Sarbel

Sarbel-Michael Maronitis (Σαρμπέλ Μιχαήλ Μαρωνίτης; شربل; born 14 May 1981) known professionally as Sarbel, is a British-Cypriot pop singer.

His singles include "Se Pira Sovara" [ Greek: 'I've just taken you seriously'], and albums Parakseno sinesthima ['Strange feeling'], Sahara and Kati san esena ['Something reminiscent of you'].

In 2004 he recorded the Arabic hit "Se Pira Sovara" featuring Greek singer Irini Merkouri.

The song is based on an Arabic song called "Sidi Mansour" by Saber Rebaï.

On the same CD (a CD single) he released a second duet with Merkouri called "Agapi Mou Esi" ['My love'].

In 2005, he released his first solo album, entitled Parakseno sinesthima (in Greek Παράξενο συναίσθημα).

This album went Gold and was re-released with the Wella-sponsored song "Thelo na Petaxo" ['I wanna fly'] and a bonus track of "Boro Boro", which he made famous during his MAD Award Ceremony appearance.

The songs "Se Pira Sovara", "Sokolata" ['Chocolate'], and "Thelo Na Petakso" are some of his notable songs.

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 ['Wish you were sea] which was also included as a bonus song on the album.

The album includes "Taxe Mou" ['Promise me'], "Sahara" and "Enas Apo Mas" ['One of us'].

Seeing his growing popularity, Greek television ERT asked Sarbel to compete 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 newcomer singer Tamta.

Sarbel enlisted the help of Greek-Swedish composers Alex Papacostantinou, Marcus Englof, and Mack to write his song, who are responsible for many of Greek singer Elena Paparizou's hits.

They wrote the song "Yassou Maria", which is performed in English with only the word 'yassou' (and the name 'Maria') being Greek.

There is also a version released in a mix of Greek and English.

Ηe represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with "Yassou Maria".

Sarbel was born and raised in Southgate, London, England, to a Greek Cypriot father, Elias, himself a singer and bouzouki player, and a Lebanese Maronite mother, a lawyer.

Sarbel's family made frequent summer trips to Greece and Cyprus.

He received a Jesuit education at St Ignatius' College in Enfield.

Sarbel studied music (voice), drama, art, and performing arts.

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.

He was named after the Maronite Saint Charbel.

and his name is correctly pronounced "Sharbel", but since standard Greek lacks a "sh" sound, Greeks pronounce the name "Sarbel" in accordance with the Greek transliteration ("Σαρμπέλ").

Sarbel sang yearly at St Ignatius and other talent shows.

At the age of 18, Sarbel went to Crete, where he sang at the Heraklion Palladium.

At the age of 21, still living on the Greek island of Crete, he was signed on by Sony BMG (Greece) on a six-year recording contract.

On 28 February 2007, Sarbel performed the song live against the two singers for the ticket.

Although the performance had some sound problems, he went on to receive 39.69% of the combined televotes and jury votes, winning the contest.

In an interview in March 2007, Sarbel made it clear that he doesn't want an international career by saying "I don't care either being famous abroad or starting 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.".

Following the win, Sarbel toured Europe to promote his song.

He also filmed the video clip for the song and changed the scene performance around a bit.

The song eventually placed 7th at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

On 12 March 2007, Sahara was re-released as Sahara: Euro Edition and feature the "Yassou Maria" CD single as a bonus.

The CD single for "Yassou Maria" was released on 7 March 2007.

The CD single includes "Yassou Maria", "Yassou Maria (Greeklish version)", "Enas Apo Mas (Special Holiday Mix)" and a duet with Persian singer Cameron Cartio called "Mi Chica" which was recorded in a mixture of Greek, English, Spanish and Persian and is Latin in style with Greek pop elements.

Sarbel started singing at Votanikos club in Athens, at 2008, along with Natassa Theodoridou and Nikos Kourkoulis.

The new single "Eho Trelathei" [Greek for 'I have been driven crazy'] was introduced at the Greek National Final 2008 on ERT.

It is a blend of oriental elements with the main chorus being rock.

This was followed by the release of the album Kati san esena.