Alexia (Cypriot singer)

Alexia Vassiliou (born February 5, 1964), better known as Alexia, is a Cypriot singer who represented Cyprus twice in the Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest, first with the MusicAL band Island, and then by herself.

Early life

Born in Famagusta, on the east coast of Cyprus, Vassiliou and her family left their hometown as refugees, after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, when the Turks captured her town along with the 37% of the Cypriot land.

Education

Vassiliou received her Bachelor's degree in Performance from Berklee College of Music (Boston) in 1985.

During her studies, Vassiliou was chosen by CBS to sing in the album "I am Siam". This song played for 6 months on radio in New York and Boston, and it reached Billboard's Top-100. Vassiliou is the first ever Cypriot artist to have a top 100 hit. The album was produced by David Sonenberg (former Manager and Producer of Meat Loaf.

Career

In the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, Vassiliou participated in the contest as part of the group 'Island'. This was Cyprus' debut in the contest and they finished a creditable 6th with their entry "Monika". Vassiliou represented the island again in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987 held in Brussels, taking the song Aspro Mavro to 7th place.

In 1985, Vassiliou was chosen as the only vocalist from the college to take part in Chick Corea's concerts at the Berklee Performance Center.

From 1985 to 1987 Vassiliou lived in New York City and taught music. Also she took part as main singer in groups of jazz and pop/rock. She co-operated with famous artist like Fredy Jackson and Roberta Flack.

In 1987 Vassiliou competed for the second time in the Eurovision Song Contest, as solo artist. The song she sung was “Aspro Mavro” (Please me Lover) and scored seventh in the competition. The song became a hit in Cyprus and Greece, and also in Scandinavia's countries, where more than 250,000 copies were sold.

After her succees, Vassiliou decided to move to Greece and released her first Greekphone album, titled “Alexia”. Her first album became double platinum in Greece and Cyprus. It was the first clear pop album ever in Greece and Cyprus. Many artists have followed her style of music.

In 1989, Vassiliou released her second solo album, “Ena Dio Tria”(One Two Three), with European music, and many songs became hits and went gold.

In 1990, Vassiliou released a new album in co-operation with Kostas Charitodiplomenos. The album was titled “Ela mia nikta”( Come for a Night) and immediately became popular.

In 1991, Vassiliou represented Cyprus in the Eurosong Contest held in Corfu, and won first prize. The song she sung was 'Ela na Dis' (Come to See).

In September of 1992, Alexia released her fourth solo album, entitled "Nerompogies" (Watercolors). The album had the song 'I Diki Mou I Patrida' (My homeland), and was dedicated to Cyprus. She is the first ever artist that to sing a song for Cyprus.

In 1993, Vassiliou recorded “Alexia performs the Classics”. It was an album with versions of all-time classic songs in Greece, from 1930-1970. "The Classics" was recorded with the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, and includes a duet with Rena Vlachopoulou.

In 1994 Vassiliou performed in the musical 'Frank and Steine' in Cyprus, whose soundtrack became Alexia’s seventh album, "Keklismenon Ton Thiron" (Behind Closed Doors). One of the most famous composers in Greece, George Hadjinassios wrote the music.

In 1995, Vassiliou participated in a concert by composer Mikis Theodorakis for his 70th birthday in the Panathenaic Stadium. Vassiliou opened the concert with the theme song from the film "Phaedra," directed by Jules Dassin.

In 1996, Vassiliou released the album: "Alexia In a Jazz Mood". It made history for selling more copies than any other jazz album in Greece. Vassiliou worked with Chick Corea, John Patitucci, Gary Novak, Gayle Moran, and Bulgarian pianist, composer and arranger, Antoni Donchev. The album was recorded in Los Angeles (Chick Corea’s Mad Hatter Studio), Bulgaria, and Athens.

In 1997, Vassiliou recorded the album "Famagusta" in the ancient Greek theatre of Herodus Atticus. "Famagusta" is an ode to the Cypriot town which is under Turkish Occupation since 1974. (Poetry by Claire Angelides and music by Cypriot composer Marios Meletiou).

In 1998, Vassiliou came back with the album "Alexia - Mikis Theodorakis", a double CD with 26 compositions by Mikis Theodorakis. It featured Mikis Theodorakis in 2 songs (one is a duet with Vassiliou, a live recording in studio), Swiss harpist Andreas Vollenweider and Italian singer Milva.

In 1999, Vassiliou sang on the CD of the dance theatre performance of ''La Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The music was composed by Aristides Mytaras. Also, she sang "Put the Blame on Mame" on the soundtrack of the Greek box-office hit "Safe [...]", written and directed by Michael Reppas and Thanassis Papathanassiou.

In 2000, Vassiliou was featured on the soundtrack of the film "The Road to Ithaca", directed by Costas Demetriou. She performed "The Road to Ithaca" and "Never Never Land" (music by Costas Cacoyannis, and the lyrics by Linda Bourbon and Zenonas Zendiles.

From 2001 to 2005, Vassiliou worked on the album "Re-be", where Alexia took a new direction, rhythmical with a post jazz sensation, collaborating with contemporary and precisionist musicians.

In 2007, Vassiliou wrote the lyrics and sung all the songs for Peter Massink’s new release, "Birds Have to Fly".

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