Dimitris Kontopoulos (

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 ...

: Δημήτρης Κοντόπουλος born November 9, 1971, in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

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 ...

) is a

music composer.

Personal life

Dimitris Kontopoulos was born in

on November 9, 1971. After graduating from the Ziridis school, he continued his studies in film scoring at Berklee College of Music in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

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and the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

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. Kontopoulos is married and has two children.

Career

Kontopoulos became active in the music industry in 1999–2000. In 1999 he released as a producer the album 'Etsi ime ego' by Iro. The singles of the album 'Etsi eime ego' and 'Tipota' topped the Greek charts making the producer famous nationally. In 2001, he released the second album of Iro as a producer and composer. The singles 'Apogeiosi', 'Etsi eine oi sxeseis' and 'Moni mou' also topped the charts. In 2002, he produced and composed the album of Giannis Vardis. The first single of the album 'Gia ena lepto' topped all charts and remained at the first spot of the National Airplay Chart for over 12 weeks. In 2003 he became involved with the Eurovision Song Contest when he wrote the song "Mia Stigmi" sung by Giannis Vardis. The song competed in the national final to represent

Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Greece competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, held on 24 May 2003 at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia. The Greek broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organised a public selection process entitled Ena tragoudi gia tin Evropi ...

, but came in second place to Mando and ' Never Let You Go' which went to Eurovision. Though the entry did not win the national final, it topped the charts in

for 11 weeks. Also in 2003 he started to compose the music for a movie of the famous Greek director Nikos Perakis. The song of the movie 'Meine mazi mou apopse' reached the number one position in the charts. In 2004 he composes the song 'Esena mono' for famous Greek singer Katy Garbi. In 2005, Kontopoulos again wrote a song for Eurovision, but this time for

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. "Shadows" performed by Anastasia Stotskaya placed third in the Russian national final. In 2006 Kontopoulos composed the score of the popular television series 'Loufa kai Parallagi'. The song of the 'Pano stin trela mou' won the first spot of the Annual National Airplay Chart. In 2006, with Greece hosting the Eurovision Song Contest after Elena Paparizou's victory with the song " My number one", he once again tried to take part in the Greek final as a composer, this time for

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 ...

. That year, the Greek audience selected four songs including "Welcome to the party" written by Kontopoulos. At the national final, the song came in second with

Nikos Karvelas Nikos Karvelas ( el, Νίκος Καρβέλας; born Nikos Leonardos on 8 September 1951) is a Greek songwriter, producer and singer. He has sold millions of records as a producer and is most recognizable for his three-decade-long collaborat ...

's '

Everything Everything, every-thing, or every thing is all that exists; the opposite of nothing, or its complement. It is the totality of things relevant to some subject matter. Without expressed or implied limits, it may refer to anything. The univers ...

' going to the contest. In 2007, Kontopoulos composed the song 'Ola giro sou girizoun' for

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 Co ...

. The song remained for more than a year in the top 50 of the National Airplay Chart. Having taken a break in 2007, Kontopoulos returned with the

dance pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song ' Always and forever' sung by Kostas Martakis. At the national final, the song came in second but it entered for many years the playlist of international Abercrombie and Fitch stores. In 2008 he produced the song 'Shady Lady' composed by

Philipp Kirkorov Philipp Bedrosovich Kirkorov PAR (russian: Филипп Бедросович Киркоров; bg, Филип Бедросов Киркоров, Filip Bedrosov Kirkorov; born 30 April 1967) is a Bulgarian-born Russian pop singer. He is a five ...

and performed by

Ani Lorak Karolina Myroslavivna Kuiek, russian: Каролина Мирославовна Куек (born 27 September 1978), popularly known as Ani Lorak,, russian: Ани Лорак is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and former U ...

who represented the Ukraine at the Eurovision song contest and placed second. In 2009 Kontopoulos composed the song ' Kai se thelo' for Sakis Rouvas. It remained at the first spot of the National Airplay chart for 8 weeks and the song became a cover in Bulgaria and Estonia. In 2009 Kontopoulos also produced and composed the album 'Solnce' of Ani Lorak. For the song 'Solnce' of the album he won a Russian Grammy award in the Golden Grammofon awards at the Kremlin. On July 19, 2008, it was announced that Dimitris Kontopoulos would be the composer for

and Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. He composed three songs: 'Out of control', 'Right on Time', and 'This is our night' which were voted on at the national final in February 2009. The song titled 'This is our night' got the most votes and thus represented Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, which took place in Moscow. After the results of the jury and the tele-voting were announced, the song was placed seventh on the final scoreboard. In 2010 he released a new song for Sakis Rouvas titled 'Spase ton hrono'. The song topped the Greek charts for months. In March 2010 Kontopoulos became a member of the jury of the ''Greek Idol'' show. In September 2010 Kontopoulos released the new song of Sakis Rouvas called 'Parafora'. The song was in the number one spot of the National Airplay Chart for weeks. In December of the same year Kontopoulos released the ballad 'Einai stigmes', performed by Antonis Remos. In February 2011 Sakis Rouvas released his new song 'Oi dyo mas' by Kontopoulos. In March the song topped the National Airplay chart becoming the 6th song of the duo Kontopoulos/Rouvas that topped the charts. In September 2011, the three top Greek male artists released songs of Dimitris Kontopoulos: Antonis Remos released as a single the song "Tora Epizo", Sakis Rouvas the song "Kane na mi sagapiso" and Michalis Hatzigiannis performed the song "Axizo" of the movie "Loufa kai parallagi: Seirines stun Steria". In summer 2012 Kontopoulos composed the song "Poses hiliades kalokairia" sung by Demy.In December 2012 Michalis Hatzigiannis and hip hop artist Midenistis performed the song of Kontopoulos "Se ena toixo" which remained for 15 weeks at the first place of the National Airplay chart. In January 2013 Dimitris Kontopoulos composed the song "H agapi erxete sto telos" for the advertisement of Lacta chocolate, the song was performed by Antonis Remos stayed for 4 months on the second place of the national airplay chart while the advertisement won 3 Cannes Lions awards as the best advertisement of the decade. In December 2013 Helena Paparizou released his song "Iroas" that entered the top 10 National Airplay chart for 4 weeks while a week later one of the most popular Greek artists Despina Vandi released his song "Hano esena". The song remained at the first place of the Greek airplay chart for 11 weeks. In February 2014 it was announced that Kontopoulos will be the mentor of Vandi at the Greek edition of the Voice TV show. In May 2013 Dimitris Kontopoulos participated at the Eurovision Song Contest with Azerbaijan. His song "Hold me" performed by Farid Mammadov came second with 234 points, the most points that Azerbaijan has ever received at the Eurovision Song Contest.While it received the maximum 12 points from 10 countries.
Kontopoulos is one of the two composers of the song " Shine" of The Tolmachevy Sisters which took part in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2014 The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European B ...

for

. In May 2016 Dimitris Kontopoulos participated at the Eurovision Song Contest with Russia. His song "You're the only one" performed by

Sergey Lazarev Sergey Vyacheslavovich Lazarev ( rus, Серге́й Вячесла́вович Ла́зарев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej vʲɪtɕɪˈslavəvʲɪtɕ ˈlazərʲɪf; born 1 April 1983) is a Russian singer, dancer and actor. He is most famous for his sin ...

came third with 491 points, despite winning the televote. In 2017, he was the composer for Demy and Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. He composed three songs: 'Where the time comes around', 'Angels', and 'This is love' which were voted on at the national final in March 2017. The song titled 'This is love' got the most votes and thus represented Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, which took place in Kyiv. After the results of the jury and the tele-voting were announced, the song was placed 19th on the final, the second-worst result that Kontopoulos has ever had at the Eurovision Song Contest as composer. He got his worst result

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

with the Song X my heart by Aisel Məmmədova which became 11th in the first semi final and did not qualify. In the Eurovision Song Contest

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

he was more successful with a 3th place in the grand final for the song

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

he won the Moldovian pre-selection ''O melodie pentru Europa'' for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song

Prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

by Natalia Gordienko. He also wrote the song SUPERG!RL for the Greek singer Stefania. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic the contest was cancelled and the songs did not compete on stage. For the Eurovision Song Contest

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

he wrote the songs Sugar for Natalia Gordienko (Moldova) and Last dance for Stefania (Greece). Both qualified for the Grand final and Sugar became 13th, Last dance 10th, the first Top-10 position for Greece since 2013. Kontopoulos has to-date composed and produced 14 albums, out of which 8 have gone platinum and two of those twice platinum.

Awards

* 2003 Arion Award (IFPI) ''Best Pop Album'' "Apogiosi", Iro * 2006 Arion Award (IFPI) ''Best Pop Song'' "Pano Stin Trela Mou", Vanesa Adamopoulou * 2006 Arion Award (IFPI) ''Best Soundtrack OST'' "Loufa & Paralagi" * 2007 Arion Award (IFPI) ''Best Pop Song'' "Ola Gyro Sou Girizoun",

Production discography

* "Etsi Eimai Ego" - Iro * "Apogeiosi" - Iro * "Koita Me Anteho" - Iro * "

Emmones Idees ''Emmones Idees'' (Greek: ''Έμμονες Ιδέες''; English: ''Obsessive Ideas'') is the thirteenth studio album by Greek artist, Katy Garbi. It was released on 15 October 2003 by Sony Music Greece and certified gold in a week, but after a m ...

" (2003) - Katy Garbi * "Meine Mazi Mou Apopse" (2003) -

Irini Merkouri Irini Merkouri ( gr, Ειρήνη Μερκούρη, ; born in Ilion, Athens, on May 26, 1981) is a Greek pop and laïka singer of Romani origin. Career Early life Merkouri was born and raised in Ilion, Athens to Hellenized-Romani parents. She ...

* "I Liza Kai I Alli" - Kostas Doxas * "Pes Mou Ti Niotheis" - Giannis Vardis * "Yalina Oneira" - Aspa Tsina * "Thelo Na Matho" - Antonis Vardis * "Koita Me" (2002) - Giorgos Mazonakis * "Argises" - Aleka Kanellidou * "Krifo Fili" (2002) -

Michalis Hatzigiannis Michalis Hatzigiannis (Greek: Μιχάλης Χατζηγιάννης; born 5 November 1978) is a Greek-Cypriot singer, musician, and record producer. From 2000 to 2010, he received over 30 sales certifications in Greece, making him one of the ...

* "Dekapentavgoustos" - Michalis Delta * "Marina Handri" - Marina Handri * "Tha Skisi I Omada" (2004) - All Stars * "Schedon Pote" -

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 ...

* '' Iparhi Agapi Edo'' (2006) -

* '' This Is My Live'' (2007) - Sakis Rouvas * '' Irthes'' (2008) - Sakis Rouvas * '' Solntse'' (2009) - Ani Lorak * '' Giro Apo T'Oneiro - Elena Paparizou * '' Parafora'' - Sakis Rouvas * ''

Entasi ''Entasi'' (Greek: ''Ένταση''; en, Intensity) is the third studio album by Greek singer Kostas Martakis, released in Greece and Cyprus on 5 December 2011 by Universal Music Greece. The album has fifteen songs in total, including an English ...

'' - Kostas Martakis

Eurovision Song Contest

Production Credits

* 2012: " We Are the Heroes" by Litesound, 16th (semifinal) * 2020: " What Love Is" by Uku Suviste, Cancelled * 2021: " The Lucky One" by Uku Suviste, 13th (semifinal) *2021: "

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

" by

Anxhela Peristeri Anxhela Peristeri (; born 24 March 1986) is an Albanian singer, songwriter and model. She emerged as the winner of the 19th edition of in 2017. After winning the 59th edition of in 2020, Peristeri was designated as the Albanian representativ ...

, 21st

Eurovision Pre-Selections

* 1998: "Se Nostalgo" by Vivetta Koursi, 3rd * 2003: "Mia Stigmi" by Giannis Vardis, 2nd * 2005: "Shadows" by Anastasia Stotskaya, 3rd * 2006: "Welcome to the Party" by

, 2nd * 2008: " Always and Forever" by Kostas Martakis, 2nd * 2009: "Out of Control" by

, 3rd * 2009: "Right on Time" by

, 2nd * 2009: " This is Our Night" by

, 1st * 2017: "Angels" by Demy, 3rd * 2017: " This is Love" by Demy, 1st * 2017: "When the Morning Comes Around" by Demy, 2nd * 2020: "

" by Natalia Gordienko, 1st

Movies

* "I Liza kai i alli" * "Vitsia gynaikon" * "Dekapentaugoustos" * "E.D.E.M." * "Apoliti Stigmi" * "Giro Giro Oloi" * "Money Go Round" * "The Midnight Kicker" * "How To Escape" * "Christmas Gift" * "Trapped" * "Loufa kai paralagi, sirines sto Aigaio" * "Psyhraimia"

Theatre

* "Kammena Vourla" * Ta paidia stin exousia" * "Oliki Eklipsi" * Ta dakria tis Kleitemnistras" * "Franky and Johnny"

TV

* "Schedon pote" * "Ola edo plirononte"

Commercial

* Bold & Ogilvy * Leousi * Status * AudioVisual * Kino * Stefi * Anosi * Red Code * Ekso * Max * Foss * Comrade * Modiano * Studio ATA * Upstream

References

External links

* http://www.voxstudios.gr Official Website of the Studio *
Dimitris Kontopoulos
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kontopoulos 1971 births Berklee College of Music alumni Greek songwriters USC Thornton School of Music alumni Living people Musicians from Athens