Eleni Foureira
| Eleni Foureira | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Entela Fureraj |
| Born |
7 March 1987 Fier, Albania |
| Origin | Athens, Greece |
| Genres | Laïko, pop, dance-pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, fashion designer, actress |
| Labels | EMI Music Greece |
Eleni Foureira (Greek: Ελένη Φουρέιρα, born as Entela Fureraj on 7 March 1987 in Fier, Albania) is an Albanian-Greek pop singer, fashion designer, and actress.
Biography
Early career
Eleni Foureira was born as Entela Fureraj on 7 March 1987 in Fier, Albania to Marjeta and Kristaq Fureraj. Before her singing career, Foureira was interested in fashion design, as she was heavily influenced by her mother working in the profession. She was raised in the Kallithea region of Athens, Greece. She has three sisters and one brother. From a young age, however, she had begun to play the guitar and worked for three years for a theater. She was previously part of the girl group "Mystique" before launching her solo career.
2010–2012: Ti Poniro Mou Zitas
Foureira participated in the Greek national final in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 along with Manos Pyrovolakis singing the song "Kivotos tou Noe". She placed second behind "OPA!", by Giorgos Alkaios & Friends. In May 2010, Eleni Foureira sang the Greek version of the song "Chica Bomb" in collaboration with Dan Balan at Mad Video Music Awards. In November, she participated in the charity television show Just the Two of Us together with Panagiotis Petrakis and won 1st place. In May 2011 the singer appeared on Mad Video Music Awards where she performed the Greek version of “Play with Me”. In addition, she won two awards as the Best New Artist and the Sexy Video Clip of the Year.
In February 2012 she appeared in the second "MadWalk: The Fashion Music Project" where she performed the songs "Get the Party Started" and "All I Need" in collaboration with Claydee. In June 2012 Eleni Foureira participated on Mad Video Music Awards where she performed the song "Fotia" with NEVMA. She was nominated for four awards and eventually she won two awards for Best Video Clip Pop and Sexy Video Clip of the Year. On 22 June 2012, her debut album Ti Poniro Mou Zitas was released.
2013–2014: Anemos Agapis
Foureira performed "Wild Dances" with Ruslana in the Greek final for Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Greece. In April 2013 Eleni Foureira appeared in MadWalk where she performed the songs “Toxic” by Britney Spears and “To Deserve You” by Bette Midler. She also performed with the "Arouri" team. In June of the same year she appeared on Mad Video Music Awards 2013 where she performed her new track “Rantevou stin paralia”. Moreover, she collaborated with Pantelis Pantelides and Stan. During the same awards she was nominated in four categories, and finally she won the Fashion Icon Award in Video Clip. On 22 December 2014, her second album Anemos Agapis was released.
2015–present: New label and Barbarella: The 80's Musical
In April 2015, Foureira with Pantelis Pantelidis and Melisses, began live appearances in Fantasia. On April 30, she performed her new song "Ladies" at the Mad Video Music Awards. On May 16, she signed with Panik Records. In June 2015, she performed her new track "Pio Dynata", the Greek version of "Ladies".
On June 29, 2015, she performed a Greek version of Israel's song in Eurovision 2015, "Golden Boy". Also, she performed with Claydee, Faydee and BO, the song "Why / Habibi".
In summer 2015, she went on tour throughout Greece. Since October 2015, Foureira has starred in the musical Barbarella: the 80's Musical with Ivi Adamou, Katy Garbi, Ioanna Pilichou and Giannis Chatzigeorgiou in Theater Peiraios 131. She also performed at Teatro Music Hall with Paola & Konstantinos Argyros.
Controversy
Albanian origins
Foureira's origin and heritage have been a subject of much speculation. When she was a member of "Mystique" she was thought to be Brazilian. Through her early interviews after deciding to follow a solo career, Foureira used to state that: "My father comes from Athens and my mother from Ioannina. I was born and raised in Athens but since my surname is not Greek, I am usually asked about my origin. My surname and my family's origin is from Mexico. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion and that's fair enough. Right now I'm living my dream and I don't want to deal with anything else". Although claiming that she comes from Greece, it was announced that in 2010 Foureira had filed papers in order to obtain Greek citizenship which caused suspicion among Greek journalists.[1] It was later revealed that her origin is not from Mexico but from Albania, and her real name is Entela Fureraj. Foureira stated in another interview in 2010 that "My surname is Mexican. I have never said that I come from that country. My father has roots from there." In a 2011 interview for the Greek magazine NITRO, she stated that: "I'm not from Mexico or anything else. I'm from Athens. If my name was Eleni Papadopoulou there wouldn't be a problem. Can we please not talk about that at all?"
On December 31, 2013 in an interview for To Proino in ANT1 she stated: "Many times I have been prevented from doing many things because of my origin. It's wrong the fact that I come from a different country to be considered a drawback. I don't get it. There has been a huge talk about that and I'm not going to apologize. I grew up here. I can't speak a different language. Who cares where I come from. I'm just doing my job". In an interview she said: “They judge someone from his sexual or ethnic orientation and not from his work. I hid I was born in Albania because when I went to record labels, before I entered Mystique Group, they didn’t even wanna hear it. It was a taboo for them […] I didn’t understand back then when I was a little girl because I felt Greek. I don’t know another language, I was educated here. This is why I told myself, nothing will stop me from doing what I want and spread my message”.
Discography
Albums
- Eleni Foureira (2010)
- Ti Poniro Mou Zitas (2012)
- Anemos Agapis (2014)
Singles
| Year | Title of the song | Featuring |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Chica Bomb (MAD VMA 2010 Version) | Dan Balan |
| 2010 | To 'Ho (Pom Pom) | - |
| 2010 | Ase Me | - |
| 2011 | Mia Nyxta Mono | Thirio |
| 2011 | Paixe Mazi Mou (Fun) | Ciprian Rodu |
| 2011 | Reggaeton | - |
| 2012 | Sexy (Reggaeton) | - |
| 2012 | To Party De Stamata | Midenistis |
| 2012 | All I Need | - |
| 2012 | Stou Erota Tin Trela | - |
| 2012 | Fotia | NEBMA |
| 2012 | Pio Erotas Pethaineis | - |
| 2013 | To Deserve You | - |
| 2013 | Sweetest Love | - |
| 2013 | Rantevou Stin Paralia | - |
| 2013 | Anemos Agapis | - |
| 2013 | Pes To Kathara | Vasilis Karras |
| 2014 | Vazo Tin Kardia | - |
| 2014 | Party Sleep Repeat (PSR) | - |
| 2014 | Mou 'Pan I Agapi | - |
| 2015 | Ladies (Stand Up) | - |
| 2015 | Pio Dynata | - |
| 2015 | Sto Theo Me Paei (Golden Boy) | - |
Music videos
| Year | Title of the song | Featuring |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | To 'Ho (Pom Pom) | - |
| 2011 | Ase Me | - |
| 2011 | Mia Nyxta Mono | Thirio |
| 2012 | Reggaeton | - |
| 2012 | To Party De Stamata | Midenistis |
| 2012 | Stou Erota Tin Trela | - |
| 2013 | Pio Erotas Pethaineis | - |
| 2013 | Sweetest Love | - |
| 2014 | Anemos Agapis | - |
| 2014 | Party Sleep Repeat (PSR) | - |
| 2015 | Mou 'Pan I Agapi | - |
| 2015 | Pio Dynata | - |
| 2015 | Sto Theo Me Paei | - |
Filmography
Television
| Year | title | Channel | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Greek Final of Eurovision 2010 | NET | Herself | 2nd place |
| 2010 | Mad Video Music Awards | ALPHA | Herself | Performance |
| 2010–2011 | Just the Two Of Us | MEGA | Herself | 1st place |
| 2011 | Mad Video Music Awards | ALPHA | Herself | Performance |
| 2012 | MadWalk - The Fashion Music Project | ANT1 | Herself | Performance |
| 2012 | Mad Video Music Awards | ANT1 | Herself | Performance |
| 2013 | Eurosong 2013 - A Mad Show | ET1 | Herself | Guest star |
| 2013 | Mad Video Music Awards | ANT1 | Herself | Guest star |
| 2013 | MadWalk - The Fashion Music Project | ANT1 | Herself | Guest star |
| 2014 | Mad Video Music Awards | ANT1 | Herself | Performance |
| 2015 | MadWalk - The Fashion Music Project | ALPHA | Herself | Performance |
| 2015 | Mad Video Music Awards | ALPHA | Herself | Performance |
Stage
| Year | title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–present | Barbarella: the 80's Musical | Sophia |
Live appearances
Night Lives
| Year | Location | Singers |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Teatro Music Hall | Paola - Christos Cholidis - Eleni Foureira |
| 2010-2011 | Anodos | Natasa Theodoridou - Kostas Martakis - Ilias Vrettos - Eleni Foureira |
| 2011 | Posidonio | Panos Kiamos - Kostas Martakis - Eleni Foureira |
| 2011 | Pyli Axiou: Live Clubbing | Sakis Rouvas - Tamta - Eleni Foureira |
| 2011-2012 | Athinon Arena | Sakis Rouvas - Onirama - Eleni Foureira |
| 2012 | Thalassa People's Stage | Giorgos Mazonakis - Eleni Foureira |
| 2012-2013 | Athinon Arena | Antonis Remos - Stelios Rokkos - Eleni Foureira |
| 2013 | Politia Live Clubbing | Antonis Remos - Stelios Rokkos - Eleni Foureira |
| 2013-2014 | Fever | Vasilis Karras - Nikos Oikonomopoulos - Eleni Foureira |
| 2014-2015 | Kentro Athinon | Nikos Vertis - Eleni Foureira |
| 2015 | Fantasia | Pantelis Pantelidis - Melisses - Eleni Foureira |
| 2015-now | Teatro Music Hall | Paola - Konstantinos Argyros - Eleni Foureira |
Tours
| Year | Tour | With |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Hot Soft Tour | Kostas Martakis |
| 2011 | Amita Motion Tour | Many other celebrities |
| 2013 | Antonis Remos - Stelios Rokkos - Eleni Foureira (Live Tour) | Antonis Remos & Stelios Rokkos |
| 2014 | Ace Of Hearts Tour | Sakis Rouvas, Onirama, Boys & Noise, Xenia Ghali |
| 2015 | Eleni Foureira Live Tour | - |