Sakis Rouvas, born on the 5th of January, 1972 is one of the most prominent stars of the Greek celebrity constellation. There’s hardly anything he hasn’t tried his hand at!
Born on Korfu, he grew up in a family that knew the meaning of hardship. This however proved no hindrance to young Sakis, as he showed athletic talent already at the age of 4. At the same time he also took ballet classes, spurred on by his parents who both have background from the theatre. He was soon bitten by the bug and at the age of 10 starred in his first production. This led him to discover hidden talents in another area: music. He learned to play the guitar as a teenager.
At the age of 15, athletics once again came to play a pivotal role in his life, as he was accepted onto the Greek national gymnastics team. He stayed with the team as a pole vaulter until the age of 18, due to increasing financial pressures put on his family and his desire to contribute to their upkeep. He came to the conclusion that he would be able to make a better living from music and he consequently left for Patras at the age of 18.
It was here he had a chance encounter with Dakis, then one of the most influential stars in Greece. It was Dakis who helped Sakis with the opportunity to showcase his abilities. He was promptly discovered by reps from the PolyGram label who offered him a recording contract in 1991. A move to Athens was then the next move in his strategy to climb to the top of the Greek music scene. The first professional recognition of Sakis as an artist came in 1991 when he took part in the Thessaloniki Song Festival. He lost out to then unknown Giorgios Alkaios, but went on to win the Best Composition award with a song incidentally written by another well known figure in Eurovision, Nikos Terzis.
Since then, he hasn’t looked back. His debut album hit the stores in 1992, entitled Σάκης Ρουβάς, becoming an instant smash and producing two major singles, Πάρ’τα (Take Them) and γύρνα (Come Back). Since then, he has gone on to release 13 other albums; Μην Aντιστέκεσαι (1992), Για Σένα (1993), Αίμα, Δάκρυα & Ιδρώτας (1994), Τώρα Αρχίζουν Τα Δύσκολα (1996), Κάτι Από Μένα (1998), 21ος Ακατάλληλος (2000), Όλα Καλά (2002), Το Χρόνο Σταματάω (2003), Σ’ έχω Ερωτευθεί (2005), Υπάρχει Aγάπη Eδώ (2006), ‘Ηρθες (2008), This Is Our Night (2009) and Παράφορα (2010), 4 of which have made #1 in Greece, all of them selling to gold status or higher . In addition, Sakis has also released over 80 singles, all of which have become huge radio hits in his native Greece, and 9 of which have topped the charts.
ERT managed to get Sakis Rouvas to step in as Greek representative of the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, when their reality selection process Eurostar had come a cropper. Shake It was unlike most of Sakis’ other music, in that it was heavily influenced by a Meditterranean sound. Needless to say, it sparked a media and public frenzy in Greece, igniting renewed interest for the contest and going on to take third place at the contest; Greece’s best placing at the time. Shake It also went on to become the biggest selling single of the year in Greece, acheiving 4 x platinum status and shifting over 110,000 units – one of the most succesfull singles of all time.
Sakis has also forayed into the world of the silver screen, with 4 film credits to his name as well as being a popular choice for programme host on television which began with Sakis as host alongside Maria Menounos for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 and continued with him hosting the Greek X-Factor series from 2008 until the present.
But it’s not all about sales figures and success with Sakis – he also has a number of humanitarian causes close to his heart, particularly where children and the environment are involved. He has also championed various philanthropic causes, amongst others support for the legalisation of gay marriage and gay rights, a touchy subject in Greece. Because of his prominent status, he has often been cited as one of the most influential Greek celebrities, with Forbes ranking him third most influential Greek and top ranked singer.
