Helena Paparizou

Paparizou's parents met and married in her mother's hometown and moved to Borås in 1970.

Helena Paparizou (Έλενα Παπαρίζου, ; born 31 January 1982) is a Greek singer, songwriter and television personality.

Paparizou was born on 31 January 1982 in Borås, Västergötland, Sweden and raised in Örgryte, Göteborg she was the youngest child of Greek parents Georgios Paparizos (1948–2008) and Efrosynë "Froso" Paparizou.

Paparizou's parents were from the Karditsa region in western Thessaly; she has a sister Aretë, known as Rita, and a brother Konstantinos, known as "Dinos."

In 1985, the family moved back to Greece to live in Volos with relatives because Paparizou had contracted asthma and her lungs could not cope with the cold Scandinavian climate.

After two years, she was well enough for the family to return to live in Gothenburg, Sweden.

As a result of the trip to Greece, Paparizou spoke Greek as a first language and did not make friends with many Swedish children, because she attended a Greek-language school.

Paparizou continues to suffer from breathing problems and often carries an inhaler on-stage.

Paparizou performed for the first time in front of a Greek audience when she was eleven, singing Christos Dantis' "Moro Mou".

Two years later, Paparizou had decided she wanted to be a singer and began to study Greek music.

By the age of fourteen, Paparizou had formed her first group, Soul Funkomatic with three Hispanic teenagers.

They played hip hop music while saving money to record songs; they disbanded two years later.

On 29 October 1998, thirteen of Paparizou's close friends died in the Gothenburg nightclub fire during a hip hop party, when sixty-three people died and more than two hundred were injured.

She had begged her mother to let her go to the party, but was not allowed to attend.

After losing her friends, Paparizou decided to abandon singing.

She started classes at the Art Performing School where she studied theater, acting, television and directing.

Born and raised in Sweden to Greek parents, she enrolled in various arts schools before launching a career in Sweden in 1999 as a member of the laïko (Greek folk music) and Eurodance duo Antique, who participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 and afterwards became popular.

She lived with her fiancé and manager Toni Mavridis from 1999 until their separation in 2011.

Paparizou has been awarded three Arion Music Awards, a European Border Breakers Award, 30 MAD Video Music Awards—more than any other Greek artist—and an MTV Europe Music Award.

In 1999, some DJ friends of Paparizou's brother asked Paparizou to make a demo of the Notis Sfakianakis hit "Opa Opa", but because the lyrics are written from a male point of view, Paparizou wanted to sing with her childhood friend Nikos Panagiotidis.

Some record producers, who were interested in signing a male/female duo to sing covers of traditional Greek songs, contacted Paparizou, who suggested Panagiotidis.

The pair formed Antique, and signed to the independent label Bonnier Music.

Paparizou was the most successful debuting female artist of the 2000s and established herself as one of the top acts of the latter half of the decade.

Antique disbanded in 2003, and Paparizou signed a solo recording contract with Sony Music, releasing the chart-topping debut single "Anapandites Kliseis" and album Protereotita (2004), with emphasis on laïko, pop, and dance sounds, but at first had modest sales.

In 2005, she represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "My Number One", which she won.

It was the first Greek win in the contest's history and transformed her career.

Her album was subsequently certified double platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Greece.

Paparizou attempted a career beyond Greece with English-language material, charting in a few countries abroad.

Her three subsequent albums Iparhi Logos (2006), The Game of Love (2006) and Vrisko To Logo Na Zo (2008) all peaked at number one in Greece and reached platinum sales.

Her fifth studio album Giro Apo T' Oneiro (2010) was also certified platinum.

In the 2010s she tried to move into television as a judge on Dancing on Ice (2011) and as a contestant on Let's Dance (2012).

On 14 March 2010, Alpha TV ranked her as the 14th top-certified domestic female artist since 1960, having won seven platinum and four gold records.

As of 2010, she has been certified for the sales of 300,000 albums, 47,500 singles, and 30,000 digital downloads by IFPI Greece, in addition to 100,000 total record sales in Greece as part of Antique, 24,000 certified albums in Cyprus, and 80,000 singles in Sweden during her solo career.

In 2010, Forbes listed Paparizou as the 21st most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece.

Paparizou's final release before she left Sony Music, Greatest Hits & More, was released in 2011 and included "Baby It's Over", her biggest hit until 2016.

For the period 2013-2015, she advertised hair colour products for Koleston company in Greece.

Since 2016, Paparizou has been a judge at The Voice of Greece.

Her biggest hit to date, An Me Dis Na Kleo featuring Anastasios Rammos was released in 2017 and has gained over 36 million views on YouTube.

Paparizou established herself as a teen idol, particularly among young girls.

She has endorsed the brands Nokia and Ivi.