Antique is a Swedish duo singing in Greek. The team enjoyed little popularity in the early 2000s, even representing Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. The duo included Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis.
The main hit of the group is the song Die for You. The team broke up 17 years ago. Today Antique is a solo project of Panagiotidis.
Antique's early career
At the discos of the late 1990s, Elena Paparizou met a friend of her brother who worked as a DJ. He not only put on tracks by his favorite musicians, but also wrote music for future events himself. The DJ asked Elena to record vocals for the song Opa Opa. The girl read the text and said that it was male, so Nikos Panagiotidis was called to the project. So the first hit of the Antique band was created.
The song became famous thanks to the traditional Scandinavian motifs, which are processed with the help of electronic instruments and Greek lyrics. The song immediately became a hit at discos in Gothenburg and other major Swedish cities, so the guys decided to continue their work and look for new ideas for implementation.
Participants of the Antique project
Elena Paparizou was born in the Swedish city of Buros to Greek immigrants. The father of the future star moved to Scandinavia to work, but he settled in Sweden. The girl also has a brother and sister. The singer had breathing problems, and doctors advised her parents to develop her vocal abilities. Such therapy helped the girl not only solve her health issues, but also made her one of the best European singers.
At the age of 7, Elena began to study piano, and at the age of 13 she already realized that she would be a singer. When the girl was 14 years old, she was selected to participate in the group Soul Funkomatic, where she continued to perform for three years. When the band broke up, Elena decided to move to Gothenburg to continue her career.
But at that time, her friends died - a fire broke out at one of the discos. Mom did not let Elena go, fearing for her life. The girl decided to suspend her music lessons and focused on her studies. But at one of the parties I met a DJ who offered to record the song Opa Opa. So Elena got into the Antique project.
Nikos Panagiotidis was born in Gothenburg. Like Elena, his parents moved to Sweden in search of a new life. Nikos was fond of singing since childhood and participated in school ensembles.
After completing his studies in educational institutions, Panagiotidis created a team that had little success in discos. Then he began performing solo. After meeting Elena Paparizou, the musicians created the duet Antique.
Recognition of the group's success
It is hard to imagine that songs in Greek can become popular in a cold northern country, but the duet Antique succeeded. The first album received rave reviews not only from ordinary listeners, but also from critics. It was awarded by the Swedish Music Awards Union.
The singers decided to participate in the main European singing competition. In the third year of selection, they managed to win the hearts of the jury, and the group went to neighboring Denmark to perform in the final part of the competition. The duo managed to take 3rd place. Two countries gave Elena and Nikos the maximum score.
Immediately after the end of the performance, the guys went on a big European tour. The concerts were a resounding success. All discos from Gothenburg to Athens included incendiary compositions of the Antique group in their repertoire. And after recording the Blue Love album, the duet took the lead in many European charts.
The collapse of the Antique team
After success was achieved, disagreements began to appear between Elena and Nikos. The group did not announce their breakup, but the ubiquitous paparazzi learned that each of the two vocalists signed contracts with labels to record solo albums.
Elena after some time began to perform with Antonis Remos. This is where the history of the Antique group ended. Although some time ago the team gathered again to sing their early hits on the big stage.
But until that moment, Elena managed to perform solo at the Eurovision Song Contest and win.
Before starting her solo career, Elena Paparizou signed a contract with Sony Music Greece. The single Anapantites Klisis was recorded on this label. The English-language version received the "gold" status. And a year later, Elena released a full-fledged disc, which received the status of "platinum".
In 2005 Elena Paparizou was invited to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest. One of her three songs was chosen in a nationwide vote. In the final of the competition, Paparizou placed 1st with 230 points.
A few years ago, the press wrote about the tragic death of the singer in a car accident. But it was a mistake, Elena's namesake died. The girl is alive and well.
The last works of the singer are two singles released in 2018. The songs are recorded in Greek and are regularly broadcast on the Athenian radio stations. The Antique group continues to work, but is the project of Nikos Panagiotidis only.
