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Impressions after reading the interview by Nikos Economopoulos (Nikos Oikonomopoulos), given to the musical Internet site “Tralala.gr” (3rd February 2010) ********************************************************************************* One month after the release of his last album “Katathesi Psychis” (“An Offering from the Soul”) Nikos Economopoulos, a singer with the most amazing voice in contemporary pop music, gave a big interview to the music site “Tralala.gr”. Talented young reporter Riana Kourakou’s focus of the interview was mainly on the topic of the songs featured on the CD. With disarming sincerity the singer provided answers to numerous questions, which for the most part were aimed to reveal the inner self of him as a person. In this interesting conversation Nikos comes across as a very serious, dedicated professional and, at the same time, as a good-hearted down-to-earth young man. As we all know, skilful journalists are often able to lead the person they are interviewing in the direction that they, the reporters, have in mind. But with Nikos Economopoulos this was not possible, as his main priority – his work as an artist – consistently comes out through many of his answers. For example, when Riana asks him about what he needs to maintain his mental balance, Nikos says: “Just because I am a workaholic lately and I love my job, above all I want to be healthy and secondly, I want to progress with my work. I want people to love and to appreciate my work, because, honestly, I do it with total love and a big commitment.” On other occasions, when the interviewer is trying to lead him onto the topic of relationships, Nikos emphasises: “In my life, the only thing I have now is my job! I can not live without it, I simply can not!” In an attempt to perhaps shine the light on a guy-next-door personality, Riana asks, if Nikos sometimes feels, like all of us, bored with his job. But the singer replies in a clear way, which yet again reminds us - he is a professional in the best meaning of the word: “No! I always eagerly anticipate my gigs all week long. We work Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So, from Monday I am waiting for Friday!” In his earlier interviews Nikos has already emphasized his love of hard work and here again Nikos puts his work ethic on the list of his personal qualities he likes: “I am a man of work. I don’t like to be lazy” At the same time Nikos is mentioning, that to keep his voice in a good condition he needs to sleep up to 10 hours a day. I would add: no limits of sleep time for you, Nikos, because we need these beautiful overtones, which make your sound unique! Music and people in the business obviously occupy a big part of Nikos Economopoulos soul, which he is generously offering to the public (the singer has confirmed in the interview, that the title of his album corresponds to what he is doing). It is with great sadness that Nikos speaks about Michael Jackson’s death: “I was depressed, as if a person who was very close to me died. A strange thing, which many people felt, not just me! It was something special. This man was a phenomenon! Hardly will we expect to experience such an artist again!” At the same time Nikos expresses his happiness regarding his collaboration and friendship with Giannis Parios: “I think it would be an impossible dream for a new singer like me. It is very important!” (Another singer Nikos would like to work together is Anna Vissi). In addition to this, Nikos is very grateful to other people who have helped him in his music career, such as Thanasis Papageorgiou and Nikos Manolias. At the same time he points out, that without the love of people in general no work can bring a result and his big love and duty are for his public. But Riana’s interview also managed to reveal some personal details about the singer which were particularly touching and special. Personally I found it very symbolic, that Nikos loved to play football in his childhood. Probably research might reveal about the positive influence of playing football on voice development. Remember the tenors/footballers: Pavarotti? Carreras? Regarding his private life Nikos does not hide the fact, that he dreams about a good family life in future and shares his thought about the ideal woman for him: “I prefer a woman who will be with me because she loves me truly, not because of who I am as a name, because in essence we are all equal and we all live in the same society. I need very simple things, like everyone else.” The interview is a long one and I don’t see a reason to re-write it. But there were words said there I feel like it is necessary say again. These words show perfectly who Nikos Economopoulos really is, and I will finish my review with them: “The joys, generally in life, whether it is business or personal, occupy a very small space, regardless of whether you are a singer or not. There is more sorrow there, it’s for sure! For me, however, an incredible moment I live for is when I come up on stage to sing and people applaud me.” Lucy Vaganova, Auckland, New Zealand ps My gratitude to Theo Simeonidis and Eirini Eusebi for helping me with editing of this review.
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Nikos Economopoulos, Nikos Oikonomopoulos, Eirini Eusebi, Theo Simeonidis, Tralala.gr, Riana Kourakou, Giannis Parios, Anna Vissi,
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