By Joanna Polydoropoulou

Helena Paparizou is one of the most popular Greek singers. She was born in Boros, a city in Sweden, on 31^st January 1982. Her parents were immigrants from Greece. She has also two younger siblings, a sister and a brother. From a young age, music was her passion and she created a small band with some of her friends at the age of 13. The band was called “SOUL FUNKOMATIC”, but it disbanded when Helena was 16.`

CAREER

Her career began at the age of 17. With her friend, Nickos Panagiotidi, created the famous group “Antique” in 1990. It crossed over to audience and after their first single “Opa-Opa”, they became popular with Europeans. They came from Sweden to Greece and they decided to participate in Eurovision in 2001. Their song “Die for you” took the third place in the competition, the better place that had won the country until then. Despite their big success, the band decided to have a break. So, in 2003, the band disbanded.

Immediately, Helena signed a contract with SONY BMG Greece and she started her solo career. In the same year , she brought out her first single called “Anapanthtes klhseis”. In 2004, she took part in the first Mad Video Music Awards and she won the price for the best video clip dance for her single. Moreover, she released her first album called “Proteraiothta”, which became platinum twice in Greece and once in Cyprus.

In 2005, she decided to participate again in the Eurovision Song Contest. The audience loved both Helena and her song “My number one”. It was on the 21^st of May when the golden page of the Greek music history was written and Helena had the main role. She won and that was the one and the only win of our country in the competition until now.

After Eurovision, she became very popular. She released another single called “Mambo!” which was first presented in the Eurovision song contest in 2006 and became one of the greatest hits of the year all around Europe. She also opened the Mad Video Music Awards with her song “My number one” and she won two prices. In 2006, she also created her second album “Iparhi logos”. The album became platinum not only in Greece, but also in Cyprus. Moreover, she won another three Mad Awards and a European Border Breaker Award in Cannes.

She continued her big success. From 2007 to 2011 she released three albums “The game of love”, “Vrisko ton logo na zo”, “Giro apo to oneiro” which were on the top of the charts in Greece and in Cyprus. She won nine Mad video music awards. Moreover she participated in MTV Europe awards and she took the title of Best Greek Act in Eurovision song contest. She also went on two big tours in Greece (the first alone and the second with Onirama).

From 2011 to 2013 she participated in Madwalk and she won seven Mad video music awards. In 2011 she became one of the three judges in a TV show called “Dancing on ice”. In 2012 she went on her third big summer tour with a band called “Melisses” and in 2013 the fourth, but alone that time. Also, in 2012 she changed record company and she joined Minos EMI Universal. A year later she released the album “Ti ora tha vgoume?” and she went to Hollywood to sing for a night dedicated to Melina Merkouri.

In 2014 she decided to participate to the “Melodyfestivalen” to represent Sweden in Eurovision, but finally she didn’t go again to the contest. Then, she released an album called “One life” and she went on a summer tour in Sweden. A year later she participated to the musical “NINE” and she won a Mad video music award. From 2016 to 2022 she was one of the four coaches in “The voice of Greece”. In 2017 she released another album, the “Rainbow” which became platinum in Greece. In 2019 she joined Antique again. The group went on a tour in Sweden and it recorded a new song called “Ti Ti”. It also participated in the Het Grote Festival in Amsterdam. From 2018 to 2023 Helena had won nine Mad video music awards and she went on a lot of summer tour. In addition to this, she made another album in 2019, the “Apochrosis”.

During all these years Helena Paparizou has recorded 78 singles, 63 music videos and she released 10 studio albums. She also went 22 summer tours and 31 collaborations with other singers.

Some of her most popular singles are:

• Anapantites kliseis

• My number one

• Katse kala

• Crazy Hurt

• The light in our soul

• Iparhi logos

• Mambo

• To fili tis zois

• Baby it’s over

• Fiesta

• Haide

• An me deis na klaio

• Déjà vu

• De mou ta leei kala

SOURCES

• TEXT:

• https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%88%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%B1_%CE%A0%CE%B1%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%B6%CE%BF%CF%85

• PHOTOS:

https://www.offsite.com.cy/offsite-archive/tha-ekprosopisei-telika-i-paparizoy-tin-kypro-stin-eurovision

By Anastasia Sgoura and Aggeliki Stamatopoulou

Stray kids is a South Korean boy group under JYP Entertainment. The group consists of 8 members: Bang Chan, the leader and the oldest of the group, his nicknames given by his members are kangaroo and koala, because of his origin, which is Australia, he is part of pre-debut group called 3RACHA, his stage name in 3RACHA is CB97. Lee Know, formerly known as Minho. Changbin, his specialties are writing lyrics and rap, he is in pre-debut group called 3RACHA, his stage name in 3RACHA is SPEARB. Hyunjin, his nicknames by the group are Jinnie or “The Prince” and he is also good at drawing. Jisung, formerly known as Han, he is in pre-debut froup called 3RACHA with Chan and Changbin, his stage name in 3RACHA is J.ONE. Felix, his parents are Korean but he was born in Australia and he thinks his charming point is his freckles. Seungmin, he is the vocalist of the group and Jeong-in, formerly known as I.N, he is the maknae of the group, which means he is the youngest, he is also can play piano. Originally, Stray Kids is a nine-member group, Woojin who has been a member of Stray Kids, has left the team and terminated his contract due to personal circumstances.

Stray Kids was created through the survival program with the same name, Stray Kids. Stray Kids debuted on March 25, 2018.

By Theodore Papoutsis

It is mostly known as the best album of all times and is the third album created by the artist playboy Carti.

With a number of 24 songs, this heavenly tracklist produces various emotions that can elevate everyone.

The tracklist is given below

• Rockstar Made

• Go2DaMoon (Ft. Kanye West)

• Stop Breathing 

• Beno!

• JumpOutTheHouse

• M3tamorphosis (Ft. Kid Cudi)

• Slay3r

• No Sl33p

•  New Tank

• Teen X (Ft. Future)

• Meh

• Vamp Anthem

• New N3on

• Control

• Punk Monk

•  On That Time

• King Vamp

• Place

• Sky

• Over

•  ILoveUIHateU

• Die4Guy

•  Not PLaying 
•  F33l Lik3 Dyin  

Jordan Terrell Carter, born on September 13, 1996 and known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. He is recognized for his experimental musical style, gothic fashion and mysterious public persona. His other creations are equally good (Self titled, Die lit) but can’t reach the levels that the “Red” album has touched.

                                                                                                                                         Die lit

                                                                                                                                      Self titled

He mostly goes by his stage name only because he wanted Michael Jordan to make a name rather than take his spotlight.

What is more, this artist with his artistic visions chose to feature some small artists on his album (kid cudi, future, Kanye west) to give them a chance blow up.

By George Panovrakos

As we all know, it’s this time of the year, when everyone gets to pick their Album of the Year. My Album of the Year belongs to the rap category of music. Of course, there are nominations, such as Donda (Kanye West), Call Me If You Get Lost (Tyler the Creator), The Off-Season ( J. Cole), The Voice of the Heroes( Lil Durk & Lil Baby), Trip at Knight( Trippie Redd), Certified Lover Boy ( Drake). Out of these, my top 3 were: Donda, Call Me If You Get Lost and The Off-Season. In my honest opinion, the best one is by far Donda by Kanye West.

Firstly, a few words about Kanye West. Kanye Omari West, born in 1977, is an American rapper, producer and fasion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, he was at first recognised only as a producer by Roc-A-Fella-Records, producing singles for several artists, while also developing and promoting the ‘chipmunk soul’ style. However, he wanted to pursue a career as a rapper and as of now, he has put out 10 studio albums, Donda being his last so far.

The album has been a long time coming, initially scheduled to drop last summer the album was subsequently scrapped until this July. After what feels like an eternity, Donda has finally arrived, and the verdict? Kanye has perfected his new gospel sound with his signature hip-hop to create an album full of reflection and forgiveness. It’s important to mention that the album was inspired by the death of Kanye’s mother ‘Donda C. West’. I truly believe that this album is this year’s best, as production on every single song is remarkable and unique. Kanye’s lyricism is also quite good, but nothing outsanding. What I admire the most is his his ability to get the best out of the other rappers that he worked with in this album, like Playboi Carti, Fivio Foreign, The Weeknd, Vory and Travis Scott. It is an album that I absolutely recommend not only to fans of rap, but also to musci fans in general.

Sources: Wikipedia and Billboard

By Elias Tzivieris

Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, «music history» could refer to the study of the history of any type or genre of music.

In 800 BCE the first recovered piece of recorded music was found. It was written in cuneiform and was a religious hymn. It should be noted that cuneiform is not a type of musical notation. By 700 BC there are records of songs that include vocals with instrumentals.

THE FIRST PERSON OF THAT INVENTED MUSIC

They usually put forward several answers, including crediting a character from the Book of Genesis named Jubal, who was said to have played the flute, or Amphion, a son of Zeus, who was given the lyre. One popular story from the Middle Ages credits the Greek philosopher Pythagoras as the inventor of music.

THE 6 PERIODS OF MUSIC HISTORY

The 6 musical periods are classified as:

• Medieval

• Renaissance

• Baroque

• Classical

• Romantic

• 20th/21st Century

      (Rock,Metal,Blues,Funk,Jazz)

 By Panagiotis Tzanatos, Panagiotis Paplas & Anastasis Tzefrios

The history of the Eurovision Song Contest began with an idea by Sergio Pugliese, of the Italian television, in the channel RAI, and then was approved by Marcel Bezencon of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest was based on the Italian Sanremo Music Festival and was designed to test the limits of live television broadcast technology.

The first contest took place on 24 May 1956, where seven countries participated. As the Contest progressed, the rules grew increasingly complex and participation augmented to forty countries at the end of the 20th century. As more countries came on board over subsequent decades and technology advanced, the EBU attempted to keep up with national and international trends.

The first winner was Switzerland in 1956 in Lugano. The country with the most wins is Ireland, with 7 wins. After, is Switzerland with 6 wins and Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom with 5 wins. The latest winner is The Netherlands with the song “Arcade” which touched many people with its sad message.

  Greece  first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 but the country won in 2005, it had only finished in the top five on four occasions. Greece hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 and has never finished last in the competition.

 ABBA is the most successful Eurovision Song Contest winner. The Swedish pop band won the contest in 1974 and has enjoyed phenomenal success ever since, despite officially splitting up in 1983.

The most covered Eurovision Song Contest song is Domenico Mudugno‘s Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu, also known as Volare. The song has been covered by famous stars such as Dean Martin, Cliff Richard, David Bowie and many more.

Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest 3 times. In 1980 and 1987 he represented Ireland as performer and won both times, with Hold Me Now and What’s Another Year, in 1992 he wrote Linda Martin’s winning entry Why Me?

  In 2014, Valentina Monetta took part for San Marino for the third time in a row and… qualified for the Grand Final! She participated in the 2017 contest for the fourth time!

In 2011, Lena, the winner of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, decided to defend her title on home ground – something only 2 people have done in the history of the contest.

Until 1998, each act was supported by a live orchestra and every country brought its own conductor. Noel Kelehan conducted the orchestra of 5 winners, in 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993 and 1996. Dutch conductor Dolf van der Linde conducting for a record 7 countries; Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

Only 3 women conducted the orchestra at the Eurovision Song Contest. Nurit Nirsch conducted the Israeli entries of 1973 and 1978, Monica Dominique conducted the Swedish 1973 entry and Anita Kerr appeared in front of the orchestra for Switzerland in 1985.

German songwriter and composer Ralph Siegel is a true Eurovision addict. He took part a whopping 21 times. He did so most recently in 2014, granting San Marino their first qualification to the Grand Final. His 22nd participation was in 2017, having written the song for San Marino. He won once, in 1982, with the famous Ein Bißchen Frieden.

Πηγές:

https://eurovision.tv/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest

By George Patronis (A Class)

Rock and roll is a type of music. It was first introduced and evolved in the late 40s and 50s. People who listened to it usually wrote it “Rock & Roll” or “Rock ‘en’ Roll”.

It combined various musical styles suck as jazz, blues and usually rock with country music. Despite the fact it was produced from the 30s, it acquired its name in the 50s. It was evolved mainly at the United States. As the years passed, rock and roll was more often referred to rock songs that combined rock and country or to rock songs only. In the early 40s, its primary music instruments were the piano and the saxophone while after the 50s they were replaced by the electric guitar. The beat was that of a blues song and there was always a backbeat by drums that made the song more vivid. 1 or 2 guitars and the drums were essential for someone to produce “Classic Rock & Roll”. However, Rock and Roll wasn’t just a music genre. It had a big influence on people’s lifestyles, attitude and fashion. It was the origin of the 60s-90s music genre “Rock.”

Origins:

• One of the first most significant Rock & Roll musicians was Chucky Berry who first introduced his own brand of Rock and Roll. He was a very popular, really talented guitar player and he inspired many artists with his own unique type of playing (his type of playing inspired guitarist Angus Young of AC/DC). He was ranked among the 6 best guitarists of his era. Some of his songs such as “Jonnie B. Good” and “Roll over Beethoven” marked his career.
• Another important first Rock and Roll artist was Jerry Lee Lewis (often called Killer) who made a big success on charts and sung many popular songs of his own and did covers of many other artists.

Popular artists

Elvis Preasley

The most popular Rock and Roll artist was Elvis Presley. He was among the most significant cultural icons of the 20^th century and was often called “King of Rock & Roll”. He made a huge success due to his popular songs and live performances. In 1965 his albums “Elvis Presley” and “Elvis” took the first place at charts followed by his next two albums “Loving You” and “Elvis’ Christmas Album” which maintained their place at the top of the charts.

The WHO

The WHO was a Rock and Roll band. It was formed by Roger Daltrey (singer), Pete Townshend (guitarist), John Entwistle  (bass guitarist) and Keith Moon (drummer). Their best album “Who’s Next” made it at the first place at British Charts, 2^nd  place at French and Netherlands charts and 4^th place at U.S.A. charts. They were very popular among British and American bands and influenced a lot people of 60^s.  Its top track Baba O’ Riley made a huge success.

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin was a British band and among the most popular of Rock and Roll history. They were formed by Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Bonham (drums) and John Paul Jones (bass guitar, keyboard). Their most popular albums Led Zeppelin IV and Led Zeppelin II had some iconic riffs and contained Rock and Roll, Country and Rock influences. “Led Zeppelin IV” at 1971 (24^th on the list of albums ever, made published by Mojo) managed to get 1^st place at British and Canadian charts and second place at USA, Australia, Italy, France, Japan and Sweden. It contained some of the bands’ most popular songs such as “Black Dog”, “Rock & Roll” and Stairway to Heaven. “Led Zeppelin II” in 1969 (3^rd most influencing album ever by ‘Guitarist’, 6^th best album of century by ‘The guitar’) was at top place of charts. More specifically, it managed to get 1^st place on British, USA, German, Australian, Canadian and Spanish charts. It contained popular songs such us “Whole Lotta Love”, “On Ramble” and more. Led Zeppelin was one of the most remarkable bands ever and was considered the 2^nd best rock band ever.

The Rolling Stones

The “Rolling Stones” are an English band formed in 1962. It  consisted by Mick Jagger (vocals), Mick Taylor (guitar), Ian Stewart (piano), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums). They made big success at the start and they first set foot on stage with a nickname “The Worlds’ Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band”. They had many successful albums and they made the highlights with “Some Girls” (1978) and “Tattoo You” (1981) being their 2 most sold album. “Some Girls” contains many popular songs such as “Miss You” and “Just my Imagination”. It conquered the 1^st place at Canadian and USA charts and amazingly held the title for almost a year.

In addition, “Tattoo You” made also a big success introducing songs like “Start me Up” and “Neighbors” and got the first place on Australian, Canadian, Dutch, French, New Zealand and USA charts .The “Rolling Stones” influenced the people then and they are still popular today. Their icon is unique and well-known all over the world.

Source: Wikipedia

Genres: Metalcore, Heavy Metal, Hardcore Punk

Members: Winston McCall (Vocals), Jeff Ling (Lead guitar), Luke Kilpatrick (Rhythm guitar), Ben Gordon (Drums), Jia O’Connor (Bass).

Parkway Drive was formed at the beginning of 2003.The band took their name from the street where their home rehearsal space and live venue, “The Parkway House’, was located. In the 2009 documentary on “Parkway Drive: The DVD” the explains that there was a lack of venues for punk rock and hardcore punk bands to practice and perform and that “Parkway House” was like “a little oasis for us and all our friends’.The group played their first show at the Byron Bay Youth Centre where I Killed The Prom Queen vocalist Michael Crafter, visiting from Adelaide, also first saw the group and gained their interest. The I Killed the Prom Queen / Parkway Drive: Split CD was released June 2003 and both groups toured Australia over the rest of the year.

Then, the band released the Don’t Close Your Eyes EP in 2004 and afterwards  Parkway Drive flew to the United States, where they recorded their debut full-length Killing with a Smile with Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz in just two weeks. The album debuted in the Australian Album (ARIA) charts at 39. In 2006 the group toured in Europe, their first time performing overseas, and later returned to North America

Don’t Close Your Eyes EP   & Killing With A Smile

 Following their return to Adam Dutkiewicz’s studio, Horizons was released on 6 October 2007. The album was generally acclaimed by critics and fans alike; and wasawarded  10/10 It debuted at number 6 on the ARIA Charts.

Horizons

On 23 March 2010, Parkway Drive entered the studio to begin recording their third album, Deep Blue, with producer Joe Barresi. According to their lead vocalist Winston McCall, this was to be their rawest and heaviest record to date.On 17 April 2010, Parkway Drive officially announced that they finished recording the forthcoming album, and added a studio diary video to their MySpace. On 26 April, vocalist Winston McCall revealed in a video-interview two new song-titles: «Home Is For The Heartless» and «Hollow». Winston stated in the interview that the European tour they’re on now is the last tour they will be on until the release of the new album. In September, the group was nominated for an ARIA Award for Deep Blue in the newly created Best Hard Rock, Heavy Metal Album category and eventually won. It was the first ARIA Award in the band’s history.

Deep Blue

In an interview with NME, Winston spoke briefly about an upcoming fourth studio album, Atlas. Winston is quoted as saying, «We’ve got ideas for this record that are bigger than anything we’ve done in the past. The vocalist also gave an update on the condition of the band’s guitarist Luke “Pig” Kilpatrick.The guitarist has been forced to play with the band from a wheelchair after a surfing accident, but McCall said he was improving and would be up on his feet for the band’s next tour.

On 10 April, Parkway Drive released a trailer for their new Blu-ray/DVD entitled Home Is For The Heartless with a set release date for 6 July.

Atlas  & Home Is For The Heartless

In February 2014, Parkway Drive announced they will be participating in the 2014 Warped Tour on the main stage. On 11 April 2014 they announced that they are working on a new album. On 4 June 2015, Parkway Drive teased a letter for their upcoming fifth studio album; later the same day, the album cover was leaked online in its entirety. The album will be called Ire, and a new single entitled «Vice Grip» with a music video was released to the public on 8 June 2015. The release date of Ire was 25 September. On 20 June, «Vice Grip» peaked at number 88 on the Australian singles chart.

Ire

Parkway Drive have, also, released another DVD:  Parkway Drive: The DVD(2009) and along with the Home Is For The Heartless DVD (2012) they showed the band while touring and their impressions about each city and country they visited while touring.

Parkway Drive : The DVD

By Dennis Skouras and Maria Tsalamida (A class)

What a fine art is that of music… It penetrates and runs through the body, speaks to the soul and leads our feet, hands and head shaking accordingly to the rhythm. Everyone on this planet has a sense of rhythm. For example, how many times have you found yourself tapping your feet, humming or whistling one melodic pattern? All these occurrences are the immediate bearing of having an innate instinct to follow along a repeated sequence of notes, chords or melodic phrases by any possible means such as our voice or our body.

It is an undisputed fact that music is the lingua franca of any society since the beginning of humanity. There is a vast number of reasons why this happens in that music is a blessing in disguise. Little do we know of how much music can offer to the souls of ours.

First of all, it is the sheer entertainment. Almost every gathering you have been to, is accompanied by its musical score. Whether it is a party, a wedding, a depressing situation, or even a friendly meeting the guests are subjected to the emotions conveyed by the suitable music.

Secondly, it uplifts our mood. Listening to music can make our brain release serotonin – a feel-good chemical substance– that alleviates our mood instantly.

Furthermore, music can relieve us from depression and anxiety or even lower our blood pressure. Besides that, music can help us improve our productivity. The fact that our stress is diminishing, is prompting us to think more clearly.