Wikipedia

Dimitris Kontopoulos

Dimitris T. Kontopoulos (Greek: Δημήτρης Κοντόπουλος; born 9 November 1971) is a Greek composer, songwriter and record producer. His work includes Greek pop recordings, film and television music, and songs entered in the Eurovision Song Contest, including the 2026 winning entry Bangaranga, performed by Dara.

Dimitris Kontopoulos
Δημήτρης Κοντόπουλος
Kontopoulos
Kontopoulos
Background information
Born
Dimitris T. Kontopoulos

(1971-11-09) 9 November 1971 (age 54)
Athens, Greece
Genres
  • Pop
  • dance-pop
Occupations
  • Composer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active1999-present
LabelMajor
Websitedimitriskontopoulos.com

Kontopoulos has collaborated with several Greek recording artists, including Antonis Remos, Despina Vandi, Sakis Rouvas, Anna Vissi, Helena Paparizou and Michalis Hatzigiannis.[1] Outside Greece, he has worked particularly with artists connected with the Russian-language pop market and with Eurovision-related projects.[1]

Early life and education

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Kontopoulos was born in Athens, Greece, on 9 November 1971.[1] After graduating from the Ziridis Educational Institution, he studied film scoring at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.[1]

Career

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Greek pop music

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Kontopoulos became active in the Greek music industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His early work included production and composition for Greek pop artists, including Iro, Giannis Vardis and Katy Garbi. He later worked with commercially prominent Greek performers such as Antonis Remos, Despina Vandi, Sakis Rouvas, Anna Vissi, Helena Paparizou and Michalis Hatzigiannis.[1]

His work is generally associated with contemporary Greek pop and dance-pop production. Public broadcaster ERT describes him as having worked with major names in Greek discography and notes that some of his songs have been covered or adapted in countries including Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Israel.[1]

Film, television and stage work

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In addition to pop recordings, Kontopoulos has written music for film and television. ERT notes his collaboration with Greek film director Nikos Perakis.[1] His credits include music connected with Greek film and television productions, including Loufa kai parallagi: Seirines sto Aigaio and other soundtrack work.

Kontopoulos has also been credited with music for stage productions and commercial projects. Because many of these credits are documented mainly through artist biographies and industry databases, detailed claims about individual productions should be kept factual and limited to verifiable titles.

Eurovision Song Contest

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Kontopoulos has had repeated involvement in the Eurovision Song Contest as a composer, songwriter, producer or member of songwriting teams. His Eurovision-related work has included entries for Belarus, Ukraine, Greece, Azerbaijan, Russia, Moldova, Cyprus and Bulgaria. In Eurovision Song Contest media, he is, together with Philipp Kirkorov, Fokas Evangelinos, Ilias Kokotos and others, considered to be a member of the so-called Dream Team, a loose group of songwriters and choreographers who regularly collaborate to produce Eurovision Song Contest entries.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

His first Eurovision final as a credited songwriter was Belarus's 2007 entry, "Work Your Magic", performed by Dmitry Koldun. He later worked on entries including Ukraine's "Shady Lady" in 2008, Greece's "This Is Our Night" in 2009, Azerbaijan's "Hold Me" in 2013, Russia's "You Are the Only One" in 2016, Russia's "Scream" in 2019, Greece's "Last Dance" in 2021, Cyprus's "Liar" in 2024 and "Shh" in 2025, and Bulgaria's "Bangaranga" in 2026.

Several of the entries associated with him achieved high placements. "Bangaranga", performed by Dara for Bulgaria, had won the contest in 2026. "Shady Lady", performed by Ani Lorak for Ukraine, placed second in 2008. "Hold Me", performed by Farid Mammadov for Azerbaijan, placed second in 2013. "You Are the Only One", performed by Sergey Lazarev for Russia, placed third in 2016 and won the televote. "Scream", also performed by Lazarev, placed third in 2019.

Eurovision entries

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Kontopoulos is best known for his involvement in several Eurovision Song Contest entries for a range of Eastern European countries.

Year Country Artist Song Role Result Ref.
2007 Belarus Dmitry Koldun "Work Your Magic" Songwriter 6th, 145 points [12]
2008 Ukraine Ani Lorak "Shady Lady" Production-related credit 2nd, 230 points [13]
2009 Greece Sakis Rouvas "This Is Our Night" Songwriter 7th, 120 points [14]
2013 Azerbaijan Farid Mammadov "Hold Me" Songwriter 2nd, 234 points [15]
2014 Russia Tolmachevy Sisters "Shine" Songwriter 7th, 89 points [16]
2016 Russia Sergey Lazarev "You Are the Only One" Songwriter 3rd, 491 points [17]
2017 Greece Demy "This Is Love" Songwriter 19th, 77 points [18]
2018 Azerbaijan Aisel "X My Heart" Songwriter Did not qualify [19]
2019 Russia Sergey Lazarev "Scream" Songwriter 3rd, 369 points [20]
2020 Moldova Natalia Gordienko "Prison" Songwriter Contest cancelled [21]
2020 Greece Stefania "Superg!rl" Songwriter Contest cancelled [22]
2021 Moldova Natalia Gordienko "Sugar" Songwriter 13th, 115 points [23]
2021 Greece Stefania "Last Dance" Songwriter 10th, 170 points [24]
2024 Cyprus Silia Kapsis "Liar" Songwriter 15th, 78 points [25]
2025 Cyprus Theo Evan "Shh" Songwriter Semi-final: 11th, 44 points [26]
2026 Bulgaria Dara "Bangaranga" Songwriter 1st, 516 points [27]

Selected production and songwriting credits

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Kontopoulos has production and songwriting credits on Greek pop releases by artists including Iro, Giannis Vardis, Katy Garbi, Sakis Rouvas, Antonis Remos, Despina Vandi, Helena Paparizou and Michalis Hatzigiannis.[1] Industry databases also list credits across studio albums, singles and soundtrack releases.[28]

Selected credits include:

  • Iro – Etsi Ime Ego
  • Iro – Apogeiosi
  • Giannis Vardis – Pes Mou Ti Niotheis
  • Katy Garbi – Emmones Idees
  • Sakis Rouvas – Iparhi Agapi Edo
  • Sakis Rouvas – This Is My Live
  • Sakis Rouvas – Irthes
  • Ani Lorak – Solntse
  • Sakis Rouvas – Parafora
  • Helena Paparizou – Giro Apo T' Oneiro
  • Kostas Martakis – Entasi

Awards and recognition

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Kontopoulos has received awards and nominations connected with Greek popular music and international pop projects. ERT states that he has worked with major Greek recording artists and has achieved recognition outside Greece through collaborations and song adaptations in other countries.[1]

Eurovision entries associated with Kontopoulos have also received contest-related recognition. "Shady Lady", "Hold Me" and "Bangaranga" received the Marcel Bezençon Artistic Award, while "You Are the Only One" received the Marcel Bezençon Press Award.[29]

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In 2023, Greek media reported that the Areios Pagos had ruled in favour of Azerbaijani composer Eldar Mansurov in a civil copyright dispute concerning Katy Garbi's song "Esena Mono", credited to Kontopoulos, and Mansurov's song "Bayatılar".[30] Azerbaijani press also reported that the proceedings ended in Mansurov's favour.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "CURRICULUM VITAE Dimitris Kontopoulos". ERT Eurovision. Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  2. ↑ Argyriou, Giannis (13 January 2017). "Eurovision dream team returns: Demy will fly the Greek flag in Kyiv". EuroVisionary. Archived from the original on 21 March 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  3. ↑ Cooper, Eleanor (11 November 2017). "Eurovision 2024 Russia: Philipp Kirkorov hints at return of the 'Dream Team'? - ESCToday.com". Eurovision News, Polls and Information by ESCToday. Archived from the original on 21 March 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  4. ↑ Granger, Anthony (14 December 2017). "Azerbaijan: Eurovision Dream Team Working With AISEL?". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  5. ↑ Gallagher, Robyn (20 February 2018). "Azerbaijan: Philipp Kirkorov's "Dream Team" confirmed as behind AISEL's song for Eurovision 2018". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  6. ↑ Farren, Neil (21 February 2018). "Azerbaijan: AISEL to Work With Dream Team for Eurovision". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  7. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (3 March 2018). "Eurovision 2024 Azerbaijan: Dimitris Kontopoulos and Dream Team behind Aisel's Eurovision entry - ESCToday.com". Eurovision News, Polls and Information by ESCToday. Archived from the original on 10 September 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  8. ↑ Nava, Pablo (23 September 2018). "Back together again! Philipp Kirkorov's "Dream Team" reunites - but who are they working with?". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  9. ↑ NDR. "ESC 2020: Natalia Gordienko wollte wieder für Moldau singen". www.eurovision.de (in German). Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  10. ↑ "🇨🇾 'Dream Team' deny discouraging artists from Eurovision participation". ESCXTRA.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  11. ↑ Carter, Ford (4 September 2021). "The Aussievision team's ranking of the "Dream Team" Eurovision entries". Aussievision. Archived from the original on 24 June 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  12. ↑ "Dmitry Koldun - Belarus - Eurovision 2007". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Ani Lorak - Ukraine - Eurovision 2008". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Sakis Rouvas - Greece - Eurovision 2009". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Farid Mammadov - Azerbaijan - Eurovision 2013". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "Tolmachevy Sisters - Russia - Eurovision 2014". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Sergey Lazarev - Russia - Eurovision 2016". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Demy - Greece - Eurovision 2017". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Aisel - Azerbaijan - Eurovision 2018". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Sergey Lazarev - Russia - Eurovision 2019". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  21. ↑ "Natalia Gordienko - Moldova - Eurovision 2020". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  22. ↑ "Stefania - Greece - Eurovision 2020". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  23. ↑ "Natalia Gordienko - Moldova - Eurovision 2021". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  24. ↑ "Stefania - Greece - Eurovision 2021". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "Silia Kapsis - Cyprus - Eurovision 2024". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Theo Evan - Cyprus - Eurovision 2025". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "DARA - Bulgaria - Eurovision 2026". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  28. ↑ "Dimitris Kontopoulos Discography". Discogs. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  29. ↑ "Marcel Bezençon Awards". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  30. ↑ Tsimpoukis, Panagiotis (11 May 2023). "Άρειος Πάγος: Το σουξέ «Εσένα μόνο» είναι αντιγραφή του αζέρικου «Μπαγιατί»". Proto Thema (in Greek). Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  31. ↑ "Greek Supreme Court rules on Eldar Mansurov's copyright case". Report.az. 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
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