BiB: EVANGELIA – From Special Ed Teacher to Greek Pop Sensation

0:00 Why, hello, it is Adam. Welcome back to Bringing It Backwards Podcasts, where both legendary and rising artists tell their own personal stories of how they achieve stardom. On this episode, we had a chance to hang out with Evangelia over Zoom Video. Evangelia was born in New Jersey, but raised between Jersey and Crete in Greece. So she'd spend nine months out of the year in the United States and then three months on on her grandmother's farm in Greece. And she talks to us about how she got into music. Always loved singing. She said in third grade, her picture under her picture in the yearbook, it said what you wanted to be, and she wrote singer. So she always loved music. She was a soccer player. When she tore her acl, that's when she started to learn how to play guitar and write songs. She actually went to college, though, to be a teacher. She was a special ed teacher. Always involved in music. Would run the open mic nights and would teach, you know, during the day and, and, and write songs and play music at night. She was in a band. She talked about that a little bit. When she had gotten laid off due to budget cuts in 2018, she knew that was her moment to try to give music her all 100%. She talked about that moment. She talked about meeting her now partner and boyfriend collaborator, and the two of them together created this sound of, you know, pop music and implementing all of these original Greek instruments and sounds. And she

1:31 even speaks Greek in her songs. And having this kind of idea beforehand when meeting with producers, they just didn't understand it. They're like, this isn't going to work. This isn't going to work. And when she decided to go for it no matter what, that's when stuff started happening for her. She talked about the massive success of her song F. We hear about the tour she's on currently and all about the brand new song called Mikonos. You can watch our interview with Evangelia on our Facebook page and YouTube channel at bringing it backwards. It would be amazing if you subscribe to our channel and like this on Facebook and follow us on Instagram X and Tick Tock at Bringing Back Pod. And if you're listening to this on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Podcasts, please rate review Tell your friends. It helps us out tremendously.

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5:05 Bringing it backwards, bringing it backward, bringing it backward, bringing it backward, bringing it backward, bringing it back. Well, this is about you and your journey in music, and we'll talk about the new song. And I know you what played last night, right? You have a. You're on tour currently. Crazy. Yeah, I'm on tour all over Greece right now. I did the Feels like Greek Summer tour in the US and now it's like the real Greek Summer tour, and it's been a lot of fun.

5:49 And today's a day off, and I'm talking to you from the island of Thinos, Greece, which. Wow. I just came from Mykonos. I took a boat from Mykonos to get here, and I'm meeting some friends, but I got. Amazing. Yeah, I was looking at your Instagram story. You were on a beach yesterday, too, I believe. Yes. Yeah, I was on. We played this really awesome beach club on the island of iOS. So what's sick about that is during soundcheck, while the, you know, the band takes a while, the drums alone, it's like a full half hour. Just chill. Just chill at the pool overlooking the beach. It was pretty great.

6:35 Amazing. That is so amazing. Well, again, I appreciate you doing this, and thanks for taking some time out of your day off to. To hang with me. Thank you. Yeah. So I. You. I did read you. You were born and raised. Were you. Were you born in the States and then raised in Greece or kind of? Tell me about your. Your upbringing. I was born in New Jersey, and a month later, my parents took me over to the island of Crete to meet my family in Greece. My dad's from Crete. My mom's Italian American, and my dad came to the States in his, like, 30s, so his whole immediate family is still in Crete. And my grandmother's no longer alive, but we. I used to go there every summer and spend summers on the farm with my. Yeah. Yeah, as we say. And I was named after her and everything. So I was, like, raised both in the States and both in Greece at the.

7:42 In a way. Like, I spent three. I spent three months of my entire, like, life in Greece every year. Wow. Okay, so you'd. Yeah, so it was. You'd go to Greece for. Yeah, three months at a time and then come back to the States for, what, like, school and everything? And then you go through summer school. Early and start school late. Oh, nice. Just to be in Greece. But, yeah, it was really, really Special to. And like, a lot of kids would get to go to camp. Like, for me it was like camp was going to yeah's farm and, you know, hanging out with her, working on the sheep, tending to the sheep, the goats, the chickens, the olive trees, like, really, really nice.

8:34 And we lived right near a beach town called Palo Hora, which is where I'm from. So then we go to the beach and I have my friends and it's just. Was really, really lovely and special to get the opportunity to have that be my, like, normal. It was amazing. Yeah. That is so cool. Like, at what age or did you end up just staying in Greece at one point or another? Or were you like, say after high school or after you're kind of like having to go to, you know, school in this space or whatever? Yeah, well, what's not even in college, I still go to Greece in the summers and now I try to come as much as. As much as I can. Well, now with my music career kind of picking up on both sides of the world, it's been. Had a good reason to come to come to Greece. And I also have usually always only spent time in Crete because that's where my family was. And any time away from Crete meant time away from my family, which was like, limited since I lived in.

9:43 But now with this tour that I'm doing, I'm getting to see all these new places in Greece that I've. I've never been to, even though I've been coming to Greece my whole life. So it's been really cool to get to like island hop and explore these different places from like the north to the south to random islands. It's been so, so cool. That is amazing. I love the fact you have such big, you know, you have like radio, records and big hits in Greece. I mean, that must be such a cool thing for, you know, your family that's there all the time to like, see like. Oh my gosh, my, you know, my niece or my granddaughter is like on the radio here in, in Greece.

10:24 It's wild. Yeah, no, it's super cool. It's, it's. It's particularly cute when I'm on like tv. I do a lot of like, live interviews here and they all tune in and I like, say and hey to my family and I know they're watching. And then afterward I think. What do you think? It's quite so awesome. That is so awesome. Yeah. Well, how did you get into music? Do you come from a musical household? A creative family? Creative family for sure. My mom sings, but more like jazz, show tunes stuff is her vibe. My dad wasn't really in music, but his family, like, my. My aunt's also quite wholesome. My dad's sister, and, like, her kids, they all were in, like, the town choir.

11:19 How cute is that? That is pretty cute. I know the love of the town. Has a choir that's. Yeah, exactly. Choir. And my cousins play the traditional instruments. And my dad was the cultural chairperson of the Pan Cretan association of America, which meant that he was in charge of bringing all sorts of musical theatrical arts events from the island of Crete to America and, like, and everything. So a lot of these traditional musicians would come through our home and, like, you know, we always cooked for them and, like, hung out with them and everything. So I just really grew up around this rich appreciation for my culture and where I come from, and so really loving, like, traditional Greek music, but then also being, like, a kid in America and, you know, having my mom listening to jazz records and everything like that. But then also, like, Britney Spears and NSYNC and Backstreet Boy, everything. That was everything at that time. So I always dreamt of becoming a singer. And even in, like, my third grade yearbook, there's just, like, picture where it's little me with my buck teeth, and we wrote, like, what we want to be when we grow up. And I wrote singer. And I always. If I have a hard day or, you know, big milestone

12:52 moments, I always, like, look back at that picture to remind me. But, yeah, I always loved it. But I also, you know, grew up in an immigrant household where doing music is not particularly encouraged as a career choice. Not the most stable, one might say. Right. So I. I studied and became a teacher, which is the only other thing I like, truly, if I wasn't doing this pop star singer thing. Like, I love being in the classroom and teaching, and I got my master's in special ed, and I taught for three years. And by day teaching. Yeah. And even at. I went to Rutgers in Jersey. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. I'd, like, host the open mic nights. I'd be like, everybody thought I was in the music school, but I was not. Like, I taught. It's in social studies. So, like, it was just not.

13:55 She's better at this than us, and we're in the program, like, what's going on? So I just always loved the community of, like, music and bringing people together and open mic nights and. And. And all of that and, like, networking, going to New York. So when I was a teacher, I was, like, teaching by Day. And by night, I was running around New York City and Brooklyn. Like, I would come back to work the next day and, like, the teachers that were in the know about my double life would, like, see my Instagram story and be like, girl, you were in Brooklyn, like, four hours ago. How are you here right now? You know? Wow. And then there were budget cuts in the school district, which is messed up on the government, and we. And they cut all the non tenured teachers, including myself, teachers. Like, we lost our jobs.

14:45 And for me, though, it was this moment of, like, I always, like, deep down, I always wondered, like, what if I could give it 100%? Like, what if I could give music 100% of my time and, like, 100%, like, true try. But it would have been hard to leave the safety net and to, like, quit my job. But this kind of gave me the opportunity to not choose to leave, but to, like, open the door and show me a way out in a sense, and to not have to look for another job for a minute. So that's kind of. Wow. Well, yeah, so it sounds like, yeah, it's like, yeah, the universe is like, yeah, you're supposed to be a singer, so we're going to kind of push you out of this career path that you're currently in.

15:35 So then we'll give you a moment here to focus and you can understand that this is really what you need to be doing. Exactly. Wow. You really, like a. Like a universe. A universe moment. Definitely. What. What it was that. What year was that? Was that recent? Ish. 2018 June. Yeah, that was 2018 June at the end of the. The 2018 school year. And then. I know. I feel like with COVID though, we lost, like, two and a half years. Yeah. Easily. Sure.

16:15 So it's like, long ago, but I'm like, guys, wait. It really wasn't that long ago. Right. Yeah. I mean, just to get before all that. I mean, that's. That's so crazy to think. And the fact that you were doing special ed. Were you teaching special ed? Yeah, I was teaching special ed. That's amazing. My mom was a special ed teacher, so that's so cool. Respect. Teachers. Teachers are very, very special humans, and the world needs to appreciate them more. Is what I 100 I 100 with your music. So, like, you. You were just. It was kind of just a hobby or something you enjoyed doing, but through high school, grade school, all of that, and then once you got to college, you just. You're like, you know, I want to be a teacher because you were talking about how music really wasn't sought to as, like, you know, you're gonna go do this, and this is going to be your career path. Yeah. Were you writing songs and stuff at that point or playing in a band or anything like that?

17:15 I was writing songs towards the end of high school is when I, like, really picked up because I actually. Soccer was, like, my first love, and I used to. It used to be, like, all my time was spent on that. Then I tore my ACL when I was 16, and I had a lot of time on my hands not being able to play soccer. And so that's when I started learning, like, ukulele and guitar on, like, YouTube, just, like, in bed, because I had nothing else to do. And, like, really, really loving that. And I got into, actually, Ingrid Michaelson, and I loved at the time, like, her albums that came out was, like, really simple, like, just an instrument and her voice. And that was very inspiring for me at the time because I had an instrument and my voice, so I was like, I can write a song, you know. So it was really. That was really inspiring for me. And then when I went into college, I did open mic nights and write and perform by myself. But then I also started this blues band, and it was me, this other girl singing, like, harmonies and sometimes leads. We had another. A guy on acoustic guitar and a trumpet, and it was so much fun. And we played, like, basement shows at Rutgers, and I got a lot of experience from that, and it was a lot of fun and a whole other part of my life, but it was, like, bluegrassy kind of fun vibe and then. Yeah, but I always, like.

18:49 I always love pop music and, like, Latin music and then the traditional Greek. And I'm very much, like. I love to go out and, like, party and dance all night long and couldn't quite, like, create the music that I was hearing in my head. Like, I didn't have the capabilities to do it. And then, especially in Greece, by the way, the partying here is out of this world. Have you been to Greece? Yeah, I have not. And my. My mom is Greek, and I've never been. I'm sorry. Or at least quarter. Yeah, full quarter. All right.

19:31 Well, yeah, my mom, like, she watches, like, would watch, like, the Big Fat Greek Wedding, all that stuff, and that was just, like. That was, like, her life. Like, she just. Yeah, pretty. Well, I can't. I can't remember where in Greek she's told me, like, 15 times. And I'm just, like. Trying to come reconnect with your Roots. Because it's. They're very delicious. Okay. The food's really, really good. Yeah, I see it's beautiful there too. And it's beautiful. And yeah, like the, like literally last night we went out after the show. The show ended at like 2am and then us and the band went. Went out and got to this bar at like 2am and it was still not full.

20:16 And it got full around 4am and we were there. Oh my gosh. Like, why are you leaving? Like, you literally stay out till the sun comes up here. It's like, it's all. It's a whole. Like, people say New York City never sleeps. Like, no, the entire country. He does not sleep and partying. That's amazing. Your music. It definitely has that vibe of like this. This is a song you could that will be rocking at the club at, you know, three in the morning and people are just like, dance. And so basically a couple months after I decided to go full force into music and I was like in New York, like networking, doing everything I could. I met Jay Stolar, who's my boyfriend and life partner, but now also full on creative partner. All the music and everything we've done from the start. And it was the first time that I.

21:16 Cause I had the idea of like blending like the elements and creating something a little more dance. And I don't want to say ethnic, but like really taking in my roots in the music. And a lot of producers at the time were like, I don't know about that or I don't know about using Greek or like, don't think that's cool. But Jay was the first person that like got it because he also knew me so well and was like, dude, you're like calling, you're always speaking Greek, talking about Greek, dancing, you like love, like, it's just so deeply an important part of who you are.

22:00 So now that I was focusing on music, like for real, where it's not just an after school activity, it's like we're like, we gotta pick our lane and like explore that and you know, experiment and mine and create. And so it was the first time that I felt like, oh man, this really feels finally like truly who I am and what I want to share with the world. And it's been really, really cool to get to incorporate my culture and like my language and some of the instruments and in all different ways, like each song is. Not every song has as much Greek as the other or, you know, it's different instruments, but it's been really, really cool.

22:54 And very special for me to reconnect with my culture in that way. Like, it's brought me closer, even closer to my dad, who didn't want me to do music at first. He, like, gives me, like, sends me old Greek songs and stuff to inspire me, and it's really cute. It's really cute. I love that. I was gonna ask you, but, I mean, you answered the question. Meeting, you know, your partner. But if. Because you were talking about having your dad would bring acts from Greece to the States and artists, and they would come through your house and stay with you all. I didn't know if that was part of, like, what played a real big role in your songwriting early on, but it sounds like it was always there. But, you know, this just kind of came together once you. You both got together to write music together. Yeah, like, it was always there, like, for me, I was always so passionate about, like, the tradition. You've seen, like, if you've seen my big fat freak whenever they're dancing in, like, a circle and. And stuff, like, are so deep in my blood. Like, I feel like I was reincarnated from, like, a long time ago, because since I was really, really little, like, I. I just, like, danced them. Like, I, like, knew the steps. Like, it was just like, that girl really likes this. It was just very evident. And.

24:17 Yeah, but I never quite knew. I never quite knew. And to be. And to also be on honest with you, those early on conversations that I had with people kind of being like, I don't really know about this culture. It's like they weren't ready yet. It was like, kind of like we were of the game. Like, now I feel like today there's a lot more of an appreciation of people bringing, you know, other backgrounds and cultures into their music. But there was a time when that wasn't necessarily, like, the cool thing to do. And, yeah, I was almost afraid of, like, not being cool if I did that. But then once I actually did incorporate. Incorporate it and go and do it, that's when everything changed. And, like, I signed a record deal because of what we were doing and because I was. I was like, wow, all this time and just had to be me. Isn't that wild to think? I mean, I was just thinking about that. When you're talking, like, as a young artist, you know, you're like, okay, I want to go into this.

25:23 I lost this job. I want to go into this full 100%. And then you have this idea, and people are like, you know, that's not going to work. And you're probably sitting there like, well, I guess maybe it's not going to work because, you know, being green to the whole thing at the time, you wouldn't know. And then when you're authentic, you. Then you decide you meet this other person, then you're 100 authentic to yourself and your roots. And it's like, it pops off as, like, the thing that worked out. It's like, I. It's crazy how that happens, right? Everyone's afraid to be himself, but when they are, it's like, it works. I feel like tick tock and everything you see there, it's like people that are authentic is the stuff that gets viral if somebody tries to recreate some other thing that somebody else has done, or if it's too polished and pretty or it doesn't resonate the same way. And I think people can just kind of see through the bullshit when it comes to, like, being authentic. Yeah, I. I fully agree. It's.

26:28 It's kind of. Yeah, it was kind of a crazy thing when I had that realization. That's so. I was like, oh, I could, like, really, like, lean into it, you know, but they're like. I had friends be like, you know, you should greet. Like, you're literally like, you professionally Greek dance. Like, I would dance at, like, high level, like, dance groups or whatever. They're like, oh, that. So now, like, I started this, like, thing where I dance. There's this traditional dance pedo from my island, and it's actually traditional dance, but women now dance it too. But it's kind of like, I love it as a statement of, like, we're here, it's 2024, and yes, I'm gonna dance fetos early. And all these different places that I travel to, I dance and, like, I pose like, dancing around the world. And it's been cool because I actually went to, for example, like, South Africa for a show where I opened for this amazing artist named Costa D. He's Greek, and he had this big show in South Africa and he brought me to open for him. But, like, I posted that I was coming to South Africa and this, like, Greek dance group reached out to me that they wanted to do a video with me to dance, but those are with me. And I was like, let's do it. And so we met.

27:49 We met up in the square and we choreographed and did, like, this Greek dance in South Africa. And it's just been like, such a cool. Such a cool thing. And I've had different people reach out to me or even like, at shows, just be like, hey, like, you help me get in touch with my culture, like, appreciate where I come from, or, like, want to learn my language or, you know, even people that are in Greek but come from immigrant families, you know, just wanting to get closer to where they come from. So it's been really special of it. And with, like, you know, you. You. You meet your partner and you guys start writing songs. And then where do. Where do you see the first, like, success of it? Like, working like, you're like, whoa. Like, of course. Of course I should have done this. This. This is the sound, and this is what we should have done. Yeah. In the studio.

28:45 The first one was my song, which ended up being the first song we released. But I remember Corner, or, like, sitting in the room and I'm going, you got to figure out something Greek to say. I was like, all right, I'm going to go in a corner and just think. Because I wanted to think of, like, a word that is accessible to, like, the Western ear as well. And the word in Greek means let's go. And it's pretty easy to say. So it's like, like, let's go, let's go. Like, you say that, you know, Spanish songs were starting to come up at the time. Like, Valle, Valle Dale, Dale. Like, it just kind of worked. And once we just kind of added that in, it was just like. And then, like, the bouzuki came in.

29:37 The bouziki is this traditional Greek instrument. And then the bouzouki came in, and we were like, oh, this is lit. This is lit. And it was like that demo and the demo for my song Diving were the two, like, demo versions of songs we sent over to Patrick at Sony Music Germany in Europe. And he just was, yep, I get it. And we were like, whoa, let's do this. Wow. Yeah. And then do those songs do well right away? Or like, like, what was.

30:18 You know, I know you had, like, a huge viral moments on Tick Tock and stuff, right, with your songs. And, like, was that soon after that or. Or way down the line. Yeah. Was like the first demo or, like, literally when we were in the experimentation phase of, like, okay, this is lit. But then my song, where we incorporated, is all in English except for this one line, which means fire in your eyes. And it came out in English and with that one line. And then six months later, I'm in Greece to film a music video for another song, and I meet Eleni Ferreira, who is, like, the biggest pop artist in the country of Greece. Slash.

31:06 Very well Known in Europe in particular for coming second place in the Eurovision Song Contest. So she's like, yeah. Like, they call her, like, the Queen of Europe. Like, she went like, I don't even know what number. Platinum in Spain for the sun. Like, she's just kind of like a queen. Summer. Yes. And she's like, nothing. And every summer when I come to Greece and, like, party all night long, there was always an Elaine song that was like, my song of the summer. Because they play. Play her in the clubs and she walks in the room as we're, like, brainstorming, singing my song, singing. And I was like, what the heck? This is crazy. And she sits down, she's like, I love this song. I heard it, like, came up. She's like, I heard this song. And I was like, I want this song. We gotta make this song, basically. And she just, like, loved, like, what I was doing and kind of looked into me in my background and she was like, we should do it as a duet in Greek and Spanish, because she also sings in Spanish for that audience, that song. And I always knew Fotia would be, like, my little, like, sleeper hit in a way. And it's still, you know, I'm still, like, a developing artist and growing, and so there's always, like, you know, immense room to grow with it. But for me, it was just like, oh, yeah, like, I know it's gonna. It just, like, is so good. It deserves its moment. And we did the duet and it was, like, number one on the radio for

32:39 a very long time, for, like, over a year. And we, like, crazy. I did, like, my first TV performance with her. I was the first girl she's ever done a duet with. She's only ever collaborated, guys, so it was like a really, like, special thing over choreography and for her dancing. And it was like, my first time performing on tv and I had to, like, dance next to her, but I practiced really hard and she was super nice and really encouraging to me. But it just, like, that definitely changed. Changed everything. And, like, a little clip of me singing it, the English version, acoustic, like, went viral and stuff. And so, like. And then Deborah DeLuca, who's this amazing, like, techno DJ artist from Italy, like, her song on Tick Tock, and she. She made a remix of it and just DM'd me and was like, I want to put this out. What do you think? And I was like, hell, yeah. So, like, it's playing and it's just been cool because this is the. You know, and we just performed it actually, at times Square. She came to do, like, a surprise concert. And so I was singing my song, which has Bouzuki in it, and I was just like, look at this. Like, Bouzuki is, like, blasting, like, what an international crazy Square. Yeah. Oh, man. We got this Italian dj.

34:04 It's techno. I'm singing up here. I'm singing in Greek and English, and then Bouzuki's, like, bumping. It was cool. That is amazing. And you recently put out a new. A new record, correct? Yes. Yes. Tell me about that song. And then I want to hear about what you have coming up, because I know you're. You're on tour, and I don't want to take too much time away from your. Your day off here. Good. So I just released a new song called Mikonos, which is about literally what I explained to you before that Greeks party all night long and just. It's like completely normal to show up somewhere at 4am and it is the best time to show up and just staying up and seeing the sunrise and kind of like a testament to my favorite. Some of my favorite nights out with my friends where we're just literally, like, dancing all night long until you see the sunrise and. And then you go to the beach and then you just, like, do it all. You sleep a little in the afternoon, and then you do it all over again. And Mykonos is the most famous island for this. For this party scene. And.

35:23 And I. It's a. Mikono's is a special place and has this crazy energy of, like, everybody there is just ready to have a good time. And there's no. There's no sleep. There's no sleep in Mykonos. It's just. It's just having a good time. And that's. That's literally basically what the song is about. Just like, keep me up all night, like Mikono and just having a great time. And that's what I want when people to hear it, to just want to get up and like, dance and have a good time with their friends and hopefully associate it with some really good memories. Love it. Yeah. It's such a party song. I really, really like it.

36:07 And I love the. The remix that you just put out too. That's cool version too. And you have new. Other. I mean, that's new. But do you have other stuff on the way? Always have other stuff on the way. But we're kind of a bit of the. We're. We're in between some songs right now, and so we're. We're figuring out we're figuring out what the next move is going to be. So right now, we're riding out this summer on. On Mykonos, and it's a summer jam. Exactly. Exactly. We're parting it up. Love it. Love it. Well, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much. I have one more question for you. I want to know if you have any advice for aspiring artists. Yes, I do have advice. I think big thing is to just do the art and to just, like, just do it and recognize that it's going to take a lot of.

37:11 You just have to, like, create and create and create, because each thing you create, even though it might not be it or the thing that might, like, blow you up or whatever, it's, like, one step closer to whatever that thing is going to be. And to not be afraid of being seen as cringy or whatever it is. Like, get over the embarrassment thing of, like, getting yourself out there and just, like, do the art and post it on the Internet and just keep. And keep going and, like, networking. And you just really never know where your path is going to take you. Because I could not have guessed if somebody told me while I was teaching that I would be doing a podcast with you today from the island of Thanos. In between my, like, Greek summer tour with this, like, really amazing artist that I'm touring with right now, I'd be like, I mean, that sounds awesome, but, like, I'm. I just don't see how that's going to work. It's just like, just keep going and keep creating, and things start to fall into place.

38:27 Bring it backwards, bring it backward, bring it backward, bring it backward, Bringing it backward, bringing it backward.