Eleni Foureira is a naturalised Greek, Albanian singer and dancer.
34 Facts About Eleni Foureira
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Eleni Foureira began her music career in 2007 as a member of the Greek girl group Mystique, pursuing a solo career after the group disbanded in 2009.
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Eleni Foureira later signed with Minos EMI, and went on to release her second and third studio albums Ti Poniro Mou Zitas and Anemos Agapis in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
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Eleni Foureira left Minos EMI in 2015, and signed with Panik Records.
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Eleni Foureira was born as Entela Fureraj on 7 March 1987 in Fier, Albania.
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Eleni Foureira's mother is a seamstress, while her father works in construction.
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Eleni Foureira grew up in the Eastern Orthodox faith, and has a grandfather who was from Greece.
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Eleni Foureira began pursuing music at a young age, learning how to play guitar and later working in a theatre for three years.
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Eleni Foureira began her music career as a member of the girl group Mystique.
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Eleni Foureira was discovered by Andreas Giatrakos, and the group consisted of Alkmini Chatzigianni and Maria Makri.
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Eleni Foureira appeared on the charity program Just the Two of Us, hosted by Mega Channel.
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Eleni Foureira tied for first place along with singer Panagiotis Petrakis.
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Eleni Foureira released her self-titled debut studio album in December 2010.
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Eleni Foureira was a judge on season three of the Greek version of So You Think You Can Dance.
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Eleni Foureira has made several attempts to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest.
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Eleni Foureira attempted to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Come Tiki Tam", but was rejected by Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.
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In February 2018, it was confirmed that Eleni Foureira would represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Fuego".
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Eleni Foureira was seen as one of three ethnic Albanians competing that year, each of them representing different countries.
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Eleni Foureira posed with Albanian contestant Eugent Bushpepa, making the crossed hands gesture denoting the double eagle of the Flag of Albania.
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Shortly after Eurovision 2018, Eleni Foureira signed a record deal with Sony Music.
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On 17 May 2019, Eleni Foureira released her first international project, an extended play titled Gypsy Woman, which includes the song "El Ritmo Psicodelico" as the lead single.
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Around the same time, during the Host Broadcaster press conference of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, Eleni Foureira was announced as one of the four artists from previous contests that will perform as an interval act in the final, where she performed the 2007 runner-up Verka Serduchka's song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai".
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Towards the end of 2020, Eleni Foureira released two dance-pop, electropop, nu-disco, and synth-pop records "Light It Up" and "Dokimase Me", both of which contain 1980s and retrofuturism tropes.
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On 3 June 2022, Eleni Foureira released her fifth studio album, Poli Ploki, preceded by the singles "Mporei" and "Aeraki ".
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Eleni Foureira announced the "Reborn Tour" which will take place in stadiums and major theaters in Greece, Cyprus and abroad.
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On 13 November 2022, Eleni Foureira announced her pregnancy via her Instagram account.
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Eleni Foureira gave birth to a baby boy on 7 February 2023.
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Eleni Foureira later claimed that her father was from Athens and her mother from Ioannina, although she had some Mexican ancestry as well.
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In 2018, Eleni Foureira confirmed that she became a Greek citizen through descent, and declared that her grandfather was Greek.
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In 2013, it was reported by the Greek media that Eleni Foureira was born in Albania and that her birth name was Entela Fureraj.
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Eleni Foureira did not comment on the reports until 2014, when she confirmed them.
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Eleni Foureira claimed that she did not reveal her origin in order to be accepted in the music industry in Greece.
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Eleni Foureira continued claiming she never understood the issue, since she always felt Greek and she has received only Greek education.
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Andreas Giatrakos, who discovered Eleni Foureira and recruited her to join Mystique, later stated that he wanted Eleni Foureira to be proud of her origin and would not have rejected her if he knew she was born in Albania.