Helena Paparizou

Biography

Elena Paparizou was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, to Greek immigrant parents. Paparizou's artistic talents and eagerness to excel became apparent very early, and she was soon involved in singing, dancing and acting. As she wanted to develop her talents, Paparizou began her training in these arts even while she was still at school.

A significant turning point in Paparizou's life was the creation of Antique, a group she set up with her childhood friend and fellow Swede-Greek Nikos Panagiotidis at the age of seventeen. Antique quickly signed their first record label contract, with the Swedish record label Bonnier.

Antique's debut single Opa Opa became a huge hit, reaching number one on the single charts and gaining gold status following its release in August 1999 (the song was the second big hit in an 'immigrant' language in Sweden, after Tarkan's Simarik, popularizing music in other languages than English). The band's subsequent fame and success, strongly associated as it was with the international promotion of Greek culture, led to them being selected as Greece's representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 in Copenhagen. The band reached a solid third place, sought by the help of Paparizou's revealing dress, voice, and most of all, the song, (I Would) Die for You. Although equalled by Sakis Rouvas's effort Shake it in 2004, it was Greece's highest place in the competition until Paparizou's won the contest as a solo artist in 2005.

Antique's success in the Eurovision Song Contest led to their recording multiple platinum albums, playing a European tour, and collaborating with many other artists from Greece and elsewhere. Paparizou has admitted that Greek music had been something of an acquired taste for her, saying that the name 'Antique' was probably a reflection of her childhood impression of it being something rather distant and old-fashioned, that she only really associated with her summer holidays in Greece.

On July 14, 2005 the King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden placed his hand a bit lower on the back side of Helena Paparizou than is socially acceptable. It happened when she performed at his daughter's birthday. The alleged interest in women sometime gets the attention of the media for the King. A According to the royal court his hand slipped.