Annet Artani

Annette Denise Stamatelatos (born 6 September 1976), better known by her stage name Annet Artani (Αννέτ Αρτάνη in Greek), is a Greek-American singer and songwriter. She is best known for representing Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Why Angels Cry", as well as co-writing the worldwide hit "Everytime" with Britney Spears.

Artani was signed to Ultra Records and her debut single "Alive" was released in March 2009.

Early life Artani was born Annette Denise Stamatelatos in Flushing, New York to Gregory and Julia Stamatelatos. Her family originates from the village of Karavados on the island of Kefalonia, Greece. She is named after her maternal grandmother, Anneta, and she chose to use her paternal grandmother's first name, Artani, in her stage name, as a dedication to both of them. While in the US she uses the name "Annette", she was advised to spell it "Annet" in Europe to avoid being called Annet-Te. She graduated from Queens College and received an associate's degree from Five Towns College. The group sang Greek rock songs which were fused with classical elements.

Musical career 1994–2002: Beginnings Artani expressed her interest and love for music at a young age, particularly in offerings of such greats as Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, and Madonna. and has also won several talent titles in America's Favorite Pageants, the New York Star Pageant, the Ophelia Devoure Talent Connection, and has been featuring in both Pageantry and Billboard Magazine.

Over the years, Artani incorporated influences of singing in her college Gospel choir, as well as listening to R&B, pop and rock music. She started off her singing career as an opening act for Mando, a Greek pop star, and was featured in her own summer concert in 1995. Following the end of the tour, Spears and Artani began to forge a friendship. Spears invited Artani to her house in Los Angeles, California. According to Artani, their relationship grew out of their shared romantic experiences at the time. She explained, "Basically, we commiserated because she, at that time, had broken up with Justin [Timberlake]. Maybe like nine months before, but of course it was really fresh in the media. I was just breaking up with this guy, so we kind of like—I think we kind of needed each other." Artani stayed at Spears's house for a few weeks, in which they started writing songs at the piano. Shortly after, they traveled to Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy. Artani added, "It was me and her, her stylist and Felicia, and we had this humongous house to ourselves, and they had a piano there as well".

Artani was managed at the time by American music manager Andrian Adams. In lieu of a management fee, she gave Adams a 7 per cent share of the publishing rights to "Everytime", which, according to the Financial Times, he subsequently auctioned on eBay in October 2005, selling it to a music industry executive for £97,300.

According to Artani, "Everytime" was written in large part as a response to "Cry Me a River" as well as various radio interviews. Artani explained, "He was getting personal. Here, she had a different type of image, and he was really exposing some stuff that she probably didn't want out there, and in front of her little sister ... I remember her sister being mortified and her being mortified. I'm sure that that really hurt her." "Everytime" was released as a single on 17 May 2004 through Jive Records, and was positively received by critics, who complimented its simple lyrics and the organic feel of the song. The single also achieved commercial success, peaking inside the top five in most countries, while reaching the top of the charts in Australia, Hungary, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

2004–2006: Start of solo career and Eurovision 2006 In 2004, Artani entered the third edition of the Greek reality singing show Fame Story. She wrote three candidate songs, however, she never submitted them after talking it over with the network and realizing the strings attached. She had already left her Greek record label Virus Music and had signed to a label in the United States, but by submitting the songs, she would have to be signed to a Greek label once again, which would have meant unsigning in the US. Artani felt that it would be better to be obligated to her US label instead as it could do more for her career. "Alive" was released as an eight-track digital download on 31 March 2009 through iTunes and was accompanied by a music video in the months succeeding. It was then licensed by Ultra Records worldwide and became available in all iTunes music stores.

In an interview with Radio International on 18 November 2009, Artani announced that she was working on her second single which was produced by Swedish producer Ishi Mughal and described it as a "sort of" remake of The Supremes 1966 hit "You Keep Me Hangin' On". During the interview, she played an exclusive clip of the unfinalized song as well as the previously unheard song "Nothing Lasts". She ended the interview by playing a new version of her song "Too Late" which was remixed by her friend Greg Christos. In 2011, Artani released "Mouthful of Me", shot in Joshua Tree National Park by Norwegian director Torgeir Ensrud, which went viral. In 2012, Artani signed with American Bombshells Entertainment, under the alter ego of "Nettie" and performed for veterans and troops all over the world, as well as on NBC's "The Winner Is" on 11 July 2013. In 2013, Artani was signed with Notting Hill Music Publishing in the United Kingdom and was writing songs for artists internationally.

She is also a member of Identity Crisis, a funk fusion band based in New York, which toured the east coast.

In 2019, Artani was a political activist and lead singer of Citizens United Protest Band.

Personal life Artani married talent agent Kirk Ceballos in a Greek Orthodox ceremony held on 3 July 2010 at Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Brooklyn, with their nuptials covered by Greek People Magazine, among other media from Greece. The two had been dating since May 2008. However, Artani filed for divorce in 2011 that was issued in 2012.

Discography Albums 2006: Mia Foni

Maxi singles 2005: "Goodbye Amor" 2006: "Why Angels Cry" 2009: "Alive" 2011: "Mouthful of Me" 2012: "You Asked for It"

Credit as writer 2004: "Everytime" performed by Britney Spears 2010: "Nothing Lasts Forever" performed by Girl's Day