Kalomira

Maria Kalomira Sarantis Boosalis (; née Sarantis; born January 31, 1985), known professionally as Kalomira, is a Greek-American singer. Born and raised on Long Island, New York, she first came to prominence in Greece in 2004, after winning the Greek talent show Fame Story. She has subsequently released four studio albums, represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, gaining the third place and hosted various television shows.

Early life Kalomira was born Maria Kalomira Sarantis on January 31, 1985, in West Hempstead, Long Island. Known to her immediate family as Carol (her childhood nickname), Since childhood, Kalomoira had the ambition to become a pop star. She played the viola, which she studied for nine years and played in the school orchestra. Kalomira gained the first place and her professional singing career began.

Kalomira performed in Thessaloniki’s FOCUS from July 8 to August 14. While entertaining audiences by night, she was recording her first album by day. Outside of Greece, Kalomira has appeared on NBC’s "Today Show" and "Access Hollywood" during the events of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, UPN's Greek Parade where she sang live and was interviewed, Fox News, was in the "Washington Post", "Newsday" and "New York Times" and most currently featured on Oprah for her Eurovision Performance, along with a number of other shows and websites. On September 1, 2004, Kalomira released her 15-track debut album Kalomira, which became gold in Greece and Cyprus. Her lead single, "Nomizeis", became an instant hit, topping the charts in Greece. The next singles from the album were the songs, "Ego eimai i Kalomira", "Pethaino Gia Sena", "Proti Mou Fora" and the Christmas song, "Kai Tou Hronou". She then toured Greece accompanied by the rest of the "Fame Story" participants with appearances in Athens's "Thalassa". In the same year, she closed her season at the REX studio with Despina Vandi and Thanos Petrelis. Kalomira received good reviews from the critics and was awarded the, "Woman of the Year – Best Newcomer Award”, by Life and Style magazine. Also in 2004, she had a minor credited role in the longest-running Greek TV drama series Lampsi, playing the part of Jennifer Drakou for 30 episodes, where veteran director Nikos Foskolos compared her to Greece’s most famous actress, Aliki Vougiouklaki. Kalomira performed twice in the Herodium theatre, emerging out of a cake as a surprise for the musician’s Dionysis Savvopoulos's birthday singing Marilyn Monroe's song, "Happy Birthday Mr. President".

2005–2006: Paizeis?, I Kalomira Paei Cinema, and Pio Poly Tin Kiriaki

In 2005, Kalomira released her second album titled Paizeis? (You Playing?) with 12 songs, of which two were written and composed by her. "Paizeis" and "Ki Olo Perimeno" were the two singles from the album that stood out with great success. She also agreed to appear with Elli Kokkinou, Andreas Stamos and Constantinos Christoforou at the Piraeus 130 music club. In her program, she included covers of songs such as "Scandalous," "Don't Cha" and "Don't Phunk with My Heart," in addition to songs from her first and second albums. On April 11 2005, she was a special guest on the first live concert of the first season of Star Academy Bulgaria. For three months she had the role of co-hostess next to Eleonora Meleti on the show Proinos Cafes (Morning Coffee).

In the fall of 2006, Kalomira became the female co-hostess on the hit Sunday night show Pio Poli Tin Kiriaki (Even More on Sunday) alongside Grigoris Arnaoutoglou on Mega Channel. In December, she released her third studio album I Kalomira Paei Cinema (Kalomira Goes to the Cinema). It's a concept album with the most popular classic songs from the old Greek Cinema. At that time they appeared with Nikos Makropoulos, Aggeliki Iliadi and Sarbel at the Fever nightclub.

2007–2009: Eurovision Song Contest, Secret Combination: The Album, and Big in Japan

At the end of 2007, Heaven Music chose Kalomira to be their contestant in the 2008 National Final to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Kalomira picked an R&B style upbeat song with a Greek feel composed by Konstantinos Pantzis with lyrics by Poseidonas Giannopoulos titled "Secret Combination". The song has an "American production" feel to it. On February 27, 2008, Kalomira won the National Final with "Secret Combination" and represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. To promote the song, Kalomira had a pre-Eurovision tour and visited several Eurovision countries throughout March and April.

In the first semi- final, held on May 20, 2008, Kalomira, was the first to pass through to the finals. At the Eurovision final, on May 24, she reached the impressive third place, behind Russia and Ukraine, with 218 points. In an interview with Eleni Menegaki, she said that above all she wanted the Greek people to be proud of the performance.

Kalomira announced on her online diary that she recorded her new album during September and October 2007 in Greece. The album, named Secret Combination: The Album, was released on May 29, 2008, and contained songs in both Greek and English, including her Eurovision entry "Secret Combination". There is also a bonus rap remix of "Secret Combination" by Master Tempo. The writers are Konstantinos Pantzis, Tasos Vougiatzis and Sunny X. Kalomira did not participate in the promotion of the album, due to a dispute with Heaven Music. For this tv show, Kalomira won two awards at the European Festival, the Best Show 2009 and the Best Reality Show 2009.

2010–2014: International collaborations, a brief pause and concert tours

In January 2010, it was announced that Kalomira would be featured in a series of advertisements as the main spokesperson promoting Domino's Pizza in Greece. In March 2010, Kalomira renewed her contract with Heaven Music. For her next single she collaborated with big producers in the world music industry. The single was called "Please Don't Break My Heart", which featured American rapper, Fatman Scoop and was produced by Toni Cottura. The video was filmed in Turkey and the song premiered on Rythmos 94.9.

In June 2011, Kalomira released her next single, which was called, "This Is The Time'". A music video premiered in July. In the summer of 2011 she toured Greece and Cyprus and then returned to America performing live concerts for Greeks abroad. On December 31, Kalomira did a concert for the charity cause, "Bring in 2012 with Kalomira!", for the Greek Orthodox community in Washington DC. On February 22, 2012, her new single, “Other Side Tonight” was released by "Hot Kiss Records LLC", which is the company she and her husband own. The song was written by GMoney and Jeremy Beaber. On 2 March, Kalomira presented together with Australia's comedian actor Angelo Tsarouchas, the Greek Beauty Pageant - Kalistia 2012 in Canada. After that she stopped working for two years, due to the pregnancy of her twins.

In March 2014, Kalomira came back to Greece after two and a half years from her last appearance. She gave many interviews on television and in magazines. She sang as a guest star the new version of "Secret Combination", with Claydee Lupa at Greece's National Final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.

She toured performing concerts in the USA. The first stop was on June 3 2014, in a football game for Greece and Nigeria in Philadelphia, where she sang the Greek national anthem and many songs. On June 6, she performed for the first time in Baltimore in the concert, "St. Nicholas Greek Folk Festival 2014 featuring: Kalomira!". On July 23, she performed in New York City in the concert, "The Loukoumi make a difference foundation". She performed with Anna Vissi, Gloria Gaynor, Constantine Maroulis and Olympia Dukakis.

In a 2014 interview, Kalomira said that she started her music career when she was eighteen and half years old. She has expressed herself through her music over a span of more than 10 years. Her music describes what she has gone through in her life.

2015–2021: Rising Star, various digital singles and second pause

In the summer of 2015, Kalomira made an appearance on MAD VMA 2015 performing a new summer song titled, "This Is Summer" released by Panik Records. Also, she gave some TV interviews and left for USA until the last month of 2016. That was a second pause from Kalomira because she gave birth to her third child.

In December 2016, Kalomira returned to Greece and recorded a Greek-language Christmas single titled, "Ta Christougenna Afta", which was accompanied by an English version titled, "Christmas Time" and released by Heaven Music. Kalomira participated as a hostess at the backstage of the new music talent show, Rising Star. Her next singles were, "Shoot 'em Down" and "Lipstick 2017". The former was written by the producers of, "Secret Combination".

From 2018 to 2020, Kalomira released the singles, "Mommy Loves You" dedicated to her children, "Gia Mia Zoi" in Greek and "You're Not Alone" in English, which she wrote during the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, she appeared in the fashion show MadWalk performing Ariana Grande's song, "No Tears Left To Cry".

2022–present: Return to Greece, J2US, and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! In December 2022, she returned to Greece with a new hairstyle with blonde hair. She performed Marilyn Monroe's song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" at the fashion music show, MadWalk.

In June 2023, she replaced the singer Biased Beast and became a coach for the actress Louisa Pyriochou on the show Just the Two of Us. They gained second place in the grand final of the show. She also released a new single, after three years, which was called, "Stohos" (Goal) and toured Greece throughout the summer. She performed the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 song, "Cha Cha Cha" and David Guetta's song, "I'm Good" with Stefania and the girl group 3SUM at the Mad Video Music Awards.

In September 2023, it was officially announced that she will present the show, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! together with George Lianos.

Personal life In 2010, she married real estate developer George Boosalis on September 26 at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Paul in Hempstead, New York. In December 2012 Kalomira gave birth to two twin boys. Four years later, in July 2016, she gave birth to a girl.

Discography All the albums listed underneath were released and charted in Greece and Cyprus.

Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions GR CY Kalomira Released: September 1, 2004 Label: Heaven Music Format: CD, digital download Certified: Gold 1 1 Paizeis? Released: November 29, 2005 Label: Heaven Music Format: CD, digital download 10 2 I Kalomira Paei Cinema Released: December 7, 2006 Label: Heaven Music Format: CD, digital download 9 9 Secret Combination: The Album Released: May 29, 2008 Label: Heaven Music Format: CD, digital download 13 10

Compilation album Title Album details Peak chart positions GR CY Best Of Released: December 2016 Label: Heaven Music Format: Digital download——

Soundtrack album Title Album details Peak chart positions GR CY Voutia Sti Vithoupoli Released: November 2, 2019 Label: Minos EMI Format: CD, Digital download——

Singles as lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album GRE CYP Other charts "Nomizeis"2004 1 1 —Kalomira "Ego Eimai I Kalomira" 3 1 — "Proti Mou Fora" 17 12 — "Kai Tou Chronou"2005 15 18 —Kalomira Special Gold Edition "Pethaino Gia Sena" 11 16 —Kalomira "Paizeis" 3 9 —Paizeis? "Ki Olo Perimeno"2006 6 11 — "Secret Combination"2008 1 1 TUR: 18 DEN: 29 SWE: 38 IR: 46 EU: 67 UK: 71 CAN: 331Secret Combination: The Album "Sto Diko Mou Rythmo" 18 32 SP: 4 "Hot"2009 — — — "Please Don't Break My Heart"(Kalomira feat. Fatman Scoop)2010 6 5 — Best Of "This Is The Time"2011 25 38 — "Other Side Tonight"2012 — — — "This Is Summer"2015 — — — "Ta Christougenna Afta" / "Christmas Time"2016 65 — — Best Of "Shoot 'em Down"2017 — — — "Mommy Loves You"2018 — — — "Gia Mia Zoi" / "You're Not Alone"2020 — — — "Stohos" 2023 — — — "Rolling" 2024 — — — "Amen" — — — "Papi" (Kalomira feat. Ripen) — — — "Magika Hristougenna" — — — "Ola Gia Sena" 2026 — — —

Singles as featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album GRE CYP "Lipstick 2017"(Kim Diamantopoulos feat. Kalomira)2017 — —

Promotional singles Title Year Peak chart positions Album GRE CYP "Gine Mazi Mou Paidi"2006 17 —CD single: Gine Mazi Mou Paidi "Riko, Riko, Rikoko (T' Agori Mou)"2007 — —I Kalomira Paei Cinema "Thelo Ta Opa Mou" — — "Afto To Mambo To Brazilero" — — "Crazy Girl" — — "Tou Agoriou Apenanti" — — "Aliki Tsa - Tsa - Tsa" — — "I Do"2010 72 —CD single: I Do "Secret Combination (Pride version)"(Kalomira feat. Katerina Stikoudi & Mark F. Angelo)2024 — — "Happy Birthday to You" — —

Other charted and certified songs Title Year Peak chart positions Album GRE CYP "Kathe Skepsi Mou... Esy" 2004 18 — Kalomira "Den Endiaferomai" — — "Alitaki" — — "Po Po Po" — — "Tora" 2005 — —Paizeis? "Mystiko" — — "S' Agapo" 2008 — —Secret Combination: The Album "Iparhoun Ores" — — "Secret Combination (Master Tempo Mix)"(with Master Tempo) — — "Please Don't Break My Heart (Ragga Version)"2010 13 9 "Bes Sti Giorti"(with Andriana Babali, Idra Kayne, Markos Koumaris, George Lembesis, Panos Mouzourakis, Panagiotis Rallis, Sakis Rouvas, Tamta, Charis Varthakouris)2019 — — Voutia Sti Vithoupoli "Pano Sta Kimata" — —

Video album Title DVD details Kalomira Special Karaoke Edition Released: September 2005 Label: Heaven Music Format: DVD

Filmography Television

Web Title Year Role Notes Get The Job 2010 Herself / Hostess The first online reality show in Greece

Commercials Commercial Year Role Everest 2004–2007 Herself JLo shop 2008–2010 Herself GetItNow 2009–2010 Herself Domino's Pizza 2010 Herself Nature's Bounty 2017 Herself

Theater Title Year Role Notes 40 Hronia Dionysis Savvopoulos 2004 Herself Herodium Theatre

Music videos

Lyric videos

Tours and residencies Concert tours Headlining Summer Concerts (2006) Greek Concerts (2007) Secret Combination: The Eurovision Promo Tour (2008) Kalomira 2008 US Summer Tour (2008) North America Club Tour (2009) Greek & Cypriot Summer Tour (2011) USA Concerts (2011-2012) Kalomira USA Tour (2014) Greek Summer Concerts (2023)

Joint Fame Story Tour (with the contestants of Fame Story 2) (2004) Despina Vandi - Kalomira - Yorgos Christou Live Tour (2005) USA Festivals (variously concerts; some of the artists were Gloria Gaynor, Anna Vissi, Yorgos Margaritis, Glykeria, Stelios Dionisiou) (2013-2014)

Concert residencies

Secondary act Rex (with Despina Vandi, Thanos Petrelis, Yorgos Christou) (2004-2005) Palais de Sports (with Despina Vandi, Yorgos Christou) (2005) Pyli Axiou (with Despina Vandi, Thanos Petrelis, Yorgos Christou) (2004-2005) Odos Peiraios 130 (with Elli Kokkinou, Andreas Stamos, Chryspa, Constantinos Christoforou) (2005-2006) Fever (with Nikos Makropoulos, Angeliki Iliadi, Sarbel) (2006-2007) Boom (with Elli Kokkinou, Stamatis Gonidis, Yorgos Lianos) (2007)

Awards and nominations