Kalomira

Kalomira (Καλομοίρα in Greek characters; born Marie Kalomira Carol Sarantis, January 31, 1985, West Hempstead, New York, United States), also known as Kalomoira or K-Moira, is a Greek-American singer. On February 27, 2008, Kalomira won the National Final with "Secret Combination" and represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, getting the 3rd place. Despite speaking primarily English, Kalomira went to Greece on a tip from her cousin, to compete on Fame Story (licensed from Star Academy, a reality talent show similar to American Idol in the United States and Pop Idol in the United Kingdom). Since childhood, Kalomira's dream was to become a pop star. She took part in many extracurricular activities at school including drama productions and musicals which showcased her singing and dancing skills. Her favorite instrument was the viola, which she studied for 9 years and played in the school orchestra. She was also Miss West Hempstead (Homecoming Queen) at her high school in 2003. On a tip from her cousin, she entered and won second place at a music contest organized by WBLI Radio. Following her appearance, she participated as a supporting actress in several live shows with famous American artists, such as Jessica Simpson, LL Cool J and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Kalomira entered the New York City auditions for Antenna's Fame Story 2 (licensed from Star Academy, a reality talent show similar to American Idol in the United States and Fame Academy in the United Kingdom) and was one of the two singers chosen from a group of 200 performers. Despite speaking primarily English, Kalomira went to Greece after having completed one semester of college at Adelphi University where she was a music major, and competed on the three month long show. Kalomoira placed first and her professional singing career began. Many young people surveyed are considerably tempted to join the ranks of Fame Story, having Kalomira in mind. Also in 2004, she had a minor credited role in the Greek TV drama series I Lampsi, playing the part of Jennifer, where veteran director Nikos Foskolos compared her to Aliki Vougiouklaki. As of early 2006 she co-hosted the Good Morning show Proinos Kafes in ANT1 TV. Kalomira has been profiled as belonging to the very light-hearted side of pop music. Although she is famed for her high charisma, natural charm and overall innocent image, she usually sings about cliché boy-girl relationships and falling-in-love songs. Her audience is mostly amongst the young teenagers and early twenty-somethings. Her image makers have been trying to establish an 'innocent' ingenue look for her, which has resulted in often caricaturization.