Nikos Vertis

Greek folk-pop star Nikolaos Arvanitidis was born on August 21, 1976 in Gorinchem, Netherlands. He began laying the foundations for his singing career after returning to Greece in his twenties, making a name for himself as a leading club singer. Known professionally as Nikos Vertis, the burgeoning talent secured a record deal with Universal Music Greece in 2003 and released his debut album, Poli Apotoma Vradiazei. The LP featured two duets with Greek singer Peggy Zina, "Eimaste Horia" and "Hanomaste," and marked the start of a fruitful partnership, with Vertis moving to Athens in 2003 to take up a joint club residency with Zina. Vertis – whose family is from Galipsos village, near Kavala in northern Greece – unveiled his second album, Pame Psihi Mou – with songs by Giorgos Theofanos – in 2004, which helped to elevate his status as one of Greece's leading laïkó (Greek folk song or urban folk music) singers. At the fourth annual Arion Music Awards in 2004, Vertis was nominated for the Best Male Laiko Singer prize. He went on to release another eight studio albums, including 2013's Protaseis, which contained the single "Thelo Na Me Niosis"; the first Greek song to hit 100 million views on YouTube. Vertis released his 10th studio album, Erotevmenos, in 2017 and a new single with Amir, "Si On N'aime Qu'une Fois / Η Λέξη Σ’ Αγαπώ" in 2020.