Sarbel
Sarbel Michael (Greek: Σαρμπέλ Μιχαήλ; born 14 May, 1982), known professionally as simply Sarbel (correctly pronounced 'Sharbel'), is a 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.
Sarbel represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki Finland, on May 12, 2007. Sarbel's song was called Ya Sou, Maria, and was performed in English, despite the Greek title.
Life and Career
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. 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 up by Sony in 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.
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. At 18, looking for some change in his life for his gap year, he moved to Crete, where he sang at the Heraklion Palladium. [1]. 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).
[2] 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. In July 2006, he released his second album, Sahara, and the track Taxe Mou became an instant massive hit.
Eurovision
Sarbel was selected to represent Greece in Eurovision 2007. He received 39,69% of the votes against 31,28% by Dantis and 29.02% by Tamta.
On May 12, 2007, in Helsinki, Finland, Sarbel sang Ya Sou, Maria by popular composers Alex Papaconstantinou and Marcus Englof - reponsible for many hits of Greek superstar Elena Paparizou. He finished outside the top 5.
Discography
- Se Pira Sovara, 2004.
- Paraxeno Synesthima, 2005.
- Paraxeno Synesthima (Second Edition), 2005.
- Sahara, 2006
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