Emanuel Kiriakou | |
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| Born | August 16, 1966 New Castle, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Labels | Universal |
Emanuel "Eman" Kiriakou (born August 16, 1966) is an American songwriter, producer, record executive, music publisher and multi-instrumentalist, based in Los Angeles. He recently co-wrote and produced "Take You Dancing" by Jason Derulo, and has produced a number of Billboard Hot 100 charting singles including: "What's Left of Me" by Nick Lachey, "Crush" by David Archuleta, "Who Says" by Selena Gomez & the Scene, and "Tonight Tonight" by Hot Chelle Rae, which was #1 on the Billboard Hot AC charts, "It Girl" by Jason Derulo, as well as "Classic" and "American Dream" by MKTO. He has also collaborated with Celine Dion, Ne-Yo, MKTO, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, ZAYN, Gabby Barrett, Rachel Platten, David Foster, Madison Beer, Robert DeLong, Whitney Houston, Simple Plan, and Backstreet Boys.
Kiriakou began playing with the guitar and piano at the age of 5, and joined his father's Greek band at the age of fourteen. He credits this time in his father's band as his real musical education.[citation needed] He graduated from Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music, in Youngstown, Ohio with a degree in music, and then relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota,[1] where he won a Cleo Award for a Miller Lite television commercial.[2] After relocating to New York City, he linked up with Joey McIntyre and produced his second solo record, "Meet Joe Mac".[3] Kiriakou lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the animator and actress Aliki Theofilopoulos.[4]
Kiriakou moved to Los Angeles in 2004, where he worked closely with record producer and songwriter Walter Afanasieff.[5]
Kiriakou co-wrote and produced Jason Derulo's single "It Girl". He also co-wrote and produced the first single for Selena Gomez & the Scene titled "Who Says", co-wrote and produced Hot Chelle Rae's "Tonight Tonight" and co-wrote and produced "Fix a Heart" which appears on Demi Lovato's third studio album, Unbroken.
Kiriakou also co-produced the title track on Whitney Houston's record entitled "I Look To You". He co-wrote and produced the first single on David Archuleta's record titled "Crush" which debuted at #2 on Billboard, the highest American Idol debut to date,[6] receiving 1.8 million downloads and has been certified double platinum. Kiriakou's multi-format single for Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me" hit top 10 on the pop Billboard chart and #1 on the Dance Chart.[7]
Kiriakou's music has been featured in television shows and major motion picture soundtracks,[8] including the award-winning My Big Fat Greek Wedding. He co-produced the Demi Lovato version of "Let It Go" from the movie Frozen with his production partner Andrew Goldstein. He has worked with chart-topping artists Demi Lovato ("Fix A Heart", "In Case", "Warrior" and "Something That We're Not" Selena Gomez, Celine Dion ('Incredible"), Backstreet Boys, Robert DeLong, MKTO, and Ne-Yo.
Kiriakou partnered with Evan Kidd Bogart in 2011 to form their label and publishing companies, Crooked Paintings and Cre8ive Co., which specialize in creative/A&R services and artist development. The first and most notable signings on their roster are pop-duo MKTO,[5] and electronic artist, FRND. Most recently, Kiriakou cowrote and co-produced Jason Derulo's current single, "Take You Dancing". He is also in production for The Struts' third studio album.
