Eleftheria Eleftheriou

Eleftheria Eleftheriou
Eleftheriou performing in August 2012
Background information
Native name	Ελευθερία Ελευθερίου
Birth name	Eleftheria Eleftheriou
Born	(1989-05-12) 12 May 1989 (age 27) Frenaros, Cyprus
Genres	Dance, pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, musician, actress
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Sony Music Greece (2010–2011) Universal Music Greece (2011–present)

Eleftheria Eleftheriou (Greek: Ελευθερία Ελευθερίου; Greek pronunciation: [elefθeˈria elefθeˈriu]; born 12 May 1989) is a Greek Cypriot singer, musician, and actress. She came to prominence through her participation in the second season of the Greek version of The X Factor. Shortly after her elimination, Sony Music Greece signed her and submitted her as a candidate to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. She was later disqualified from the national final, following the leak of her song onto the internet by an unknown party.

Eleftheriou had previously participated in the Cypriot national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Play That Melody To Me" featuring Maria Zorli, finishing seventh in the final. Eleftheriou represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, with the song "Aphrodisiac", where she placed 17th (9th on the televoting).

Eleftheriou was born and raised in Frenaros. Growing up, she enjoyed drawing and dancing, and was an athlete with a passion for singing. At the age of nine, she started courses at a conservatory. From a young age, she started learning piano, theory, harmony, and history of music. At the age of 15, she started voice lessons, and at age 16, she started participating as a soloist in the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation's national folk orchestra.

That same year, Eleftheriou was a candidate to represent Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Play That Melody to Me" featuring Maria Zorli. Although she passed the first semi-final, she finished seventh in the national final. Despite not winning the national final, Eleftheriou decided to continue studying music and performance, enrolling at the University of Surrey. She started singing solo in the Cypriot music scenes at the age of 18, and performed in the musical Rent in Nicosia for one season.