- Nikki Ponte
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Nikki Ponte
Νίκη ΠόντεBirth name Nikki Ponte Born 1 August 1991
Toronto, CanadaOrigin Toronto, Canada Genres Pop, dance, R&B, soul Occupations Singer Instruments Vocals, piano Years active 2010–present Labels Sony Music Greece Nikki Ponte (Greek: Νίκη Πόντε; born 1 August, 1991), is a Canadian-Greek Cypriot singer who rose to fame in Greece and Cyprus through her participation in the third season of Greece's version of the singing competition The X Factor, in which she placed third. While still participating in the show, she signed with Sony Music Entertainment Greece and was one of six candidates which were selected to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Ponte competed in a national final held in March 2011 with the song "I Don't Wanna Dance", but did not manage to win.
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Early life
Nikki Ponte was born in Toronto, Canada to immigrant parents; her father is Portuguese and her mother is originally from Cyprus. Ponte is fluent in English and proficient in Greek. She attended St. Monica Catholic School for elementary school, and later Saint Mary Catholic Secondary School in Pickering, Ontario. She took opera lessons for ten years and attended Sheridan College's renowned Music Theatre Performance program.
The X Factor
In 2010 at age 19, Ponte auditioned for Greece's talent show The X Factor at auditions held in New York City. Ponte received approval from the judges and was invited to bootcamp in Athens, Greece, eventually making it through to the live shows. Throughout the competition, she was one of the favorites to win and would spend her free time in her hotel room alone practicing her songs. She ended up placing third.
Performances
Lives Date Song Singer Live 1 29/10/10 Teenage Dream Katy Perry Live 2 05/11/10 Mamma Mia ABBA Live 3 12/11/10 You Lost Me Christina Aguilera Live 4 19/11/10 Take It Off Kesha Live 5 26/11/10 I Who Have Nothing Tom Jones Live 6 03/12/10 Ta Paidia Tou Peiraia Melina Mercouri Live 7 10/12/10 Like A Prayer Madonna Live 8 24/12/10 Monday Morning Melanie Fiona Live 9 31/12/10 Song 1: I Like It/Firework (Opening) Enrique Inglesias ft Pitbull/Katy Perry Song 2: Respect Aretha Franklin Song 3: You Are The One I Want John Travolta ft. Olivia Newton Live 10 07/01/11 Song 1: Only Girl Rihanna Song 2: Empire State of Mind Alicia Keys Live 11 14/01/11 Song 1: All That Jazz Musical Chicago Song 2: Telephone Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce Live 12 21/01/11 Song 1: All That She Wants (Opening) Ace Of Base Song 2: When You Tell Me That You Love Me Diana Ross Song 3: Baby One More Time Britney Spears Live 13 28/01/11 Song 1: Crazy Girl Zoe Laskari Song 2: Woman In Love Barbara Streisand Song 3: Kommati Ap' Tin Kardia Sou Despina Vandi Live 14 04/02/11 Song 1: Bad Michael Jackson Song 2: Hurt Christina Aguilera Song 3: Ipirhes Panta Sakis Rouvas Song 4: S'agapo Antonis Remos ft. Alkistis Protopsalti Post-The X Factor
2011–present: Professional debut
After a few months of living in Greece, she was granted Greek-Cypriot citizenship due to her Cypriot descent. While still in the competition, she caught the attention of Greece's Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) and was sequentially approached and signed by Sony Music Entertainment Greece.[1] On 11 January 2011, ERT announced that Ponte was one of six participants in a national final to select Greece's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011.[2][3] She competed with the song "I Don't Wanna Dance" in the national final held on 2 March 2011, but did not manage to win. The song was released as a digital single in February 2011.[4]
In mid-2011, she was featured on Dimension-X's single "Hey You". She was also featured on the soundtrack of Winx Club 3D: Magical Adventure with the song "Mesa Ston Thavmaton Ton Kosmo", performing the theme song to the film. In November 2011, Ponte released the single "Remembering The Summer Nights".[5]
Discography
Digital singles
- 2011: "I Don't Wanna Dance"
- 2011: "Hey You" (Dimension-X feat. Nikki Ponte)
- 2011: "Mesa Ston Thavmaton Ton Kosmo" (Winx Club 3D: Magical Adventure OST)
- 2011: "Remembering The Summer Nights
Music videos
- 2011: "Hey You" (Dimension-X feat. Nikki Ponte)
References
- ^ Konstantopoulos, Fotis (19 February 2011). "Meeting Nikki Ponte (NF 2011)". Oikotimes.com. http://www.oikotimes.com/eurovision/2011/02/19/meeting-nikki-ponte-nf-2011/. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ Floras, Stella (11 January 2011). "Greece: Newcomers to fight for the ticket to Dusseldorf". ESC Today. http://esctoday.com/news/read/16461. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ ""Ποιοι κόπηκαν για Eurovision..."/"Who was cut from Eurovision?"". SportDog. 12 January 2011. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportdog.gr%2Farticle%2F6217%2Fpoioi-kopekan-gia-eurovision. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ "I Don't Wanna Dance - Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc.. 14 February 2011. http://itunes.apple.com/gr/album/i-dont-wanna-dance-single/id420884675. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (19 November 2011). "Greece: Nikki Ponte releases new song!". ESCToday.com. http://esctoday.com/news/read/17842. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
External links
The X Factor (Greece) Series 1 · 2 · 3Presenters Judges Winners Loukas Giorkas · Stavros Michalakakos · Haris AntoniouNotable contestants Related articles Categories:- Canadian female singers
- Greek female singers
- Canadian people of Greek descent
- Canadian people of Portuguese descent
- 1991 births
- Living people
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