Marina Satti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marina Satti
Satti at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Background information
Native name	Μαρίνα Σάττι
Born	(1986-12-26) 26 December 1986 (age 37) Athens, Greece
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter music producer
Instruments	Vocals piano davul
Years active	2006—present
Labels	Minos EMI

Marina Satti (Greek: Μαρίνα Σάττι; born 26 December 1986) is a Greek singer, songwriter, music producer and actress. Her music combines traditional Greek, Arab and Balkan sounds with urban elements, rhythm, and production. She represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Zari", finishing in 11th place.

Early life and studies

Satti was born in Athens and was raised on the island of Crete. Her father, Ali Osman Satti, was a doctor-anesthesiologist from Sudan and former deputy professor of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; her mother, Chariclia Filoxenidi, is a chemical engineer from Heraklion, Crete, with ancestry from the Greek population of Asia Minor. Her parents met at the Faculty of Medicine in Athens where they studied. Satti spent her childhood in Heraklion and, as a child, she visited Sudan during the summers. She graduated from school as a top student. She has a brother who lives in England and a half-sister from her father's subsequent marriage to another woman. He had returned to Sudan, and later moved to Egypt.

Satti began piano lessons, when she was 5 years old at the Apollo Conservatory in Crete. She also sang in several choirs. In 2008, after studying with the baritone Panos Dimas, Satti earned a first degree in lyrical monody with honors and a first prize. One year later, she earned a second degree in advanced classical music studies, opera and piano, while also studying jazz at the Nakas Conservatory in Athens. She studied Architecture for 3 years at the National Technical University of Athens. Satti also studied at the Veaki Drama School and the Kentriki Skini Drama School, in Athens on a scholarship. In 2012, she completed a 3 year degree in jazz composition, contemporary writing and production at the Berklee College of Music in the U.S.A on a scholarship. Among her teachers at Berklee were Jamie Haddad and Danilo Pérez.

Career

Satti formed part of the EBU's European Jazz Orchestra. She also performed as a singer of the World Jazz Nonet at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In 2011 she performed along with Bobby McFerrin and the a cappella vocal group The Singing Tribe at Berklee Performance Center. From 2006-2024 she acted, sung and wrote music for theatre in 15 plays in Greece.In 2016, Satti founded Fonés ("Voices"), a female a cappella group performing traditional polyphonic songs. Furthermore, she writes music for short films and advertisements. Satti has given her singing voice to 20 cartoons and was the voice for the whole of Walt Disney’s Moana and Ariel in the Little Mermaid for Greece. She is also invited to teach music and singing in schools and universities in Greece.

In 2016, Satti released her single "Koupes" ("Cups"), which reached more than 28 million views on YouTube, and was included in Ravin & Bob Sinclar's Buddha Bar 20 Years Anniversary album. In 2017, her next single, "Mantissa" ("Seeress"), charted in the European Union's Official Top 100 and Bulgaria's Top 40. Global Citizen named it "song of the summer." Joanna Kakissis, an Athens-based correspondent for NPR, described it as "the summer hit that fills a generation with hope". Ιt reached more than 58 million views on YouTube. In 2017, Satti curated a series of cultural events that led to the formation of the choir Chόres (pronounced [ˈkɔɾɛs]; a portmanteau of the Greek words for "daughters" and "choruses"), consisting of 150 women aged 13–55. In 2020, Chόres presented traditional songs in archeological locations.

In June 2018, Satti and Fonés presented Yalla!, a repertoire of world music and pop compositions, as well as renditions of Eastern Mediterranean traditional music, which was first performed at the Melina Merkouri Theater and then toured abroad to France, England, Switzerland, as well as to Tampere, Finland, for the 2019 World Music Expo. In May 2022, she released her debut album Yenna ("Birth"). The release of the album was followed by a European tour that lasted over 4 months.

Eurovision Song Contest and other works (2023-present)

On 24 October 2023, she was announced as the Greek representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. She was internally selected by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) and her entry, titled "Zari", was released on 7 March 2024. She finished in 11th place with a total of 126 points.

Zari reached the top 50 on YouTube global trends. It also reached number 18 on Spotify's global top 50, becoming the first song in Greek to do so. Additionally, it achieved number 1 on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube trends in Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the UK, and Ireland. It also reached charts in 28 countries. It received the diamond certification in Greece.

Right after her Eurovision entry, Satti released an EP, titled P.O.P. ("PDO"). It has 7 songs including Zari. The EP features a new single called "Lalalala", and a ten-minute track called "Mixtape" with guest appearances by Lefteris Pantazis, Rack [el], Efi Thodi, Vlospa, Oge and Nick Kodonas. P.O.P. reached number 8 on the top 10 albums globally on Spotify. It also entered the top 10 on the UK Spotify chart.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Theatre

Satti has worked as an actress and a music score composer with the National Theatre of Greece, the Greek National Opera, the Athens Festival, and others. Satti has performed in the ancient theatre of Epidaurus and Herod Atticus in Greece.

Filmography