Sarbel Michael Maronitis (; ; born 14 May 1981) known professionally as Sarbel, is a British-Cypriot pop singer. His singles include "Se Pira Sovara" [ Greek: 'I've just taken you seriously'], and albums Parakseno sinesthima ['Strange feeling'], Sahara and Kati san esena ['Something reminiscent of you']. Ηe represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with "Yassou Maria". Biography Early life Sarbel was born and raised in Southgate, London, England, to a Greek Cypriot father, Elias, himself a singer and bouzouki player, and a Lebanese Maronite mother, a lawyer. Sarbel's family made frequent summer trips to Greece and Cyprus. He received a Jesuit education at St Ignatius' College in Enfield. Sarbel studied music (voice), drama, art, and performing arts. From the age of 5 to 16 he performed at the English National Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and has recorded Tosca in English for Chandos Recordings as the shepherd boy. He was named after the Maronite Saint Charbel. and his name is correctly pronounced "Sharbel", but since standard Greek lacks a "sh" sound, Greeks pronounce the name "Sarbel" in accordance with the Greek transliteration ("Σαρμπέλ"). Sarbel sang yearly at St Ignatius and other talent shows. Music career At the age of 18, Sarbel went to Crete, where he sang at the Heraklion Palladium. At the age of 21, still living on the Greek island of Crete, he was signed on by Sony BMG (Greece) on a six-year recording contract. 2004–2005: Parakseno sinesthima (Παράξενο Συναίσθημα) In 2004 he recorded the Arabic hit "Se Pira Sovara" featuring Greek singer Irini Merkouri. The song is based on an Arabic song called "Sidi Mansour" by Saber Rebaï. On the same CD (a CD single) he released a second duet with Merkouri called "Agapi Mou Esi" ['My love']. In 2005, he released his first solo album, entitled Parakseno sinesthima (in Greek Παράξενο συναίσθημα). This album went Gold and was re-released with the Wella-sponsored song "Thelo na Petaxo" ['I wanna fly'] and a bonus track of "Boro Boro", which he made famous during his MAD Award Ceremony appearance. The songs "Se Pira Sovara", "Sokolata" ['Chocolate'], and "Thelo Na Petakso" are some of his notable songs. 2006: Sahara In July 2006, he released his second album, Sahara. That same year he recorded a duet with Greek singer Natassa Theodoridou called Na' Soun Thalassa ['Wish you were sea] which was also included as a bonus