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Helena Paparizou was
born to Greek parents in
Gothenburg, Sweden, where she grew up. Helena's artistic
talents and eagerness to excel very early became apparent, and she was
soon involved in singing, dancing and acting. As she wanted to develop
her talents, Helena began her training in these arts even while she
was still at school. A significant turning point in Helena's life was
the creation of Antique, a group she set up with her childhood
friend Nikos Panagiotidis at the age of seventeen. Almost
immediately, Antique signed their first record label contract with the
then newly founded record label Bonnier in Sweden. Their 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 band's rapidly-increasing fame and success in the subsequent
period, 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. As lead singer, the eyes of the massive international
audience principally fell on Helena, still only in her late teens, but
her voice, her beauty in a revealing dress, and above all the song "Die
for You" clearly fired the public's imagination, and Antique
finished a strong third. Although equalled by Sakis Rouvas' effort
"Shake It" in 2004, it was Greece's highest place in the competition
until she won the contest in 2005. Antique's major success in the
Eurovision contest led to a promising future and a successful career
which included many platinum albums, a European tour, and
collaborations with many highly successful and accredited artists from
Greece and abroad. |