Michalis Hatzigiannis

Born on Cyprus’s Greek side, Mihalis Hatzigiannis saw his family displaced to the island’s opposite shore when Turkish forces invaded in 1974. He forged a distinctive singer/songwriter identity that found widespread favor in Greece even though Eastern European markets generally favored club and dance music. He first drew major attention at age 17 through Eurovision qualifiers, and by 20 he had already issued three platinum-certified hits in Cyprus plus a Eurovision entry that opened the larger Greek market to him. A fruitful soundtrack partnership preceded his debut full-length Greek album, which quickly earned double-platinum status and launched the artist into high-profile collaborations with leading Greek vocalists. Subsequent awards and acclaim led to official performances for Cyprus at the European Union induction ceremony and for Greece at the 2004 Olympics. Expanding beyond regional touring, Hatzigiannis reached diaspora audiences in Australia and the Chicago area of the United States. Maintaining an annual release schedule, he broadened his palette beyond the original singer/songwriter template to incorporate dance and electronica textures more typical of Eastern Europe. His tenth album overall, a second live set issued in late 2007, earned platinum certification almost immediately and stayed inside Greece’s Top Ten through autumn 2008.