Georgios Kalpakidis
{{Short description|Greek songwriter}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Georgios Kalpakidis
| image =
| alias = Gorgi
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|4|27|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Tübingen, Germany
| origin = Thessaloniki, Greece
| genre = {{hlist|Pop|soft rock|pop/rock|dance}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Songwriter|journalist|presenter}}
| years_active = 2002–present
| associated_acts = {{hlist|Eldar|Anna Odobescu|Jan Johansen|Tika Patsatsia|Silva Hakobyan|Vilija Mataciunaite|Vaidas Baumila|Samanta Tina}}
}}
Georgios Kalpakidis,{{cite web|title=Georgios Kalpakidis|url=http://www.m3p.com.mt/wiki/Georgios_Kalpakidis|website=M3P|accessdate=2015-12-19}} also known as George Kalpakidis, Gorgi or GK (Greek: Γιώργος Καλπακίδης; born on 27 April 1978), is a Greek songwriter, former journalist, radio and TV host, best known for having composed the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest entry for Moldova, "Stay" by Anna Odobescu. He started his radio work at the age of 13 and continued his career in the media field until 2015. He made his television debut as a host on Europe One channel, with a show called "Join Me" and also started appearing as a guest host in several projects over the next few years, on other local stations. His breakthrough came in middle 2006, when a new contract brought him to one of the biggest national networks, Macedonia TV. It was during the Eurovision 2006 period in Athens, where he was given the task to cover the event and report daily on live TV. His "ESC '2006" special, entitled "Hard Rock Hallelujah", was noted as one of the shows with the highest ratings of the year.
Kalpakidis has been covering the Eurovision Song Contest as a journalist for radio and TV stations, magazines and newspapers from 2000 until 2008. He's also starred in two horror films in 2009 and 2010, directed by Nick Samaras. His musical steps began in 2003 when he decided to enter an online remix contest. He was the winner of the competition, having scored the maximum points, awarded by the voters who chose his rendition of the original "Adrenaline" by singer Maria Louiza Vasilopoulou (aka MLV). Even though it was announced that the prize would be a collaboration with the artist on her next album, MLV was dropped by her label therefore Kalpakidis didn’t receive his reward. The next year would mark the beginning of a still ongoing course, in the Eurovision Song Contest. Kalpakidis counts several entries in national selections, all over Europe.
Entries in the [[Eurovision Song Contest]]
| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Year ! rowspan="2" |Country ! rowspan="2" |Artist ! rowspan="2" |Song ! rowspan="2" |Music // Lyrics ! colspan="2" |Final ! colspan="2" |Semifinal |
| Place
!Points !Place !Points |
|---|
| 2019
|{{Flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova | "Stay" | Gorgi, T. Reil, J. Reil, M. Broberg | colspan="2" {{n/a|Failed to qualify}} |12th |85 |
Entries in [[Eurovision Song Contest]] Pre-Selections
| class="wikitable"
!Year ! Country ! Artist ! Song ! Result !Music // Lyrics |
| 2004
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania | EVA | "Be My Baby" | 10th | Gorgi |
| 2005
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania | EVA & Ceslovas Gabalis | 8th |Gorgi |
| rowspan="3" | 2008
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania | My Magic | 5th (semifinal) | Gorgi // S. Engel |
| {{Flagicon|Ireland}} Ireland
| Nikki Kavanagh | – |Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Spain}} Spain
| Crystina Maez | "Nuestro Destino" | – | Gorgi // Santana, Loredo |
| rowspan="2" | 2009
| {{Flagicon|Poland}} Poland | Nasty Ladies | "For Once In My Life"{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8QMZtrfOto|title=Nasty Ladies - For once in my life {Eurovision Preselection 2009} Poland|via=YouTube|date=2011-06-15|accessdate=2015-12-19}} | – | Gorgi // S. Engel |
| {{Flagicon|Georgia}} Georgia
| 4th |Gorgi |
| rowspan="2" | 2010
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania | Audrius Zavadskis | 8th (semifinal) |Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Ireland}} Ireland
| Nikki Kavanagh | "Sacred Fortune"{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDC9BOGWL6o|title=Nikki Kavanagh - Sacred Fortune (video)|via=YouTube|date=2011-02-17|accessdate=2015-12-19}} | – |Gorgi |
| rowspan="5" | 2011
| {{Flagicon|Switzerland}} Switzerland | Evelyn Zangger | "Who Do You Love?"{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d3rHLlRpsU|title=Evelyn - Who Do You Love?|via=YouTube|date=|accessdate=2015-12-19}} | – |Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Switzerland}} Switzerland
| Natalia Wohler | – |Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova
| Marcel Rosca | – |Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania
| Aurelija Slavinskaite | 11th (semifinal) |Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Portugal}} Portugal
| Tania Tavares | 10th | Gorgi // T. Tavares, N. Valerio |
| rowspan="5" | 2012
| {{Flagicon|Belarus}} Belarus | George Koldun | – | G. Koldun // Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Malta}} Malta
| Kaya | 13th |Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova
| Mariana Mihaila | 12th | Gorgi // A. O' Connor |
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania
|Donata Virbilaite |8th (semifinal) |A. Anastasiou // Gorgi |
| bgcolor="Silver"
|{{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania | DAR | 2nd | Gorgi, A. Martynenas // Gorgi |
| rowspan="3" | 2013
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania | DAR | 4th | Gorgi, A. Martynenas // Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania
| Samanta Tina & Vudis | 4th (first round) | A. Martynenas, Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Belarus}} Belarus
| Ivan Buslay | – | Gorgi |
| 2014
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania | 4th | Gorgi, Y. Malachi // Gorgi |
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| {{Flagicon|Switzerland}} Switzerland | Kaya | "In And Out Of Love"{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOPQflzuRe8|title=KAYA - In and out of love (Eurovision Switzerland 2015)|via=YouTube|date=2014-11-25|accessdate=2015-12-19}} | – | Gorgi, E. Rydmark |
| {{Flagicon|Cyprus}} Cyprus
| Anastasia Liberos | – |Gorgi, Y. Persson, L. Persson, M. Antoniou // Gorgi |
| rowspan="3" | 2016
| {{Flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova | PRIZA |11th (semifinal) | Gorgi, M. Huskic // Gorgi |
| {{Flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova
| Anna Gulko | 12th (semifinal) |
| {{Flagicon|Malta}} Malta
| Corazon | 8th | Gorgi, J. Gladnikoff, S. Ljunggren |
| rowspan="3" | 2017
| {{Flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova | Max Fall | "If I Could" | – | Gorgi, S. Ekstrand // Gorgi, N. Sofis |
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania
| Virgis Valuntonis | "Victorious" | 12th (first round) | Gorgi, J. Gladnikoff, S. Ljunggren |
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania
| "Run" | 8th (first round) | Gorgi, M. Huskic // N. Sofis |
| rowspan="3" | 2018
| {{Flagicon|Armenia}} Armenia | Suren Poghosyan | "The Voice" | 10th (semifinal) | Gorgi, N. Turner, J. Gladnikoff |
| {{Flagicon|Lithuania}} Lithuania
| Milda Martinkėnaitė | "Hurricane" | 7th (first round) | Gorgi, T. Reil, J. Reil, M. Broberg |
| {{Flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova
| Anna Timofei | "Endlessly" | 11th | Y. Persson, L. Persson, N. Bergqvist, S. Johansson // Gorgi |
| rowspan="2" | 2019
| {{Flagicon|Belarus}} Belarus | Angelika Pushnova | "Stop Breathing" | – | Gorgi, S. Ekstrand // Gorgi, N. Sofis |
| style="font-weight;background:gold;"
|{{Flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova | "Stay" | 1st | Gorgi, T. Reil, J. Reil, M. Broberg |
| 2021
| {{Flagicon|Belarus}} Belarus | CHAKRAS | "Waterfall" | – | Gorgi |
Participations in other festivals and contests
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Festival/Contest ! Location ! Artist ! Song ! Result ! Songwriters |
|---|
| 2003
| bgcolor="gold"|Online Contest | bgcolor="gold"|{{Flagicon|Greece}} Greece | bgcolor="gold" |MLV | bgcolor="gold"|"Adrenaline (Free Your Mind Remix)" | bgcolor="gold"|1st | bgcolor="gold"|Gorgi (Remix) |
| 2004
| Sunflower Festival | {{Flagicon|Serbia}} Zrenjanin, Serbia | EVA | "Be My Baby" | Finalist | Gorgi |
| 2007
| bgcolor="B08D57"|B.O.S. World Contest | bgcolor="B08D57"|{{Flagicon|Romania}} Romania | bgcolor="B08D57" |Gorgi | bgcolor="B08D57"|"On My Own" | bgcolor="B08D57"|3rd | bgcolor="B08D57"|Gorgi |
| 2009
| International Short Film Festival | {{Flagicon|Greece}} Drama, Greece | Gorgi | Original Soundtrack | – |Gorgi |
| 2011
| bgcolor="silver"|Gayvision Song Contest | bgcolor="silver"|{{Flagicon|Spain}} Torremolinos, Spain | bgcolor="silver" |Alejandro Sanchez | bgcolor="silver"|"Es Logico" | bgcolor="silver"|2nd | bgcolor="silver"|Gorgi, J. J. Santana Rodriguez |
| 2017
| bgcolor="gold"|Eurokids International Contest | bgcolor="gold"|{{Flagicon|Italy}} Maiori, Italy | bgcolor="gold" |Charlotte Summers | bgcolor="gold"|"Unicorn" | bgcolor="gold"|1st | bgcolor="gold"|Gorgi, Y. Persson, L. Persson // Gorgi |
| 2019
|{{Flagicon|Romania}} Braşov, Romania |"Dreaming" |– |Gorgi, N. Bergqvist, S. Johansson, G. Gorceag |
Further discography
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Artist ! Song ! Songwriters |
|---|
| 2002
| Gorgi | "(Is There) Anyone Out There" (Duran Duran Cover) | Duran Duran |
| rowspan="3" | 2006
| rowspan="3" | EVA | "Busiu Ten" | rowspan="3" | Gorgi |
| "Istripstu Tenai" |
| "Make It Right" |
| 2009
| Aleks Volasko | "Fant" | Gorgi |
| 2010
| "Lyg Pasaka" | Gorgi, V. Mataciunaite |
| rowspan="4" | 2011
| Kaya | "Your Touch" | Gorgi |
| Vudis
| "Gimme Your Love" | Vudis, Gorgi |
| Vudis & Bartas
| "Brand New Day" | A. Martinenas, Gorgi |
| Tomas Bareika
| "Sometimes" | T. Bareika, Gorgi |
| rowspan="9" | 2012
| Kaya | "Lonely Day" | Gorgi, A. O' Connor |
| Vicky Cornick
| "Hear What I Say" | Gorgi |
| rowspan="3" | George Koldun
| "Hypnotized" | rowspan="3" | G. Koldun, Gorgi |
| "Song With No Name" |
| "Through The Light" |
| rowspan="3" | DAR
| "Anytime" | rowspan="3" | A. Martynenas, Gorgi |
| "Take Me Far" |
| "Everybody Knows" |
| Nikos Karakalpakis
| "Turning the Tide" | Gorgi |
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| George Koldun & Anastasiya Sheverenko | "Hold Me Close" | G. Koldun, Gorgi |
| Silva Hakobyan
| "Leave A Light On" | Gorgi |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| rowspan="2" | George Koldun | "Stop" | rowspan="2" | G. Koldun, Gorgi |
| "The Girl With The Mysterious Eyes" |
| 2015
| Daumantas | "I Come Undone" | A. Martynenas, Gorgi |
| 2016
| George Koldun | "You Make Me Wanna Kiss You" | G. Koldun, Gorgi |
| 2017
|Benjamin |"Still Believe" |Y. Persson, L. Persson, N. Bergqvist, S. Johansson, Gorgi |
| 2018
|Olga Przybysz |"Forever" |Gorgi, J. Gladnikoff, S. Ljunggren |
| rowspan="3" |2020
|Sigurjón Örn |"Burn" |Gorgi, N. Bergqvist, S. Johansson, S. Böðvarsson |
| VoColor feat. Eldar
|"Until the End" |Gorgi, S. Ekstrand, N. Sofis |
| Anna Odobescu
|"My Oh My" |Gorgi |
| 2021
|Julian Lesiński |"Before I Go" |Gorgi, N. Bergqvist, S. Johansson |
| 2024
|Gorgi |"Giati" |Leif Evert Brixmark, Gorgi |
Remixes
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Artist !Song !Remix |
| 2003
|MLV |"Adrenaline" |Free Your Mind Remix |
| 2008
|Christian Deussen |"Lady" |Gorgi Remix |
| 2010
|Official Remix |
| rowspan="2" |2011
|"It's Not Real" |Gorgi's Emperor Remix |
| Joe Jonas
|"Love Slayer" |Gorgi's King-of-Sorrow Remix |
Filmography
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role |
|---|
| 2009
| Greek Psycho Cannibal | Guy in car |
| 2010
| Conspiracy of Blood | Evil stepbrother |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalpakidis, Georgios}}