Michalis Hatzigiannis (Greek: Μιχάλης Χατζηγιάννης; born November 5, 1979 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is a popular Greek Cypriot recording artist. From 2000 to 2009, Hatzigiannis has received over 30 certifications in Greece alone, making him one of most successful artists of the decade. Hatzigiannis is also known for representing Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998. In 2010, Forbes listed Hatzigiannis as the 22nd most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece and fifth highest ranked singer. He is a graduate of the Cyprus Music Academy (Royal College of London) with a degree in piano, guitar and music theory. When he was 15, he participated in a song contest in Cyprus, "Afetiries" where he won the first prize. In 1995, he participated in the Cypriot National Final for the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song "Filise Me", although he did not win. He started his career in Cyprus with three records that all went platinum: "Senario", "O Mihalis Hatzigiannis Traguda Doro Georgiadi" and "Epafi". He also participated in a musical production in Cyprus called "Pygmalion". In May 1998 he represented Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest. He performed the song "Γένεσις" (Yenesis - Genesis), a composition of his own and took the 11th position. Later in Athens, Greece, he collaborated with the composer Yiorgos Hadjinassios and the lyricist poet Michales Bourboulis to create the album "Άγγιγμα ψυχής" (Angigma Psychis - Touch of Soul), which was released in December 1998. The album had music pieces and songs for the TV series bearing the same title. The album went platinum. The two songs main songs are "Άγγιγμα Ψυχής" (Angigma Psychis - Touch of Soul) and "Το Σώμα Που Ζητάς" (To Soma pou Zitas - The Body You Seek). In March of 2000 Hatzigiannis released his first solo album with BMG Greece, "Παράξενη Γιορτή" (Paraxeni Giorti - Strange Celebration). Other composers and lyricists contributed to the making of this album, which was to produce some of the biggest hits of that year. The song "Μόνο Στα Όνειρα" (Mono Sta Onira - Only in Dreams) stayed at number one in the Greek radio airplay for several weeks. And two other songs from the album, "Παράξενη Γιορτή" (Paraxeni Giorti - Strange Celebration) and "Και Θα Χαθώ" (Ke tha Hatho - I’ll disappear), had similar successes. The album went double-platinum and was a career landmark for the young singer-songwriter in the Greek music scene. In November of the same year, he started to perform live shows in Athens. Early in 2001 he released the CD single "Δεν Έχω Χρόνο" (Den Eho Hrono - I Have No Time). It soon reached the top of the charts and went platinum. Later that year, he appeared live with the great Greek singer Haris Alexiou to great reviews. That summer, he toured Greece for the first time. In the spring of 2002 he released his second solo album "Κρυφό Φιλί" (Kryfo Fili - Secret Kiss), which has since gone triple-platinum. This album contains a series of big hits such as "Είσαι Εδώ" (Ise Edo - You Are Here), "Το Σ'αγαπώ" (To S’ Agapo - The Words "I Love You"), "Χωρίς Αναπνοή" (Horis Anapnoi - Breathless), "Η Εκδρομή" (I Ekdromi - Excursion), "Καπνός" (Kapnos - Smoke) among others. This album established him as one of the most successful singer-songwriters and promising performers in the Greek music scene. In the summer of 2002 he toured Greece again with even greater success. And in winter he shared the same stage with another Greek icon, singer Dimitra Galani. In 2003 he released "Μόνος Μου" (Monos Mou - All Alone), an E.P. containing five songs, which went triple platinum. One of the songs, "Αν Μου Τηλεφωνούσες" (An Mou Tilephonouses - If You Called Me) became a hit and the demand for strong airplay kept growing for months. And it still remains one of the most popular ballads in Greece. In the summer of 2003 he toured Greece with 63 sold out shows. He received three awards in the official Greek music awards in 2003 and four in 2004, including the award for the best male performer of the year. In April 2004 , he released his third solo record, "Ακατάλληλη Σκηνή" (Akatalili Skini - X Rated Scene), which increased his popularity in the Greek music scene. On 30 April 2004, he represented Cyprus at the official enlargement ceremony which took place in Warsaw, to mark the accession of ten new countries into the European Union. In the summer of 2004 he toured Greece and sang at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens. In winter he made about 100 appearances in Athens and Salonika with the hugely popular singer, Paschalis Terzis. Hatzigiannis in a 2005 concert in KateriniIn the summer of 2005 he toured Greece once again ending in September at Lycabettus Theatre, Mount Lycabettus, Athens with two sold out, recorded, concerts. In October he travelled to Australia for the first time and had three concerts. In November he started performing with Antonis Remos, in Athens until April 2006. In March 2006 he released his first live album taken from the recorded concerts in Lycabettus with three new songs, "Δε Φεύγω" (De fevgo - I'm not Leaving), "Δεν Είμαι Εδώ Για Κανένα" (Den ime edo gia kanena - I'm Not Here For Anyone) and "Μοιάζουμε" (Miazoume - We're Alike) all becoming hits. The live album also contained a DVD with photographs of scenes from the concerts and backstage. Later in April, he toured Canada and the U.S. with George Dalaras. And in May he went to Salonika where he appeared with Natasa Theodoridou. In summer he toured Greece performing 50 sold out concerts. In August he released a single, "Ola i tipota" (Ola i tipota - All or nothing). In December 2006 he released his fourth studio album, "Φίλοι και Εχθροί" (Fili ke ehthri - Friends and Foes) with some songs becoming big hits - "Να Είσαι Εκεί" (Na ise eki - Be There), "Αισθήματα" (Esthimata - Feelings), "Χέρια Ψηλά" (Heria psila - Hands High) and other. On 15 December, 2006 he began performing in Vox in Athens. In March 2007 he collaborated with German Rock band, Reamonn and released the hit "Tonight" with Greek lyrics by Eleana Vrahali. The song is included in the re-release of "Wish" by Reamonn and "Φίλοι και Εχθροί" (Fili ke ehthri - Friends and Foes) of Michalis Hatzigiannis. Later in June he released the single "Πιο Πολύ"(Pio Poly - More) with four songs: the new song "Pio poly", a Passion remix of "Pio poly", the duet "Tonight" with Reamonn and a Moscow electro mix of "Heria psila". He also started his summer tour in Greece,after his appearances in Vox which ended in May. In October and November he toured in Germany,the Netherlands,Switzerland and Belgium. On December 2007 he released his second live album, "Zontana Sto Likavitto" which went platinum from the first week of release. At the moment, he is appearing in Vox with Glykeria. Hatzigiannis was scheduled to tour North America in May 2008 with performances in various cities throughout the United States and Canada, but was unable to complete the whole tour due to problems with the US Government and the concert promoters Asteria Productions and Greek Chicago. On September 30, 2008, Hatzigiannis released a new CD single titled "Emeis I Dio San Ena". The single was once again used as part of the new OTE campaign during the summer. His new album will be out in the fall, and will be more dance and electro than his last.