Kristian Leontiou

Kristian Leontiou, born Kristian in February 1982 in London, England, is a British singer of Greek Cypriot descent. He attended Hatch End High School in Harrow and worked various jobs while pursuing his musical aspirations. In 2003, Leontiou signed a major record deal with Polydor. His debut single "Story Of My Life" was released in June 2004 and reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. The following month, he released his debut album Some Day Soon, which was certified gold, selling over 150,000 copies. Leontiou toured the album in November 2004, including a trip to the US to work with L.A Reid of Island Def Jam Music Group. Unhappy with his career direction, he decided to take his music in a new direction and split from his label. He then collaborated with Faithless on their song "Hope & Glory" for the album To All New Arrivals, marking the debut of his indie rock project One eskimO. Leontiou co-produced the album All Balloons with Rollo Armstrong, incorporating live acoustic sounds and cinematic electro touches. The track "Hometime" from this album was featured in a Toyota Prius advert in the USA, funding the development of One eskimO's visual content. In 2011, Leontiou's cover version of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car", originally released in 2005, entered the UK Singles Chart at number 88 following a performance by Michael Collings on Britain's Got Talent.