Kalomira | |
|---|---|
 Kalomira inBelgrade in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Kalomoira |
| Born | Maria Kalomira Carol Sarantis (1985-01-31)January 31, 1985 (age 41) West Hempstead, New York, U.S. |
| Origin | Athens, Greece |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | www |
Maria Kalomira Sarantis (Greek:Μαρία Καλομοίρα Σαράντη; born January 31, 1985), known professionally asKalomira (sometimestransliterated asKalomoira), is a Greek-American singer. Born and raised onLong Island, she first came to prominence in Greece in 2004, after winning the Greek talent showFame Story. She has subsequently released four studio albums, representedGreece in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, and hosted various television shows.
Kalomira was born Maria Kalomira Sarantis on January 31, 1985, inWest Hempstead,Long Island.[1][2][3] Known to her immediate family as Carol (her childhood nickname),[1][2] her parents, Nikos and Eleni Sarantis, own a Greek restaurant. Her ancestry is fromLaconia,Peloponnese (Kremasti and Niata).[4][5] Since childhood, Kalomoira had the ambition to become a pop star.[6] She played theviola, which she studied for nine years and played in the school orchestra.[6] She was also Miss West Hempstead (Homecoming Queen) at her high school in 2003.[2][3] In 2003, she entered a music contest organized byWBLI Radio and won second place.[3] Following her appearance, she opened up several live shows with famous American artists, such asJessica Simpson,LL Cool J,Jennifer Love Hewitt,Michelle Branch andNick Lachey.[6]
Kalomira entered theNew York City auditions forAntenna's reality singing competition Fame Story 2, which was a licensed variant of theStar Academy franchise. She was one of two selected from over 200 auditions in New York. Despite speaking primarily English, and not speakingGreek fluently, Kalomira went to Greece after having completed one semester of college atAdelphi University where she was a music major with a scholarship.[7] Kalomira placed first and her professional singing career began.[6] Kalomira won the contest, earned 200,000 Euros and a recording contract withHeaven Music. The audience of the show loved her from the first time and they created the slogan"Irthes kai mas allakses ti moira, Kalomoira-Kalomoira" (You came and changed our destiny, Kalomira-Kalomira).
Kalomira performed inThessaloniki’s FOCUS from July 8 to August 14. While entertaining audiences by night, she was recording her first album by day. Outside of Greece, Kalomira has appeared onNBC’s "Today Show" and "Access Hollywood" during the events of the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens, UPN's Greek Parade where she sang live and was interviewed,Fox News, was in the "Washington Post", "Newsday" and "New York Times" and most currently featured onOprah for her Eurovision Performance, along with a number of other shows and websites.[8] On September 1, 2004, Kalomira released her 15-track debut albumKalomira, which went gold in Greece and Cyprus. Her lead single, "Nomizeis", became an instant hit and topping the charts in Greece. Next singles from the album was the songs "Ego eimai i Kalomira", "Pethaino Gia Sena", "Proti Mou Fora" and the christmas "Kai Tou Hronou". She then toured Greece accompanied by the rest of the "Fame Story" participants with appearances in Athens's "Thalassa". In the same year, she closed her season at the REX studio withDespina Vandi andThanos Petrelis. Kalomira received good reviews from critics and was awarded "Woman of the Year – Best Newcomer" by Life and Style magazine. Also in 2004, she had a minor credited role in the longest-running Greek TV drama seriesLampsi, playing the part of Jennifer Drakou for 30 episodes, where veteran director Nikos Foskolos compared her toAliki Vougiouklaki. Also, Kalomira performed twice inHerodium theatre like a surprise cake forDionysis Savvopoulos's birthday and she sangMarilyn Monroe's song, "Happy Birthday Mr. President".
In 2005, Kalomira released her second album titledPaizeis? (You Playing?) with 12 songs, of which two were written and composed by her. "Paizeis" and "Ki Olo Perimeno" were the two singles from the album that stood out with great success. She also agreed to appear withElli Kokkinou, Andreas Stamos andConstantinos Christoforou at the Piraeus 130 music club. In her program, she included covers of songs such as "Scandalous," "Don't Cha" and "Don't Phunk with My Heart," in addition to songs from her first and second albums. On April 11, 2005, she was a special guest on the first live concert of the first season ofStar Academy Bulgaria. For three months she had the role of co-hostess next to Eleonora Meleti on the showProinos Cafes (Morning Coffee).
In the fall of 2006, Kalomira became the female co-hostess on the hit Sunday night showPio Poli Tin Kiriaki (Even More on Sunday) alongsideGrigoris Arnaoutoglou onMega Channel. In December, she released her third studio albumI Kalomira Paei Cinema (Kalomira Goes to the Cinema). It's a concept album with the most popular classic songs from the old Greek Cinema. At that time they appeared withNikos Makropoulos,Aggeliki Iliadi andSarbel at the Fever nightclub.
At the end of 2007,Heaven Music chose Kalomira to be their contestant in the2008 National Final to represent Greece in theEurovision Song Contest 2008.[9] Kalomira picked anR&B style upbeat song with a Greek feel composed by Konstantinos Pantzis with lyrics by Poseidonas Giannopoulos titled "Secret Combination".[10] The song has an "American production" feel to it.[11] On February 27, 2008, Kalomira won the National Final with "Secret Combination" and representedGreece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. To promote the song, Kalomira had a pre-Eurovision tour and visited severalEurovision countries throughout March and April.[12]
In the first semi final, held on May 20, 2008, Kalomira fared well, coming in first place while at the Eurovision final, on May 24, she came in third behind Russia and Ukraine, with 218 points.[13] In an interview withEleni Menegaki, she said that above all she wanted the Greek people to be proud of the performance.[14]
Kalomira announced on her online diary that she recorded her new album during September and October 2007 in Greece. The album, namedSecret Combination: The Album, was released on May 29, 2008, and contained songs in bothGreek and English, including her Eurovision entry "Secret Combination". There is also a bonus rap remix of "Secret Combination" by Master Tempo. The writers are Konstantinos Pantzis, Tasos Vougiatzis and Sunny X.[15] Kalomira did not participate in the promotion of the album,[16][17][18][19] due to a dispute withHeaven Music.[19][16] She focused on presenting TV shows, including the Greek version of the game showBig in Japan which took place in Japan and featured 12 contestants.[20][21] For this tv show, Kalomira won two awards at the European Festival, the Best Show 2009 and the Best Reality Show 2009.
In January 2010, it was announced that Kalomira would be featured in a series of advertisements as the main spokesperson promotingDomino's Pizza in Greece.[22] In March 2010, Kalomira renewed her contract with Heaven Music. For her next single she collaborated with big producers in the world music industry. The single was called "Please Don't Break My Heart", which featured American rapper,Fatman Scoop and was produced byToni Cottura. The video was filmed in Turkey and the song premiered on Rythmos 94.9.[23]
In June 2011, Kalomira released her next single, which called "This Is The Time'". A music video premiered in July. In the summer of 2011 she toured Greece and Cyprus and then returned to America performing live concerts for Greeks abroad. On December 31, Kalomira did a concert for a charite causes, "Bring in 2012 with Kalomira!", for Greek Orthodox people in Washington DC. On February 22, 2012, her new single was released, only for husband's music company "Hot Kiss Records LLC", and was called "Other Side Tonight". The song was written by GMoney and Jeremy Beaber. On 2 March, Kalomira was presented with Australia's comedian actorAngelo Tsarouchas, a beauty pageantGreek Beauty Pageant - Kalistia 2012 in Canada. After that she was on a hiatus for two years due to the pregnancy of her twins.
In March 2014, Kalomira came back to Greece after two and a half years since her last appearance. She gave many interviews on television and magazines, and she sang as a guest star with Claydee Lupa the new version of "Secret Combination", in the national final of Greece's entry in theEurovision Song Contest 2014.
She started to do a concert tour in USA. The first stop was on June 3, 2014, in a football game for Greece and Nigeria in Philadelphia, where she sang the Greek national anthem and many songs. On June 6, she performed for the first time in Baltimore in the concert "St. Nicholas Greek Folk Festival 2014 featuring: Kalomira!". On July 23, she performed in New York City in the concert "The Loukoumi make a difference foundation". She performed withAnna Vissi,Gloria Gaynor,Constantine Maroulis andOlympia Dukakis.
In a 2014 interview, Kalomira said that she started her music career when she was eighteen and half years old. She has expressed herself through her music over a span of more than 10 years. Her music describes what she has gone through in her life.[24]
In the summer of 2015, Kalomira made a appearance on MAD VMA 2015 performing a new summer song titled "This Is Summer" released byPanik Records. Also, she gave some TV interviews and left for USA until the last month of 2016. That was a second hiatus from Kalomira because she gave birth to her third child.
In December 2016, Kalomira returned to Greece and recorded a Greek-language Christmas single titled "Ta Christougenna Afta", which was accompanied by an English version titled "Christmas Time" and released byHeaven Music. Kalomira participated as a hostess at the backstage of the new music talent showRising Star. Her next singles were "Shoot 'em Down" and "Lipstick 2017". The former was written by the producers of "Secret Combination".
From 2018 to 2020, Kalomira released the singles, "Mommy Loves You" dedicated to her children and "Gia Mia Zoi" in Greek and "You're Not Alone" in English version, which she wrote during the coronavirus pandemic. During these years, in 2019, she appeared on the fashion show MadWalk performingAriana Grande's song "No Tears Left To Cry".
In December 2022, she returned to Greece renewed with blonde hair. She performed Marilyn Monroe's song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" at the fashion music show, MadWalk.
In June 2023, she replaced the singer Biased Beast and became a coach for the actress Louisa Pyriochou on the showJust the Two of Us. They took the second place in the grand final of the show. Also she released a new single, after three years, which called "Stohos"(Goal) and toured in Greece throughout the summer. She performed along withStefania and the girl group 3SUM theEurovision Song Contest 2023 song "Cha Cha Cha" andDavid Guetta's song "I'm Good" at the Mad Video Music Awards.
In September 2023, it was officially announced that she will present the showI'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! together with George Lianos.
In 2010, she married real estate developer George Boosalis on September 26 at Saint Paul Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Hempstead, New York.[25] In December 2012 Kalomira gave birth to two twin boys. Four years later, in July 2016, she gave birth to a girl.[26]
All the albums listed underneath were released and charted in Greece and Cyprus.
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GR | CY | ||
| Kalomira |
| 1 | 1 |
| Paizeis? |
| 10 | 2 |
| I Kalomira Paei Cinema |
| 9 | 9 |
| Secret Combination: The Album |
| 13 | 10 |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GR | CY | ||
| Best Of |
| — | — |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GR | CY | ||
| Voutia Sti Vithoupoli |
| — | — |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRE | CYP | Other charts | |||
| "Nomizeis" | 2004 | 1 | 1 | — | Kalomira |
| "Ego Eimai I Kalomira" | 3 | 1 | — | ||
| "Proti Mou Fora" | 17 | 12 | — | ||
| "Kai Tou Chronou" | 2005 | 15 | 18 | — | Kalomira Special Gold Edition |
| "Pethaino Gia Sena" | 11 | 16 | — | Kalomira | |
| "Paizeis" | 3 | 9 | — | Paizeis? | |
| "Ki Olo Perimeno" | 2006 | 6 | 11 | — | |
| "Secret Combination" | 2008 | 1 | 1 | TUR: 18 DEN: 29 SWE: 38 IR: 46 EU: 67 UK: 71 CAN: 331 | Secret Combination: The Album |
| "Sto Diko Mou Rythmo" | 18 | 32 | SP: 4 | ||
| "Hot" | 2009 | — | — | — | |
| "Please Don't Break My Heart" (Kalomira feat.Fatman Scoop) | 2010 | 6 | 5 | — | Best Of |
| "This Is The Time" | 2011 | 25 | 38 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Other Side Tonight" | 2012 | — | — | — | |
| "This Is Summer" | 2015 | — | — | — | |
| "Ta Christougenna Afta" / "Christmas Time" | 2016 | 65 | — | — | Best Of |
| "Shoot 'em Down" | 2017 | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Mommy Loves You" | 2018 | — | — | — | |
| "Gia Mia Zoi" / "You're Not Alone" | 2020 | — | — | — | |
| "Stohos" | 2023 | — | — | — | |
| "Rolling" | 2024 | — | — | — | |
| "Amen" | — | — | — | ||
| "Papi" (Kalomira feat. Ripen) | — | — | — | ||
| "Magika Hristougenna"[27] | — | — | — | ||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRE | CYP | |||
| "Lipstick 2017" (Kim Diamantopoulos feat. Kalomira) | 2017 | — | — | Non-album single |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRE | CYP | |||
| "Gine Mazi Mou Paidi" | 2006 | 17 | — | CD single:Gine Mazi Mou Paidi |
| "Riko, Riko, Rikoko (T' Agori Mou)" | 2007 | — | — | I Kalomira Paei Cinema |
| "Thelo Ta Opa Mou" | — | — | ||
| "Afto To Mambo To Brazilero" | — | — | ||
| "Crazy Girl" | — | — | ||
| "Tou Agoriou Apenanti" | — | — | ||
| "Aliki Tsa - Tsa - Tsa" | — | — | ||
| "I Do" | 2010 | 72 | — | CD single:I Do |
| "Secret Combination (Pride version)" (Kalomira feat. Katerina Stikoudi & Mark F. Angelo) | 2024 | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Happy Birthday to You" | — | — | ||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRE | CYP | |||
| "Kathe Skepsi Mou... Esy" | 2004 | 18 | — | Kalomira |
| "Den Endiaferomai" | — | — | ||
| "Alitaki" | — | — | ||
| "Po Po Po" | — | — | ||
| "Tora" | 2005 | — | — | Paizeis? |
| "Mystiko" | — | — | ||
| "S' Agapo" | 2008 | — | — | Secret Combination: The Album |
| "Iparhoun Ores" | — | — | ||
| "Secret Combination (Master Tempo Mix)" (with Master Tempo) | — | — | ||
| "Please Don't Break My Heart (Ragga Version)" | 2010 | 13 | 9 | Non-album single |
| "Bes Sti Giorti" (with Andriana Babali, Idra Kayne, Markos Koumaris, George Lembesis, Panos Mouzourakis, Panagiotis Rallis, Sakis Rouvas, Tamta, Charis Varthakouris) | 2019 | — | — | Voutia Sti Vithoupoli |
| "Pano Sta Kimata" | — | — | ||
| Title | DVD details |
|---|---|
| Kalomira Special Karaoke Edition |
|
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fame Story | 2004 | Herself / Contestant | Season 2 of the GreekStar Academy Winner |
| Lampsi | 2004 | Jennifer Drakou / Guest star | Season 14 30 episodes |
| Proinos Cafes | 2005 | Herself / Co-Hostess | |
| Pio Poly Tin Kyriaki | 2006–2007 | Herself / Co-Hostess | Season 2 of the Greek entertainment show |
| Ellinikos Telikos 2008 | 2008 | Herself / Contestant | The Greek national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Winner |
| Eurovision Song Contest | 2008 | Herself / Contestant | 1st place in the first semi final 3rd place in the final |
| Big in Japan | 2009 | Herself / Hostess | The Greek version of theI Survived a Japanese Game Show |
| Ellinikos Telikos 2009 | 2009 | Herself / Performer | The Greek national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Interval act |
| Eurosong 2014 | 2014 | Herself / Performer | The Greek national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 Opening act |
| Rising Star | 2016–2017 | Herself / Backstage Hostess | Season 1 of the Greek version of theRising Star |
| J2US | 2023 | Herself / Coach & Contestant | Season 7 of the Greek version of theJust the Two of Us 2nd place |
| I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! | 2023 | Herself / Hostess | Season 1 of the Greek version of theI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get The Job | 2010 | Herself / Hostess | The first online reality show in Greece |
| Commercial | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Everest | 2004–2007 | Herself |
| JLo shop | 2008–2010 | Herself |
| GetItNow | 2009–2010 | Herself |
| Domino's Pizza | 2010 | Herself |
| Nature's Bounty | 2017 | Herself |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 Hronia Dionysis Savvopoulos | 2004 | Herself | Herodium Theatre |
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "Nomizeis" | 2004 | Kostas Kapetanidis |
| "Proti Mou Fora"΄ | 2004 | Manolis Tzirakis |
| "Pethaino Gia Sena" | 2005 | Kostas Kapetanidis |
| "Paizeis" | 2005 | Kostas Kapetanidis |
| "Gine Mazi Mou Paidi" | 2006 | Kostas Kapetanidis |
| "Ki Olo Perimeno" | 2006 | Kostas Kapetanidis |
| "Medley" | 2007 | Maria Stoka |
| "Secret Combination" | 2008 | Kostas Kapetanidis |
| "Please Don't Break My Heart" (featuring Fatman Scoop) | 2010 | Murat Onbul |
| "This Is The Time" | 2011 | Kostas Kapetanidis |
| "Ta Christougenna Afta" | 2016 | Vangelis Tsaousopoulos |
| "Shoot 'em Down" | 2017 | Thanos Gomozias |
| "Lipstick 2017" (with Kim Diamantopoulos) | 2017 | Alex Kostantinidis |
| "Mommy Loves You" | 2018 | Dimitris Paleologos |
| "Stohos" | 2023 | Yiannis Papadakos |
| Rolling | 2024 | Yiannis Papadakos |
| Title | Year | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| "This Is Summer" | 2015 | |
| "Ta Christougenna Afta" | 2016 | Creative Market Services |
| "Christmas Time" | 2016 | Creative Market Services |
| "Shoot 'em Down" | 2017 | Creative International |
| "Gia Mia Zoi" | 2020 | Kalomira |
| "You're Not Alone" | 2020 | Kalomira |
Headlining
Joint
Secondary act
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Totals[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nominations | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Life & Style - Women Of The Year | Best New Artist | Herself | Won |
| MAD Video Music Awards | Best New Artist | "Nomizeis" | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Eurovision Radio Awards | Best Song | "Secret Combination" | Nominated |
| Best Female Artist | "Secret Combination" | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Eurovision Awards | Best Performance | "Secret Combination" | Won |
| Life & Style - Women Of The Year | Best Female Artist | Herself | Nominated | |
| The Elios Spotlight Awards | Best Performing Artist | Herself | Won | |
| European Festival | Best Reality Show | "Big In Japan" | Won | |
| Best Show | "Big In Japan" | Won | ||
| 2011 | One Woman | Hottest Woman | Herself | Nominated |
| 2012 | One Woman | Hottest Woman | Herself | Nominated |
| LaLore02 Awards | Best Song | "Po Po Po" | Won | |
| 2013 | MAD Video Music Awards | Best Live Act - 10 Years MAD VMA | "Please Don't Break My Heart" | Nominated |
| LaLore02 Awards | Best Song | "Me Ponas" | Nominated | |
| 2015 | LaLore02 Awards | Best Song | "This Is Summer" | Nominated |
Media related toKalomoira at Wikimedia Commons
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Notis Christodoulou | Fame Story Winner 2004 | Succeeded by Pericles Stergianoudes |
| Preceded by | Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
