Sarbel
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| Sarbel | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Charbel Michael |
| Also known as | Sarbel |
| Born | 14 May 1982 , London, England, UK |
| Origin | Greece |
| Genre(s) | Pop, modern laika |
| Label(s) | Sony BMG |
| Website | Official Website |
Sarbel Michael (Greek: Σαρμπέλ Μιχαήλ; Arabic: شربل مخائيل; born 14 May 1982), known professionally as simply Sarbel, is a British-Greek pop singer of half Greek Cypriot and half Lebanese ancestry. 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.
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." [1]. However Sarbel helped Greece finish in 7th place with 139 points in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
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[edit] Early life
Sarbel Michael was born and raised in Southgate, London, England, to a 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, 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, it is pronounced "Sarbel" according to the Greek transliteration ("Σαρμπέλ").
During his school years Sarbel was known to be 'highly motivated' and 'extremely polite', he led his schools Christian Union and ran for school president twice. However, Sarbel's love for singing escalated to souring heights, every year at St Ignatius Sarbel would highlight every talent event and blow everyone away with his angelic 5-Octave Vocal Range
Sarbel said in a recent interview in 2008 "Possibly in the next 5 years or so I will think about starting a family".
[edit] Music career
At 18, looking for some change in his life for his gap year, Sarbel went to Crete, where he sang at the Heraklion Palladium. [2]. At the age of 21, still living on the Greek island of Crete since his gap year, he was signed on by Sony BMG (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 and sex symbol, particularly amongst young female fans.
[edit] 2004-2005: Parakseno Sinesthima
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). [3] 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. The songs Se Pira Sovara, Sokolata, and Thelo Na Petakso became hits and later turned into video clips.
[edit] 2006: Sahara
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 which was also included as a bonus song on the album. The tracks Taxe Mou and Sahara instantly became a hit. Other singles from the song included Sahara and Enas Apo Mas which were all later turned into video clips too. In the same year, he once again performed at the Mad Music awards taking his popularity to a new height. This time he performed the song Thriller showcasing his English language talent.
[edit] 2007: Eurovision and Sahara: Euro Edition
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 new comer singer Tamta. Sarbel enlisted the help of popular Greek-Swedish composers Alex Papacostantinou, Marcus Englof, and Mack to write his song, who are responsible for many of popular Greek singer Elena Paparizou's hits. They wrote the song Yassou Maria, which is performed in English with only the word 'ya sou' (and the name 'Maria') being Greek. There is also a version released in a mix of Greek and English.
On February 28, 2007 Sarbel performed the song live against the 2 singers for the ticket. Although the performance had some sound problems, the went on to receive 39.69% of the combined televotes and jury votes, winning the contest. 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 March 12, 2007, Sahara was re-released as Saraha: Euro Edition and feature the Yassou Maria CD Single as a bonus. The CD single for Yassou Maria was released on March 7, 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. Mi Chica is recorded in a mixture of Greek, English, Spanish and Persian and is Latin in style with Greek pop elements.
[edit] 2008: New album
After Eurovision, Sarbel took some time off from music to relax. He did not join any singers in Athens in the 2007-2008 winter season, or release a new album. Following Elli Kokkinou's departure from club Votanikos due to her pregnancy, Sarbel took Elli's spot starting January 6, 2008 singing with Natassa Theodoridou and Nikos Kourkoulis]].[1]
The new single "Eho Trelathei" was introduced at the Greek National Final 2008 on ERT.[2] It is an blend of oriental elements with the main chorus being rock. This has set the toll for a new look for the 26 year old whose new album is due to be released in the coming months.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 2004: Parakseno Sinesthima (Greece #9) GOLD
- 2005: Paraxeno Sinesthima (Second Edition)(Greece #12)
- 2006: Sahara(Greece #9)
- 2007: Sahara: Euro Edition (Greece #11)
[edit] CD singles
- 2004: "Se Pira Sovara"
- 2007: "Yassou Maria" (Greece#1) GOLD
[edit] Full Singles Discography
(Not all singles were released on CD)
- 2004: "Se Pira Sovara"
- 2005: "Sokolata"
- 2005: "Thelo Na Petakso"
- 2006: "Sahara"
- 2006: "Takse Mou"
- 2006: "Enas Apo Mas"
- 2007: "Yassou Maria"
- 2008: "Eho Trelathei"
[edit] Music videos
- 2004: "Se Pira Sovara"
- 2005: "Sokolata"
- 2005: "Thelo Na Petaxo"
- 2005: "Boro Boro/Chiculata" (Mad Music Awards) [Ft. Chrispa]
- 2006: "Thriller/Pano Stin Trella Mou" (Mad Music Awards) [Ft. Vanesa Adamopoulou]
- 2006: "Taxe Mou"
- 2006: "Enas Apo Mas"
- 2007: "Yassou Maria" (ERT Promo Video)
- 2007: "Yassou Maria" (Official Video Clip)
- 2008: "Echo Trelathei"
[edit] References
- ^ Who's performing where?. London Greek Radio. Retrieved on March 23, 2008
- ^ Live from Athens; and the winner is Kalomira (of course). Oikotimes. Retrieved on March 23, 2008
[edit] External links
- Myspace
- International Sarbel Fan-Club
- Greek-English Fan Site
- International Sarbel Forum
- Polish Fan Club
| Preceded by Anna Vissi |
Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 |
Succeeded by Kalomoira |
