Eleftheria Eleftheriou (, ; born 12 May 1989) is a Greek Cypriot singer. 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. 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 Broadcas ...

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, with the song "

Aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases libido, sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. These substances range from a variety of plants, spices, and foods to synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs, such as ...

", 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 (; ), or CyBC (; ), is Cyprus' public broadcasting service. It transmits island-wide on four radio and two domestic television channels, and uses one satellite channel for the Cypriot diaspora. It also transmits o ...

's national folk orchestra. That same year, Eleftheriou was a candidate to represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 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, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

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

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

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 (, ; born 5 January 1972), also known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Sakis, is a Greeks, Greek singer, actor, businessman and former pole vaulter. Born in Corfu, Rouvas won medals with Greece's U18 and U20 national sp ...

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 musicians such as Cesária Évora, Arto Tunç ...

) * 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 and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

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

Anna Vissi Anna Vissi (, , ; born 20 December 1957) is a Greek Cypriot singer. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed with Minos EMI#Merger with Minos Matsas ...

) (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 Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. 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; ; ; born 10 January 1981), known mononymously as Tamta, is a Georgian-born Greek singer. She first achieved popularity in Greece in 2004 for her participation in '' Super Idol Greece' ...

at ''S-Club'' on 11 December 2009. On 19 August 2010, she started appearing with Nikos Vertis at club ''Orama'' in

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

. 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 Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, with the song "

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

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

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 (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...

which was held in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, 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'' (2001–200 ...

'' contestant

Ivi Adamou Ivi Adamou (, ; born 24 November 1993) is a Greek Cypriot singer. Born and raised in Agia Napa, she rose to recognition in Greece and Cyprus following her participation in the The X Factor (Greece series 2), second season of the The X Factor (G ...

who represented

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. 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 () is the chief sea port of Athens, 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 largest in Europe. The Chinese state-owned CO ...

, 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 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 c ...

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 al ...

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

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), 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 is also a separate regio ...

, 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 ...

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

Survivor Greece ''Survivor Greece'' is the Greece, Greek version of the popular reality show ''Survivor (franchise), Survivor''. This version of the show was aired on Mega Channel, Mega TV for two seasons from 2003 to 2004. While the series was titled ''Survivo ...

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 Tamer Ashour (; also spelt Tamer Ashour or Tamer Ashur, born 2 January 1984) is an Egyptian singer and composer. From 2004 to 2011 he released more than 17 songs and 4 albums. Some of his better-known songs include "Zikrayat Kaddaba" ("Lying M ...

- 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) *2021 – "Pame ela" *2023 –''Sugar Daddy'' *2024 –''Se Pira Sovara''

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. Katerina Stikoudi) *2023 –''Sugar Daddy'' *2024 –''Se Pira Sovara''

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 List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

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

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