Most fans of this incredibly talented singer are firmly convinced that, in whatever country of the world she built her musical career, she would have become a star anyway.
She had the opportunity to stay in Sweden, where she was born, move to England, where her friends called, or go to conquer America, accepting an invitation from famous producers.
But Elena always aspired to Greece (to the homeland of her parents), where she revealed her talent, becoming a real legend and idol of the Greek public.
Childhood Helena Paparizou
The singer's parents, Yorgis and Efrosini Paparizou, are Greek immigrants living in the Swedish city of Buros. The future singer was born there on January 31, 1982. From early childhood, she suffered from asthma attacks, and, unfortunately, the disease bothers her to this day.
At the age of 7, the girl decided to sit down at the piano, and at the age of 13 she told everyone that she dreams of singing on stage. A year later, she already sang in the children's musical group Soul Funkomatic.
After three years of successful performances, the team broke up, and the singer decided to start an independent life, leaving home.
However, the girl's mother categorically refused her, saying that at that age she still needed to live with her parents. Of course, the future celebrity was upset, but the failed plans could not destroy the girl's dream of a big stage.
After some time, Paparizou experienced severe stress - 13 of her peers died in a terrible fire at a party.
The girl herself did not get to this event, as her parents did not let her. She again turned to her mother with a request to move, but she was against it. The tragedy so shocked the girl that she decided to give up singing.
Youth and early career of a young star
In 1999, at the request of a DJ friend, the singer recorded a demo of the single "Opa-opa" in tandem with her friend Nikos Panagiotidis. The success of this debut work made it possible for young people to create the Antique group.
Their duet soon became interested in the famous Swedish recording studio. Gradually, it became popular first in Greece, then in Cyprus.
In 2001, Elena and Nikos, as representatives of Greece, went to the Eurovision Song Contest and took 3rd place there. Prior to this, Greek singers did not occupy such leading positions.
The song, performed at the competition, received the status of a "platinum" single. The name of the singer sounded in the charts, and the European tour was very successful.
Solo career as an artist
Success inspired the singer, and she decided to start performing solo. Sony Music Greece helped her with this, with which she signed a contract.
The first solo work of Anapantites Klisis was recorded at the end of 2003 in Greek. The song was written by famous singer Christos Dantis. After some time, the single was remade into an English version and became "gold".
Between 2003 and 2005 Paparizou performed in nightclubs. At the same time, her disc Protereotita was released, most of the songs of which took the leading positions in the charts. As a result, the disc went platinum.
2005 was a triumphant year for the singer. She again went to the Eurovision Song Contest, but already as a solo artist. With the song My Number One, she took 1st place.
In the same year, Elena recorded the song Mambo !, which stayed on the leading positions of the charts for more than three months and became "platinum".
Subsequently, this single conquered not only Sweden, where it was re-released, but also Switzerland, Poland, Turkey, Austria and Spain. Later, the song was able to conquer the whole world.
For the singer, 2007 also became significant. Nokia signed an advertising contract with her. At the same time, the singer received a prestigious award at Cannes. She won in the nominations "Best Female Video" and "Best Scenery in a Video".
The next year was no less fruitful. The singer released another album and went on a promotional tour of the major cities of Greece.
At the same time, successful singles were also released. Unfortunately, the end of the year was overshadowed by the death of Father Georgis Paparizou.
In the following years, the singer successfully worked on new albums and recorded promotional videos and clips. Tha 'Mai Allios' video won "Clip of the Year" and An Isouna Agapi's video won Sexiest Video.
Artist now
In recent years, the singer not only leads an active concert life, but also does charity work. Not so long ago, she took part in the show "Dancing on Ice" as a member of the jury.
And in the Swedish competition "Let's dance" even she herself was among the contestants. The singer also tried herself on the stage of the theater, playing one of the roles in the musical Nine.
Paparizou is considered one of the most popular singers in Greece and the owner of a significant number of many prestigious awards. Over the entire period of her solo career, the number of discs sold exceeded 170 thousand.
The talented Greek woman speaks four languages - Greek, Swedish, English and Spanish. She looks great and leads an active lifestyle.
Some compare her to Madonna. But the vast majority of Elena's fans are sure that Madonna is far from her.
