Haris Alexiou facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Haris Alexiou Χάρις Αλεξίου
Haris Alexiou performing in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Hariklia Roupaka
Born	(1950-12-27) 27 December 1950 (age 74) Thebes, Greece
Genres	Folk, rebetiko, laiko, entehno
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, composer, actress
Years active	1970–2020 (as singer) 2016 – (as actress)
Labels	Minos (1970–1992) PolyGram Greece (1992–2000) Estia (Sony Music Greece) (2000-2002) Estia (Minos EMI) (2002–2020)

Haris Alexiou (Greek: Χάρις Αλεξίου) was born on December 27, 1950, in Thebes, Greece. Her birth name was Hariklia Roupaka. She is a famous Greek singer who has been performing for over 50 years! She is one of the most loved singers in Greece.

Haris Alexiou has worked with many important Greek songwriters and composers. She has performed in big music venues all over the world and has won several awards. She has released more than thirty albums and has also sung on albums by other musicians.

In 2010, a TV channel called Alpha TV said that Haris Alexiou was the top-selling female artist in Greece since 1960. She has sold more albums than any other Greek female artist and is third overall, after George Dalaras and Yiannis Parios. Eight of her albums, released between 1977 and 2003, sold a total of 1.5 million copies. No other Greek female artist has done this!

Haris Alexiou is also very popular in Turkey. Many of her songs have been sung in Turkish by other artists. For example, her song "Ola Se Thimizoun" (Everything reminds me of you) became "Olmasa Mektubun" (Without your letter) in Turkish.

She has lived in Athens since 1958. Her family moved there from Thebes. Her grandmother's family came to Thebes in 1924 from a place called Seydiköy (now Gaziemir) near İzmir, Turkey. A street in Gaziemir is even named after her!

About Haris Alexiou's Life
Haris Alexiou's Albums
- Albums with Other Artists
- Solo Albums
Images for kids
See also

About Haris Alexiou's Life

Haris Alexiou has said that her family comes from different parts of Greece. Her father's side is from a group called Arvanites, and her mother's side is from Anatolian Greeks.

Haris Alexiou started her music career in the early 1970s. People quickly noticed her amazing voice and unique way of performing. She became very popular very fast. She has worked with the most important Greek songwriters and has performed in famous theaters around the world. She has also received many important awards.

She has recorded over 30 albums. She has also sung on albums by other artists, both famous ones and new, promising talents. She is always open to trying new styles of music.

Starting Her Music Journey (1970s)

A big moment in her career was in 1972 when she sang with George Dalaras on the album Mikra Asia (Asia Minor). This album was written by Apostolos Kaldaras and Pythagoras. It was a huge hit in the 1970s and is considered one of the best Greek albums of that century.

In 1973, Haris Alexiou sang on other albums like Kalimera ilie (Good Morning, Sun) by Manos Loïzos. Working with Manos Loïzos became a long and important friendship and led to many great songs.

In 1975, she released her first solo album, 12 'Laika' Songs. One song from it, "Dimitroula," which was first sung in the 1930s, became a classic. In the same year, she started performing in small music clubs called "boites" in Plaka. This was a new way to present songs, different from the big nightclubs. It was a time when political songs and old "rebetika" songs were popular. Haris Alexiou sang many different kinds of songs, including traditional, folk, and rebetika.

For many years, she often performed with other famous singers like George Dalaras, Dimitra Galani, and Yiannis Parios. Her concerts in big stadiums and theaters were very successful. She sang songs by famous composers like Manos Loïzos and Mikis Theodorakis. Her popularity grew so much that people started calling her "Haroula of Greece."

In 1979, she released the album Ta tragoudia tis Haroulas (Haroula's Songs). Manos Loïzos wrote the music for this album. Two songs from it became very famous: "o Fantaros" ("The Soldier") was an instant hit, and "Ola se thymizoun" ("All Things Remind Me of You") is still known as one of the most beautiful Greek ballads ever.

Growing Her Career (1980s)

The 1980s began with two massive hit songs: "Fevgo" ("I'm Leaving") and "Ximeroni" ("The Day Breaks"). Her album Songs of Yesterday with Dimitra Galani featured beautiful ballads that people loved. During this time, she continued to record traditional, folk, and "rebetika" songs. She also gave many concerts in Greece and other countries.

In 1983, she recorded Tsilika, an album of old "rebetika" songs from the early 1900s.

A very important collaboration happened in 1986 with composer Thanos Mikroutsikos. Their album was called I Agapi ine zali (Dizzy with Love). The title song became a huge hit, and "Eleni" and "Erotikon" were also very successful. That same year, Haris Alexiou became popular in France after performing in Paris and getting great reviews from the French newspapers. She then performed in Cyprus, Tunisia, Germany, and many towns across Greece.

In 1987, the famous Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis invited her to sing at his club. He even went to the recording studio with her. She also sang in his concerts during the summer.

In 1988, she worked with a young music group called "Fatme." She also performed with Paolo Conte, a well-known Italian singer. They sang together at the Palace Theatre in Athens.

In 1989, she created a musical show called "The Show is On." She performed this show for two years with Dimitra Galani and Yiannis Parios in Athens and Thessaloniki. An album with the same name was released from this show.

Global Recognition (1990s)

Haris Alexiou performing in 2006

In 1990, Haris Alexiou worked with Thanos Mikroutsikos again on the album This Cologne Lingers on for Years. Later that year, she took part in a huge concert in Athens called "Our Own Night." Many big Greek artists were there, including Yiannis Parios and Melina Mercouri.

In 1991, she performed a special show in Athens called "In Three Acts." She sang songs by famous composers, presented new songs she had written herself, and performed a mix of her old and new hits. She even brought this show to the State Theatre of Northern Greece, which was the first time a Greek singer had performed there. Haris Alexiou started setting new standards for music shows, using advanced sound and lighting.

In 1992, she began working with PolyGram and introduced a fresh new style to her music. Her album Di' efchon (L'orale) was very new for Greek music and gave her career a big boost. In 1993, this album was released in Japan, Belgium, France, and Israel. A French TV channel even filmed her concert in Athens. That same year, she toured the world, performing in places like Cyprus, the US, Canada, Israel, and many European countries, ending with a big show in Paris.

In 1994, her album Hey! was released. That summer, she performed at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens. In October, she had her first very successful concert in Japan.

In 1995, she released the album 88 Nefelis Street, for which she wrote all the songs herself. For this album, she received the Prix Adami award in Paris, which is given to outstanding artists each year. In the same year, she opened her own studio, Studio Nefeli, where she presented her new songs in a unique "Cafe Theatre" style.

In 1996, she wrote the lyrics for "Nefeli's Tango," using music by Loreena McKennitt. This song became one of the top World Music songs in Europe for several months. It was included in her album Around the World '92-'96, which featured live recordings from her concerts.

In 1997, the Olympic Games Committee for "Athens 2004" invited her to perform a concert at Pnyka Hill, near the Acropolis. It was so popular that she had to perform it two more times!

1998 saw the release of The Game of Love, her second album where she wrote all the songs. She toured North and South America with Nikos Papazoglou.

In October 1999, she sang with the famous Turkish singer Sezen Aksu in both Athens and Istanbul. These concerts were held to help the victims of the earthquakes that hit both countries that year. They performed together again in 2000.

New Millennium and Beyond (2000-present)

Haris Alexiou performing in Berlin, October 2006.

In September 2000, Haris Alexiou released the album Whispers. It featured her favorite songs performed with just her voice and a piano. She presented these songs in concerts at the Athens Concert Hall and the ancient Epidaurus Odeon.

That same year, she started her own record company called Estia to release her future music. In December, she released the album Strange Light, where she worked again with songwriters she had collaborated with before. Strange Light was also released across Europe as Lumiere Etrange. Haris Alexiou toured Europe, performing in famous theaters and winning over audiences and critics. Her tour ended with a very successful show at the Theatre Olympia in Paris.

2002 was another busy year for Haris Alexiou. She performed at the Keramikos Music Hall, singing more traditional "laika" songs. Other younger artists also joined her on stage. This led to the album Keramikos Live.

In 2003, her album To the end of your heaven sold incredibly well, reaching quadruple platinum status. The World Music Awards, a very important international music award show, gave Haris Alexiou the award for Best-Selling Greek Artist for 2003-2004.

In 2004, the Olympic Games were held in Athens. Haris Alexiou sang at the closing ceremony along with other famous Greek singers like D. Galani and G. Dalaras. In October 2004, a collection of her best songs called Anthology was released. This double CD had 38 songs from her previous albums and two new ones. Haris Alexiou herself chose the songs, picking not only the most popular ones but also those that were important to her.

In April 2005, 16 of her albums were re-released by Minos EMI. These new editions were carefully designed with lyrics, information, and original photos.

In 2006, Haris Alexiou released Sour cherry and bitter orange, an album that explored traditional Greek music with a modern twist. It became a platinum album, showing how much people loved it.

That summer, she gave several special concerts. She performed two concerts with Dimitra Galani dedicated to Sofia Vembo at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. She also gave four sold-out concerts with Sokratis Malamas and Alkinoos Ioannidis in Athens and Thessaloniki. These concerts were recorded and later released as a double CD and DVD. At the end of 2006, Haris Alexiou went on a big tour across Europe to promote her international album Anthology.

In early 2007, she performed five concerts at the Athens Concert Hall. In June 2007, Haris Alexiou gave three concerts called "Everything reminds me of you," dedicated to the composer Manos Loizos, at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. These concerts were part of the celebrations for his 70th birthday. She then performed two more concerts in Thessaloniki and went on a summer tour around Greece and Cyprus, all dedicated to Manos Loizos. In October, the album Haris Alexiou - A tribute to Manos Loizos was released, which was a live recording of these concerts.

Haris Alexiou has traveled all over the world, from Greece to Australia, Russia to Africa, and America to Japan. She shares the feelings of Greek songs with people everywhere. She believes that Greek songs, through their poets and composers, helped her love and understand the history and culture of her country better.

Since late 2022, Haris Alexiou has also been acting! She plays the grandmother Haris in the Greek TV series Maestro in Blue, which you can watch on Mega Channel in Greece and Netflix worldwide.

Haris Alexiou's Albums

Albums with Other Artists

1972: Mikra Asia (with George Dalaras)
1973: Byzantinos Esperinos (with George Dalaras)
1974: Prodomenos Laos (by Mikis Theodorakis)
1974: Kalimera Ilie (by Manos Loizos)
1974: Gia Rembetes Kai Gia Filous (with Dimitris Kondolazos and Kostas Smokovitis)
1974: Robinsones (with Yiannis Parios)
1974: Odos Aristotelous (by Giannis Spanos)
1981: I synandisi (with Ilias Klonaridis)