Eleni Foureira (Ελένη Φουρέιρα; born Entela Fureraj, Εντέλα Φουρεράι; 7 March 1987) is a naturalised-Greek Albanian singer and dancer.
Eleni Foureira was born Entela Fureraj on 7 March 1987 in Fier, then part of the People's Socialist Republic, present Albania.
Her mother is a seamstress, while her father works in construction.
She has three siblings: Ioanna, Margarita, and Giorgos.
Foureira grew up in the Eastern Orthodox faith, and has a grandfather who was from Greece.
1997
When she was four years old, the family moved to the city of Vlorë, and later moved to Greece due to the Albanian Civil War in 1997.
While living in Albania, the family had electricity for only two hours a day, and left for Greece after their home was hit with bullets.
Upon arriving in Greece, Foureira and her family settled in Athens.
Foureira began pursuing music at a young age, learning how to play guitar and later working in a theatre for three years.
Foureira began her music career as a member of the girl group Mystique.
She was discovered by Andreas Giatrakos, and the group also consisted of Alkmini Chatzigianni and Maria Makri.
2007
She 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.
She has released five studio albums since.
They released their debut single "Se alli selida" in 2007, and later achieved success with the single "Min kaneis pos de thymasai" featuring Greek hip hop group NEVMA the following year.
2009
They broke up in 2009.
After Mystique broke up, Foureira signed a solo contract with Universal Music Greece, the same label as Mystique.
She appeared on the charity program Just the Two of Us, hosted by Mega Channel.
She tied for first place along with singer Panagiotis Petrakis.
2010
Foureira signed a solo contract with Universal Music Greece and released her self-titled debut album in 2010.
Foureira released her self-titled debut studio album in December 2010.
Afterwards, she signed with Minos EMI.
In 2010, she took part in the Greek national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with Manos Pyrovolakis, performing the song "Kivotos tou Noe".
2012
She 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.
Both albums were well-received in Greece and Cyprus.
Her second album Ti Poniro Mou Zitas was released in 2012, while her third Anemos agapis was released in 2014.
2015
Foureira left Minos EMI in 2015, and signed with Panik Records.
From 2015 to 2016, she starred as Sofia in the musical Barbarella: the 80's Musical in Athens, alongside other Greek pop stars such as Ivi Adamou and Katy Garbi.
Following the release of Anemos agapis, she left Minos EMI and signed with Panik Records.
She was a judge on season three of the Greek version of So You Think You Can Dance.
2017
Her fourth studio album Vasilissa was released in December 2017.
Her fourth studio album Vasilissa was released in 2017.
Foureira has made several attempts to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest.
2018
After being rejected several times in her efforts to represent Greece, Foureira represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Fuego".
She was one of three ethnically Albanian competitors.
On 8 May 2018, she qualified from the first semi-final to the grand final, where she finished second with 436 points, thereby achieving Cyprus' best Eurovision result to date.
2019
In 2019, Foureira released the EP Gypsy Woman, followed in 2020 by the release of singles "Yayo", "Temperatura" and "Light It Up".
In 2021, she hosted the Greek talent show House of Fame - La Academia at Skai TV.
Afterwards, she collaborated with Greek rapper MadClip on the song "Mporei", which became one of the biggest hits of the year in Greece.
The song "Aeraki (To Thiliko)" followed with similar success.
On 3 June 2022, she released her fifth studio album, called "Poli_Ploki".
