Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas is a Greek singer, dancer, actor, model and entrepreneur. He is one of Greece's biggest superstars, starting his career in 1991 and is well known for having broken down cultural barriers between his country and Cyprus.
In the Greek musical realm, his tenor vocals, complex choreography, costumes, and technological advancements have been credited with transforming music videos and live performances. In addition, he is notable for avoiding traditional Greek influences, shifting towards more pop rock influences where pop was formerly a niche genre in Greece.
He represented his country at Eurovision on two separate occasions. His first attempt was at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul with the song Shake It. He was hotly tipped to win, however he finished in third place in both the semi and the final. It was enough, though, for Greece to claim an automatic berth at the 2005 contest.
He returned 5 years later at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow performing the song This Is Our Night. Qualifying from the semifinal in 4th place, he went on to gain another top 10 finish for Greece, finishing 7th. Between his two appearances as a contestant, he co-presented the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens with Maria Menounos.
Like his Eurovision successor Helena Paparizou, he is currently one of the four coaches on the Voice of Greece.
Trivia[]
- Sakis was the voice of Lightning McQueen in the Greek dub of the Disney movie Cars. He is one of three Eurovision representatives to have voiced the character in an international dub of the movie, the others being Koit Toome (Estonia 1998 and 2017), who voiced the character in the Estonian dub, and Martin Stenmarck (Sweden 2005), who voiced the character in the Swedish dub.