Sarbel

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Sarbel


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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Charbel Michael
Alias = Sarbel
Born = Birth date and age|1981|5|14|df=y, London, England, UK
Died =
Origin = Greece
Instrument =
Genre = Pop, modern laika
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Label = Sony BMG
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URL = [http://www.sonybmg.gr/microsites/sarbel/index.html Official Website]
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Sarbel Michael ( _el. "Σαρμπέλ Μιχαήλ"; _ar. "شربل مخائيل"; born 14 May 1981) [http://www.sonybmg.gr/page/artist/artists_greek.asp?art_id=41] , known professionally as simply Sarbel, is a British-Greek pop singer of half Greek Cypriot and half Lebanese ancestry. He is well-known in Cyprus and Greece for his debut single, "Se Pira Sovara", with guest appearance by Irini Merkouri which rose him to fame, and his following albums "Paraxeno Synesthima", "Sahara" and "Kati San Esena"

Biography

Early life

Sarbel Michael was born and raised in Southgate, London, England, to a Cypriot father, Elias, himself a singer and bouzouki player, and a Lebanese Maronite mother, a lawyer. Sarbel's family made frequent summer trips to Greece and Cyprus. He received a Jesuit education at St Ignatius' College in Enfield. Sarbel studied music (voice), drama, and performing arts. From the age of 5 to 16 he performed at the English National Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and has recorded Tosca in English for Chandos Recordings as the shepherd boy. [http://www.sonybmg.gr/page/artist/artists_greek.asp?art_id=41]

He was named after the Maronite Saint Charbel and his name is correctly pronounced "Sh"arbel", but since standard Greek lacks a "sh" sound, it is pronounced "S"arbel" according to the Greek transliteration ("Σαρμπέλ").

During his school years Sarbel was known to be 'highly motivated' and 'extremely polite', he led his schools Christian Union and ran for school president twice. However, Sarbel's love for singing escalated to souring heights, every year at St Ignatius Sarbel would highlight every talent event and blow everyone away with his angelic 5-Octave Vocal Range

Sarbel said in a recent interview in 2008 "Possibly in the next 5 years or so I will think about starting a family".

Music career

At 18, looking for some change in his life for his gap year, Sarbel went to Crete, where he sang at the Heraklion Palladium. [ [http://www.musiccorner.gr/extras/dream/05_sarbel.html MusicCorner article about his biography] . ] At the age of 21, still living on the Greek island of Crete since his gap year, he was signed on by Sony BMG (Greece) on a six-year recording contract. By the next year, Sarbel had hit the Greek, Cypriot, and Arabic music scene and gained a very popular status as a singer and sex symbol, particularly amongst young female fans.

2004-2005: "Parakseno Sinesthima (Παράξενο Συναίσθημα)"

He shot into the limelight in 2004, when he recorded the oriental hit "Se Pira Sovara", featuring popular Greek songstress Irini Merkouri, which first introduced the young singer to fans in Greece, but also across the Middle East (especially Cyprus and Lebanon). [ [http://www.musiccorner.gr/nees_kyklof/05/sarbel.html MusicCorner article about Sarbel's increase in popularity] ] The song is based on an Arabic song called "Sidi Mansour". On the same CD (a CD single) he released a second duet with Merkouri called "Agapi Mou Esi". In 2005, he released his first solo album, entitled "Paraxeno Synesthima". This album went Gold and was re-released with the Wella-sponsored song "Thelo na Petaxo" and a bonus track of "Boro Boro", which he made famous during his MAD Award Ceremony appearance. The songs "Se Pira Sovara", "Sokolata", and "Thelo Na Petakso" became hits and later turned into video clips.

2006: "Sahara"

In July 2006, he released his second album, "Sahara". That same year he recorded a duet with Greek singer Natassa Theodoridou called "Na' Soun Thalassa" which was also included as a bonus song on the album. The tracks "Taxe Mou" and "Sahara" instantly became a hit. Other singles from the album included "Sahara" and "Enas Apo Mas" which were all later turned into video clips too. In the same year, he once again performed at the Mad Music awards taking his popularity to a new height. This time he performed the song "Thriller" showcasing his English language talent.

2007: Eurovision and "Sahara: Euro Edition"

Seeing his growing popularity, Greek television ERT asked Sarbel to compete for a ticket to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki, Finland. Sarbel had to compete against established singer Christos Dantis and fellow new comer singer Tamta. Sarbel enlisted the help of popular Greek-Swedish composers Alex Papacostantinou, Marcus Englof, and Mack to write his song, who are responsible for many of popular Greek singer Elena Paparizou's hits. They wrote the song "Yassou Maria", which is performed in English with only the word 'ya sou' (and the name 'Maria') being Greek. There is also a version released in a mix of Greek and English.On February 28, 2007 Sarbel performed the song live against the 2 singers for the ticket. Although the performance had some sound problems, the went on to receive 39.69% of the combined televotes and jury votes, winning the contest. In an interview in March 2007, Sarbel made it clear that he doesn't want an international career by saying "I don't care either being famous abroad or starting an international career. I only care for Greece. I grew up abroad but choose to live in Greece. I can't tell you whether Eurovision helps my career or not, because I don't know. It's very dangerous. However, it is an experience I want to live. I want to have fun in the Contest and do my best." [ [http://www.oikotimes.com/site/index.php?id=8368 Oikotimes interview about his international ambitions] ] . Following the win, Sarbel toured Europe to promote his song. He also filmed the video clip for the song and changed the scene performance around a bit. The song eventually placed 7th at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

On March 12, 2007, "Sahara" was re-released as "Sahara: Euro Edition" and feature the "Yassou Maria" CD Single as a bonus. The CD single for "Yassou Maria" was released on March 7, 2007. The CD single includes "Yassou Maria", "Yassou Maria (Greeklish version)", "Enas Apo Mas" "(Special Holiday Mix)" and a duet with Persian singer Cameron Cartio called "Mi Chica". "Mi Chica" is recorded in a mixture of Greek, English, Spanish and Persian and is Latin in style with Greek pop elements.

2008: "Kati San Esena"

After Eurovision, Sarbel took some time off from music to relax. He did not join any singers in Athens in the 2007-2008 winter season, or release a new album. Following Elli Kokkinou's departure from club "Votanikos" due to her pregnancy, Sarbel took Elli's spot starting January 6, 2008 singing with Natassa Theodoridou and Nikos Kourkoulis. [ cite web | title = Who's performing where? | url = http://www.lgr.co.uk/music/news/12146/whos-performing-where/ London Greek Radio. Retrieved on March 23, 2008]

The new single "Eho Trelathei" was introduced at the Greek National Final 2008 on ERT. [ cite web | title = Live from Athens; and the winner is Kalomira (of course) | url = http://www.oikotimes.com/v2/index.php?file=articles&id=2736 Oikotimes. Retrieved on March 23, 2008] It is an blend of oriental elements with the main chorus being rock. This was followed by the release of the album "Kati San Esena".

To promote his new album amongst his fellow Londeners, he performed at the two day Cyprus Wine Festival of London in 2008. Sarbel felt that "My performance at the Cyprus Wine Festival (in London) is my chance to give something back to my community." And both performances brought tears to his friend's and family's eyes that still live in London. [http://www.lgr.co.uk/music/news/13011/sarbel-in-conversation/]

Discography

Albums

* 2004: "Parakseno Sinesthima" (Greece #9) GOLD
* 2005: "Paraxeno Sinesthima (Second Edition)"(Greece #12)
* 2006: "Sahara"(Greece #9)
* 2007: "" (Greece #11)
* 2008: "Kati San Esena (Greece #6)

CD singles

* 2004: "Se Pira Sovara"
* 2007: "Yassou Maria" (Greece#1) GOLD

Full Singles Discography

(Not all singles were released on CD)
* 2004: "Se Pira Sovara"
* 2005: "Sokolata"
* 2005: "Thelo Na Petakso"
* 2006: "Sahara"
* 2006: "Takse Mou"
* 2006: "Enas Apo Mas"
* 2007: "Yassou Maria"
* 2008: "Eho Trelathei"

Music videos

* 2004: "Se Pira Sovara"
* 2005: "Sokolata"
* 2005: "Thelo Na Petaxo"
* 2005: "Boro Boro/Chiculata" (Mad Music Awards) [Ft. Chrispa]
* 2006: "Thriller/Pano Stin Trella Mou" (Mad Music Awards) [Ft. Vanesa Adamopoulou]
* 2006: "Taxe Mou"
* 2006: "Enas Apo Mas"
* 2007: "Yassou Maria" (ERT Promo Video)
* 2007: "Yassou Maria" (Official Video Clip)
* 2008: "Echo Trelathei"

References

External links

* [http://www.sarbel.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/michaelsarbel MySpace (1)]
* [http://www.myspace.com/sarbelsmyspace Myspace (2)]
* [http://www.sarmpel.tk/ International Sarbel Fan-Club]
* [http://www.michael-sarbel.info/ Greek-English Fan Site]
* [http://www.sarbel-forum.tk/ International Sarbel Forum]
* [http://www.sarbel.getphoto.net/ Polish Fan Club]