MODERN POP MUSIC SINGING WITH EVANGELIA | E030 PODCAST

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Evangelia is a rising star whose journey is a testament to resilience, passion, and the pursuit of dreams. From her Italian and Greek heritage to her upbringing between the serene landscapes of Crete and the vibrant streets of New Jersey, Evangelia's story is a fusion of diverse cultural influences. From her early days as a soccer player and school teacher to her bold decision to pursue a career in music, Evangelia's path has been marked by unwavering determination and creative exploration. Drawing from her Mediterranean roots and the eclectic sounds of her upbringing, Evangelia has crafted a unique musical style that transcends boundaries and resonates with audiences worldwide. With hit songs like "Fotia," "Pame Pame," and "Let's Go MIA," Evangelia has captured the hearts of fans everywhere, her music streamed tens of millions of times.

Collaborating with renowned artists like Foureira, Rouvas, and Argiros, including unforgettable performances at sold-out shows such as the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Evangelia has solidified her status as one of the industry's most captivating talents. As she continues to tour across multiple countries, Evangelia remains steadfast in her ambition to represent Greece on the Eurovision stage. Join us as we explore the extraordinary journey of Evangelia, a true testament to the power of passion and perseverance in the pursuit of musical greatness.

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Lia by Evangelia Jewelry

Evangelia sits down with George Stroumboulis in Newport Beach, California on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things pop music, singing, performing, business, culture and Eurovision.

“Part of what made me tough is when I would come back and play soccer in the USA is that I played all those boys in Greece barefoot on gravel.”
— Evangelia

MEDIA RELATED TO THE EPISODE

Evangelia sits down with George Stroumboulis in Newport Beach, California on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about all things pop music, singing, performing, business, culture and Eurovision.

Evangelia talks about her career in the music space, signing to Sony Records and Epic records and performing in front of a sold out Barclays Center..

Evangelia is an international pop music star with tens of millions of streams on Spotify and YouTube.

Evangelia sits down with George’s daughter, Dimitra (Demi) Stroumboulis. Demi experienced a concert of Evangelia’s and became an instant fan.

Evangelia sits down with George’s daughter, Viviana Stroumboulis. Viviana is a big fan and wanted to ask a few questions she had prepared for Evangelia.

Evangelia with George Stroumboulis in Newport Beach, California filming a long-form podcast about Evangelia’s career.

Having fun on set on Newport Beach, California with American Pop Music Singer, Evangelia Psarakis.

ABOUT THE “INVIGORATE YOUR BUSINESS” PODCAST

The Invigorate Your Business with George Stroumboulis podcast features casual conversations and personal interviews with business leaders in their respective fields of expertise. Crossing several industry types and personal backgrounds, George sits down with inspiring people to discuss their business, how they got into that business, their path to the top of their game and the trials and tribulations experienced along the way. We want you to get inspired, motivated, and then apply any advice to your personal and professional lives. If there is at least one piece of advice that resonates with you after listening, then this podcast is a success. New episodes weekly. Stream our show on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, Amazon and all other platforms.

ABOUT GEORGE STROUMBOULIS

George Stroumboulis is an entrepreneur to the core, having launched several ventures across multiple industries and international markets. He has held senior-level positions at progressive companies and government institutions, both domestically and internationally, building an extensive portfolio of business know-how over the years and driving profit-generating results. George’s ability to drive real change has landed him in several media outlets, including the front page of the Wall Street Journal. George was born in Toronto, Canada to his Greek immigrant parents. Family first. Flying over 300,000 miles a year around the world puts into perspective how important family is to George’s mental and emotional development. With all this travel to global destinations, the longest he stays even in the most far-out destination is 3 days or less - a personal rule he lives by to make sure he is present and involved in family life with his wife and three daughters. To read about George’s global travels, stay connected with his blog section.

FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT

George Stroumboulis - Host: 00:00

On today's episode of Invigorate your Business with George Stroumboulis, I sit down with an international music pop star by the name of Evagelia. She is absolutely killing it and if you search up her name on Spotify, you will see tens of millions of downloads for her music. She keeps pumping out hit after hit after hit. She's an incredible performer and I got the chance to see her a few weeks ago and just put on a crazy show for thousands of people. She also performed in front of a sold-out Barclays Center crowd in Brooklyn, new York, and she's just an all-around good person that is doing incredible things. We're going to talk about the business of music and what it means to be an artist in this world, which I know nothing about, and we're going to talk about just random great stuff in this episode. So enjoy it starting now.

00:50

My name is George Stroumboulis and I'm extremely passionate about traveling the world, meeting new people and learning about new businesses. Join me as I sit down with other entrepreneurs to learn about their journeys, as I sit down with other entrepreneurs to learn about their journeys. This episode of Invigorate your Business starts now, so I'm excited. I'm sitting with an international pop music star right, like you're just climbing, climbing, climbing. I'm familiar with you for the last couple years.

01:23

Right, I would see you in the Greek communities online. You would see like clips and be like, oh okay, like I've never actually gone to Spotify until recently, but I'd always hear the clips. I'm like, wow, it's just gets in your head right, just amazing stuff. And then you would see people that I'm familiar with in the Greek community. You know posting and you go there. But up until like last month at FDF when we're going to jump into that is I got to see you perform live because my eight year old daughter wanted to go and see you and it was just amazing. And again, I don't mean this, I went in there just like cool, it's about the kids, it's about the community, but holy shit, did you put on a show?

02:02

It was like and again I was on the sidelines my daughter's front row, like screaming her head off, and you're just like the way you just commanded the stage, right, there were people in the back and then you're going in the back and the songs. It was just such a good vibe, thank you, and I think you overshadowed the main liner and we won't name who, but it was just like it was awesome, right, so that was really cool. Talk to me in general. Just we'll jump in FDF, right, like what. What does that mean, just from a, you know, cultural, everyone coming together and then being there.

Evangelia - Guest: 02:35

FDF was so cool for me. I I grew up in a Greek community in New Jersey, super involved, you know. It was in Goya and my church, st George Piscataway, and also a part of the Pan-Cretan Association. My dad was heavily involved, cultural chairperson, bringing over tons of musicians, plays, dancers, all sorts of things They'd come through. Stay at my house.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 03:02

No way.

Evangelia - Guest: 03:03

So I grew up very, very involved. I grew up Greek dancing, especially Cretan. Stay at my house, no way, um. So I grew up very, very involved. I grew up greek dancing, especially cretan dancing um at my silo since I was four years old and for me, greek dancing was always something that came naturally, in a way, it was just like it always felt like something I was meant to do and something I love doing, always enjoyed doing, and always would look forward to. All my summers in crete um going to the panigiria, the gledia, those parties, and just dancing the entire time like no sitting, like best exercise ever till sunrise until sunrise, and my yeah was always so proud of that and she'd always be like oh, I did.

03:46

I dedicated that dance to you like we had like just such a great I had. This grew up with such a strong love for my Greek heritage and my culture and the dances, and I never got to experience something like FDF, though, and everybody told me like you have no idea what you're about to get yourself into Like FDF is insane.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 04:09

But wait, even growing up in New Jersey, you never participated in FDF. No, no, no.

Evangelia - Guest: 04:15

It wasn't. Um, I also think you mentioned your daughter played soccer. I, by the time I got to high school, soccer really was like I had to take up all my time. So then I was no longer dancing in the dance group, I was just dancing in my life, all the time you know.

04:32

So by the time I think my, my church or my synagogue had gone to FDF, I wasn't. I was no longer like deeply involved, but I heard about it. I think they like got an award that year that they went. We were pretty good, but it was also mainly like a West coast, midwest kind of thing and it just wasn't something that I had, something I heard about, knew about, thought was cool, but never got the opportunity to be involved in.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 04:59

Right.

Evangelia - Guest: 04:59

So then, when this opportunity came up and I was like, oh, a Greek dance festival with, like, greek american youth that love greek dancing as much as I do. This is gonna be so much fun and compete, and compete and like they're all there and they told me they're like they're gonna be dancing up till 5 am.

05:17

The musicians are gonna be playing in the lobbies and I was like whoa sure yeah yeah, and because I experienced something similar to like the Cretan conventions and we would dance all through the night. But this was on a whole other level because the lobby at like 5 am, you got one side the musicians playing like stuff from Thragi and the other side they're playing Kritika and like in the middle they're playing something else with Dlarina, and everybody's dancing and having a good time and is just so passionate.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 05:41

Insane yeah. It was insane, it was time and is just so passionate. Insane, yeah, it was insane. It was insane. I, I grew up in canada, no, but then I'm 42 and when I would see guys my age dancing and they knew 18 different dances when I grew up, like it was embarrassing to go do it. I still did it because I had to do it. Yeah, but like kind of envious. Now where I'm like man, they know all these dances.

Evangelia - Guest: 06:00

Yeah, it's cool and now it's like it's cool, and I and I love that. I love embracing that and making cool, because I mean, to be honest, I remember when I I danced at my church festival and I had american friends come. This was when I was younger, though, and I was a little bit like, oh, I don't know what they're gonna think about these crazy outfits and this music that we're gonna wear. And you know, it's not something like when you're growing up and you know you're worrying about what other people think, especially in, like, middle school, you can be like embarrassed just because it's something different. But I think, with FDF, what's really cool is it makes it really cool to love your culture and to show it off.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 06:42

Absolutely.

Evangelia - Guest: 06:43

And I think anybody who's not Greek would show up there. They'd be like this is awesome. Party Like this is so cool.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 06:49

Yeah. And then for the non-Greek we have a lot of non-Greek listeners. Fdf is Folk Dance Festival. Yes, Every year. 4,000 people were there this year. Yeah, that's a lot. Anaheim area was taken over.

Evangelia - Guest: 07:00

Yeah, so then the night of the concert yes um, I got to perform the saturday night and you know, it's like no joke. Like they're the screens, they had the cameraman.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 07:10

I was like oh, I get to play with the cameraman here.

Evangelia - Guest: 07:12

This is fun, so you saw I was I was like looking into the camera, like you know, going down the, I saw that they, they split the. They split the room with 21 and up and then under 21 and they split it with two tables, two like long tables, which created this wide not wide, but a hallway for me to walk through.

07:34

So I saw that I was like oh yeah, I'm going down there Because I love to go into the crowd whenever possible. So going down there and I got to high five your daughter, yeah.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 07:43

Was that premeditated?

Evangelia - Guest: 07:47

Like did you know before the show that I'm going to do this, or did it just come? I always love I kind of scope stuff out before to see, like, okay, if I didn't want to go into the crowd, how can it happen?

07:56

It's something that I love to do and it's always like unexpected when it happens and you kind of create this moment and this energy with the people. Right, I love to get more connected. But it was a big stage. So I was like ah and? And everybody was, you know, they had barriers, yes. So I was like I don't know if I can go into the crowd. But then I saw that and like I asked production, I was like can I go through that? Can I just walk down and go through that? And they said yeah, and so it's so funny in some of the videos the one I post, you see, like the security walking behind me and like it was wild yeah, it was so much fun, it was so cool, like I know.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 08:33

After that, the next day, everyone was talking about just the energy, the performance, and it's just cool to see. So let's take a step back. Right you are. You are a Sony Sony Germany recording artist, right?

Evangelia - Guest: 08:45

Sony Germany and now, um most recently, epic records in the U S.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 08:50

Are you serious? Congratulations. Those are like the names right, they're huge names, crazy. So this is a business podcast, we're going to talk culture. But how does that even happen? Let's rewind it back to New Jersey. I know you've said your story countless times on different podcasts and that, but, like for our listeners, give us a background. Like how did you go from birth to here?

Evangelia - Guest: 09:13

In how much time?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 09:14

No, just fast forward to like 10 years old onward.

Evangelia - Guest: 09:18

So I was born? No, but we do actually have to start from birth. I was born in New Jersey. My dad's from Crete, my mom's Italian-American and my dad came over from Crete in his 30s, so he's like very Cretan and like Greek.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 09:32

Off the boat.

Evangelia - Guest: 09:32

Yeah, off the boat. So I'm first generation, yep, and basically I was born in Jersey and one month later I went to Crete and met my family and that was and and I also got baptized on a monastery in crete. So I always joke around people like, oh, were you born in greece?

09:51

I was like, not born, but I was baptized on a monastery on the mountains of crete, so that's pretty uh, that's pretty legit, yep um, and basically every summer for the rest of my life, like three, three to four months, like not just, like you know, four weeks, like I would miss the last days of school, miss the first days of school, and like be in Greece, um, with my family and with my yaya on the farm.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 10:15

Amazing.

Evangelia - Guest: 10:15

My yaya had a farm, like olive oil, you know, olive groves, sheep, uh, chickens, like everything. So I just kind of learned the simple life and simple way of living and we had Palo Jora, a really amazing beautiful beach town, 10 minutes away. So I'd go to the beach and just hang out with my friends all night, and it was just the best Like other kids, like American kids, go to camp, like I went to Camp Kriti you know the best times, the lessons.

10:44

Like you, just appreciate stuff it was amazing and so for me it was my greek was my first language. Yeah, I learned greek first and then english kind of came simultaneously as I went to preschool and everything just kind of. You know, when you're a kid, you're a sponge, it's so um, how does that work?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 10:59

sorry, how does that work, having so an italian, american, mother, catholic, stubborn greek, by default father right like he's? How do? You go to greece for those months, and then the language well, my mom, my mom was not catholic.

Evangelia - Guest: 11:14

Um, they grew up I don't even know they weren't the most religious, so that was pretty easy for her. She she converted to greek orthodox. She was like my real life, my big fat greek wedding, perfect. She converted to g Orthodox. She learned Greek. She learned the languages. Like my mom speaks better Greek than some Greek Americans that I know, like she can carry a conversation, she can read and write up to a certain extent as well. So my mom was very, very, very supportive of the culture.

11:42

The sad thing about my Italian side um, it was a bit of a side note, but it was my great grandfather that came here, so by the time I got to my mom, the Italian language was lost and it wasn't as strong of a cultural grab, whereas with my dad it was like he was from Greece, whole family still in Greece, you know. And so for me to get in touch with my Italian side, I took Italian in middle school and I always feel, like you know, an attachment to my Italian side too, but I have to like dig deeper for it to find it.

12:14

Um, but yeah, so and like we said before, my dad was involved in the pancretin association or involved in the church community and everything. So I was just always surrounded by um, a love for my culture and keeping it alive, and I was always like the Greek girl. My friends would come over like we didn't have normal snacks. We'd have bread and olive oil, like that's what we had at my house.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 12:37

What was the makeup of your friends? Were it just white American kids?

Evangelia - Guest: 12:40

Were there it was pretty diverse. I hadian friends puerto rican um yeah, a lot of italian americans because new jersey there's a lot of italian americans bridgewater um bridgewater yeah and yeah, it was definitely definitely a mix asian indian. That was what was awesome about. Like. People in greece often ask me like oh, what was it like I was?

13:04

like, I love growing up in a diverse community, like I was a greek girl but, like the girl next to me was a sicilian girl, and the other girl next to me was, you know, from england, and it's just magical and we're all just sharing our culture and appreciating it very. I'm all about that, yep, so then fast forward. I soccer was always my, my love. I did love music.

13:26

I loved watching like american idol okay with my dad and like guessing who would win, like we predicted carrie underwood, like that girl's got it, like it was just such a funny thing and I would always like imagine, like I wonder, what simon cowell would think if I, like you know, went up there and sang were you singing at that time when you were watching?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 13:43

I was singing.

Evangelia - Guest: 13:44

I was singing, but I was singing more like performed with my friends in middle school and, like, I think, fifth grade, I made like a girl band called like heart's desire and I would write the songs and we'd make choreography with like two of my friends. I think we took like. I think we took like band cover photos on on like polaroids. I need to find these, that's amazing it's always, like you know, I grew up on the spice girls.

14:06

Britney spears like these pop icon yep and I you know, I was britney spears for halloween one year, like with her little microphone and pre-emotional breakdown yeah pre-emotional, pre-emotional breakdown god bless yeah, um and yeah. It was just something I always, always dreamed about and always like fantasized about and um while I'll show you guys, while soccer.

14:32

While soccer was dominant. Yeah, I played like travel soccer. My dad was my coach. I would practice in the backyard. That's awesome every day, like you know. The headers, the juggling, like the, the strategy, like everything was super, super deep, um, and then fast forward into high school. At that point I'm not really as vocal anymore on how much I'd like to sing. It was more of like a private experience for me, like I discovered this artist, ingrid Michaelson, on YouTube and a lot of her music at the time was just so simple, like just on a ukulele or just on a guitar, and it felt accessible for me and I was like, ah, I love this, I love this singer, songwriter thing. I really like want to do this. But again, soccer was still the main focus. And then I tore my ACL, which was in high school I was 16.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 15:21

Oh no.

Evangelia - Guest: 15:22

Yeah.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 15:22

Pre-torn ACL. What were your aspirations for soccer? Like U S women's soccer team? Like what were you? They?

Evangelia - Guest: 15:27

weren't that high, but they were like college at some. At some level you know to play, to play in college and do some sort of scholarship or something and uh, yeah, cause I was playing in like pretty high level travel teams in high school. That's awesome and it was like my life, like I was the soccer player greek soccer player girl, you know and it's not easy, like it's a cutthroat, it's oh yeah, it's intense yes, in this country, women's soccer is super intense that's why I would always go to greece and I'm the only girl that would play.

15:58

But I think part of what made me tough when I would come back and play in the us is that I played all those boys in Greece barefoot barefoot barefoot on gravel, and they're like oh my God, like you play, or like I'd like head the ball, and they'd be like oh my God, are you okay?

16:12

I'm like you guys like, just cause I'm a girl Doesn't mean like like I'm fine, you can pass me the ball, or the best is like when I'd like trap it, like on my chest up here, and they're like oh, I'm like you guys, there's a difference, it's here okay, like it was just so funny, like anything I would do, that was like pretty normal. They'd be like oh, are you okay?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 16:35

the poor, delicate flower.

Evangelia - Guest: 16:36

Yeah, exactly you know, but then they realized they were like, oh, I want her on my team, um, so that was always a lot of fun. I also kind of always loved that, like I love the idea of like proving you know the boys wrong.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 16:48

I'm just like, yeah, anything boys can do, girls can do better, like that was just kind of always my, my vibe that didn't mean much to me pre having three daughters and I know that sounds chauvinist, I don't mean it to be. I'm just like, yeah, okay, I mean it's a quality. And then I had daughters. I'm like, oh, no, it's not.

Evangelia - Guest: 17:05

Yeah, right, you just see things differently now you see things differently and you want her to go out there and like, if it's a whole group of boys to be like, yeah, I'm gonna play go, don't cry. Just, let's do this just play, absolutely, because then they, then they, you, just then, they just realize that you're actually just a human and you all can play soccer together Like it's not that big of a deal, absolutely. But yeah, how do we?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 17:27

So you tore your ACL.

Evangelia - Guest: 17:29

Yes, I tore my ACL. I was absolutely devastated. I was devastated.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 17:34

Was that? It's like, if you're a professional athlete, you tear your ACL, it's a year plus recovery and your career is pretty much done.

Evangelia - Guest: 17:41

Yeah, it was like, and I had just joined this new team that I was so excited about and it was rough. It was really really rough and a lot of tears and I got the surgery and I was kind of stuck at home. But that's also when I like found some time to like learn ukulele and learn guitar off of YouTube and I started exploring and like kind of writing a little bit on my own and again it was kind of more like I don't want to say totally secret, like my close friends knew I really liked to sing but it wasn't really like a known thing.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 18:13

Right Um were you performing for your friends.

Evangelia - Guest: 18:15

Like, would they hear sometimes Okay, but honestly not really.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 18:20

Yeah.

Evangelia - Guest: 18:21

And, um, like I even remember it was like something I really wanted to do. I remember for eighth grade I wanted to audition for the talent show and I signed up to audition and I was about to walk into the audition and then I walked out because I was too nervous and too scared to like do it publicly, so fast forward. I'm at a party in high school, it's the senior year. Do it publicly, so fast forward. I'm at a party in high school, it's a senior year. And, um, my friend pulls out her guitar and we're like sitting around a fire and she's like she's playing and I start singing along and she was like you're good, where did this come from wait a second.

18:58

Do you want to start a band? I was like I would love nothing more than to start a band.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 19:03

She didn't finish her sentence. Yeah, I was just like let's do it.

Evangelia - Guest: 19:09

So we started a band and started writing music.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 19:11

What was the name of the band?

Evangelia - Guest: 19:12

It was me the band was Jarrett's Coastline, because our friend Jarrett was there when we were trying to figure out the name and we opened a. We were looking through the dictionary so we thought it would be cool to like find a cool word and we liked coastline. We're like.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 19:25

I like that. It's better than hairline. Yeah, so we were.

Evangelia - Guest: 19:28

Jared's coastline Pretty random but it was her on guitar, me singing and another friend on cello, and we auditioned for Battle of the Bands.

19:40

And I tanked, I got nervous and I sang off key and we didn't make it. I, like, got nervous and I sang off key and we didn't make it, and I was so upset and I remember crying that day because we were ready, like we wrote the song, like everything was great, but I just got I don't know what happened to me mentally that day, and then we were like you know what? We didn't work this hard for nothing. We wrote all these songs.

20:01

So we invited all our friends to my friend's house and we got a PA system and we had our own concert get out of here and we had our own concert and that was kind of how and uh, we had our own concert and I felt like, okay, I got to redeem myself and I was walking through the high school and I saw this poster and it said can you sing in a different language? Do you want to be part of the or do a talent or show something for your culture, if you want to do the cultural diversity show? And I was like, well, I actually just learned this song. Um, what song was it?

20:35

and I had just learned it to perform it for goya oh wow, actually for a church youth group and I was like actually I do know how to play a song and sing it in greek. I'm gonna audition for this and I auditioned and then I performed in front of the entire student body. So all 600 like seniors, juniors in greek in greek and it was just me. I remember I was like a little nervous like the. The mic wasn't like, it was just kind of this like very like.

20:59

If it was in a movie, it would be this like awkward, like coming of age you know, and I'm waiting and like the girls being like ugh and I'm just going to be good, you know what I mean. Like that was like the whole vibe. But then I, it was set up, it was just a spotlight, and then I sang this song in Greek and it was dead silent while I was performing and at the end, you know, you got like the Mary V kind of thing and I was like it was my first time really feeling, maybe second, because when we did that show I was just like this is special and this felt really good and I really liked doing this. And then I continued through.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 21:34

And that was like senior year high school.

Evangelia - Guest: 21:36

Senior year high school, okay, and so like, yeah, like, singing in Greek and performing for a full American audience was the first time I felt truly myself, in a way.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 21:47

That's interesting, is it so you're Greek. When you speak Greek, I'm like oh, she's off the boat. She's like. Your Greek is. Can't be better, Right Accent pronunciation, everything. Was it like a safe zone for you Like?

Evangelia - Guest: 21:58

maybe I think it was a safe zone and something like nobody else was doing, you know, and it was just like it was you know, and it was just like your niche is my, and it was just this. Like I knew that song inside and now I was like ready to do it and it just felt right, and it just felt good. And then fast forward through college. I went. I studied um at ruckers university yep I have my undergrad in political science and my master's is in elementary special education.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 22:26

Oh, I'm sorry, Look at you.

Evangelia - Guest: 22:27

Yes. I got educated. Yeah, educated, educated, and my dad would say like, like music is great, but it's a hobby. Yep, get a job that you like and I was if I wasn't doing music. Teaching is my other passion.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 22:43

Teaching.

Evangelia - Guest: 22:44

Yes, so studied that. But while I was now at Rutgers I was. I was now like I liked performing. I had done it and now I wanted to keep doing it. So I was doing open mic nights. I was writing songs. I had my first like falling in love, heartbreak stuff, so I had tons to write about.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 23:00

No way.

Evangelia - Guest: 23:00

And then I started organizing and hosting my own events all in like Jersey, new York area.

23:06

Jersey, yeah, especially at Rutgers. I had started this other band that I was in, so I was just super involved. Everybody thought I was in the music school because I was doing so much music outwardly, like that was my thing and what I wanted. And then I started going into. Then I got my job working in New Jersey and music was still super strong of the desire for me and I and I felt this, I've always felt I was like I have this thing in me, like if I just like I don't know, like if I just keep doing it, maybe something will happen. And so I was teaching by day and by night. I was running around New York city to every studio, performance, networking, you name it. I was doing it, it so your early 20s?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 23:46

you're officially working now as a teacher. Yeah, and what grade were you?

Evangelia - Guest: 23:50

um, I started in fifth uh in kindergarten. I did six months of that because I I took over uh like a maternity leave position a woman who was out for to have her baby, and then the next day I went from kindergarten to sixth grade. Oh my gosh it was crazy.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 24:04

But that's exhausting right Like all day and then rushing into the city.

Evangelia - Guest: 24:08

God bless teachers.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 24:09

Oh, absolutely.

Evangelia - Guest: 24:11

It was a lot and yeah. So then. So every hour that I wasn't teaching or that I didn't need to dedicate to that line of work that I was doing, I was dedicating to music. And I remember my first year I lived at home, save up money, and my dad was home and he was like, what are you doing? Running around New York, blah, blah, blah what's your principal going to say? And I was like that, don't worry, I've got glowing reviews. Like I'm, I'm doing this. Like, trust me, I was like grading papers on the subway, like I was just doing everything that I possibly could because that's that was my passion, that's what I wanted to do. And then, three years into it, there's budget cuts in New Jersey and my school district has to cut like 30 teachers. So I still wasn't tenured yet. I was one of the younger ones, so we were the first to go.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 24:59

Last in first out right.

Evangelia - Guest: 25:01

So I lost my job and it was one of those things where it was like so scary to hear. But then all the teachers that knew you know what I was doing said that when I started soft releasing some music online, what year are we talking out?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 25:21

2018, 20, okay, so I forget. You're so young. So 2018, this happens. You're releasing, you're testing the market.

Evangelia - Guest: 25:28

Yeah, testing and things are kind of like starting the bubble and starting to happen for me, and I wasn't incorporating yeah. So I wasn't incorporating Greek elements yet, it was just more singer, songwriter stuff. And I went and my co-teacher, who actually was my sixth grade teacher once upon a time, and then fast forward. We, we taught together, which was so cool, but she would always cover for me when I'd have like to skip school or something important.

25:52

She'd be like I got you. Don't worry, go do your thing. Because when I first showed her my music she was like my love. I love teaching with you, but you're not going to be teaching for very long, like she called it, she saw that she called it, and so then, when I was laid off, she was like it was like now's your time to fly blessing, yeah Like go, and so that's what I did, and I decided to take it as a sign from the universe and an opportunity to not like.

26:20

I would never, I don't think I would have had the gusto to like quit, yes, to leave the safety net.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 26:25

Yeah, yeah.

Evangelia - Guest: 26:26

But it kind of gave me an out and I just didn't look for a new job.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 26:33

And I told my dad.

Evangelia - Guest: 26:33

I was like you know, and by that point my dad realized that like okay, she's got a thing going Because he came to one of the shows.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 26:41

And he saw, and he saw, and he told me after it was funny because it was a show deep, deep in brooklyn.

Evangelia - Guest: 26:49

Oh, geez, okay, and I was so deep, yeah, like bedside deep, and I was so excited because I finally I like booked this show, I like got a band and, like this promoter reached out and I didn't know what I was doing and, um, it was so deep in brooklyn like scary deep and the and and there were skulls everywhere. It was like this dive bar. The stage was like the size of this box, like it was embarrassing. I was like, oh my god, and my dad's here, like my dad was fuming.

27:13

He was like, where is my daughter performing, like what is she doing with her life? Um, but then we performed and where, like for you know, everybody before was like talking over everybody, like my dad didn't want that for me, but then there was something magical happened and he felt it and that space was like transformed. And he came up to me after the space with all the skulls and bedside and he was like Evangelia, like that was amazing and you deserve to be on bigger and better stages.

27:42

Oh man, as a father that like that hits a father, that like, yeah, which was crazy for me.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 27:46

Oh, my God.

Evangelia - Guest: 27:46

Because you know I was always kind of fighting. You know it was never mad, like it was never like intense fighting, but just kind of like comments of like your work, hello, like what are you doing? Don't get too like, don't go crazy over here. Um, but he saw, and um from that day he became like supportive and on board.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 28:09

I mean, my mom was always like follow your dreams. My mom was like we're like american, you need the ying to the yang right, um.

Evangelia - Guest: 28:13

But then he became very, very supportive and when this happened, I told him what I wanted to do and at that point he's like well, you know, give it a chance for a year. You could always go back. You have your master's, you have great reviews. It's not like you were bad, you know.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 28:26

And that's all you wanted as a father, like get your education, have something to fall back on.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 28:30

Yeah.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 28:30

Right. Isn't that crazy, though? How, if you didn't tear your ACL?

Evangelia - Guest: 28:34

Yeah.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 28:35

Right, you would have got some scholarship, you would have gone somewhere right Budget cuts and then you're actually able to pursue this.

Evangelia - Guest: 28:48

Exactly.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 28:49

So that's how you get up to here, and then it works. You're doing the shows Like how do you go from there? And then actually being signed by Sony Germany and now Epic Records.

Evangelia - Guest: 29:00

So that all happens. And now it's like June, July, August, it's like the summertime and I'm just full force. Whatever I couldn't do in those hours that I was teaching, Now I'm like just doing even more.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 29:12

Like.

Evangelia - Guest: 29:13

I am out and about and networking, performing everything I possibly can, writing Um, and a friend invites me to this show. He's like my friend Stolar has a is doing a concert and he wants, uh, new York singers to be like planted into the audience, to surprise the audience and sing along to this one chorus and make it a moment. Are you free tonight? I was like, actually and there's the one night I happened to be free, which is rare- Right.

29:43

But I was like, yeah, I am free. And they sent me the song. I like learned the chorus and it was like this piano ballad. So I thought um, I thought this guy just sang like piano ballads.

29:53

But turns out that was just the piano ballad moment of the song okay then I walk in and it's this guy, he's like playing bass and he's singing like super soulfully. The band is amazing. Um, and that's jay st, who's now the love of my life and my creative partner. And so we meet that night and I remember asking my friend who brought me there, I was like can you introduce us? Like I want to. He was also, you know, known to be a really great songwriter and like known in the industry. I'd heard his name around it's like I'd love to meet him. And uh, he was like I'm sure he'll introduce himself to you. And so we met and we, you know, there's definitely chemistry and everything.

30:37

And I was like ah, because I was like, no, I really like him, but like also, there's business, potentially like it's just messy or could be messy, but we decided like let's explore this, and we avoided working together at first. But we decided like, let's explore this, and we avoided working together at first, but then it was just like of course we're going to work together. Like it just was. There was no way not to, or like this will make or break us, but we can't not try. And so we tried. And I told him I had the idea of incorporating Greek elements into my music, but any other producer or anybody else I'd ever brought it up to was like I don't know about that or like I don't think that's a good idea, or like they weren't the right person for it.

31:16

What was his reaction to that? His reaction was like yes, 1000%. He's like you are always speaking Greek. You're Greek dancing. You're showing me this music Like it's a huge part of who you are. It's not all of who you are, but it's a very, very big and important part of your life. Like us greek americans, honestly, being greek is kind of part of our identity like it's like our personality and we're just like.

31:38

No, we're always thinking about greece and like I, I was a girl who, like, wouldn't swim in the jersey shore because I was like I can't see my feet.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 31:45

I can only do the mediterranean scene you know, I mean.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 31:48

And the locals are like enough already, and I'm just like no, you don't understand.

Evangelia - Guest: 31:54

So he was just like this is what we should do and like hone in and zero in on it, because that's also what's going to like. Now is at a point where it wasn't just fun and games anymore. I needed to find a way of how to be make amazing music. That's both true to me and also can make me stand out. Yes, like literally thinking from a marketing perspective, like there's so many people trying to do this Right and so was there a fourth?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 32:19

So you did three of the fourth. One is to make this a business, right? Isn't that like the ultimate?

Evangelia - Guest: 32:24

make it a bit like you got to like live off, got to pay bills, got to pay bills. So my dad, uh, my, I don't know why I brought my dad up, but he loved that idea, obviously, when we said, when I told him the greek stuff, um, but we like really zeroed in and we went into the studio and I made a whole google doc of like music that was inspiring to me. I showed greek dances, I showed to jay and to other people that we would bring in to work on on it with us, like we bring in other songwriters and other producers and we'd bring them into our world. And we kind of wrote this like everything that we would make would have to be inspired from something on this, on this document. And that's how we got um, which is my first, first release was that your?

33:11

first release my first release and uh diving were the first two singles that we felt because there were a lot of songs, but those were the two that finally, because you have to write a lot to get to like what you're actually ready and want to release. And so we had those two um songs that we felt were a great example of who I am right now and what the identity that I want to put forth into the world. And Jay works closely with Aloe Black. If you're familiar with him. He sings like wake me up when it's all over.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 33:44

Oh shoot, yeah, that's iconic, yes.

Evangelia - Guest: 33:49

And he. So that was a song that he sang with avicii, so he was very connected in like europe and everything and we kind of told him our ideas and he was like you need to sign with a label in europe and go to germany. Like they have money.

34:02

Honestly, you know like they can, like they can do this, um, and then don't go to greece first, but go to germany to be in europe, and then also pay attention and nurture greece, because they're gonna understand this. Yes, um, and grow there, grow in europe, simultaneously do stuff in the us, but, like you know, the goal is international stardom. But, like, if we're talking, this is a business podcast, right? So the the the thing was like okay, let's like grow the apples in our own orchard and then great advice.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 34:36

Were you for it when he came up with that?

Evangelia - Guest: 34:38

scary for me, but it was like, uh, it made sense and we, uh, we got connected to the ceo of sony germany, patrick muschia-Kariba who's this amazing, amazing man? And he heard the. He had nothing going on, nothing besides these two demos that we had to, you know, to show for me the fact that Jay was had a history and is, you know, great Yep and we recommended from Aloe Blacc.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 35:06

But I had no social media, like nothing, um, but you have a great personality, right like getting in the room, yeah. So let me ask you, how do you even go about? Do you physically go to germany and meet with them? Like how does that?

Evangelia - Guest: 35:18

process. No, he just heard that.

35:19

He heard the demos and then he was just like I want to sign this off the music 2020 2020 yeah, it was like 2019 the conversation started and then 2020, february 2020, I fly to berlin to sign my record deal february 2020 end of february 2020 for you up like and then 20 march february 2020, like people were still not doing the mask thing, and we came, uh, and we came back and we had all these plans for me to go to europe to do like a radio tour for Pame Pame and like all this stuff, and obviously the world shut down. So I released. Luckily, this was a crazy person in me.

35:58

We really believed in this music, right, and we knew that, like somebody's gonna bite, like we're gonna make this happen, like we were super determined to the point where I took out a credit card and I funded and produced and shot a whole music video, the Bame Bam music video. I shot it in my hometown in Crete, in my Yaya's farmhouse, and I invited the whole village and we threw a little mini panijiri and we made this thing because we knew that the visual would also help us, help our case Absolutely, and I wanted that to be my first visual. So, you see, this is where I'm from and this is why my music sounds like this and um, patrick loved that too, and you know, we were able to pay off that credit card.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 36:39

That's amazing, that's amazing.

Evangelia - Guest: 36:42

You know, and so we did that, and so I'm with Sony, sony Germany, and then panic records represents Sony in the the Greek region, so they were kind of representing me essentially in Greece. And then you know, things are moving and Eleni Fureira hears my song Fotia, which came out in English first, and she was like I want to do this in Greek with you. I was like, oh my god, let's do it in Greek.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 37:07

Top five known artists in Greece. Right Out of Cyprus, she's huge.

Evangelia - Guest: 37:12

She's huge and she got second place in Eurovision, so she's also like people call her, queen of Europe.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 37:16

Yes. So, she reached out to you.

Evangelia - Guest: 37:19

Yeah.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 37:19

So how does that? Even she calls she texts like what does she do?

Evangelia - Guest: 37:23

I was in Greece for a music video for my song Onira, so for my song onira. So this was like fotia came out in like october. This is fast forward. July um july, whatever that year was 2021, I can't remember.

37:38

Okay, yeah, july 20, 21 must have been 20, I don't know. Um, it was the point where I could finally travel to greece. Yep, um, so it was 21. And she came to the meeting because she signed to Panic Records as well, because we wanted to shoot I wanted to shoot this music video in Greece. So we reached out to Panic for help in producing it. And she came in and walked in and was just like I was like what? Like you know my song? I'm a big fan of hers for, like every my summer memories are attached to an eleni fureira song. So she sat down. She said such amazing things to me. She's like I love your sound, I love what you're doing. I think you should go to eurovision one day. Like I heard fortiaz, I was like it just came on her playlist while she was like cooking or something in covid. She's like who is this girl and what is this song Like? I want this song, no way.

38:33

And then we did a duet in Greek and in Spanish.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 38:37

So that must have been surreal for you.

Evangelia - Guest: 38:39

It was crazy and that changed a lot for me. We got to perform it on TV in Greece and like premiere it on like the Mad Walk. It got to be like number one on the radio and it was like been in the top 10 for like months. It still is on rotation and playing, so it's an amazing song thank you like honestly it's.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 38:59

I'm telling you, I, I've my daughters have forced me. In the beginning, I'm like all right, let's listen to a couple. And then it was just it sticks. And every morning, on the way to school or to soccer or to whatever it's like, our playlist is let's go mi, let's go mi, yeah, yeah, like my two-year-old sings that song. Right, it's just, it's awesome. And then once that beat drops, like we love it, like it's replaced shakira's waka waka, because that's been on repeat which is wild, right, big shakira fan, so Right, sorry, shakira.

39:29

Sorry, shakira, we love you. She's on next week, so we're going to. Well, let me ask you so that's a career highlight. You're blowing up in Greece and then talk to me. Just while we're on this, we're going to get back to the business side. Yeah, argyros, yeah, right in Greece.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 39:47

Yeah.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 39:48

Right, and then let's talk from there to Barclay Center.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 39:51

Yeah.

Evangelia - Guest: 39:51

Epic show yeah, so I got asked to open for Argyros and Saki Rupa at the residence for to have a residency in Athens, which was not something I ever like thought about that I'd want. I never really had that in my head to do that.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 40:07

Right.

Evangelia - Guest: 40:08

I know a lot of the artists in Greece do it. But then I was asked and we saw who the artists are and I was like well, I might consider doing it for this, because I had to move my life to Greece for four months.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 40:19

Is that what it is? A residency is like four months there.

Evangelia - Guest: 40:22

Five, six, seven, it can be.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 40:24

Like the winter months, they usually it's the winter months.

Evangelia - Guest: 40:35

So we you usually it's the winter months. So we, you know, weighed out the pros and cons and everything, and it was just like all right, I'm moving to greece for the next few months, come on, um. And so it was really really cool and very fun and a amazing experience as a performer to get the opportunity to perform for 2 000 people every friday and saturday night, like you don't really get that opportunity here in the us as a developing artist at my level, you know. And so I got to do that and I saw it as kind of like my boot camp training for like my own touring and everything totally. And so I was like getting ready to do my own tour in the spring. So then I felt ready, you know, to like come out and perform and um, you know, we developed that relationship and then Argyros announced that he was coming to the U S huge to the.

41:10

Greek American girl. I'm already here, so it just kind of was a. It just was a good fit, I think, for them and I was super honored and grateful to have been asked to come along for that ride.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 41:20

So they asked you like after that, yeah. So let me ask you before we talk. Barclays, you did a five month residency. The first time you performed, on your first Friday night in front of these Greeks, flowers coming at you, all this stuff to your last performance in that five month residency Big difference Like were you learning every Friday, saturday? Yes, and just trying.

Evangelia - Guest: 41:40

Yeah, it was a big difference.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 41:42

Okay.

Evangelia - Guest: 41:42

Big difference from the first time. That time I was nervous. The first one because it's not like a regular concert, it's a club yes and you have their tables and they're there with their buddy and their friends. It's. It's still a show and a performance, but it's just a different experience. So you have to like I saw it as a challenge every day to like make eye contact with as many people as I could, to like bring them in and like keep them with me who weren't like this on their phones, weren't on their phones or not, like talking, waiting for their friends, like it's a and as an opener, that's something you have to deal with, um, that challenge, you know so.

42:23

But my performance from the beginning to the end was definitely. I felt way more confident. I just felt so good.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 42:33

Right.

Evangelia - Guest: 42:33

And I was like loving it and having so much fun.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 42:35

Well, that's a crash course. Like, imagine it was a crash course, right? Imagine any other. Like, if you want to adjust in Timberlake concert, and imagine he's performing and then hundreds of flowers just get shot at his face, like, could you? There's nothing like Greek. So let me's really crazy, you always see videos go viral of some greek performer on stage and the guys are just throwing flowers in their face.

Evangelia - Guest: 42:55

In their face, yeah like how was that?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 42:57

the first time they throw them out, is there?

Evangelia - Guest: 42:59

I luckily never got hit in the face, um, but there was one time where there's a video of this too I can like share with you I don't make it after um, but I was wearing a stiletto heel so it was like really thin and lately what they do in graysville. I don't like this. I liked when it used to just be flowers, but now they're throwing the trays with the flowers right styrofoam I just don't get it.

43:23

It's, I get it. Like you want to show macho, like look at this big pile but to me it looks like trash, like I just don't like it.

43:28

I like I wish it was just flowers, but anyway. But they're throwing these, these trays and the flowers and, um, I'm also dancing on stage, so it's kind of it's hard for me when there's a bunch of stuff everywhere. But my, my heel caught into the styrofoam tray, so the styrofoam tray is now like a part of my shoe and I'm like doing this like turn and like I see it, but then I like grabbed it on the beat and then I threw it down and then I kept going and I was like that was good it was so fun and people who were like with me in that moment were like cracking up because it was just like got it, I got it?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 44:06

Hey, we did it. So is there a rude way to throw them Like a disrespectful way?

Evangelia - Guest: 44:10

I think, if you're, like, truly aiming for their face, like we're trying to sing here, it's like an honor and we're grateful when you throw flowers, but also, you know, don't throw them at our face.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 44:19

Wouldn't it be better to throw dollar bills or bills?

Evangelia - Guest: 44:22

I mean, I would love that, especially if I could keep them Right, that's what I'm saying.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 44:34

Like you're throwing flowers out, then they recycle. The gypsies are reselling. I don't know, it's just a weird thing. It's a, it's a thing and you don't get it until you go totally. You have to be there, totally. So then, uh, new york city, adios on his own, if we talk about him for a second, like that's just a big deal to have barkley center as a venue, right, yeah, 13 000 people is what I read.

44:46

Yeah, uh, he asks you you're from the tri-state yeah so to be able to go to Barclays and MSG like they're. They're these spots. It was wild. Walk me through that day, like the day before we're like.

Evangelia - Guest: 45:00

Just walk us through that, because that's yeah, like leading up to it, I remember being I can't believe I'm gonna play Barclays. I know I was telling my friends and everybody and like the day I got to announce that that I got to be a part of that tour and the types of venues we were playing made me feel so proud to be Greek-American and so proud of Argyro he's a superstar, but that's a big thing. No Greek artist previously has played that kind of venue, and especially in the type of city like New York City, like you're playing, barclay center in Brooklyn. That's wild, that's amazing, and I felt just really proud that it was even happening. Um, and then, you know, leading up it was just rehearsals, finding the perfect outfit, like you know do you have a crew?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 45:45

Do you have like a stylist crew?

Evangelia - Guest: 45:47

Yeah, I have a stylist. I have friends that are designers. Um a close friend actually from jersey, sammy rosario. She made my outfit.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 45:55

She did from scratch.

Evangelia - Guest: 45:56

Um she designed it and I had my dancers who were on my tour with me. It was so cool for me because I I got to work with my team, because the only other times I've performed with um arigato was in greece. So I've now have like a team there, but but it was like okay, this is my home base.

46:12

This is like my people are here and so it was really, really special and like when we were doing soundcheck and I was just like looking out into what was about to be filled with all these people, it was so surreal. I was like I'm going to sing here and I danced pedozali.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 46:26

Yeah, listen, I saw the footage, I wasn't there it was so fun Pretty amazing. It was so fun. How do you even calm nerves when you're out there? Is it 2,000 or 12,000? Do you care?

Evangelia - Guest: 46:37

You know, I don't.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 46:40

No.

Evangelia - Guest: 46:40

It's kind of different now, now that I have a lot of performances under my belt and I've gotten to perform in stadiums before with Eleni Fureira. We've done our song, so it just kind of in some ways, the more intimate shows are even harder because they're everybody's there, like and close to you and like you see them, seeing you right when I'm on the stage at when I was on the stage at Barclays, there's a lot of lights so I couldn't really see.

47:09

Couldn't really see that much, to be honest, and I was just like there doing my thing. But when I could see, right, it was really epic that was epic it was epic and like I did this cover of um empire state of mind and I did blended, did my thing of like, blending greek, I like rewrote some of jay-z's verse and made it great.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 47:27

It was awesome I heard that it was so fun.

Evangelia - Guest: 47:31

And doing that in Barclay Center was probably like the highlight for me, Like singing that song is so inspiring.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 47:39

That's like the national anthem now.

Evangelia - Guest: 47:40

And to get to do it like my way and for that group of people was so freaking cool.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 47:48

So cool, it was so cool.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 47:50

That's pushed out the Frank Sinatra New York, new York.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 47:52

Like that's become the anthem right. So let me ask you?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 47:54

can you even get that on Spotify? Can you put that track, or is there copyright laws?

Evangelia - Guest: 47:59

I haven't thought about it. There's probably some sort of way to do it, but I think we'd have to figure out. Cause it? Because I changed, because, because I change the lyrics to greek, um, I think it's not just a cover anymore, okay, so it's badass but you can find it on all my socials. Yeah, I have the videos, but yeah so I was pumped about that one.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 48:20

Are you kidding me? So that's been your pinnacle.

Evangelia - Guest: 48:23

Obviously there's going to be more in your climbing but, like to date, that's been your biggest show performance, yeah what was cool about it is like it wasn't just me, like I was saying, performing one song, like I got to do a full, like a 25 to I think it was like a 30-minute set. So I got to really like show who I am and to get to show who I am in a place like that was so cool you can't.

48:47

It was so cool. And then, yeah, it was so cool, it was so cool. And then after when, when I you know went on and I was like just you know, backstage and just looking at a crowd and how happy I was, just like Greek America is here, yeah it's.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 48:57

We are here. They're filling up stadiums. Amazing, it was so special you should be so proud everyone's like proud to see that as well.

49:05

Yeah, you know like that incredible. Uh, talk to me just about you said, your camp and your team. Right, you're in an industry from the outside. Looking in, there's a lot of positive, but there's also dark sides to this business. Right, and again, being on the outside, not knowing, I feel like there's so many sleazy people, there's opportunists, there's people trying to take advantage. Everyone thinks they know someone and they're trying to get their hands in your pocket. Someone and they're trying to get their hands in your pocket. So, now that your, your fame is increasing, right, how do you like even having a like boyfriend, right, who's you guys sounds like an amazing guy and he's helping you grow and you're helping each other. You have that. That's like your safe zone. Then you have your family. Then you have friends. Then you have other people that are just trying to make money off you. How do you, how do you, navigate that?

Evangelia - Guest: 49:53

Well, if you're close circle, the people like your people, if they're, if you have a strong relationship with your people and you got that care about you, then it just makes everything easier. To be honest, it's like um, I feel so blessed and so lucky to get to work with my partner, um, with my boyfriend, because and it's been over five years now, like since 2018, right that we've been like at this and growing, but on the one, you're like how do you balance also working with your you know, and it's, it is a balance and it's, of course, like you have to, you know, set boundaries and everything but it's like it's my person that cares about me more than anybody else, and not just about the music and not just they care about me as a human and what's going to be best for me.

50:44

So the people that I bring close and like let in, like that, that come onto my management team, um, even, that join my social media team or whatever, like those are like my close people that I really trust and, uh, you just kind of vet everybody. You just have to vet everybody.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 51:03

Everyone has an agenda, fortunately. Unfortunately, everyone has some sort of and you?

Evangelia - Guest: 51:07

just kind of see like how can we all benefit at the end of the day, you know, that's a good way to look at it. There's a it's always an exchange, but it doesn't mean it has to be bad.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 51:18

Absolutely so strong business person. You're a business person when you're working at full-time teaching job and then hustling in the street like you. You grind right as a woman, as a man if I was in the space, it's easy to have kids. If I wanted to have a family, have a kid, nothing changes physically. You just go as a woman, early thirties, right Like down the road. Do you want kids? What's that going to look like for career?

Evangelia - Guest: 51:45

I do want kids. I want kids. What I love is that there's so many amazing pop star international women that are having kids and still being hot and awesome. Look at Beyonce, look at Rihanna, look at Fureira Just had a baby and she's had her best year yet she was on the cover of Vogue pregnant. Like for me, it's like I have certain things I want to accomplish before having, like when I have kids, I want to be like, really, really ready, yeah, um, and be very established in my career where it's like, yeah, I can have kids, or like when I have, maybe we'll go back to this interview if it happens, but I would like like one day, when I do have kids, I'm at the point where it's like then I'm on the cover of vogue, yes, and can do a beautiful like pregnancy shoot.

52:31

That's high fashion, like that's my dream, you know amazing um, and to just show that like it doesn't have to take away, like right now I'm still, I'm super in like the building stages, like it would be a lot to have kids and a family right now, and just not. It's just not the time. But in a few years it can be the time.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 52:50

Absolutely yeah, and you're going to balance it right yeah.

Evangelia - Guest: 52:52

And I would balance it. And just you know, I'd go and bring the kid on tour like, or just not tour as much Like there's, I'd have help. You know, there's, uh, there's all sorts of all sorts of ways to to do it right, and so be there.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 53:07

Yeah, so that's great. Let me ask you when you do a show like Barclays, or you're doing an FDF or you're doing your tour we're going to talk about coming up your national North American tour. Aside from finances, how do you measure? Like, uh, it was a successful event, like, is it social media bumps? Is it streams Like what? What metrics does your camp come back with and say hey, this was good or it wasn't?

Evangelia - Guest: 53:28

It's, uh, everything it's. There's so many different things. Um, it's great if there's a social media bump or more money is coming in.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 53:40

Like it's always great. Money helps you keep going.

Evangelia - Guest: 53:43

You know, money's great. There's the yeah, there's the social media metrics. There's, of course, uh, the money, there's uh, but sometimes it's also just about building awareness and building community and sometimes it's just like what you feel so like. When I was at fdf, I loved that I got to meet so many people face to face and create like an opportunity for a genuine connection that you don't always get to have. So I don't know like whether or not that like crazily bumped, like numbers you don't really know but it's also like you get this feeling.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 54:17

Right.

Evangelia - Guest: 54:18

And I think it's like a mix between numbers and the feeling you know, like for me when I played Barclays Center, like that feeling was enough.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 54:27

It's a high right. Yeah, you know so you didn't see the bump of a hundred thousand additional plays from let's go MIA, just from me listening.

Evangelia - Guest: 54:35

Probably I try to like stay kind of away from the numbers.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 54:41

Yep.

Evangelia - Guest: 54:42

Um, because sometimes it can cloud my art and like what I'm doing. So if I'm paying too much attention sometimes to like to the numbers, that's why I bring on like a social media team or other people who can like analyze it and can like tell me about it. But this way I can like feel good about what I'm putting out and then I just kind of don't pay that much attention.

55:07

I kind of like let the other people but I do pay attention. I guess what I'm saying is I don't put as heavy of a weight a weight on it, so you don't get consumed by it, right? Exactly Because it's very possible to get very consumed by numbers and then go into comparing and all of this stuff and it can be a dark rabbit hole that I have gone down in the past and I've been kind of learning different ways to navigate that, to not go down that.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 55:33

Yeah, and there's no overnight with anything right Building a business, whatever Everyone thinks like instant, overnight it's like nope.

Evangelia - Guest: 55:39

It's very hard work.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 55:40

Yeah, you've been at this since high school right To get here, You're not an overnight sensation or whatever, just because people are being aware of it, you're grinding, you're grinding, you're in the streets, you're meeting people Like yeah, it's a grind, without getting into your financials, obviously is does this support like, is this a job? It supports a lifestyle.

Evangelia - Guest: 56:03

Supports a lifestyle.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 56:04

Thank God Like the live performances.

Evangelia - Guest: 56:05

And now I also launched a jewelry line yes so Leah, by Vangelia. These are two of the rings, actually.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 56:11

We'll put everything up on the screen too.

Evangelia - Guest: 56:13

Yes, thank you. I always looked up to artists like Rihanna, like I brought up JLo, to like these artists that have their brands and their music but also have other adjacent brands with their interests and what they like, and I love fashion, I love like and I love fashion. I love jewelry, I love, I love also doing things that show again my culture. So for me it just felt right that the first extension outside of music and creating a brand would be handmade Greek jewelry, and so the first launch would do like limited drops. First launch was in November. We sold it out. I made a special launch for FDF.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 56:53

I saw it, yes, okay.

Evangelia - Guest: 56:55

And but.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 56:57

So what inspired this? You're creative, right, yeah, to be able to write hits that are getting people, don't? It's not a few thousand views, we're talking millions and millions of downloads. Like, that's your creativity, with you and your team coming up with these songs, yeah.

Evangelia - Guest: 57:12

So you're obviously creative and now you're getting into the jewelry side, which expresses like yeah is what made you want to do this I I love for me every summer was looking forward to greek dancing at the spaniiria and also going to the streets where all the jewelry uh, handmade jewelry people were that just have their like suitcase open and they're sitting there making the stuff on the side and it's all amazing and beautiful. And I would always come back every summer, back to the U? S and in school wearing handmade Greek jewelry. And everybody would ask me where is this jewelry from? Like, like, where did you get that? And I'd be like, oh, it's handmade by this guy in greece. And like, ah well, I can't get that. That's not helpful, you know, and um.

57:58

And then when it came time with my uh, so that was just in my regular everyday life. But then when it came time to think about my image as an artist and everything, jewelry is really important to me and I love always wearing jewelry and it's a way to express myself. And if I can, and if it's going to be, if I can get it to be, jewelry from Greece and rock different designers from Greece, especially if they're handmade like, that's my favorite thing. So it was always just, it was just something I was super passionate about pre-music, um, so it just kind of made sense. Um, and I love evil eyes, I love snakes, I love being, I'm really inspired by, uh, ancient greek art and um, so the ring is like, inspired by like evil eye and a snake without being an evil eye, and I got you that makes sense.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 58:50

Eye and a snake. I got you that makes sense and they're, they're beautiful. So do you actually design these? You're part of that whole process. Yes, and then are they made in the States or so they're made in Greece. They're made in Greece.

Evangelia - Guest: 58:59

They're made in Greece by this jeweler that I know very well, close friends that they've become, and you know, in uh in Athens.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 59:07

In.

Evangelia - Guest: 59:08

Athens. Yeah, so we came up with a design and one of my close friends and Jay are like my co-founders with it, so I don't do everything by myself, but the design really came from me and inspired and we talked to them and, you know, showed them what we wanted it to be and they brought it to life.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 59:27

So then, leah Collections, is that what it's called Website is?

Evangelia - Guest: 59:31

It's leahbyevangeliacom leahbyevangeliacom so you have to stay tuned because right now we're sold out of the first drop, so you have to stay tuned for drop 222 coming 222. Yeah, so they're all like drop one. It was drop 111. This is drop 222. I love angel numbers okay I very much believe in like synchronicities and signs and all of that, you're a greek woman I'm a greek woman, so, um yeah, drop 222 is gonna come sometime 2024, with a new design and it'll, again, will be a limited collection, so it'll be available?

01:00:05

yeah, it'll be available online, but I'm gonna make a special job for the tour too amazing, which leads into so you have a greek summer tour.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:00:13

Yes, here in the us and in canada. Yes, before we even talk about that, so you've performed internationally. Let's just talk about your international footprint. Yeah, like how, how many different countries have you?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:00:25

um last year I toured australia, which was really cool. Wow, we did three cities.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:00:29

We did perth, sydney and melbourne okay I've done uh, melbourne must have been insane. It was insane. Yeah, it was really. 700 000 greeks there. Yeah, it was crazy.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:00:39

Melbourne was crazy. Sydney was nuts, though, too. Sydney, we played the ivy, which was like oh okay, huge club there it was wild no way wow, I gotta come back to australia. This is great.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:00:50

And you were headlining these tours.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:00:52

Yes.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:00:52

And were you? Did you have local talent there opening up for you?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:00:56

Yeah so it was these uh promoters out there. They're called Olympus. They reached out about having me come and be like the headline performer at their event and so we did these events. But they were like like the. Especially the show that they did in Sydney was kind of like at FDF, where they had the cameras and like the screens, and I didn't even realize there were going to be screens until I turned around and was like doing my thing and then I saw the screen behind me.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:01:21

I was like, oh, that's me right now, and then you stopped the show. It was really funny. I was like, wow, it was really cool.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:01:29

It was just that was my first time doing a show, like as a headliner, with that big of a production which was really cool.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:01:40

That's a big deal getting out there yeah.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:01:42

Yeah, so that was really cool and to get to go to Australia this early in my career was a lot of artists, it's just far.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:01:47

Yeah.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:01:48

It's far. So was really a lot of artists it's just far. Yeah, it's far so it worked out for me to go there, which was really cool, amazing. We played, uh, south africa.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:01:54

I did with argyros where did you do where? Johannesburg johannesburg wow in october.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:02:01

Done cyprus, greece, uh, done all over the us and and canada yeah, don't forget my canada.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:02:09

Where else?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:02:10

Yes, of course. Where else have I done London?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:02:15

Okay, did the UK. Germany. Have you done, germany yet?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:02:18

I've done a showcase in Germany. I haven't done like an open show yet there, but I'm looking forward to it.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:02:26

That's pretty amazing. So now this tour. How does this? This is your baby, it's the Greek summer tour You're performing in a dozen. I had the list here, but my daughter took the autograph.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:02:38

Yeah, so we're doing 12 shows and it's called. It's called feels like Greek summer, because it's not quite Greek summer yet, but we're pre-gaming, we're getting ready to go to Greece and basically I'm kind of building this experience. I want people to come to the show to feel this like if you have been, have you been to greece in the summer?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:02:58

I'm there four times a year, four times a year, right.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:03:00

So greece in the summer there's nothing quite like it. It's just so like free and everybody just wants to have a good time and like party and the energy is like through the roof, um and just. It's beautiful, it's just, it's just this energy. You can't explain it unless you're there yeah, so we're gonna do our best to make it feel like greek summer amazing so it's gonna be, you're gonna when you come to the show. It's gonna be an experience where it feels like greek summer and I'm to bring you into my world.

01:03:31

That's amazing, and so have you been involved in masterminding this, or you're working with a promotion company and yeah, my booking agent, promotion company and now, like my choreographer and dancers, the designers that are going to make the outfits um, what kinds of experiences we might have for the fans, like we're working on getting, uh, like a not positive, this is gonna be the color, but most likely like a blue carpet and create like a red, like a red carpet type experience for the fans have when they come, like have people dress up, like we might make it like dress up for greek summer, so like in their like white linen and everything.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:04:11

Guys just show up shirts off yeah, that's fine. Whatever In their speedos, yeah, whatever.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:04:15

Just show up.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:04:16

So it's going to be like more than just like coming for the show, like you're coming for the experience and the energy.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:04:23

That's incredible, and are you going to?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:04:31

be able to sell like your shirts and stuff there as well. Okay, cause I know we were looking online too. Yeah, so we're going to have I'm going to definitely have t-shirts and merch on sale and we're going to have a special Leah drop for the rings. It'll only be available on the tour, so there'll be a lot of special, special perks for everybody.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:04:46

Amazing. And let me ask you do you find local talent to open for you? Because there's one. So I'm from Toronto, so I'm excited for Toronto. I hope you guys have a great showing there because it's just a great city.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:04:59

Just call your family. How many people are in your family?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:05:01

Oh, 122 between close. All right, we sold out. What's the venue in Toronto?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:05:15

It's called the Dance cave, I think. I'm not familiar, maybe two or 300. Okay, so halfway there it should be line up out the door. We're done.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:05:18

Toronto, we're going to get everyone out. So when you work outside, like who do you find? So I know Seattle, we have a local family friend here, nasi, who's going to open or he's going to perform there as well. Like that's just cool that you're giving these younger, younger artists who have basically no I'm not going to say no presence, but they're local, but you're giving them a platform now to see that, like that's just awesome. Like how much are you involved in?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:05:43

even I'm involved in like the asking around process and I didn't know Nasi before, but I did meet him after the Argyro show at the Dolby here in LA. I met him and his mom and they were so sweet.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:05:59

Yeah, nina, shout out, she's awesome, she's awesome.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:06:02

She's a good manager for him.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:06:03

Yeah, she's a momager. She's got him on the show. She got him on the show um. She got him on the show but like but he deserves it.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:06:09

Yep, um, but you know, they sent me uh, they sent me and my team like some footage of him performing and some of his music and he's great he's great he's great and he's actually working on, uh uh, the show intro for this podcast.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:06:23

He's working on a little hook, amazing amazing.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:06:26

Yeah, he's, he's, he's just, he's a great kid. I love Nina and it's just. I want people with good energy and a good vibe, and especially if they're local, and then their local people come out and it's just everybody wins.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:06:39

Absolutely.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:06:40

Everybody wins. So I'm definitely going to try and have some local talent in each city.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:06:46

That's amazing, yeah, so part of this and I know you've been amazing with your time and I thank you I want a couple more things and then I'm going to bring my two daughters that skipped school to come meet you today and they're going to come ask you a few questions. It's going to be odd. They're so excited. They're your little interns.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:07:07

The interns.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:07:08

But my eight year old, was like she touched my hand in the crowd.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:07:11

I'm like she's coming.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:07:13

Let's talk about advice. Right, you've been given advice through your whole life, you've learned. So someone that's sitting there today that thinks she did it I can do it right. What advice would you give a young girl or boy listening to this where it's like I too want to be a singer? Like unfiltered, the real life advice like what could you share?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:07:35

I would say to do it as much as you can, whenever you can. So even for me it was just like what I did. Yes, I had my job and that was important to me, but like, and all the other hours that I could possibly dedicate to it, I dedicated to it. And then, from doing that and like, networking as much as possible, definitely nowadays, like social media, like posting your talent and what you, what you want on social media and sharing it. It might not hit the first thing, or even after the hundredth video, but maybe that 220th video, somebody sees it and you know.

01:08:18

You just don't know how the universe is going to work. So just really put yourself out there as much as you can and forget about the cringe, like you just got to do it. Like for me, when I released Fotia, I remember I was kind of bummed with the numbers and this was when I was like, not in the best headspace, honestly, and I remember being bummed about it, but little did I know that, like a few months later, eleni Fureira actually came up for her on her YouTube and then, months later, she would like ask me to do a duet version of it. And then, a full year after it came out we did a whole new version of it. That then brought light, more life into this song that deserved this life.

01:08:58

But I didn't know how it was going to happen. You know, like the universe and just the world works in funny ways and so if you just keep at it and you keep going and you stay diligent, things will happen. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. You might not know how, but just stay determined. That's literally it, because it's very easy to give up.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:09:20

Yeah, and I think that's phenomenal advice and you got nervous at that open mic or whatever and you walked out right. Right, maybe you didn't have the right person next to you to say, no, let's do this. Then you did the band and you crack. You had a team to help you like let's go back and do our own concert, right? Yeah, so you've had that support. I think you know a lot of these kids that are sitting there by themselves may not have that support network, but it's good, like you should know, that you're touching young people, like they're seeing this, like it's a big deal, which, also, now that I have young daughters, how do you balance growing your career and not and being perceived a certain way, while you know you have these young girls like just following you, like is it hard to navigate that or is it you do what you do and do you know what I'm?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:10:07

trying to ask I think I know what you're trying to ask. I think it's kind of like you do what you do, you have to, obviously you know, be aware, but you also hope that the parents or whatever are also like are able are parenting.

01:10:21

You know what I mean. So like, maybe, like I don't know, like I'm a woman, right, so there's some stuff or some, maybe some content, some songs, uh, like diving, for example, has a curse word. It's not uh, it's pg-13. You know what I mean, but you know it's kind of like, just because there's kids, um, I think I saw it in around. So she's like it's not my job to be the role model. I'm aware, and of course I care about it. But I'm also like my own woman and my own artist and as an model. I'm aware, and of course I care about it. But I'm also like my own woman and my own artist and as an adult, I'm gonna do what expresses me and my art and um you know there's always gonna be haters, there's always gonna be critics, there's always gonna be haters.

01:11:02

There's always gonna be critics and I. That was hard to get used to at first, but you just gotta. You just gotta do you because at the end of the day, like one day, I'm gonna be old and sitting in a wheelchair. Well, I wish I like didn't do me yeah, 100, and you get one shot.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:11:17

At this right, we all do, we get one shot you get one shot.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:11:19

And I'd also want like say like a young, a young girl saying she's like oh, that's an independent woman doing what she wants to do. That's great.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:11:29

Absolutely, you know, and if you're inspiring people along the way, that's amazing, yeah, right. And then so let me ask you being too accessible, right, like you're, you're growing, you're trying to, you're trying to stimulate and get new fans and followers, like that's part of the business. But how much is it? I was nice, and then these people are taking advantage of me or they're overstepping, like how do you balance that? And what are some for the, for the people listening, what are some things where it's just don't do this, just show respect. Right, if you're out with someone, like just don't do this the one thing that's all right.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:12:06

Well, I, I really I always appreciate when I meet fans and I want to give as much time as I can and like I'm grateful if anybody asks to take a picture. I really try and like, do that. Um, what's hard is like when they're like, follow me back, there's only that I would say, like just don't do that old man?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:12:24

yeah, just don't do that. And it's a 45-year-old man?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:12:25

Yeah, just don't do that, like you know like why? Why, you know what I mean, yeah it's like but that's kind of like the only thing. But you know it comes with the territory Yep, and it can be exhausting when it's a lot of people After my shows, like I will go and stand at the merch with me every possible person that I can, which is a different experience from uh. You know, we have the VIP experience, which is a limited amount of people so it's like there's more time to breathe and to really talk.

01:12:58

But then, when there's like the line of people could be tired, a lot of ours just go to bed because you're tired after a show. But to me it really is important to meet every single possible person that I can, because I really am very grateful and I'm very appreciative because without them caring and listening and coming out like I can't do what I do Exactly, and so I always do my best to, you know, be as accessible in that way as possible. Um, in person especially, people come to shows but then it's just about the team around you to like to protect you. So there's some stuff where it's just like, hey, like reach out. I mean even like with this podcast, right, I was just like, oh, I'm super down, but like hit up my manager about it, don't make it happen.

01:13:43

By the way, eleni is awesome, you know, and this way that also clears my head from not having to think about that type of stuff in the logistics and I can focus on because you're creative, yeah, you have to do what you have to do.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:13:57

Yeah, that's great advice. And then back to the parenting thing. It's like even with my daughters hey, wait in line, right. When we first met you, dina was like like, okay, just have them say I'm like girls, wait, she's busy if she can, great. Like it comes down to parenting, a lot of people just try to you know, like people, like they're still people right and we're trying to get everything we can we're all just people.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:14:22

We're just people just trying to make our way in the world, just as much.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:14:28

Is there anything? And then social media you touched upon. So that was great. And then one thing I just want to make sure the listeners know, and we touched upon it you write your own songs, like that's a big deal, like these are hits, you're not just someone else's and they're giving you a script and you're just reading.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:14:45

You're writing these with yeah, yeah, I'm super involved in the whole process. Um, so me and Jay are constantly are like co-writing everything. He's executive producing a close, uh, produce co-producer that we work with Jordan Palmer and then a lot of close friends who are doing. It's really cool because we've been, I've been growing a lot with my peers. So where we started, a lot of my friends in new york that I was writing with now have all moved to la and we're all here and they're doing crazy things. Like, um, one of my friends, jay bach, who wrote with us for, uh, my song, aphrodite. He just got a grammy for some music that he wrote like kind of a big deal. My friends that wrote um, pame Pame with me, lars and Ali. Now they have like one of the biggest Eurovision songs. They wrote Snap um, and it's just really cool to come up with a crew and to be growing with a crew. And, like they all came to that gyros concert my friends Lars and Allie.

01:15:48

They came to Greece and saw me and saw me performing, got to experience this stuff so it's been really cool and special to bring in really talented friends into my world um and to create together and, like, grow together absolutely you know, like they were with me, that that you know signed on to write, like a crazy idea of a pame pame with bouzouki, like what is this? You know, they don't know. And we wrote that song in a studio in new york city and hit it yeah and then they got to see it at the dolby theater that's crazy years later. You know that's insane you touched upon.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:16:23

So for us, uh, I want to like closing, closing remarks, eurovision. I'm sure you get asked this a lot, but I feel like you're the perfect candidate your genre, your style, like you. Could go into your existing catalog and pick five songs, probably, that you could perform.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:16:40

Aspirations I would love to.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:16:43

Okay.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:16:43

I would love to you know. Growing up between Greecece and the us, I was always in greece in the summers, so you're the eurovision. Craziness would always kind of blow over and it wasn't so big here like we didn't really pay attention to american or canadian doesn't really know. They're starting to know. It's starting, especially from the, the movie will ferrell did um and some of the bands.

01:17:07

Lately there's been some success, some crossover success from eurovision, so people are starting to kind of know and pay more attention. But I I only really cared when um elna paparizzo won 2003 or 4, I don't really remember.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:17:21

But I was so proud.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:17:22

I was so proud of that she won that as a solo, not with antique and so for me, when I first released pame Pame and really got into stuff with Sony and even in Greece, eurovision wasn't I didn't even think about it, right. But then all the comments on my social media and on these videos and my music was like she needs to go to Eurovision, eurovision, eurovision, eurovision. I was like she needs to go to Eurovision, eurovision, eurovision. I was like interesting, I hadn't thought of that, to be honest. And then I kind of looked into it more and it really was my fans that put it, put the idea in our heads, um, and made me really want to do it. And then I kind of looked into it more and I was like, oh my god, this would be so amazing and I would be so proud to go and represent our culture on a international stage, like that it's like a political it's everything it's amazing.

01:18:14

It's the craziest contest in the world and, um, yeah, I would.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:18:18

I would love to hold on, I'm gonna call me so tacky after this and we're gonna pull some strings. Are you kidding me? Let's make it happen.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:18:24

You know, I'm ready.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:18:25

I'm ready, dude, you're awesome is there anything else that you want to cover before we go, because you've been so awesome you're um thanks yeah, you're, you have great energy I feel like I feel like we covered pretty much everything.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:18:40

The tour is big, which is great huge um.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:18:43

Kickoff date is oh yeah kickoff date is may 8th. In.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:18:48

Dallas, dallas yeah.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:18:50

In.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:18:50

Dallas we're doing. Let me see if I can remember it.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:18:52

Yeah.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:18:52

We're hitting Dallas, chicago, toronto, montreal, boston, new York, baltimore, philadelphia, la, phoenix, arizona, seattle, seattle 11 cities oh, that was. Was that 11? I must have missed one.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:19:15

Then there's 12 counting wasn't really my thing.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:19:18

Maybe it was 12, there's 12 it might have been 12, but I think I got most of them. I'm sorry if you're the city that's missing, but he'll put a graphic or something.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:19:26

Yeah, we will, we'll put all that up.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:19:29

But yeah, so it's my biggest stretch of a headlining tour and I'm just so excited to do it and I'm hoping to see everybody, especially those at FDF. That energy was crazy and to say earlier, it was so funny because I didn't realize they were going to split the room between 21 and 121 and I got out there. I was like something's different about this side of the room and like screaming kids and like the teenagers and stuff.

01:19:56

I was just like, oh, and a lot of the shows are all ages um, so I'm just really, really excited to be able to offer the show to to all ages and to just have. That's like the greek way you go to a panini, go to the lady, you got like the kids and the yes, like we're all in every age in between totally, and they want to sleep.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:20:16

You put the three chairs together and you lay them out, that's just kind of that's what I want. So I just want everybody's welcome.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:20:22

Yeah, yeah, papu. Uh, the kids like, bring them all, we're gonna have a good.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:20:26

We're going to be here in LA, for sure, and maybe Toronto.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:20:29

Amazing, you're awesome. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:20:33

To wrap up this podcast. I have two of my three daughters here to ask Evagelia some questions. Dimitra and Viviana Stribulis skipped school today to be here, Got flowers, desserts, wrote notes especially for Evagilia, so they're very excited to ask questions. So first up we have Dimitra. Take it away.

Dimitra (Demi) Stroumboulis - Co-host: 01:20:53

So my name is Dimitra Stubulis. Nice to meet you, you too, and I was wondering if. What made you want to be a singer?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:21:04

So I always had this dream of being a singer. You're in third grade, right, yeah? So there's a picture of me in third grade, where it's in the yearbook and everybody got to write what they wanted to be when they grow up. And there's this picture of me, exactly your age, and underneath it says Evangelia Psarakis Psarakis, singer. And I actually had forgotten about that. I knew I always wanted to, but then, um, I rediscovered that photo when a friend of mine found this yearbook and she sent it to me years later when I actually became a singer and I followed through on that dream and she was like third grade evangelia always knew. And, um, for me, singing is just something I've always, I've always loved and found so enjoyable and it's really, really special that I get to do it now and get to share my music with you yeah, um, how long do music videos take you to do?

01:22:00

it depends on the video, but they are a lot of work. There's a lot of time preparing for the video. So you have to think of what is actually going to happen and what are the colors going to be and what are the outfits that you're going to wear. Is there going to be choreography? Then you have to learn a whole dance and decide how it's going to be filmed and how many camera angles, what kind of camera, how do you want the edit to be.

01:22:27

There's so many factors that go into creating a visual like that, so they definitely take time. They can be done quickly if you work very fast, but the best is having at least a month ahead of time to plan and then that way, the day you go, if you have a a strong plan, then the day you go to film it, everything goes as smoothly as possible, and something will always not go according to plan anytime you go to film something. So you it makes you be the most prepared for for anything, and then you got to edit it. So then you need like another week or two to make sure the edit's right and then it's ready to come out.

Dimitra (Demi) Stroumboulis - Co-host: 01:23:05

Yeah and just saying, when I was at your concert and you got to touch my hand, it made me feel good like it made me feel happy. I'm so happy to hear that that means a lot to me.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:23:17

I can't wait to do that again and again.

Dimitra (Demi) Stroumboulis - Co-host: 01:23:18

Yeah, you're gonna come on tour right, yeah, and last thing is that you're way better than Taylor Swift and all those other singers.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:23:28

I appreciate the sentiment. I will take it, but they're amazing also and they're everybody's just different and good in their own way, but I really appreciate that.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:23:42

Thank you, bye, and next up we have Viviana Stoumboulis asking her special questions for Evagelia.

Viviana StroumboulisCo-host01:23:47

My name is Viviana Stroumboulis. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Evagelia. Are you nervous when you get on stage?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:24:04

So I like to call, I like to change the word from nervous to excitement, because, yes, I do feel nervous, I feel this like tingling sensation, but it's not that I'm scared to go on stage, it's that I'm excited to go on stage and I'm anticipating it.

Viviana StroumboulisCo-host01:24:16

So yes, do you have fun when I'm?

Evangelia - Guest: 01:24:19

on stage. I have so much fun when I'm on stage. What's your favorite song that you've seen my, my favorite song? That's a difficult question, but I would say my favorite one is Fotiha. I love saying Fotiha, do you?

Viviana Stroumboulis - Co-host: 01:24:40

like filming the songs.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:24:44

Do I like filming the songs? Yeah. Making music videos? Yeah, I love making music videos. Making music videos is one of my, and visuals in general is one of my favorite parts of this job, because it's not just what you hear, it's also what you see, and I get to be creative and play, dress up and pick out outfits and learn dances. I love to make videos.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:25:10

Viviana. What do we want to say to Viviana?

Viviana Stroumboulis - Co-hos: t01:25:12

Thank you.

Evangelia - Guest: 01:25:13

Thank you Great job. She had those questions memorized and ready to go.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:25:20

CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO

00:00:00 Interview With International Music Pop Star

00:02:25 FDF Greek Folk Dance Festival

00:08:40 Signing with Sony Music and Epic Records

00:11:08 Cultural Roots and Passion Discovery

00:15:25 Finding Passion Through Soccer and Music

00:24:15 Music Career and Creative Partnerships

00:37:50 Musical Journey From Greece to Barclay

00:42:23 Life as a Greek-American Performer

00:51:18 Balancing Career and Family Plans

00:58:52 Greek Summer Tour and Creations

01:10:41 Celebrity Accessibility and Eurovision Ambitions

01:18:40 Evagelia's Tour and Fan Interaction

HOW TO BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL POP MUSIC STAR

Becoming an international pop music star requires a combination of talent, hard work, networking, and strategy. Here's a general roadmap:

  1. Develop Your Talent: Hone your singing, songwriting, and performing skills. Take vocal lessons, practice regularly, and experiment with different musical styles to find your unique sound.

  2. Create Quality Music: Write and record high-quality songs that showcase your talent and creativity. Consider working with experienced producers and songwriters to refine your sound and create professional recordings.

  3. Build Your Brand: Develop a strong and distinctive image that reflects your personality and music. Invest in professional photoshoots, create a compelling bio, and maintain a consistent presence on social media platforms.

  4. Promote Your Music: Use social media, music streaming platforms, and online music stores to share your music with a global audience. Collaborate with influencers, bloggers, and music industry professionals to expand your reach and attract new fans.

  5. Perform Live: Take every opportunity to perform live, whether it's at local venues, music festivals, or talent competitions. Build a loyal fan base and gain valuable experience performing in front of different audiences.

  6. Network in the Industry: Attend music industry events, conferences, and networking parties to meet industry professionals, other artists, and potential collaborators. Build relationships with managers, agents, record labels, and music producers who can help further your career.

  7. Seek International Opportunities: Look for opportunities to perform and promote your music internationally. Consider touring in other countries, participating in international music festivals, or collaborating with artists from different cultures to expand your fan base worldwide.

  8. Stay Persistent and Resilient: The music industry can be challenging and competitive, so be prepared to face setbacks and rejection along the way. Stay focused on your goals, keep learning and growing as an artist, and never give up on your dreams of becoming an international pop music star.

Remember, success in the music industry often takes time, patience, and perseverance, but with talent, dedication, and the right opportunities, you can achieve your goals.

HOW TO LAUNCH A CAREER AS A SINGER

Launching a career as a singer involves several steps to establish yourself in the music industry. Here's a roadmap to get started:

  1. Develop Your Skills: Invest time in honing your singing abilities. Take vocal lessons, practice regularly, and explore different vocal techniques to find your unique style.

  2. Build Your Repertoire: Create a diverse repertoire of songs that showcase your vocal range and versatility. Experiment with different genres and styles to discover what resonates best with your voice and personality.

  3. Write or Collaborate on Songs: Consider writing your own songs or collaborating with songwriters to create original music. Developing your songwriting skills can help you stand out as an artist and connect more deeply with your audience.

  4. Create a Demo or EP: Record a professional demo or EP (extended play) showcasing your best songs. Invest in high-quality production to ensure your recordings sound polished and professional.

  5. Establish Your Brand: Develop a strong and cohesive brand identity that reflects your personality, style, and music. Create a compelling artist bio, design a memorable logo or visual aesthetic, and maintain a consistent presence on social media platforms.

  6. Promote Your Music: Use social media, music streaming platforms, and online music stores to share your music with a wider audience. Engage with your fans, collaborate with other artists, and seek opportunities for exposure through interviews, features, and music blogs.

  7. Perform Live: Take every opportunity to perform live, whether it's at local venues, open mic nights, or community events. Performing live not only helps you improve your stage presence and performance skills but also allows you to connect directly with your audience.

  8. Network in the Industry: Attend music industry events, showcases, and networking parties to meet other musicians, industry professionals, and potential collaborators. Build relationships with managers, agents, producers, and record labels who can help further your career.

  9. Seek Performance Opportunities: Look for opportunities to perform at music festivals, talent competitions, and industry showcases to gain exposure and build your fan base. Consider auditioning for singing competitions or talent shows to increase your visibility.

  10. Stay Persistent and Resilient: The music industry can be competitive and challenging, so be prepared to face rejection and setbacks along the way. Stay focused on your goals, continue to develop your skills, and remain resilient in the face of obstacles.

Launching a career as a singer requires dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to adapt to the ever-changing music industry landscape. By following these steps and staying true to your passion for music, you can take the first steps towards building a successful career as a singer.

THE BUSINESS OF GREEK SIGNERS AND THEIR CAREERS

The business of Greek singers and their careers involves various aspects, including talent development, promotion, performance opportunities, and industry networking. Here's an overview of how the business of Greek singers operates:

  1. Talent Development: Greek singers often start by honing their vocal skills and stage presence through formal training, such as vocal lessons and performance classes. Some may also learn to play musical instruments or develop songwriting abilities to enhance their artistic repertoire.

  2. Record Labels and Management: Many Greek singers sign with record labels or artist management companies to help advance their careers. These entities provide support in areas such as music production, marketing, promotion, and booking performances.

  3. Promotion and Marketing: Promoting Greek singers involves creating awareness of their music through various channels, including radio, television, social media, and live performances. Record labels and management teams often work together to create strategic marketing campaigns to reach a wider audience.

  4. Live Performances: Greek singers frequently perform live at concerts, music festivals, nightclubs, and other venues. Live performances are essential for building a fan base, connecting with audiences, and generating income through ticket sales and merchandise.

  5. Industry Networking: Networking within the Greek music industry is crucial for singers to establish connections with industry professionals, including record executives, producers, promoters, and fellow artists. Building relationships can lead to collaboration opportunities, performance bookings, and career advancement.

  6. Digital Distribution: With the rise of digital music platforms, Greek singers can distribute their music globally through streaming services, online music stores, and social media channels. Digital distribution provides singers with greater accessibility to audiences worldwide and allows them to monetize their music through royalties and streaming revenue.

  7. Cultural Significance: Greek singers often play a significant role in preserving and promoting Greek culture and identity through their music. They may incorporate traditional Greek music styles, instruments, and themes into their songs, contributing to the preservation of cultural heritage and fostering national pride.

  8. Global Reach: Some Greek singers achieve international success by expanding their reach beyond Greece to reach Greek diaspora communities and international audiences interested in world music. Collaborations with international artists, participation in music festivals abroad, and strategic marketing efforts can help Greek singers gain recognition on the global stage.

Overall, the business of Greek singers involves a combination of artistic talent, strategic planning, industry partnerships, and cultural significance to navigate the complexities of the music industry and achieve success in their careers.

MORE ABOUT EPISODE

Evagelia: Embracing Roots and Riding the Rhythms of Pop Stardom - A Conversation with George Strombolis

From Greek Dance to Pop Charts with Evagelia

A Melodic Mosaic of Evagelia's Artistic Life

Catching the Beat of Success with Evagelia

Rhythms and Roots in Evagelia's Musical Odyssey

Stepping into the limelight with her infectious energy and undeniable talent, Evagelia, the international pop sensation with Greek roots, sits down with me, George Stroumboulis, for a heart-to-heart that's as rich in cultural zest as it is in melodic beats. From her vibrant New Jersey childhood, infused with the spirit of Greek dancing, to the pivotal moments that shaped her path to stardom—like the leap from soccer cleats to guitar strings—our conversation is a mosaic of anecdotes that weave together the story of an artist truly in touch with her heritage.

As Evagelia recounts the turning points of her career, from her humble beginnings as a teacher with a dream to the whirlwind of signing with major record labels, we get an intimate look at the perseverance and serendipity that are the backbeats of her journey. The warmth of community support, from the once-dubious encouragement of her father to the solidarity of her Greek-American circles, highlights the profound impact of those she holds dear. And as she shares the electric thrill of her sold-out show at Barclays Center, you can't help but feel the rhythm of her passion for performance.

Closing out, Evagelia gives us a peek into the balancing act of a life in the limelight, from planning a family to planning tours, all while preserving her authenticity in a world of spotlights and fanfare. The anticipation for her upcoming North American tour is palpable, as is her dedication to meaningful fan interactions and the pull of Eurovision dreams. Through it all, Evagelia's story is a testament to the power of staying true to one's roots while dancing to the beat of one's own drum.

In the latest podcast episode hosted by George Strombolis, we were graced with the presence of Evagelia, an international pop sensation whose Greek roots have influenced her music career. This heart-to-heart conversation provided us with a rich tapestry of stories, blending the zest of cultural heritage with the rhythm of pop stardom.

Evagelia’s narrative began with her childhood in New Jersey, which was steeped in Greek traditions, including dance. The episode illuminated her path from a sports-driven youth to a music-centered life. A significant injury on the soccer field became a turning point, propelling her into the arms of music where she found solace and a new purpose. This part of her journey resonates with many who find themselves at a crossroads, offering inspiration to seek out new avenues and embrace change.

The discussion ventured into the transformative experiences that shaped Evagelia's life and career. From her beginnings as a dedicated teacher to signing with major record labels like Sony Germany and Epic Records, we learned about the perseverance required to follow one's dreams. A pivotal moment came when her father, initially skeptical of her artistic pursuits, became one of her staunchest supporters. This tale of family and community support emphasizes the profound impact of having a strong support system.

Her sold-out performance at Barclays Center stands as a testament to her hard-earned success. Evagelia shared the electrifying thrill of performing live, giving listeners an insider’s view of the world of professional music. The conversation shed light on the traditions encountered by a Greek-American performer, including the unique practice of flower throwing at Greek concerts, which adds a cultural nuance to her story..

The podcast also touched on the delicate balance of managing a high-profile career with personal life goals, such as starting a family. Here, the focus shifted to the strategies employed by successful women in the entertainment industry who have navigated motherhood without sacrificing their careers. This section of the conversation expanded into a broader discourse on the measures of success, which often go beyond financial gains and social media metrics.

The episode provided a sneak peek into Evagelia's upcoming North American tour and her foray into jewelry design with the Leah Collection. The anticipation for the tour, which aims to replicate the Greek summer vibe, was palpable. The details shared about the design process and the personal connections that fuel her creative journey added depth to our understanding of her as an artist and entrepreneur.

Finally, the conversation turned to the importance of maintaining accessibility and authenticity in the face of fame. Evagelia’s desire to stay true to her roots and engage meaningfully with fans, while also harboring Eurovision dreams, was a highlight of the discussion. The episode concluded with an endearing moment as George's daughters joined in, asking Evagelia about her motivations and favorite aspects of being a singer.

In sum, the episode painted a portrait of an artist who embodies the power of cultural heritage and the pursuit of personal dreams. Evagelia's story is not just one of pop stardom but also of staying grounded and connected to one's roots. This blend of cultural identity, passion for music, and the drive for success provided a compelling narrative that is sure to resonate with listeners and inspire them to dance to the beat of their own drums.

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