Katy Garbi


Katerina "Katy" Garbi is a Greek singer. Her career has spanned over 35 years with over 2 million records sold in Greece and abroad. Garbi's discography is marked by several multi-platinum releases, including Arhizo Polemo and Evaisthisies, two of the best-selling albums of the decade. Garbi represented Greece in the annual Eurovision Song Contest in 1993 with the song "Ellada, chora tou fotos", taking ninth place. She later struck her biggest commercial success with To Kati in terms of unit sales. Over the years, Garbi has won 11 Pop Corn Music Awards, including three for Album of the Year, and one Arion Music Award. On 14 March 2010, Alpha TV ranked her among the top-certified female artists in Greece's phonographic era.

Early life

Katy Garbi began her singing career with her younger sister Liana, as the "Garbi Sisters", in the summer of 1977, when she was just 16 years old and Liana just 13. Due to their age, their father was against their work as singers, but he did not want to stand in the way of the future that he felt their talent offered them. They are most remembered for the backing vocals they provided at Yannis Floriniotis's performances in the early eighties.

Career

Early solo career

Breaking away from the duo with her sister Liana, Garbi recorded her first solo song "Sain Trope". Her official debut in discography came in 1987, when she appeared as one of the artists on a new compilation album called Ta Deka Dekaria alongside other new singers including Manto, Polina, Sophia Vossou and Laurentis Mahairitsas. In addition to "Sain Trope", early contributions also included a duet with Kostas Haritodiplomenos titled "Glyka".
With the success of the first album, the second volume was released in 1989 which featured Garbi in two new songs titled "Ah, Afto Mou Aresei" and "Zo Na S'Agapo". These early songs grabbed the attention of Greek music executives, and led her to her first record contract with CBS Records Greece, paving the way for her first studio album in 1989.

1989–1993: The beginning and Eurovision

Two years after her recorded music debut, Garbi released her debut personal album titled Prova in 1989. In 1990 and 1991 she released her second and third studio albums: Gyalia Karfia and Entalma Silepseos, respectively. Both albums fared well and allowed her to rise in the ranks of the Greek music scene.
By 1992, Garbi released her fourth album Tou Feggariou Anapnoes. Garbi took on a more pop approach to her music, faring well with audience as she would gain her first certification when the album achieved gold certification by IFPI.
In 1993, she accepted the offer to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993 with the song "Ellada, chora tou fotos", where she stirred up controversy in the Greek media due to the slit blue dress she wore. Garbi's performance placed Greece 9th with 64 points. Garbi holds the Eurovision record for the individual singer with the longest camera close-up. During her performance, the camera showed a focused close-up of Garbi, fixed for 43 seconds before cutting to a different angle.

1994–1997: Further success

Following her highly publicized participation at Eurovision, Garbi's popularity began to climb, releasing albums that reached platinum certification, including platinum album Os Ton Paradeiso and the double-platinum album Atofio Hrysafi in 1994. During that time, Garbi released a duet with her then boyfriend Dionisis Shinas. Years later he would make a marriage proposal live in front of a national TV audience while promoting the song on Mega Channel's show Bravo hosted by Roula Koromila.
In 1996, Garbi released Arhizo Polemo, which was eventually certified three times platinum. In 1997, Garbi followed up her success by releasing her eighth studio album titled Evaisthisies which also reached triple-platinum status. The album included a duet with rising singer Antonis Remos on the song "Asimfonia Haraktiron". That same year, Garbi also performed at Radio City Music Hall on 9 May 1997, becoming the first Greek female artist to do so. From 1994 to 1997, Garbi won eight Pop Corn Greek Music Awards. Her 1994, 1996, and 1997 releases were awarded as the best albums in each year at the Pop Corn Greek Music Awards.

1998–1999: Christmas album and Doro Theou

For Christmas 1998, Garbi recorded a Christmas album of popular Christmas carols titled Hristougenna Me Tin Katy all adapted with Greek lyrics by Eleni Giannatsoulia. The album had been a wish by Garbi for many years. Hristouyenna Me Tin Katy is a collaboration with well-known Greek children's choir of Spiros Labros, while the internationally known tenor Konstantinos Paliatsaras is also featured on one track. Since its release in 1998, sales of the album have increased with the coming of each Christmas season. In fact, although it was popular during the time of its release, it was not until 2002 when it gained its gold certification, four years after its release.
1999 saw the release of Garbi's platinum album Doro Theou as a dedication to her newborn baby boy Dimitris. The title track was written in celebration of Garbi and Shina's one year wedding anniversary. Singles from the album included "Doro Theou", "Agkires", and "Aponomi Dikeosinis".

2000–2001: To Kati, Anna Vissi and Ti Theloune Ta Matia Sou

In 2000, Garbi released her eleventh studio album titled To Kati, a double CD with her greatest hits by Phoebus, but it also included seven new songs, four of which became singles, including a duet with fellow singer Natassa Theodoridou in the song "Epitelous", awarded Best Duet/Collaboration at the Pop Corn Music Awards of 2000. To Kati was certified four times platinum, and remains one of the best selling albums of the 2000s. In the same year, the Greek faction of the Eurovision OGAE submitted "To Kati" to the international OGAE Song Contest. In representing all of Greece with the song, Katy took 5th place with 103 points, behind Sweden, Italy, Turkey and Spain.
After the success of To Kati, Garbi partnered up with fellow Greek singer and friend Anna Vissi for a duet titled "Kalitera I Dio Mas" on Vissi's album Kravgi. The song was a massive radio success, with two music videos being made; Version A and Version B, fun videos that saw Garbi and Vissi lightheartedly playing around as friends.For the winter season of 2000–2001, Garbi appeared with Anna Vissi and boyband One at Club Fever.
In December 2000, Garbi released the maxi single "Ti Theloune Ta Matia Sou" which was certified platinum. "Ti Theloune Ta Matia Sou" featured three new songs and two remixes of the title track which was a collaboration with the popular Greek pop rock band Exis. Kostas Tournas wrote one of the B-side tracks called "Kane To Logariasmo".

2001–2003: Apla Ta Pragmata, The Remixes and Emmones Idees

In 2001, Garbi released her twelfth studio album titled Apla Ta Pragmata, a double CD featuring 31 tracks and produced by Yannis Doulamis. The first CD features songs composed by Nikos Terzis, who also had written Garbi's earlier hit single "Pesto M' Ena Fili" as well as a duet with the young duo Antique titled "Einai Adiko Kai Krima". The album included the hits "Viastika" and "Thelo Apopse Na Horepso". Apla Ta Pragmata was certified double-platinum in Greece and in Cyprus and earned Garbi the Modern Laiko Female Singer of the Year award at the Arion Music Awards.
In 2002, Sony Music released the EP Remix Plus and the non-stop compilation CD titled Katy Garbi Hit Mix.
In late 2002, Garbi released the EP Mia Kardia, which was certified double-platinum on the Greek Singles Chart. "Mia Kardia" became a hit in Greek clubs, characterized by a mix of sounds including a tsifteteli song, a techno-infused club song, a Hindi inspired song, and a duet with Giorgos Tsalikis.
In 2003, Garbi worked with the group 667 on a song titled "Aeraki" which was included on the group's album. Later on that year Garbi released the album Emmones Idees ; "Na Pernas", "Andres", "Esena Mono", and a duet with Yiannis Vardis titled "Poso Tha Thela" were well received singles from the album. In first for the Greek recording industry, a bonus DVD was released with the album containing the music videos and behind-the-scenes footage from Mia Kardia. Within a week, Emmones Idees had sold over 30,000 units achieving golden certification, heading steadily towards becoming platinum. To celebrate, Sony Music and whisky label Dewar's held an official presentation of the new gold album as well as a multi-platinum award ceremony of Garbi's past albums which had not officially been awarded certification plaques for reaching status sales. The albums and singles awarded were: Mia Kardia, Apla Ta Pragmata, Ti Theloune Ta Matia Sou, To Kati, Doro Theou, Hristougenna Me Tin Katy .

2004–2005: Galazio Kai Lefko and Eho Sta Matia Ourano

In 2004, Garbi released her second EP titled Galazio Kai Lefko, a title reflecting the national colors of Greece as a dedication to her country. It also featured a new high bass song titled "Katapliktiko" and two remixes of "Esena Mono", which gained airplay and a number one position on the club charts. The "Esena Mono" remixes also gained success in other countries such as Russia, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
In 2005, Garbi released her moderately successful 14th studio album "Eho Sta Matia Ourano" which achieved gold certification in Greece and Cyprus. The album was written by Christos Dantis and also featured a duet between the two under the title "Spaciba Baby". Other songs that gained radio airplay included the pop single "Akouse Agori Mou", which Garbi performed at the 2005 Mad Video Music Awards.
That same year Garbi was a judge on the fourth and final installment of the hit talent music show Fame Story, where she presented the song "Isovios Desmos", a duet between her and contestant Stathis Raftopoulos. The song made history as it was the first ever digital download track released in Greece. Later that year Garbi recorded the Greek song "Stohos" composed by popular Turkish singer Nazan Öncel for Planetworks, a dance and electronic label based in Greece, on their album Al Bazaar 3. Her song "Esena Mono" was mixed with the Turkish hit "Leili" by Mokka and became a music video named "Mokka vs. Katy Garbi".