Nikolas Metaxas

We recently had the pleasure of enjoying the music of Nikolas Metaxas at a show that we attended. He’s a singer-songwriter with amazing energy, terrific stage presence and catchy songs. He’s an indie artist who has mainstream appeal. We took a few minutes to catch up with him between gigs. Here’s what he had to say… - New York Planet Blog

Cypriot-American singer-songwriter Nikolas Metaxas, whose music hit the #2 spot on iTunes Greece Top Ten, launches a 35-country cultural and culinary festival on March 5 at the French Embassy in Washington.

The Grand Fête de la Francophonie is a five-week festival (March 5-April 11) featuring award-winning musicians and other performers, international films, a seminar on Vietnam March 24, and other offerings.

The event is dedicated to the memory of people who lost their lives in the Haitian earthquake, and to the rebuilding efforts of survivors. Proceeds from the March 5 raffle, for a trip for two to Tahiti, will go to the American Red Cross for reconstruction in earthquake-torn Haiti.

Organized partly by Smithsonian Resident Associates Program, the 10th annual fest celebrates the cultural diversity of the French-speaking world.

Although neither Nikolas Metaxas nor Cyprus is French, pas de problem.
Metaxas, an alternative-acoustical singer-composer (Sony Greece), is a rising star in Europe.
His song "Firefly" was chosen as Cyprus' entry in the major Eurovision Song Contest. And he placed second in Greece's version of "American Idol", called "The X-Factor". Metaxas, who just turned 22, is a scholarship student at Berklee Collegeof Music in Boston.
Metaxas performs in Boston, and in New York on June 21 as part of the New York Songwriters' Circle. It has listed three of his songs, "Square One", "Face Off", and "The Dark Proposal", as "new additions" on its website.
The second act on opening night is the three-time Grammy nominated group Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, playing Cajun French music from southwest Louisiana.
The events are at La Maison Francaise, Embassy of France, 4104 Reservoir Road, in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC.
- www.examiner.com

We met Nikolas Metaxas for the first time last year when he competed for the honour to represent Cyprus in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest finishing four points behind the winning song by Evdokia Kadi. In this exclusive interview with esctoday.com, Nikolas talks about his entry this year, his inspiration, his views about the new voting system in the final and he also sings exclusively for our readers.
We met with Nikolas Metaxas at the set of the Greek version of the X-Factor where he is currently one of the six remaining contestants and one of the serious contenders for the title. Nikolas is in his early twenties, an artist all about his music: "I am really passionate about music", he smiles, "it's the only thing that fulfills me and it's the only thing I have been devoted to for the past fifteen years out of the twenty of my life. And it's what I wanna do....for ever!", he confesses.

This year he is competing in the Cypriot final not as a performer but as the composer of the song Firefly which will be sung by Christina Metaxa, his sixteen year old sister. Firefly is a happy pop rock song, "It starts slow and builds up dynamics as it goes to the end", Nikolas tells us, "there is a very happy feeling in the end, everybody sings together". Inspired by his own sister, Nikolas has a message in his song for young people: "Follow your dreams, take the risks, don't be scared, take that leap of faith!" he says.

We asked Nikolas his opinion about the new voting system, with the re introduction of the jury vote at a 50-50 split: "It is a very good change, because what the people vote for sometimes is not hat is musically the best piece, or performance wise the best piece but what appeals to the people the most. And I think a 50% decision from a professional jury will make the decision more fair, in terms of what music is and what a good performance is" , he told us. - www.esctoday.com

NIKOLAS METAXAS, 20, of Limassol, settled for runners-up, an exceptional, unique singer, has a fantastic career ahead of him. During the sing-off final on January 30 Nikolas proved his remarkable vocal gymnastics in his delivery of ‘Dream On’ (Aerosmith). Nikolas had quit his placement at Berkley School of Music for a shot at X Factor.

The idol’s popularity helped him to seize Cyprus’s Eurovision entry, ‘Firefly’ penned for his sister, Christina Metaxa. He can now battle Europe in Moscow for the Semi-Final on May 14. - www.lgr.co.uk

http://www.songoftheyear.com/winners/2009/102009.htm - songoftheyear.com