1999–2003: Antique era In 1999, some DJ friends of Paparizou's brother asked Paparizou to make a demo of the
Notis Sfakianakis hit "
Opa Opa", Some record producers, who were interested in signing a male/female duo to sing covers of traditional Greek songs, contacted Paparizou, who suggested Panagiotidis. They called themselves "Antique" because it gave the impression of being "classical" and "timeless", making "Antique" the first act to reach the Swedish top five with a song sung in Greek. the duo entered the
Greek national final of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "
(I Would) Die for You", composed by Nikos Terzis with lyrics by Antonis Pappas. They won joint first place, but as "Antique" had also won the public vote were declared the overall winners and went to the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest in
Copenhagen. It became their biggest hit in Greece, reaching Platinum status, peaking at number three in Sweden and charting elsewhere. Antique's Eurovision success led to wider recognition in Greece. They recorded four studio albumswhich were only mildly successfulperformed a small European and North American tour and collaborated with artists including
Katy Garbi and
Slavi Trifonov. Paparizou and Panagiotidis then decided to pursue solo careers.
2003–2005: Solo career, Protereotita, Eurovision Song Contest, and international recognition In late 2003, Paparizou signed a solo recording contract with
Sony Music and released her debut single "
Anapandites Kliseis", as a
double A-side with "Treli Kardia". The release reached number one on the Greek Top 50 Singles Chart and was certified Gold by
IFPI Greece. From late 2003, Paparizou was the opening act for various artists across Greece, including
Antonis Remos and
Giannis Spanos,
Apostolia Zoi,
Nino,
Thanos Petrelis,
Sakis Rouvas and
Giorgos Mazonakis. Later in 2004, the video of "Anapandites Kliseis" won her a MAD Video Music Award for Best Dance Video, and was nominated for Best Video by a New Artist. At the award ceremony, Paparizou sang a duet of the song with its writer Christos Dantis. On 27 June 2004, Paparizou released her debut solo album
Protereotita, from which the tracks "Anditheseis", "Katse Kala" and "Stin Kardia Mou Mono Thlipsi" were released as singles. It received mixed reviews from critics. The album earned Paparizou her first Arion Award for Best Female Pop Singer, and the videos for "Katse Kala" and "Treli Kardia" won her MAD Awards for Best Female Video and Best Direction, respectively. in September 2005 Paparizou moved permanently to Greece in 2004, and after a long selection process led by national broadcaster
Hellenic Radio and Television (ERT), she was selected to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 held in
Kyiv, Ukraine. ERT originally considered Paparizou as a possible back-up singer for a high-profile artist, but those deals fell through. She said at the time that no-one had wanted her to participate in Eurovision. The song "My Number One", composed by Manos Psaltakis with lyrics by Christos Dantis and
Natalia Germanou, was chosen by the jury vote and telephone vote in the
Greek national final. Although her first name is "Elena", Paparizou promoted herself as "Helena" in the lead up to her Eurovision appearance to distinguish herself from popular names in other countries. She continues to call herself Helena on all non-Greek promotions and releases, although she prefers to be known as "Elena". Paparizou toured Europe to promote her Eurovision entry. During this time, she was appointed a
Greek Ministry of Tourism ambassador by
Dimitris Avramopoulos, the Minister of Tourism. He spent in her campaign to promote Greece through merchandise and advertisements that aired throughout Europe. On 21 May 2005, Paparizou won the Eurovision Song Contest; the first Greek win in its history. Her performance scored 230 points and the maximum 12 points from ten nations. Her performance was also responsible for the highest viewing ratings in Greek television history. Her win provoked mass celebrations on the streets of Athens, and on her return home she was congratulated at a State reception at the
Maximos Mansion by the
Minister of State Theodoros Roussopoulos, Prime Minister
Kostas Karamanlis and various government officials. Paparizou's Eurovision victory transformed her from a relatively minor celebrity to a notable music act, cementing her solo career and giving her wide international exposure. Paparizou toured Europe, performing in all the countries that gave her 12 points. A tour with Nikos Kourkoulis to the Greek diaspora in North America and Australia, followed. Paparizou stated that if she considered doing anything Eurovision-oriented again it be for her birth country Sweden, since she already had her turn with Greece. After performing as an opening act on numerous occasions, Paparizou headlined at Fever for the 2005–06 season, supported by Christos Pazis and with Giorgos Tsalikis. After Paparizou's Eurovision win and several reissues, the album certified double Platinum by IFPI Greece. To capitalise on this success, it was reissued as
Protereotita: Euro Edition in single and double disc format, and released as a compilation in some European countries as
My Number One, which peaked at number 13 in Sweden. The
Euro Edition became Paparizou's first album to reach number one and earned her another Arion award for Best Female Pop Singer. The tracks "
My Number One", "
The Light in Our Soul" and "
A Brighter Day" were released as singles, which peaked at number one, three and twenty-four respectively in Sweden, and were minor hits in other countries as well. "My Number One" was released in the United States by
Moda Records with remixes in August 2006, peaking at number eight on the
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. "My Number One" was certified Platinum, and becoming her first number-one airplay hit, while "The Light in Our Soul"/"To Fos Sti Psyhi" peaked at two. In November 2005, Paparizou released a new CD single "
Mambo!", which peaked at number one on the Greek Singles Chart for 10 weeks and the airplay charts, and gained Platinum status. It is her most successful single to date and was the second highest-selling single of 2005, surpassing "My Number One". She performed "My Number One" at the MAD VMAs in 2005, and in 2006 won awards for Best Pop Video ("The Light in Our Soul"), Best Video by a Female Artist ("My Number One"), and Artist of the Year ("Mambo!"). The album was reissued for a third time as
Protereotita: Euro Edition + Mambo! in November. Paparizou won the
European Border Breakers Award at the Midem Festival in
Cannes for the international editions of her debut album in 2007.
2006–2007: Iparhi Logos, The Game of Love, and various soundtracks at
Iera Odos in 2006. In January 2006, 25 artists including Paparizou formed the group Simmeteho Energa, and recorded a
charity single "Eho Ti Dinami" in support of the Greek Cancer Society. It was released as a CD single. The two-disc album contained previously released material and live recordings from her
MAD Secret Concert held in December 2005, and formed the first edition of the series. On 12 April, Paparizou released her second album,
Iparhi Logos in Greece where it had a good critical reception. While promoting the album, Paparizou performed the title track at the Arion Music Awards. The album included three hit singles; "Iparhi Logos", "
Gigolo" and "An Ihes Erthi Pio Noris". It topped the Greek Albums Chart for a number of weeks and was certified platinum by IFPI Greece after seven months, with shipments of 30,000 copies. It also reached number one in Cyprus and was certified Platinum there, with shipments of 6,000 copies. The album was also nominated for two Cyprus Music Awards in 2007, where she also performed. The album was reissued in February 2007 as
Iparhi Logos: Platinum Edition to include Paparizou's number one hit "
Mazi Sou", one of two songs she sang for the soundtrack of the television series
of the same name, "Fos" from the
Barbie kai I Dodeka Vasilopoules soundtrack released in 2006, and her newest hit single, a cover of Voula Georgouti's
rebetiko "
Min Fevgeis", which reached number two. Prior to the reissue, the singles were also released on the EP single
Fos, which reached number one on the Greek Top 50 Singles Chart and was certified Gold, making it her fourth consecutive number-one hit on that chart. On 20 May 2006, Paparizou opened the
Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in
Athens with "My Number One" and later performed "Mambo!", but ERT ran commercials during the performance so a number of countries missed the song. Paparizou's song "
Heroes" was the official song of, and performed at the
2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg. The single was released in Sweden and
Finland, becoming her second number-one hit in the former. Following Eurovision, Paparizou wanted to start an international career, Her debut English-language album
The Game of Love was released on 25 October 2006. By April 2007, it had been released in 14 countries in Europe and in
South Africa. In Greece and Cyprus, the album peaked at number one and received Platinum certifications. Because it was considered a "foreign" release, the album was only eligible to chart on the Greek Foreign Albums Chart, which it topped. It also topped the mixed Greek Albums Chart, and was certified platinum by IFPI Greece after 11 weeks on the chart in January 2007, with shipments of 15,000 copies. "Teardrops" was released as the first Greek single from the album, and peaked at number one in Greece. The album managed to peak at No. 18 in Sweden too. "Mambo!" charted in Sweden, peaked at number 5, helped by a new video that was targeted towards a broader audience. The single was certified Gold in Sweden. Although Paparizou was expected to promote the album abroad that winter, she chose to perform alongside
Paschalis Terzis at
Iera Odos from 27 October. In early 2007, Paparizou became the spokesperson for her previous sponsor,
Nokia Greece, and released the song "Ola Einai Mousiki" in October 2007 for promotion. She collaborated with retailer Plaisio and released a limited edition
MP4 player called "MP4 Total Helena" (2GB) by Turbo-X, which contained a special compilation and music videos, which were also released as "TH4" MP4 in 2008 along with her new album material and exclusive content. She released a cover of
Blind Melon's "3 Is a Magic Number" in Sweden as part of a television advertisement for a mobile phone company; it peaked at number 18. Paparizou was featured on Greek television presenter
Nikos Aliagas' song "I Zilia Monaksia"a cover of the
Pascal Obispo hit "L'envie d'Aimer"for his album project
Rendez-Vous, and released the song "
To Fili Tis Zois" for the soundtrack of the film
of the same name. "To Fili Tis Zois" remained at number one for five weeks, becoming her most successful airplay single until 2011, and one of the most successful songs of the late 2000s. It was nominated for four MAD VMAs, winning Best Pop Video, and Paparizou won Artist of the Year for "Mazi Sou" and was nominated for "I Zilia Monaxia", making six nominations in 2008. The single became the first digital single to be certified Gold in Greece since the marketing trend had become popular in 2006.
2008–2010: Vrisko To Logo Na Zo, ''Giro Apo T' Oneiro'', and headlining tours ''. Paparizou released her fourth album,
Vrisko To Logo Na Zo on 12 June 2008. The tracks "
Porta Gia Ton Ourano", "
I Kardia Sou Petra", "
Pirotehnimata", and "
Eisai I Foni" were released as singles. The music video of "Pirotehnimata" was nominated for Sexiest Video and won the sixth MAD Video Music Awards for Best Pop Video and Video of the Year. "I Kardia Sou Petra" won the award for Female Artist of the Year, while "Porta Gia Ton Ourano" was nominated for Artist of the Year. Paparizou promoted a rock-inspired image for the album; a change from her pop/laïko style. The album and its concept received mixed reviews. In its first week, the album was certified Gold, eventually peaked at number one in Greece and was certified Platinum after three months. It became the second best-selling album of the year in both domestic and mixed domains, peaking in Cyprus at number two and was certified Platinum. To promote the album, two songs were released as
digital downloads and promo singles, while Paparizou's duet version of Spanish group
Chambao's single "Papeles Mojados" was played in some Spanish clubs. In June, Paparizou opened the MAD Video Music Awards 2008 with a remix of "Porta Gia Ton Ourano" with
Madonna's song "
4 Minutes", and was featured in a performance of hip hop group
Stavento. Paparizou embarked on her first national tour
To Party Arhizei Tour from 2 July to 19 September 2009. The finale concert of the tour, set for
Herakleion,
Crete three days later, was cancelled because of the weather conditions and instead, Paparizou performed two shows in October 2009 at a club called Anadromes. The tour was attended by 192,000 people in its 29 venues, selling out the
Thessaloniki venue. The album was reissued after the tour as
The Deluxe Edition in December 2009 and included a video of the show titled
Live in Concert, which was also available individually. A further reissue of the album, set to include Paparizou's newly recorded material including the new single "
Tha 'Mai Allios" and MAD Secret Concert tracks, was scheduled for late 2009, but this was abandoned when the singer recorded a new studio album for 2010. Paparizou was featured on the Bonnier soundtrack project
Alla Himlens Änglar, released in August, where she contributed her first Swedish-language songs "Allt jag vill" (Everything I want) and "Genom krig och kärlek" (Through war and love). On 23 October 2008, she performed with other artists in a concert at the Siemens Arena in
Vilnius, Lithuania, that was attended by approximately 10,000 people. From 30 October to 9 April she again performed alongside Paschalis Terzis at Iera Odos with Manos Pirovolakis as the opening act. Paparizou was the main act at the Thalassa: People's Stage, a concert-themed club stage, from May to September. At this venue she was supported by acts 15.50, Stavento and Loukas Giorkas. Paparizou returned to the stage of MAD Secret Concerts on 26 May, the eighth edition of the series. A video titled
MAD Secret Concert Vol.II was released in mid-late 2009. During the winter, Paparizou went to Sweden where she worked on her new album and spent time with her mother. An English-language album had been announced for 2009, however those plans did not materialise because of Paparizo's father's sudden death. Three songs were recorded, one of which is a tribute to him. Paparizou joined the new marketing trend of releasing albums with Sunday newspapers; on 28 March her fifth studio album ''
Giro Apo T' Oneiro was released in the Greek newspaper RealNews, Eleven days later, the album had achieved total shipments of 140, 000 units physically and via the newspaper. Newspaper shipments are not taken into consideration by IFPI, however; in a radio interview in August 2010, Paparizou said that the album had sold enough physical copies to be certified Platinum by IFPI. On 6 November 2010, Paparizou was awarded platinum certification, with shipments of at least 12,000 units of Giro Apo T' Oneiro'' by IFPI Greece at the grand opening of the new Metropolis music store at
The Mall Athens. The tracks "Tha 'Mai Allios", "
An Isouna Agapi", "
Psahno Tin Alitheia" and "
Girna Me Sto Htes" were released as singles. "Tha 'Mai Allios", released a year before the album, became the singer's first advertisement for the soft drink brand
Ivi's. Paparizou won the
MTV Europe Award for
Best Greek Act, and received a preliminary nomination for the
Best European Act but finished sixth, missing the official nominations by one spot. The video for "Tha 'Mai Allios" won the MAD Video Music Award for Video of the Year and was nominated for Best Pop Video, while the video for "An Isouna Agapi" won the award for Sexiest Video and received nominations for Female Artist of the Year and Artist of the Year. On 30 June 2010, Paparizou and
Onirama embarked on their joint Fisika Mazi Tour beginning at Theatro Petras as part of the Stone Festival in Petroupoli. However, a surprise inspection by the SDOE at the
Kefalonia venue stopped the tour. 8,500 concert tickets had not been stamped and the contract fees of the performing artists had not been submitted. The production was found guilty of tax violations. Paparizou said she had no knowledge of the occurrences and that she had no affiliation, except as a performer, with the production group. At the first MAD Fanatics concert, a tribute to
Michael Jackson, Paparizou performed with seven other artists; she closed the show with covers of Jackson's "
Heal the World" and "
You Are Not Alone". During the winter season, Paparizou appeared with Antonis Remos at the Diogenis Studio for a reported fee of per night, fewer than her previous season of performances. Paparizou was featured on
Albert Hammond's greatest hits album
Legend on the tracks "Enredao" and its English-language version, "Tangled Up in Tears".
2011–2012: Greatest Hits & More, Swedish comeback and TV shows at Diogenis Studio on 2 January 2011. On 2 February 2011, Paparizou was one of eight acts performing at MAD TV's first charity fashion music show MADWalkGreece's version of the international
Fashion Rocks. She represented fashion designer
Apostolos Mitropoulos and performed her new single "
Baby It's Over", which was the lead single from her three-disc compilation
Greatest Hits & More. She appeared at the Flight Night Club in
Sofia, Bulgaria on 8 February. "Baby It's Over" debuted at number one the
Billboard Greek Digital Singles Chart; it was her fourth number one hit on that chart and her first single to top any Greek chart in three years. It also topped the
Greek Airplay Chart for ten non-consecutive weeks, becoming the most successful single of her career. The song won two awards at the 2011 MAD Video Music Awards for Female Artist of the Year and Fashion Icon of the Year. Paparizou was nominated for Artist of the Year and received a fourth nomination for Best Pop Video for "Psahno Tin Alitheia". The album's second single, "Love Me Crazy"released in Greek as "O, ti Niotho Den Allazi"was released in May 2011, and peaked at number five on the airplay chart. The songs' lyrics, particularly those of the lead single, caused speculation that Paparizou's twelve-year relationship with Mavridis had ended, which was proved to be correct.
Greatest Hits & More was released on 23 May; it debuted at number two on the Greek Albums Chart where it stayed for three weeks, and was the best-selling domestic album of the week. Paparizou spent the next six months in Sweden with family and friends. In June 2011, she announced that Mavridis would no longer be her manager and that she had recruited a new team of Swedish collaborators. Her only professional appearances were at a four-date tour to Cyprus. She announced a second English-language album and European tour, along with possible participation in
Melodifestivalenwhich she had turned down in the past. In the third quarter of 2011, Paparizou recorded a duet of the
nisiotiko classic "Dari Dari" with
Nana Mouskouri for her duet album
Tragoudia Apo Ta Ellinika Nisia (Songs from the Greek islands), and was a guest performer at the Mouskouri's anniversary concert at the
Berlin Philharmonic on 29 November. Although she had originally declined offers to perform during the winter season 2011–12, from 18 November she performed as a supporting act for
Yiannis Parios in Thessaloniki. Paparizou made her television debut as a judge on the first season of
ANT1's
Dancing on Ice from 6 November to 22 January withshow polarised critics. Following her television debut, Paparizou received offers to appear on
Dancing with the Stars, including as a contestant. She instead appeared on the Swedish version, ''
Let's Dance'' in early 2012, partnered with
David Watson. Initially considered one of the favourites to win, she received moderate scores and was voted off in the third episode, placing ninth out of ten contestants. In December, Paparizou released the single "
Mr. Perfect", which peaked at number seven on the digital chart and reached the top 30 in the airplay chart. The song was remixed by Playmen, who with Paparizou performed it along with
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' "
I Hate Myself for Loving You" at the 2012 MADWalk on 2 February 2012. The song's video earned her three nominations for Best Pop Video, Female Artist of the Year, and Artist of the Year at the 2012 MAD Video Music Awards, while "Baby It's Over" gained a fourth nomination for MAD 106.2 Track of the Year; she won the awards for Female Artist and Track of the Year. Paparizou performed a cabaret version of
Eric Saade's "
Popular" for the final of
Melodifestivalen 2012. At the 2012 MAD Video Music Awards, Paparizou performed a new version of the ballad "Poios" from
Vrisko To Logo Na Zo, and was also featured in Playmen's "
All the Time"a remix of the
Eddie Murphy songalong with Courtney and RiskyKidd. The song peaked at number two on the
Official Greek Airplay Chart and became the thirty-fourth most played tracks in Greece for 2012. Both songs were released to radio the next day, and from the end of June to mid-August Paparizou toured Greece and Cyprus with Melisses. It was reported that she might perform from late 2012 to early 2013 with
Natasa Theodoridou at Votanikos. While Paparizou's contract with Sony Music Greece had formally ended in early 2011, she remained attached to the label for several months. On 22 June, her
A&R representative Giannis Doxas officially announced the end of their collaboration and her departure from the label. In mid-2012, Paparizou started recording a new album. She said in radio interviews that she was searching for a new style for her upcoming Greek album. She told
MTV Greece that the album have 10 tracks. During October she recorded a laiko duet titled
Lathos Agapes with Natasa Theodoridou; this peaked at number eleven in the official Greek Airplay Chart by Mediainspector. On 9 November, she performed a live, acoustic version of
John Lennon song "
Imagine" at a dinner for the 2012
Athens Classic Marathon. On 1 February 2013,
Sony Music released digitally in Greek
iTunes a second compilation album titled
The Love Collection, which consisted of love ballads from previous albums.
2013–2015: Ti Ora Tha Vgoume?, One Life, and Nine The Musical In early 2013, Paparizou's official fan club announced that she had signed a multi-territory deal with
Universal Music Group, which has exclusive agreements with labels across the Universal Music Group, including
EMI Music Greece and
Lionheart Records in Sweden. On 3 June 2013, Paparizou will release her seventh studio album
Ti Ora Tha Vgoume? with
EMI Music Greece. The album was preceded by two singles: the lead single "
Poso M'Aresei" on 19 March and "
Ena Lepto" on 15 April. A music video was made for the former, which was released on 17 April. She has also released an English song called "Save Me (This Is an SOS)" on Lionheart Records in Sweden following a six-year absence from the Swedish market. During mid-2013, Paparizou performed at several Greek music festivals to promote her new album "Ti Ora Tha Vgoume?". An EP, which included four remixes of
Save Me (This Is An SOS) by
Sound Factory, was released; it reached number 27 on the Swedish Dance Chart. In February 2013, Paparizou performed as a guest at
Greece's Eurovision national final, singing "My Number One" with Vegas and "
Apres Toi" with
Vicky Leandros. On 27 May, Paparizou performed at "Gabby Awards 2013" in
Hollywood and singing some of
Melina Merkouri's songs. On 1 February she performed at
Melodifestivalen 2014, an event to select Sweden's entry for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen. An official announcement was made by the Swedish broadcaster,
SVT in November 2013. Paparizou performed "
Survivor" in the first heat on 1 February. On 1 March, Paparizou reached the final of Melodifestivalen 2014 after being voted into the top two of the Second Chance round of the competition. In the final, Paparizou came in fourth place. On 26 March, her third English-language album, titled
One Life, was released in Sweden by Lionheart Music Group. Paparizou performed at the semi-final of
The Voice of Greece her new single "Don't Hold Back On Love" on 2 May 2014. "Survivor" was certified gold in Sweden selling over 20,000 copies. On 14 November up to 13 December 2014, Paparizou joint the Swedish Christmas Tour "Julgalan 2014" in Sweden along with Danny Saucedo, Alcazar, Mattias Andreasson, E-type, Erik Segerstedt, Linda Bengtzing and Albin. On 14 December, Paparizou sang in the Swedish church to celebrate Santa Lucia, which was broadcast by SVT. In February 2015, Paparizou was featured on the house duo's HouseTwins single "Love Till It's Over", and later released her Greek single
Otan Aggeli Klene. On March, Paparizou performed the singles as a guest at the
Eurovision Greek Final along with the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, "
Rise Like a Phoenix". On 23 May 2015 Paparizou was the spokesperson for the points of
Greece at
Eurovision Song Contest 2015. In a bizarre twist, she gave the twelve points not to
Cyprus (its representative,
John Karayiannis and his song "
One Thing I Should Have Done" ended up with ten), but to
Italy's
Il Volo with their song "
Grande Amore". On 29 May Paparizou performed "
Angel" at the final of "
Let's Dance" in Sweden. Paparizou joined the Swedish summer tour "Diggiloo" from 6 June to 15 August with Magnus Carlsson, Martin Stenmarck, Charlotte Perrelli, Andreas Johnson, Björn Kjellman, Hanna Hedlund, Oskar Bly, Jessica Andersson and Magnus Johansson. Paparizou made her theatrical debut on the musical "Nine" at Pantheon Music Theatre as 'Saraghina'.
2016–2018: Ouranio Toxo, The Voice of Greece, and Swedish residency Paparizou recorded her new song in November 2015. "Misi Kardia" is written by Chris Mazz,
Andy Nicolas & Yiannis Doxas and it was exclusively released on 89,8 Dromos FM. The music video was released on 15 February, along with the official release of the song. On 20 March 2016 Paparizou performed in "Dromos Superstar Voices" at BOX Athens with special host the Greek band "Melisses". On 25 March 2016, it was officially announced that the song "Pou Pige Tosi Agapi", previous released on her album
Iparhi Logos would be a part of the soundtrack album for the American comedy film "
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2". From 26 April up to 6 May 2016, she was the commentator in the Swedish TV show "Inför Eurovision Song Contest" along with
Oscar Zia, Njol Badjie and
Wiktoria Johansson. Paparizou performed as a special guest star in the "Euroclub" and in the "Eurovision Village" during the
Eurovision Song Contest week. After 3 years of absence at the annual
MAD Video Music Awards, Paparizou returned on the VMA's stage, performing her brand new single "
Fiesta", which was officially released on 4 July and
You Are the Only One along with
Sergey Lazarev. Paparizou also performed at the semi-final of
The X Factor Greece on 1 July, supporting the duo Stereo Soul. In Summer 2016, Paparizou toured in Greece along with Mironas Stratis and Isaias Matiaba. In September 2016 Paparizou joined "My Way" show in Sweden with Claes Malmberg and Jan Malmsjö. On 2 November 2016, it was officially announced that Paparizou would be one of the coaches at the third season of
The Voice of Greece. The show premiered on Skai TV on 16 November. The single "Agkaliase Me" was sent to the radios on 9 December 2016. On 28 April, Paparizou released "Haide", her first ever collaboration with Phoebus. Afterwards, released a digital EP "Extended Summer 2017" which included six tracks alongside the number one hit by her and Anastasios Rammos "An Me Dis Na Kleo". The music video released in October. The song is her biggest hit to date counting over 35 million views on YouTube. In mid 2017, Paparizou toured Greece and Cyprus along with
Despina Vandi in 16 cities in total. Later that year she was back as coach at the fourth season of
The Voice in Greece. In December she released her sixth Greek album titled
Ouranio Toxo, which was issued by Minos EMI/Universal. According to IFPI Statistics, 'Ouranio Toxo' Album peaked at Number 1. In September of the same year Paparizou released her final single
Haide (English Version) from
Capitol Music Group Sweden. Afterwards her contract expired. In January 2018, Minos Emi/Universal announced that 'Etsi ki Etsi' is Paparizou's new single, and thus the successor of her Smash hit 'An me dis na kleo'. The mid-tempo song peaked at Number 5 on Official Greek Airplay. According to the Greek Media, the song 'Etsi ki Etsi' was regarded as the 2nd most played song in the radio by a Female Artist for the year (1st being 'An me dis na kleo'), making Paparizou the most radio played Female Artist in Greece/Cyprus for 2018. An English Version of 'Etsi ki Etsi' was released, titled 'Totally Erased'. Nektarios Tyrakis wrote the lyrics of the English Release. Along with the English Version, Paparizou's record label (Minos EMI) released an EP which consisted of 6 remixes. During the Summer, Paparizou toured in Greece & Cyprus with Anastasios Rammos on her side. Further, Paparizou did 6 appearances alongside the Greek star Antonis Remos. In May 2018, it was announced that Paparizou was nominated for 4 Mad Video Music Awards(a.k.a. Mad VMAs). She won 2 awards in the night; Best Female Adult and Best Collaboration(An me dis na kleo ft. Anastasios Rammos). Paparizou is regarded as being the most awarded Mad VMA artist to date, having a total of 26 awards. During the night Paparizou made 2 appearances; One in which she performed Ouranio Toxo ft. Idra Kayne, and one where she dueted with the Pop-rock Band, Melisses. Melisses & Paparizou performed one of the group's hit single, 'Ola moiazoun Kalokairi'. Their duet received mostly positive feedback, surpassing the 30 million views on YouTube to date making it the most viewed performance on VMA ever. On 14 September, Serhat released his single "Total Disguise" in collaboration with Paparizou. The song peaked at Number 1 in Greek DJs Dance Chart. In October 2018, Paparizou returned at the Talent Singing Competition 'The Voice of Greece' for the 3rd consecutive year (5th season), alongside Rouvas, Mouzourakis & Maraveyas. Paparizou's new single called 'Kati Skoteino'is a ballad & is written by the creators of the song 'An me dis na kleo';ARCADE (consisting of Anastasios Rammos, Diveno, Pavlos Manoli, Gaby Russell). The song premiered in Greek Radios on 8 October and was officially released on 15 October. The song was released by Minos EMI/Universal. The song peaked at Number 1 on Greek iTunes and reached the Top 20 of the Official Greek Airplay in just 3 weeks. Paparizou is the only Greek Artist to have managed to have 3 of her songs in the Top 20 of the Greek Airplay for the year 2018. Paparizou's latest album 'Ouranio Toxo' has been certified Platinum after surpassing the 70 million streams in the digital platforms. In regards to the physical sales, the Album peaked at Number 1, making it the most successful album by a Female Artist for the year 2018 in Greece. On 3 December, Paparizou released a Christmas song in both Greek & English (Hristougenna Xana - It is Christmas). The song was written by Anastasios A. Papanastasiou and ARCADE. Even without a video clip, the Greek version of the song saw immediate success, peaking at No. 3 on Greek iTunes and #4 on YouTube Trending videos. It was broadcast exclusively on Skai TV network.
2019–2024: Apohrosis, Antique reunion, tours, 20 years in music and Eurovision "Kati skoteino" was released in October 2018 as the lead single of Paparizou's seventh album
Apohrosis (2021), which was produced by the group Arcade, consisting of Anastasios Rammos, Pavlos Manoli, Diveno, Gaby Russell and Loukas Damianakos. The second single 'Askopa Xenihitia" was released on 26 March 2019 along with a music video. During Summer 2019, Paparizou toured with
Marinella, Makedonas and Ivi Adamou in Greece, Cyprus and Germany. Paparizou later took part in the
MAD VMAs. She was also part of the interval act of the second semi-final in the same contest. At the first days of June Paparizou did a live concert in
Canada. At MAD Video Music Awards she was given the MAD ICON Award for her 20 years in music industry while she performed
Mavra Gialia and a Medley Remix by Playmen including (Treli Kardia, Pirotehnimata, Anapandites Klisis and Together Forever (English version of
Fisika Mazi). Later in July Minos EMI put out an EP from vma performance on digital platforms. In summer she started her 2024 European summer tour visiting places around Greece, Cyprus and some European countries like
Romania. In September Helena appeared in EKO Acropolis Rally in Lamia, almost 18 years since her last show there. She also joined
Melisses summer tour in some places. Around autumn Helena Paparizou sang on Athens, 20 Years Later in a special event for
Euro 2004 honoring Greek football team's triumph. In October Helena returned as a coach for
The Voice of Greece Season 10. She also participated as a guest at The Secret Song TV show on Alpha, she did a photoshoot for Haralas Fashion A/W Campaign and gave several interviews on Greek TV promoting her new single "Update" and her personal life topics. One of her most recent performances was at the MadWalk 2024 with her brand new single "Update" which was released in EP format. End of the year spot Paparizou in Cyprus starting her residency show with Konstantinos Christoforou at Notes Live Stage while giving some interviews on Cypriot press and magazines.
2025–present: Update, new album and life restart For the February to March period Paparizou and Christoforou returned to Notes in Cyprus for part 2 of their live gigs. Paparizou continued her promo campaign for Haralas fashion S/S collection, this time with singer
Kostas Martakis in the role of models. On her birthday, Paparizou began a new role for her, co-hosting with
Sakis Rouvas the Greek final for
Eurovision Song Contest 2025 on ERT. Paparizou expressed support for
Klavdia's Greek entry in the contest with her song
Asteromata, where she finished in 6th place in the grand final on 17 May. The
Spotify and
YouTube apps made mention of Paparizou's photo opportunity with Klavdia. On 21 May Greece celebrated on social media the 20th anniversary of the song "
My Number One", with people uploading photos and videos from the Eurovision 2005 winning night. During the summer of 2025, Paparizou will be getting ready for her summer tour in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria at the Spice Music Festival where the special musical guest will be
Inna the day before, but the most important event will be as the opening act for
Diana Ross at Kallimarmaro Stadium in Athens on 16 July 2025, where Paparizou will perform classic cover songs inspired by soul music. In June she will do a tribute concert for Vasilis Karras at Kallimarmaro once again, and a few days later she will be nominated in the MAD VMA in the category of Best Pop Song award with "Update". Paparizou is currently working on her 11th studio album, commencing a new era in her music after her recent divorce. Her brand new song, the lead single from the album is called "Kalinihta" produced by Teo Tzimas released by Minos EMI on 10 July. Paparizou returned for Season 11 of
The Voice of Greece in late 2025 and was the winning mentor for the second time when her artist Konstantinos Komodromos won the season. ==Musical style and performance==