Notis Sfakianakis
Notis Sfakianakis Νότης Σφακιανάκης | |
|---|---|
Notis Sfakianakis performing live. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Panagiotis Sfakianakis |
| Born | 2 November 1959 Herakleion, Crete, Greece |
| Origin | Herakleion, Crete, Greece Kos, Dodekanisa, Greece |
| Genres | Folk, Pop, Rock |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1985–2020 |
| Labels | Sony Greece, Minos EMI, Universal Greece |
Panagiotis "Notis" Sfakianakis (Greek: Νότης Σφακιανάκης; born 2 November 1959) is a Greek singer of folk music, and is one of the most commercially successful artists of all time in Greece and Cyprus. Sfakianakis began his career in 1985, opening at nightclubs for other artists. He was discovered by Sony Greece and released his debut album Proti Fora in 1991.
While his first three releases were commercially successful, beginning in the mid-1990s, Sfakianakis released a series of multi-platinum albums that are among the best selling albums of all time in Greece. His signature song "O Aetos" is one of the most popular songs in Greek music history. Sfakianakis was the best selling artist of the 1990s and stands as the best selling Greek artist of his generation. However, in the 2000s he faced a significant commercial decline.
He then embarked on the Matomeno Dakry album trilogy (2009–2011). He has sold over 5 million records and in addition to these he has sold over 900 thousand copies of his albums as newspaper covermounts.