Genre(s) | Pop, modern laika | |
| Label(s) | Sony BMG | |
| Website | Official Website | |
Sarbel Michael (Greek: Σαρμπέλ Μιχαήλ; born 14 May 1981), known professionally as simply Sarbel, is a Greek Cypriot pop and modern laika singer. He is well-known in Cyprus and Greece for his debut single, Se Pira Sovara, with guest appearance by Irini Merkouri which rose him to fame, and his following albums Paraxeno Synesthima and Sahara.
In an interview in March 2007, Sarbel made it clear that he doesn't want an international career by saying "I don't care neither being famous abroad nor start an international career. I only care for Greece. I grew up abroad but choose to live in Greece. I can't tell you whether Eurovision helps my career or not, because I don't know. It's very dangerous. However, it is an experience I want to live. I want to have fun in the Contest and do my best." [1]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Born and raised in London, England, to a Greek Cypriot father, Elias, himself a singer/bouzouki player famous in England for many years, and a Lebanese mother, Sarbel's family often made frequent trips to Greece and Cyprus during the summer season. Sarbel studied music (voice), drama, and performing arts at university. From the age of 5 to 16 he performed at the English National Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and has recorded Tosca in English for Chandos Recordings as the shepherd boy. His name is technically pronounced 'Sharbel', but since people could not pronounce it, it is now pronounced as written 'Sarbel'.
[edit] Music career
At 18, looking for some change in his life for his gap year, he moved to Crete, where he sang at the Heraklion Palladium. [2]. At the age of 21 years, whilst living on the Greek island of Crete, where he had been inhabiting since his gap year several years before, he was signed on by Sony BMG (Greece) on a six year recording contract. By the next year, Sarbel had hit the Greek, Cypriot, and Arabic music scene and gained a very popular status as a singer but also a sex symbol, particularly amongst young female fans.
[edit] 2004-2005: Parakseno Sinesthima
He shot into the limelight in 2004, when he recorded the oriental hit Se Pira Sovara, featuring popular Greek songstress Irini Merkouri, which first introduced the young singer to fans in Greece, but also across the Middle East (especially Cyprus and Lebanon). [3] The song is based on an Arabic song called Sidi Mansour. On the same CD (a CD single) he released a second duet with Merkouri called Agapi Mou Esi. In 2005, he released his first solo album, entitled Paraxeno Synesthima. This Album went Gold and was re-released with the Wella-sponsored song Thelo na Petaxo and a bonus track of Boro Boro, which he made famous during his MAD Award Ceremony appearance. The songs Se Pira Sovara, Sokolata, and Thelo Na Petakso became hits and later turned into video clips.
[edit] 2006: Sahara
In July 2006, he released his second album, Sahara. That same year he recorded a duet with Greek singer Natassa Theodoridou called Na' Soun Thalassa which was also included as a bonus song on the album. The tracks Taxe Mou and Saharah instantly became a hit. Other singles from the song included Sahara and Enas Apo Mas which were all later turned into video clips too. In the same year, he once again performed at the Mad Music awards taking his popularity to a new hight. This time he performed the song Thriller showcasing his English language talent.
[edit] 2007: Eurovision and Sahara: Euro Edition
Seeing his growing popularity, Greek television ERT asked Sarbel to compeate for a ticket to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki, Finland. Sarbel had to compete against established singer Christos Dantis and fellow new comer singer Tamta. Sarbel enlisted the help of popular Greek-Swedish composers Alex Papacostantinou, Marcus Englof, and Mack to write his song. They are responsible for many hits of Greek singer Elena Paparizou. They wrote the song Yassou Maria. The song is performed in English with only the word "Yassou" being in Greek. There is also a Greeklish version recorded.
On February 28, 2007 Sarbel performed the song live against the 2 singers for the ticket. Although the performance had some sound problems, it won the majority vote by both the public and jury leading him to win. Sarbel got a total of 39.69% of the votes combined. Following the win, Sarbel will be touring Europe to promote his song. He will also film the video clip for the song shortly as well as work on a new stage performance.
On March 12, 2007, Sahara will be re-released as Saraha: Euro Edition and will feature the "Yassou Maria CD Single as a bonus. The CD single for Yassou Maria was released on March 07, 2007. The CD single includes Yassou Maria, 'Yassou Maria (Greeklish Version), Enas Apo Mas (Special Holiday Mix) and a duet with Swedish singer Cameron called Mi Chica. Mi Chica is recorded in a mixture of Greek, English, and Spanish. The song is Latin style with Greek pop elements.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
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- 2007 Sahara: Euro Edition
- 2006 Sahara
- 2005 Paraksno Sinesthima (Second Edition)
- 2004 Parakseno Sinesthima
[edit] CD Singles
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- 2007 Yassou Maria
- 2004 Se Pira Sovara
[edit] Full Singles Discography
(Not all singles were released on CD)
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- 2007 Yassou Maria
- 2006 Enas Apo Mas
- 2006 Takse Mou
- 2006 Sahara
- 2005 Thelo Na Petakso
- 2005 Sokolata
- 2004 Se Pira Sovara
[edit] Video Clips
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- 2007 Yassou Maria (Official Video Clip) [coming soon]
- 2007 Yassou Maria (ERT Promo Video)
- 2006 Enas Apo Mas
- 2006 Takse Mou
- 2006 Thriller/Pano Stin Trella Mou (Mad Music Awards) [Ft. Vanessa Adamopoulou]
- 2005 Bora Bora/Chiculata (Mad Music Awards) [Ft. Chrispa]
- 2005 Thelo Na Petakso
- 2005 Sokolata
- 2004 Se Pira Sovara
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Anna Vissi |
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 |
Succeeded by N/A |
