Xaris Alexiou is a Greek singer. She is considered one of the most popular singers in Greece and has been commercially successful since the 1970s. She has worked with important Greek songwriters and composers, has performed at top musical theatres all over the world and has received several awards.
She has recorded over thirty albums and has been featured on albums of other musicians. On March 14, 2010 Alpha TV ranked Alexiou as the first top-certified female artist in Greece in the phonographic era (since 1960), Chart Show: Your Countdown and the Number 3 overall ranking with regards to the sale of the personal albums certified Gold or Platinum in Greek discography since 1970, behind the male singers George Dalaras and Yiannis Parios.
Eight of her personal albums released between 1977 and 2003 have surpassed 1,5 millions sales, the only Greek female singer to do so. The fact that most of the above mentioned albums have been of a different music style, produced with different composers and released between constant time periods demonstrates her unique and indisputable figure in contemporary Greek music.
She has lived in Athens since 1958, when she and her family moved there from Thebes. Her grandmother's family migrated to Thebes in 1924 from Seydiköy, İzmir.
In September 2000, the album Whispers is released. It includes her favourite songs performed by her and a piano only. In October, she presents these songs in Music Palace of Athens and in the ancient Epidaurus Odeon accompanied by a small musical ensemble. The same year, she founds her own record company, "Estia", in order to produce all her future ventures in discography. In December, the first album is released entitled Strange Light. In this album she meets again songwriters with whom she has successfully worked in the past. Strange Light becomes Lumiere Etrange and is released all over Europe by Universal-France. At the same time, Haroula tours Europe giving concerts at the most prestigious theatres, conquering both audiences and critics. Her tour ends with a triumphal appearance at Theatre Olympia in Paris.
2002 is another creative year for Haroula. She appears on the Keramikos Music Hall, this time singing more "laika" songs. In this show, Lavrentis Macheritsas and other younger artists participate. The result is the album "Keramikos Live".
In 2003 the album To the end of your heaven went four times platinum and WORLD MUSIC AWARDS, one of the most significant institutions of the international music industry, presented Haris Alexiou with the award for The Best-Selling Greek Artist for the season 2003-2004 (2004 World Music Awards).
2004, the Olympic Games are held in Athens. Haris Alexiou, sings at the closing ceremony, along with D. Galani, Marinella, Y. Parios, G. Dalaras. In October 2004, the retrospective compilation album titled Anthology was released. This double CD is composed of 38 songs from her previous albums and of two new ones. Alexiou herself selected the included songs, not only choosing the most popular ones, but also bearing in mind the significance of each song for herself.
In April 2005, remastered and repackaged editions of her 16 albums under the banner of Minos EMI were released. The albums were reprinted, digitally remastered, and the new editions were meticulously designed (including the lyrics, many informative texts and original photos from the time of the first release).
In 2006, Haris Alexiou is back with Sour cherry and bitter orange, an album depicting the traditional aspects of contemporary music. Thodoris Papadopoulos, Smaro Papadopoulou and Makis Seviloglou wrote the music and the lyrics, suggesting a return to our roots. An album that, despite its unusual content, managed to go platinum, just a few months after it was released, receiving people's recognition and love. During the summer she made a series of special appearances.
Along with Dimitra Galani, she gave two concerts dedicated to Sofia Vembo at Odeon of Herodes Atticus, an event organized by Athens Festival. She gave four sold-out concerts along with Sokratis Malamas and Alkinoos Ioannidis, celebrating "Melodia" radio station's 25 years of broadcasting, at Lycabettus theatre in Athens and at "Palais des sports" in Thessaloniki. These concerts were recorded and a double CD and DVD edition will be released in March 2007. At the end of 2006 Haris Alexiou undertook a major tour around Europe, giving a series of concerts and promoting the international release of her album, "Anthology".
In early 2007, she appeared at the Athens Concert Hallfor in five concerts directed by Panos Papadopoulos. The songs were orchestrated by Kostas Papadoukas and the orchestra conducted by Alexandros Myrat. Alexiou gave three concerts under the title "Everything reminds me of you", dedicated to Manos Loizos, at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in June 2007, participating in the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of his birth.
The concerts were directed by Panos Papadopoulos Nikos Portokaloglou, the songs were arranged by Kostas Papadoukas, and the lighting was designed by Andreas Sinanos. The group "Triphonon" appeared along with her on stage. Two more concerts were given at Thessaloniki, followed by a summer tour around Greece and Cyprus along with the "Triphonon", dedicated to the great composer. On October 22, the album Haris Alexiou - A tribute to Manos Loizos was released, containing the live recording and video-taping of the concerts given at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus the previous June during the Athens Festival. Nikos Portokaloglou and the group "Triphonon" also appear on the album. The album was released in both a double CD and a double CD-DVD packaging by Estia recordings.
From Greece to Australia, from Russia to Africa, from America to Japan, Haris Alexiou travels around and shows the world the feeling of the Greek song. She firmly believes that the Greek song, through its poets and composers, made her love and better understand the history and the culture of her country.
