Stefania (singer)
Stefania | |
|---|---|
 Liberakakis in 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stefania Liberakakis |
| Born | 17 December 2002 Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress, voice actress, YouTuber |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Associated acts | Kinderen voor Kinderen, Kisses |
| Website | stefaniamusic.eu |
Stefania Liberakakis (Greek: Στεφανία Λυμπερακάκη, romanized: Stefanía Lymperakáki; born 17 December 2002), known simply as Stefania, is a Greek-Dutch singer, voice actress and YouTuber. She is a former member of the girl group Kisses, which represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016. In 2020, she was internally selected to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Supergirl", but this edition of the contest was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2] The Greek broadcaster ERT decided that Liberakakis would represent Greece in the 2021 contest instead, where she finished in tenth place.[3][4]
Career[]
Early career[]
In 2013, Liberakakis was a contestant in the third season of The Voice Kids in the Netherlands. She joined Team Borsato after her blind audition, but was eliminated in the battle rounds. She then joined the children's choir Kinderen voor Kinderen, which she left after two years.[5]
| hideThe Voice Kids performances and results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Performed | Song | Original artist | Result |
| Blind Audition | "No One" | Alicia Keys | Joined Team Marco Borsato |
| The Battles | "" (How) | Nielson & Miss Montreal | Eliminated |
2016: Junior Eurovision Song Contest[]
In 2016, Liberakakis auditioned for Junior Songfestival, the Dutch preselection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. She was internally chosen to represent the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Valletta as part of the girl group Kisses. The group performed the song "Kisses and Dancin'" and placed 8th out of 17 entries.[5]
2017–2019: Solo career and acting[]
In 2018, Liberakakis released her first solo single named "Stupid Reasons". In 2019, she released three more singles: "Wonder", "I'm Sorry (Whoops!)" and "Turn Around". In June 2019, she performed a cover of the song "Con Calma" (together with Konnie Metaxa and Ilenia Williams) at the MAD Video Music Awards, which was broadcast on Greek television.[5]
From 2018 onwards, she stars as Fenna in the TV-series Brugklas (English: The First Years). She also starred in the Dutch movies Brugklas: De tijd van m'n leven, De Club van Lelijke Kinderen (as singer) and 100% Coco New York (as Lilly).[5]
Eurovision Song Contest 2020 and 2021[]
In late 2019, Liberakakis was named as a potential candidate to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 to be held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[6] On 3 February 2020, it was confirmed by broadcaster ERT that she had indeed been selected to succeed Katerine Duska as the Greek representative.[1] She would have performed the song "Supergirl" in the second semi-final on 14 May 2020.[1] However, on 18 March, the EBU announced the cancellation of the contest due to COVID-19 pandemic.[2] On the same day, ERT announced that Greece will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, with Stefania as the country's representative.[3]
In the 2021 Contest, Stefania participated with the song "Last Dance", which was released on 10 March 2021.[7] She performed the song in the second semi-final, in which she also qualified for the final, on 20 May 2021.[8] Stefania was accompanied on stage by dancers George Papadopoulos, Nikos Koukakis, Markos Giakoumoglou and Costas Pavlopoulos, while Fokas Evangelinos was the choreographer and the artistic director of the entry.[9][10] Stefania performed in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, where she finished in 10th place.
Personal life[]
She was born to Greek parents, Koula and Spyros Liberakakis, in Utrecht, Netherlands.[11][12] Her family originates from Thourio and Sofiko, small villages in Evros, Greece.[13][14] She is niece of the Greek actor Yannis Stankoglou.[15] She was in a relationship with fellow Dutch singer Jannes Heuvelmans, who represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 as part of the boyband FOURCE.[16]
Discography[]
Singles[]
As lead artist[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRE [17] |
NLD [18] |
LIT | SWE [19] |
UK Down. [20] | ||||||
| "Muziek laat je dromen" | 2014 | — | — | — | — | — | Feest (vol. 35) | |||
| "Wereldplan" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Nu het feestje voorbij is" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Waarom moet ik gaan?" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | Raar maar waar (vol. 36) | |||
| "Eventjes alleen" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Leef met elkaar" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Stupid Reasons" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||
| "All I Want For Christmas Is You" | — | — | — | — | — | L'esprit de Noël (comp.) | ||||
| "Wonder" (from the Dutch version of Wonder Park) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||
| "I'm Sorry (Whoops!)" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Over and Over Again" (with Jannes) |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Turn Around" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Supergirl" | 2020 | 19 | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Friday" | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Swipe" (with Rein van Duivenboden) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Last Dance" | 2021 | 24 | 45 | 35 | 79 | 75 | ||||
| "Mucho Calor" | 155 | 44 | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
As part of Kisses[]
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Kisses and Dancin'" | 2016 | Non-album singles |
Filmography[]
Television[]
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–2020 | Brugklas | Fenna & Stefania | Season 7 & 8 |
| 2020 | Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light | Herself | Guest via video message |
| 2021 | Your Face Sounds Familiar | Herself | Guest star on the 8th live show |
| Eurovision Song Contest 2021 | Herself | Greek entrant – 10th place |
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Brugklas: De tijd van m'n leven | Fenna | — |
| Wonder Park | June | Dutch voice | |
| 100% Coco New York | Lilly | — | |
| De Club van Lelijke Kinderen | Singer of propaganda song | — | |
| Trouble | Zoe Bell | Dutch voice | |
| 2020 | Dolittle | Lady Rose | Dutch voice |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Stefania to sing 'SUPERG!RL' for Greece at Eurovision 2020". Eurovision.tv. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Eurovision 2020 cancelled".
- ^ Jump up to: a b "