Anna Vissi is a Greek-Cypriot singer, and also younger sister of fellow participant, Lia Vissi, and is also the more famous of the two sisters.
From a very early age, she started singing; Anna was enrolled into a conservatory at age six. She would continue going through this path until the 1970s, where she moved to Athens to pursue a professional career. There, she collaborated with different artists and released promotional singles while attending the University of Athens.
In 1977, she released her debut album, As Kanoume Apopse Mian Arhi, which featured a song of the same name. This ended up winning Best Song at the Annual Song Festival of Thessaloniki, which got her further recognition. So much, that in 1978, she was considered by the ERT to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 1978. However, due to controversies about the composition, she was disqualified. That same year, her second album was released, which quickly went platinum.
Two years later, her Eurovision dream came true, when she represented Greece with the song Autostop. It ended up placing 13th with 30 points. She release two more albums afterwards, which both achieved gold status. In 1982, she participated at Eurovision again, this time representing Cyprus with a song she wrote herself Mono i agapi. It ended up placing 5th with 85 points, one of their highest-placing entries ever.
In May 1983, she married the composer Nikos Karvelas, who would become a frequent collaborator on her albums. The next year, she changed record labels to CBS Records Greece, where she worked until 2013. She released two more albums at the time; her Kati Simveni album featured the song Dodeka ("Twelve O'Clock"), which became one of her greatest hits.
In 1988, Anna debuted as a radio producer on ANT1 Radio, her show going on every weekend. The next year, she released another album, Fotia, which, despite having non-Greek sounds, became very successful.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, Anna performed around Greece and Cyprus as an actress, albeit to negative reviews. She also continued to release several albums during that time.
When Greece hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, the ERT selected Anna to represent them. This marked a successful return for her after two failed attempts in the 1980s. They offered her a choice between four songs, which she performed at a national final. The winner ultimately was Everything, and quickly became a favorite. However, it finished 9th with 128 points, ensuring Greek qualification to the final at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
Eurovision Song Contest 1980 | |||
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Participants | |||
Blue Danube • Adja Pekkan • Anna Vissi & The Epikouri • Sophie & Magaly • Samira Bensaïd • Alan Sorrenti • Bamses Venner • Tomas Ledin • Paola del Medico • Vesa-Matti Loiri • Sverre & Mattis • Katja Ebstein • Prima Donna • José Cid • Maggie MacNeal • Profil • Johnny Logan • Trigo Limpio • Télex | |||
Songs | |||
Du bist Musik • Petr'Oil • Autostop • Papa Pingouin • Bitaqat Hob • Non so che darei • Tænker altid på dig • Just nu! • Cinéma • Huilumies • Sámiid Ædnan • Theater • Love Enough For Two • Um grande, grande amor • Amsterdam • Hé, hé M'sieurs, dames • What's Another Year • Quédate esta noche • Eurovision |
Eurovision Song Contest 1982 | |||
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Participants | |||
Doce • Svetlana • Jahn Teigen & Anita Skorgan • Bardo • Neco • Kojo • Arlette Zola • Anna Vissi • Chips • Mess • Stella Maessen • Lucia • Brixx • Aska • Avi Toledano • Bill van Dijk • The Duskeys • Nicole | |||
Songs | |||
Bem bom • Cours après le temps • Adieu • One Step Further • Hani? • Nuku pommiin • Amour, on t'aime • Mono i agapi • Dag efter Dag • Sonntag • Si tu aimes ma musique • Él • Video Video • Halo, halo • Hora • Jij en ik • Here Today, Gone Tomorrow • Ein Bisschen Frieden |
Trivia[]
- Both of the Vissi sisters represented both Greece and Cyprus at one point.
- In an interview in 2006, she stated that she'd like to lose to Lordi of Finland, and the band also said that they'd like to lose to Anna herself.
- The Vissi sisters aren't the only non-twin sisters to represent their country at Eurovision - Inga and Anush Arshakyan did it together for Armenia in 2009 as well as O'G3NE for the Netherlands in 2017 (two of the sisters are twins). The only difference is that the Vissies didn't perform together.
- She is one of several contestants who participated at the Eurovision Song Contest in two centuries.