Chrispa
Birth nameChrisanthi-Pagona Pyttiropoulou
Also known asChrispa (stage name)
Born (1982-12-07) 7 December 1982 (age 41)
OriginAthens, Greece
GenresModern laïka
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active2003–present
LabelsAlpha Records (2003)
Minos EMI (2004–2012)
Loca Records/The Spicy Effect (2012)
EMI (2013–present)

Chrispa (Greek: Χρύσπα, born Chrisanthi-Pagona Pyttiropoulou on 7 December 1982) is a Greek singer. She has released five studio albums.

Early life

Chrispa was born Chrisanthi-Pagona Pitiropoulou[1] (Chris-pa) in Athens, Greece on 7 December 1982.[2][3] At the age of five, she moved to Pireus, Greece where she began to experiment with music and dance. Originally, she had no dream to become a singer, and loved ballet.[4] After thirteen years of ballet, she left it behind partly because of her short height, and pursued musical instruments, taking courses at her school for phonetics, piano and guitar.[2][4]

Chrispa's singing career began at age 18 when she sang a song with Sofia Vossou at her summer concert in Aegina. Vossou described Chrispa's voice as "very good" and her connections eventually helped Chrispa get a record contract with Alpha Records.[4] Her talent was quickly realized and she sang in more concerts with other popular singers such as Stamatis Gonidis, Labis Livieratos, and Themis Adamantidis.[2]

Musical career

2003–2007: Getting started

In the spring of 2003, at the age of 21, Chrispa released her debut album, titled Tora with Alpha Records. The first single from the album, "Esena Thelo", gained radio success and had a music video and remix.[4] Chrispa's next album was the self-titled Chrispa in 2004 with Minos EMI.

A repackaged album was released in 2005, titled Chrispa 100%. The compilation featured hits from her first two albums; a new single, "Mou Kani Plaka O Theos," which became a radio hit; a DVD of her music videos; and remixes. Also from the album were the radio hits "An Den Ipirhes", "Savvatokiriako", "Fevgo Gia To 7", "I Kolasi Eimai Ego", and "Pali Tha Peis Signomi".[4]

2005 also brought several collaborations for Chrispa. She sang with Giorgos Tsalikis and Constantinos Christoforou in the summer, while during the winter of 2005–2006 she went on the road with Elli Kokkinou, the Andreas Stamos, Constantinos Christoforou and Kalomoira.[4]

In 2006 and 2007, she released two more albums, Posa Hrostao and Kathreftis respectively.[5] The first single from Kathreftis is "Mia Stigmi", which was made into a music video.

2008–present: From Eurovision to "Eisai asteri" and "Me skotonei"

She was a candidate in the Greek national final to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.[6][7][8] Chrispa had chosen a song composed by Marios Psimopoulos with lyrics by Antonis Papas. The provisional title of the song was "SOS For Love",[9] but later it was changed to "A Chance to Love".[10] The song has an ethnic style, described as a "Dance Oriental",[11] with lyrics in both Greek and English.[10]

At the national final, held on 27 February 2008, Chrispa performed "A Chance to Love" first out of the three participants. She placed third with 15.9% of the vote.[12] Kostas Martakis placed second, and Kalomoira went to Eurovision with "Secret Combination", eventually placing third.[11]

On 6 October 2009, Chrispa released her fifth studio album, titled Mehri Edo. It included eleven new tracks composed by Stefanos Korkolis, with lyrics by Rebecca Roussi.[13] It was reported that Chrispa had expressed dissatisfaction with her label's lack of promotion of the album, and as a result, considered prematurely exiting her contract with Minos EMI.[14]

Since that album, Chrispa has released four digital singles: "Den yposxomai tipota" (I can't make any promises) (2010), "Eisai asteri" (You're a star) (2011), "Kolla 5" (Hi5) (2012) and "Me skotonei" (It's killing me) (2013).

TV appearances

Dancing With the Stars

Since October 2013, Chrispa has appeared as a contestant on the Greek Dancing with the stars. Though the judges appear to be very harsh on her, giving her low scores, she has managed to remain in the game as a result of the game's televoting. It is even mentioned on social media that her popularity has increased after the guest judge (Giorgos Liagkas) insulted her.

Other TV appearances

Chrispa has appeared in many Greek TV shows promoting her songs. In 2009 she guest starred on the Greek sitcom Polikatoikia.[15] She also appeared on the TV show Pame paketo, where she invited her music teacher Sofia Vossou to thank her publicly for believing in her and helping her to have a career.[16] Another notable appearance was on the Greek Big Brother, where she entered the house, as a part of a game, in order to harass the contestants.

Personal life

Chrispa married Panagiotis Nikolaou in July 2010.[17] The two had met a year earlier, and they were engaged a month after meeting.[17]

Discography

Albums

CD singles

Digital singles

See also

References

  1. ^ Staff (10 January 2010). Άλλαξαν το όνομά τους για την καριέρα (in Greek). Madata.gr. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Βιογραφία – Χρύσπα". Archived from the original on April 17, 2008.(in Greek) MAD TV. Retrieved 22 April 2008
  3. ^ Sideris, Nasos (11 December 2008). Χρύσπα Ριζικές αλλαγές (in Greek). Yupi.gr. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Βιογραφία – Χρύσπα". Archived from the original on April 3, 2008.(in Greek) Music.net.cy. Retrieved 22 April 2008[dead link]
  5. ^ "Greek Eurovision gathers pace". London Greek Radio. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Hryspa Selected products". info-grece.com. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
  7. ^ "ERT announces the national final participants". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
  8. ^ "Greece: National final participants announced". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 December 2007.
  9. ^ "Chrispa to sing 'SOS For Love'; title to change". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  10. ^ a b "Chrispa decided 'A Chance To Love'". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  11. ^ a b National Final, 27 February 2008, Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT).
  12. ^ Konstantopoulos, Fotis (7 March 2008). "ERT and Kalomira in conflict?". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  13. ^ Ioannou, Nektarios (8 October 2009). Ψαλμωδίες αντί Χρύσπα (in Greek). Sigma Radio TV. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  14. ^ "Χρύσπα: Ετοιμάζεται να αποχωρήσει από τη Minos" (in Greek). Yupi.gr. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  15. ^ "Νεοι Δημοσιογραφοι: Και Η Χρυσπα Στην Πολυκατοικια!".
  16. ^ "Ψυχαγωγια | Ειδησεισ". 12 June 2023.
  17. ^ a b Staff (8 October 2010). Χρύσπα: "Το πρώτο βήμα στην σχέση μου το έκανα εγώ" (in Greek). Star Channel. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
Categories