Sakis Rouvas

Details

Category: Music

Published on Thursday, 11 April 2019 14:18

Do you like the Eurovision Song Contest? Then you probably know the musician I’d like to present to you today: Sakis Rouvas, one of the most popular Greek singers and songwriters.

He was born as Anastasios Rouvas on the Greek island Corfu as the oldest of four brothers. In his childhood, he took ballet classes and started playing theatre. Throughout his whole youth, he had various jobs to support his family, such as bartender or construction worker. With 15, he joined the Greek national track and field team and won multiple national awards as pole-vaulter. At age 18, he left Corfu and moved to Patras, hoping for a career in music.

In 1991 he made his first professional appearance in Athens. Afterwards he also signed his first recording contract with PolyGram and released his first album named ‘Sakis Rouvas’. In the year 2004 he represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Shake It’, finishing third in the final. The participation in the Eurovision Song Contest was a turning point for Rouvas, as he was seen as a notable pop artist afterwards. The artist returned to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006, hosting the show as Greece won the contest the year before and in 2009 as representative for Greece, finishing seventh.

Sakis Rouvas doesn’t only show commitment to music, but is also invested in public issues. He is president at the ELPIDA charity foundation, a charity for children with cancer and performed concerts in support of environmental issues. He was also host of the Greek version of ‘The X Factor’ and launched this own TV and film production company as well as clothing collection.

Rouvas was mainly influenced by the music of the 1960s, Elvis Presley being his greatest idol next to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kiss and Queen.

So far, the artist published 15 albums, two of them live albums. Sakis Rouvas won six Arion Music Awards, 15 Pop Corn Music Awards, 22 MAD Music Awards, four Status Man of the Year Awards, an MTV Europe Music Award and a World Music Award. Through his independent style in music, fashion and performance, he influenced artists for over two decades.