Parafora (album)

Conception and development

Parafora is Rouvas' 13th studio album and first since Irthes (2008). Intentions to release the album became apparent after a contest held by one of his sponsors, Trident. Recording for the album began in the fourth quarter of 2009 with "Spase To Hrono" and spanned over one year. The last track was recorded on 15 November 2010 and the album recording was finished in its entirety one day later; Rouvas revealed his excitement via Twitter, stating that "I just finished recording the best album of my career!" The album's title and cover were revealed on 10 December 2010.

For his previous album, Irthes, Rouvas collaborated almost exclusively with Dimitris Kontopoulos, who was also commissioned to write all three of Rouvas' candidate songs for his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, as well as the composer and producer of his album, with the exception of one track. Working namely with one main composer is something that Rouvas had not done since Kati Apo Mena (1998) and not completely exclusively since Tora Arhizoun Ta Dyskola (1996). For Parafora, Rouvas reverted to using several songwriters and producers. The majority of the songwriters and producers are new collaborators and recent hit makers relatively new to the music industry. Kontopoulos, who first collaborated with Rouvas for To Hrono Stamatao (2003), resumed his role as a composer, producer, arranger, programmer, and instrumentalist, with eight contributions to the album, including the singles "Spase To Hrono" and the title track. Others who have never previously collaborated with Rouvas include Playmen, Beetkraft, Antonis Skokos, Greek-German Leonidas "Freakchild" Chantzaras, who composed "Nekros Okeanos" and produced "Emena Thes", and Dimitris Fakos who wrote both its music and lyrics. Songwriters who exclusively contributed lyrics to the album include Natalia Germanou, who first collaborated with Rouvas on Min Andistekese (1992), Pigi Konstantinou and Giannis Rentoumis who first collaborated with the artist on Irthes, and new collaborators Sunny Baltzi, Vagia Kalantzi, and Nikos Kostidakis, who wrote "Parafora".

Shortly after the release of the title track a controversy arose between its songwriters following an article published by Love Radio revealing that Kostidakis was actually lyricist Nikos Moraïtis under the alias of his mother's maiden name. Love Radio alleged that Moraïtis, best known for his collaboration with Cypriot artist Michalis Hatzigiannis, was forced to use the alias as he was intent on being part of Rouvas' new album project but could not as he had made a deal with Hatzigiannis not to write for any other artist until after the release of his album, To Kalitero Psema, which was slated for release around the same time as Rouvas' album. Moraïtis responded to Love Radio, revealing that he was in fact Kostidakis, but denying that he had a secret deal with Hatzigiannis or that he wanted to collaborate with Rouvas and stated that he had never done so due to artistic differences. He further alleged that Kontopoulos had not received permission from him to give it to Rouvas. However, in the album's liner notes, he is not credited under his alias but rather under his actual name. Sakis Rouvas Music continues to have creative and financial control over the production, a role which it has assumed since Iparhi Agapi Edo (2006).

Rouvas revealed that the album was created with his upcoming 20th anniversary in September 2011 in thought. The content was inspired by his relationship with his fans, experiences, and music and ideas he had created the past two decades, all merging into one album. Furthermore, the album represents a turn in his career into the next phase.

Composition and themes

Describing the album in a press release prior to its physical release, record label Minos EMI stated thatParafora offers new innovations in sound as well as "inspired lyrics". It includes a blend of pop, rock, dance, and electronic genres. "Spase To Hrono", "Parafora", "I Dio Mas", "An Pote", "Gia Mas", "Agapise Me", "Kalokairi Kai Fos", "To Allo Sou Miso", and "Proti Nihta" are electronic songs, while "Emena Thes" is a romantic hard rock power ballad where Rouvas professes his love to a woman who denies being in love with him. "Nekros Okeanos" is also a rock ballad, while "Tipikes Epafes" and "I Akri Tis Klostis" are R&B ballads. "Gela" and "S'agapo Kai Fevgo" pop/rock songs, the latter being one of the few mid-tempos on the album.

Artwork

The cover of the album was revealed on 10 December 2010. It features Rouvas wearing a white T-shirt against a white background with different colour paints splattered over himself, as well as the new "Sakis" logo displayed below. There was also a photo shoot for the creation of a fan magazine which will include the lyrics of the songs. He is dressed in apparel from his eponymous ready-to-wear clothing line, Sakis Rouvas Collection.

Singles

Even before the album's physical release the singles proved highly successful, with two singles out of three topping the domestic airplay chart. The first single of the album, "Spase To Hrono" became Rouvas' fourth consecutive single to top all Greek charts, including the Billboard digital sales and both the domestic and mixed airplay charts. It was released more than one year prior to the album's release, on 20 November 2009 and its video is directed by Vasilis Bourandas. "Emena Thes" was released on 4 May 2010. It reached number 12 in the mixed airplay chart and its music video was directed by White Room, featuring an innovative animation effect that had never before been used in Greek cinematography. The third single and title track was released on October 2010, making it the most singles released by Rouvas from an album prior to its actual release. It peaked at number one on the domestic airplay chart for six weeks The album's fourth single is "Oi dio mas" that peaked at number one of the domestic airplay chart being the sixth single of Sakis Rouvas doing so. Additionally, was the number one song on the 2011 year-end Media Inspector airplay chart. In Nielsen Music Control's year-end top 100 Greek airplay songs, Rouvas ended 2010 with "Spase To Hrono" at number five with 15,055 transmissions even though the song was released in 2009 while "Parafora" placed 65th.

Release and promotion

In 2009, "Spase To Hrono" and "Pio Dinata" a Greek-language remix of his 2009 Eurovision Song Contest entry "This Is Our Night" along with tracks from the reissue of the same name of Irthes, were released physically as an extended play titled Spase To Hrono. In addition to this, Rouvas appeared on several shows and radio stations in promotion of the album and singles. He performed "Emena Thes" at the 2010 MAD Video Music Awards. He performed the songs "Spase To Hrono", "+ Se Thelo", and "This Is Our Night" at the Mykonos Xlsior Festival for gay pride on 27 August and was also scheduled to perform at the first Εurovoice on 23 September, as one of four celebrities along with performers Enrique Iglesias, Anastacia, and host Pamela Anderson, although his appearance was later canceled one day prior to the event due to undisclosed issues. On The X Factor, where Rouvas has been the presenter since the first season in 2008, he performed "Spase To Hrono" in the second season and later performed "Parafora" in the third season première. Additionally, that episode was partially Rouvas themed, with several contestants performing his hits, while "Emena Thes" was performed by another contestant on a later date. On the 11 December episode, Parafora was exhibited and discussed. On 2 February, Rouvas was one of eight main acts participating in the first MADWalk, an equivalent to the international Fashion Rocks, where he represented Celia Kritharioti Haute Couture and performed "I Dio Mas" and "Gia Mas". Models Vicky Kaya and Doukissa Nomikou were also featured in his performance. On The X Factor semi-final on 4 February 2011, Rouvas performed the songs "Nekros Okeanos", "I Dio Mas", and "Gia Mas" and a special tribute video of his best X Factor moments was played. Rouvas was the first guest ever on Vrady Me Ton Petro Kostopoulo in October 2010. He additionally did a radio interview with Rythmos 94,9 who promoted the release of "Spase To Hrono". The release of "Parafora" and the album preview were conducted by Love Radio 97,5. As he had also done in 2009, in collaboration with Love Radio Rouvas presented Sakis Live in Love on the eve of Valentine's Day at Athens Arena. Rouvas performed a medley of the dance hits from the album as well as + Se Thelo at the 2011 MAD Video Music Awards in a Mission Impossible-style theme where he ascended from the ceiling onto the secondary stage with a wire, with his arms covered in henna tattoos and a dance troop dressed as aliens on the main stage where he eventually joined. His performance was the most acclaimed of the night. He was also featured on the cover of the magazines Status, 7Meres TV, Cosmopolitan, Down Town, Esquire, It's Me Super, Marie Claire, Life Style, Tiletheatis, X Magazine, People, and Nitro and also gave interviews to Sunday Ethnos and Glow.

Rouvas also promoted the album through his account on the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, where he began trending the album. From 10 December 2010, Rouvas began posting roughly 30-second teasers of the tracks up until the album's release. He had announced a "surprise" for his fans at 20:00h, beginning with "I Dio Mas" and "Nekros Okeanos". The following day he did the same with "Tipikes Epafes" and "Gela", then "I Akri Tis Klostis" and "Kalokairi Kai Fos" the day after that, concluding with "Agapise Me" and "To Allo Sou Miso" on the eve of the album's release. He placed the remaining four tracks, "Gia Mas", "S'agapao Kai Fevgo", "An Pote" and "Proti Nihta" online as well in the following two days. There was a high demand for Rouvas' song samples, causing "mayhem" on the internet. On 11 December the official television advertisement for the album was released.

Trident continued to sponsor Rouvas' works. In March 2010 Trident held a contest, the largest ever of its kind, called "Spase to hrono me ton Saki Rouva kai Trident" (Shatter time with Sakis Rouvas and Trident) in promotion of the first single as well as Trident Senses. The ultimate winner would get the opportunity to spend 48 hours with Rouvas, ten would get to be featured in his upcoming music video for "Emena Thes", and a further 100 would receive his new studio album prior to its release date. The album was released on 14 December 2010 in both retail stores and newsstand kiosks. A special edition including a pictorial fan magazine with a new photo shoot and the song lyrics is distributed by print publisher Ekdoseis Liberi via newspaper kiosks. Like other merchandise distributed by print publishers, it carries a fixed price of 12.90 euros. The album was released digitally on 24 December 2010 on all iTunes in the Eurozone as well as Australia and New Zealand. It is awaiting release in the United States and Canada under this manner as well, where his previous album was also released. In 2010, Rouvas also signed a distribution deal with Bulgaria's Virginia Records, and the album is awaiting a physical release there.

Tours

Rouvas performed as the main act at the concert-themed stage The S Club, where he had ownership, from December 2009–April 2010 with supporting acts Tamta, Eleftheria Eleftheriou of the second season of the Greek The X Factor, American rapper Gifted, and the group Cabin 54. The show, without Eleftheriou and Gifted, moved to Thessaloniki at Politia for a six-week engagement. During that time Rouvas also visited ten cities on his mid-2010 tour. Having confirmed their collaboration in March 2010, Rouvas collaborated with Anna Vissi for the Face2Face shows from October 2010 into the first quarter of 2011 on Fridays and Saturdays at Athens Arena. On 17 December 2010, the album's material was added to the set list in the revamped leg of the shows.

Initial reaction

The demand for Rouvas' song samples before the release of the album was grand, causing "mayhem" on the internet. They attracted thousands of listeners and fans who left comments, something that was unprecedented for this type of upload according to Yupi. The album received favourable reactions from the internet audience who generally agreed with Rouvas' previous statement of it being the best album of his career.

MAD TV conducted a poll for its readers about who had the best album out of Rouvas, Michalis Hatzigiannis, and Anna Vissi; Rouvas won the poll with 36 per cent of the vote, with the other two artists attaining 31 per cent each.

Commercial performance

During the economic crisis of the late 2000s, it became common practice for Greek artists to release new studio albums prior to their retail release as covermounts in Sunday edition newspapers or magazines in order to increase exposure for both themselves and the print release. Although these editions are sold for a slightly increased amount than the daily price, they are still fairly lower than the retail cost of a standard album. According to To Paron, newspapers began bidding for Rouvas' new album even prior to the release of the first single in 2009 and his album garnered more attention than that of any other artist by marketers. Based on this anticipation, the newspaper estimated that bids would exceed the previously speculated highest amount of 150 thousand euros per 250 thousand unit distributions offered to high-profile artists such as Michalis Hatzigiannis, who was offered such for a previously released studio album. Despite high interest, Rouvas remains one of the few artists who have decided against releasing an album in this manner, as he instead opted for a direct retail release.

Two other high-profile artists, Michalis Hatzigiannis and Anna Vissi, released their albums, To Kalitero Psema and Agapi Einai Esi, within days prior and following Parafora, respectively. This triggered a sense of direct competition among the media, curious to which artist would ultimately have the best album. On 17 December 2010, Rouvas thanked his fans via Twitter for the support they showed for his album and promised another surprise for Monday. On Tuesday, 21 December, he reminded his fans about what he had promised, and later announced that Parafora had gone double platinum within one week of sales, denoting shipments of at least 24 thousand units, although the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of Greece has yet to announce this. Parafora debuted during week 50 of the IFPI Top 75 Albums chart at number two, coming behind Hatzigiannis' To Kalitero Psema. It remained there for a second week and on its third week it reached number one, trading places with Hatzigiannis' album, where it remained for two consecutive weeks. By its fifth week, the album dropped to No. 2, being surpassed by the soundtrack of Patty, I Pio Omorfi Istoria before descending to number three then nine before suddenly disappearing from the chart in its eighth week, although it re-entered the chart at number three during its ninth week, giving it its eighth non-consecutive week in the top ten and seventh within the top three.

The album showed a strong performance on the records charts and also sold thousands of digital copies via iTunes, leading to "record-breaking sales" that "have rocketed it to the top of the most successful albums of the year", according to ANT1. The album will be certified multi-platinum (number of discs has not yet been announced) on 7 December 2011 at eight o'clock at the Athens Metro Mall open for fan attendance.

Accolades

Pavlos Zervas of Music Corner listed the song "S'agapao Kai Fevgo" as one of the 20 best songs of 2010 in the Mainstream Greek Pop category, despite it not having been released as a single., while he listed "Parafora" as one of the top 20 in the Greek dance category, and Chrysa Kosmidou listed "Emena Thes" as one of the 20 best Greek ballads.

The music video of "Spase To Hrono" received five nominations at the 2010 MAD Video Music Awards — more than any other video in history, including Best Pop Video, Fashion Icon of the Year, Sexiest Video and also contributed to his nominations for Male Artist of the Year and Artist of the Year. It won three in the pop, fashion, and Artist of the Year categories, while he also won an award for his collaboration with Tamta for a total of four awards and equaled the most awards ever won by an artist in one night. The song also won Best Balkan Song from Greece and contributed to his win as Best Greek Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2010 where he was then shortlisted in the category Best European Act. For the second consecutive year, Rouvas received the Singer of the Year title at the 15th Status Men of the Year Awards, making him tied as the most honoured musician in the award's history. He won three awards, again the most of any artist that night, at the 2011 MAD Video Music Awards, including Best Pop Video and Video of the Year for "Parafora" and for the third consecutive year, the most coveted prize, Artist of the Year for "I Dio Mas", becoming the artist with the most honours in that category.

Track listing

(*) Co-producer

Awards

Balkan Music Awards

MAD Video Music Awards

MTV Europe Music Awards

Status Men of the Year Awards

Personnel

All personnel adapted from liner notes