Nikos Sofis
Nikolaos "Nikos" Sofis[1] (Greek: Νικόλαος "Νίκος" Σοφής; born 10 May 1992 in Munich, Germany), is a Greek sports manager and lyricist, from Larissa, Greece.[2] He used to serve as vice president for Greek Super League club AEL[3] and as an advisor to Super League 2 club Kavala. Since 2011, he also is engaged in songwriting, best known for his bids in the Eurovision Song Contest.[4] In 2019, together with Sebastian Ekstrand, he formed the EDM pop project VoColor.[5]
Nikos Sofis | |
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Born | |
Nationality | Greek |
Alma mater | American College of Greece |
Occupations | |
Years active |
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Personal life
Born in Munich, Germany, and growing up close by to Frankfurt, he attended the Frankfurt International School from where he graduated in 2011. In 2013, he attended the EU Business School in Barcelona, Spain, where he began his sports management studies. In 2014, he continued his studies at the American College of Greece in Athens from where he obtained a bachelor's degree in 2018.[2] He is fluent in Greek, German, and English.
Sports management
AE Vounaina
2014–2015
Sofis was appointed as second vice president at the beginning of the sixth tiered B' EPSL 2014–15 season, due to his sports management studies. Having been relegated in the previous season, the aim of the team and the new governing body was to return the team to the fifth tiered A1 EPSL. The team quickly managed to deliver results, assuring Vounaina winning the B' EPSL at the end of the season, returning to A1 EPSL as planned.[6] Sofis resigned from his position on 9 March 2015.[7]
2016–2019
For the 2016–17 A1 EPSL season, Sofis returned to the board of AE Vounaina. In his first season back with the team, Vounaina barely missed out, finishing third, on promoting to the fourth tiered A' EPSL. However, on 10 August 2017, it got announced that Vounaina got promoted to the A' EPSL, due to another team not submitting their license. This marks the first time Vounaina will be playing in the highest amateur league.[8]
In the A' EPSL 2017–18 season, and as newcomers to the highest Greek amateur division, AE Vounaina faced several issues throughout the whole season and were relegated back to the A1 EPSL, after going through the relegation playoffs.
Back in the A1 EPSL, the 2018–19 season was meant to bring the team back up to the A' EPSL, which also looked like a goal to be achieved, but during the second half of the season things didn't work out as planned. The team ended up in fourth position, thus barely missing out on the three promotion spots.
During the 2019–20 season, the focus was heavily set on returning the team to top amateur division. On 7 June 2019, it was announced that Sofis took charge as caretaker president.[9] Vounaina, as the big favorite of the category, started the season as expected and won match after match. With the team performing steadily, Sofis announced his resignation from the position he was holding on 11 November 2019, stating that the team is on a secure path and that it's "the right time to step down and give on the presidency".[10]
AEL
2016–2018
On 9 September 2016, Greek Super League team AEL proposed the inclusion of Sofis into the executive board to its stakeholders.[11] As of 24 September 2016, Sofis has been elected and announced as third vice president.[12] The team managed to reach the goals set by the administrative board, which expected the team to not get relegated and remain in the Superleague.
During the 2017–18 season, AEL managed an impressive run in the Greek Cup, making it to the semifinals. The team was eventually eliminated by AEK Athens through the away goals rule. On 4 October 2017, Sofis announced his resignation as vice president.[13] However, on 24 November 2017, Sofis got announced as member of the newly formed executive board. On 23 September 2018, Sofis announced his resignation from the position he was holding at the club.[3]
Kavala
From 1 January 2022 until 30 June 2022, Sofis has been acting as an advisor to Super League 2 club Kavala.
Songwriting
Songwriting | |
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Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Lyricist |
Years active | 2011–present |
Since 2011, Sofis also has been engaged in songwriting, best known for his bids in the Eurovision Song Contest.[4] During the years he has collaborated with a variety of songwriters and artists from across Europe. As of 2019, he also is the main lyricist for Polish rock band Clödie. Since March 2021, he collaborates with Italian record label Frontiers Music.
Entries in Eurovision Song Contest pre-selections
Year | Country | Artist | Song | Songwriters | Result | |
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2014 | Romania | Ovidiu Anton | "Love Will Find a Way" | Primož Poglajen, Erik Mjörnell, Michael Gunnarsson, Nikos Sofis | – | |
2015 | Belarus | Alen Hit | "Alive" | Will Taylor, Nikos Sofis | ||
Moldova | Anewta C | "Unshakable" | Will Taylor, Nikos Sofis | |||
Switzerland | Ryan Axisa | "C'est Moi" | Alex Leu, Ryan Axisa, Nikos Sofis | |||
2016 | Moldova | Anna Gulko | "Never Let Go" | Will Taylor, Georgios Kalpakidis, Nikos Sofis | 12th (semifinal) | [14] |
Switzerland | Omar Naber | "Take Me Far" | Will Taylor, Nikos Sofis | – | ||
2017 | Belarus | Alen Hit | "Let's Make a Party" | Alen Hit, Nikos Sofis | ||
Lithuania | Audrius Janonis | "Run" | Georgios Kalpakidis, Mickey Huskic, Nikos Sofis | 8th (first round) | [15] | |
Moldova | Dana Rogovski | "Gave You Everything" | Mattias Törnell, David Gällring, Nikos Sofis | – | ||
Moldova | Max Fall | "If I Could" | Georgios Kalpakidis, Sebastian Ekstrand, Nikos Sofis | |||
2018 | Lithuania | Valdas Lacko | "Dying Inside" | Niklas Bergqvist, Simon Johansson, Nikos Sofis | 10th (first round) | [16] |
Moldova | Vera Țurcanu | "Black Heart" | Vera Țurcanu, David Gällring, Karl Sahlin, Nikos Sofis | 2nd | [17] | |
Poland | Tomasz Trzeszczyński | "Don't Leave Me Out" | Niklas Bergqvist, Simon Johansson, Nikos Sofis | Internal selection | ||
2019 | Belarus | Angelika Pushnova | "Stop Breathing" | Georgios Kalpakidis, Sebastian Ekstrand, Nikos Sofis | – | [18] |
Iceland | Ívar Daníels | "Þú bætir mig" ("Make Me Whole") | Stefán Þór Steindórsson, Richard Micallef, Nikos Sofis | 3rd (semifinal) | [19] | |
Moldova | Vera Țurcanu | "Cold" | Vera Țurcanu, David Gällring, Karl Sahlin, Nikos Sofis | 3rd | [20] | |
Poland | Clödie | "Devil in Disguise" | Linda Dahl, Jimmy Glavå, Peter Dahl, Nikos Sofis | Internal selection | [21] | |
2020 | Belarus | Angelika Pushnova | "True Love" | Oleg Sidorov, Anastasia Belyavskaya, Nikos Sofis | 6th | [22] |
Belarus | July | "Every Hour" | Niklas Bergqvist, Simon Johansson, Nikos Sofis | – | [23] | |
Moldova | Catarina Sandu | "Die For You" | Dimitri Stassos, Jennifer Aalto Kallunki, Nikos Sofis | 4th | [24] | |
Moldova | Maxim Zavidia | "Take Control" | Maxim Zavidia, Alexey Streltsov, Nikos Sofis | 3rd | [25] | |
2021 | Belarus | Kazna | "Braids" | Ekaterina Shokhina, Alexey Streltsov, Nikos Sofis | Internal selection | [26] |
2022 | Moldova | Ana Cernicova | "Silent Battlefield" | Þórhallur Halldórsson, Nikos Sofis | 2nd | [27] |
Moldova | Marcela Scripcaru | "Starlight" | Aaron Sibley, Nikos Sofis | – | [27] | |
Moldova | Maxim Zavidia | "Ready" | Pasha Rudenko, Arina Berezhnaya, Alexey Streltsov, Nikos Sofis | 4th | [27] | |
2023 | Moldova | Vera | "Vremea ta" | Vera Țurcanu, Joseph Copplestone, Tin Nguyen, Nikos Sofis | – | [28] |
Additional contest participations
Year | Contest | Location | Artist | Song | Songwriters | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | New Talent Song Contest | Sweden | Ryan Axisa | "C'est Moi" | Alex Leu, Ryan Axisa, Nikos Sofis | 3rd |
2015 | Summer Hit Song Contest | Valletta, Malta | Ryan Axisa | "C'est Moi" | Alex Leu, Ryan Axisa, Nikos Sofis | 16th |
YourSong Online Contest | Russia | Alen Hit | "Alive" | Will Taylor, Nikos Sofis | 1st |
Further songwriting credits
Year | Artist | Song | Songwriters |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Adrian Aron | "Stand" | Hakan Urquijo, Adrian Aron, Will Taylor, Nikos Sofis |
Sebastian Ekstrand | "Come to Me" | Sebastian Ekstrand, Nikos Sofis | |
2017 | Sebastian Ekstrand feat. Tobias Österblom | "Hold On" | Sebastian Ekstrand, Nikos Sofis |
Litesound | "The Whole World" | Erik Dahlqvist, Will Taylor, Jimmy Glavå, Nikos Sofis | |
Invaders + Dana Rogovski | "Gravity" | Cristian Demian, Dana Rogovski, Nikos Sofis | |
Alen Hit | "Conquer My Heart" | Alen Hit, Nikos Sofis | |
2018 | Escape the Day | "Breaking the Tide" | Sebastian Ekstrand, Sebastian Westman, Nikos Sofis |
Phrenia | "Invisible" | Julian Gordán, Péter Horváth, Zoltan Nagy, Szabolcs Sebők, Nikos Sofis | |
Samra | "Hypnotized" | Erik Dahlqvist, Sebastian Ekstrand, Nikos Sofis | |
OTREYA | "Pretty Little Liar" | Jimmy Glavå, Nadja Flood, Nikos Sofis | |
2019 | Michael W. | "Tears & Blood" | Michael Wolf, Nikos Sofis |
Clödie | "Fire Burns Within" | Klaudia Trzepizur, Olaf Olszewski, Nikos Sofis | |
Clödie | "Let Me Go" | Klaudia Trzepizur, Olaf Olszewski, Nikos Sofis | |
VoColor | "Savior" | Sebastian Ekstrand, Nikos Sofis | |
2020 | Kristel Lisberg | "Contagious" | Gytis Valickas, Kristel Lisberg, Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson, Nikos Sofis |
VoColor + Eldar | "Until the End" | Sebastian Ekstrand, Georgios Kalpakidis, Nikos Sofis | |
Clödie | "Against the World" | Klaudia Trzepizur, Olaf Olszewski, Jacek Czekaj, Nikos Sofis | |
Sebastian Ekstrand | "Come to Me (2020 Pop Edit)" | Sebastian Ekstrand, Nikos Sofis | |
Sunstroke Project feat. Fox Banger | "Shake It" | Sergei Ialovitski, Sergey Stepanov, Andrei Vulpe, Nikos Sofis | |
2021 | Clödie | "Sins" | Klaudia Trzepizur, Olaf Olszewski, Jacek Czekaj, Krzysztof Mrzygłód, Mateusz Królica, Nikos Sofis |
AROW & Mary Lil | "Cause I Love You" | Alexey Streltsov, Nikos Sofis | |
Mattias Törnell | "Invincible" | Mattias Törnell, David Gällring, Nikos Sofis | |
Avenue Sky | "When the Sun Shines" | Sara Ljunggren, Jonas Gladnikoff, Nikos Sofis | |
Clödie | "You Are the One" | Klaudia Trzepizur, Olaf Olszewski, Jakub Mankowski, Nikos Sofis | |
VoColor + Kenny Duerlund | "Home" | Sebastian Ekstrand, Nikos Sofis | |
Clödie | "Hold On" | Ada Aleksandra Karpinska, Olaf Olszewski, Jakub Mankowski, Nikos Sofis | |
Julian Lesiński | "Stars" | Niklas Bergqvist, Simon Johansson, Stefan Knutsson, Nikos Sofis | |
Teodora Dinu | "Keep Fighting" | Niklas Bergqvist, Simon Johansson, Nikos Sofis | |
2022 | Lionville | "Angel Without Wings" | Stefano Lionetti, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Nikos Sofis |
VoColor | "Illogical" | Sebastian Ekstrand, Nikos Sofis | |
Ginevra | "My Rock & Roll" | Kristian Fyhr, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Salvatore Giacomantonio, Nikos Sofis | |
Clödie | "Dusk Till Dawn" | Klaudia Trzepizur, Olaf Olszewski, Jakub Mankowski, Nikos Sofis | |
2023 | Khymera | "Don't Wait For Love" | Alessandro Del Vecchio, Dennis Ward, Pete Alpenborg, Kristian Fyhr, Nikos Sofis |
Khymera | "Runaway" | Alessandro Del Vecchio, Dennis Ward, Tommy Denander, Nikos Sofis | |
T3nors | "Nights" | Francesco Boccia, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Salvatore Giacomantonio, Nikos Sofis | |
T3nors | "Silent Cries" | Alessandro Del Vecchio, Fredrik Berg, Pete Alpenborg, Kristian Fyhr, Nikos Sofis | |
T3nors | "Torn" | Francesco Boccia, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Salvatore Giacomantonio, Nikos Sofis | |
Darya | "Beautiful Crime" | Chris Nicolaou, Nikos Sofis | |
Mecca | "Falling" | Alessandro Del Vecchio, Pete Alpenborg, Kristian Fyhr, Nikos Sofis | |
Mecca | "Your Way" | Alessandro Del Vecchio, Stefano Mainini, Nikos Sofis | |
Revolution Saints | "Sacred" | Alessandro Del Vecchio, Kristian Fyhr, Salvatore Giacomantonio, Nikos Sofis | |
Robledo | "My Own Hope" | Alessandro Del Vecchio, Nikos Sofis |
VoColor
VoColor | |
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Origin | |
Genres | |
Years active | 2019–2023 |
Members |
|
VoColor was a Swedish-Greek EDM pop project formed in 2019, consisting of Swedish singer-songwriter Sebastian Ekstrand and Greek lyricist Nikos Sofis.[5]
Ekstrand and Sofis first met and started working in early-2016, resulting in Ekstrand's solo single "Come To Me".[29] With both sides being satisfied with the collaboration, Sofis involved Ekstrand on the song "If I Could" for Moldovan artist Max Fall, a song that was submitted to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The same year, the two worked on Ekstrand's next solo single, "Hold On". During the same year, Ekstrand involved Sofis into the writing process of Escape the Day's comeback single "Breaking the Tide", released in early-2018.[30] Ekstrand and Sofis have also worked together on the song "Hypnotized", released in 2018, by popular Azerbaijani pop star Samra.[31] In 2019, Ekstrand and Sofis collaborated once again and wrote the song "Stop Breathing" for Angelika Pushnova, who tried to represent Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.[32]
In late-2019, Ekstrand and Sofis decided to form VoColor and released their debut single "Savior" on 6 December 2019. Following the release of the debut single, on 10 April 2020 VoColor released the remix EP, Savior: Remixed, containing five alternate versions of the song. On 22 May 2020, they released their second single, "Until the End", featuring Eurovision Song Contest 2011 winner Eldar from Azerbaijan.[33] An orchestral remix of "Until the End" was released on 4 December. On New Year's Eve, VoColor released the Until the End EP, containing all of the previously released versions of the song as well as the previously unreleased instrumental version. On 24 September 2021, they released their third single "Home" with Danish singer Kenny Duerlund. On 17 June 2022, the duo released their fourth single "Illogical".
Members
- Sebastian Ekstrand – vocals, production (2019–2023)
- Nikos Sofis – lyrics, production (2019–2023)
Extended plays
- 2020: Savior: Remixed
- 2020: Until the End
Singles
- 2019: "Savior"
- 2020: "Until the End" (with Eldar)
- 2021: "Home" (with Kenny Duerlund)
- 2022: "Illogical"
Promotional singles
- 2020: "Savior (RÆVHEN Remix)"
- 2020: "Until the End (Zerotonine Remix)" (with Eldar)
- 2020: "Until the End (Austin Leeds Remix)" (with Eldar)
- 2020: "Until the End (Orchestral Remix)" (with Eldar)
- 2022: "Home (Neutrophic Remix)" (with Kenny Duerlund)
References
- "Nikos Sofis". Facebook.
- Γκατζούλη, Βάσω. "Ο ταλαντούχος Νίκος Σοφής ανοίγει την καρδιά του…". athleticlarissa.gr.
- "Σοφής: "Δεν επιθυμώ να συνεχίσω ως μέλος του Δ.Σ. της ΠΑΕ ΑΕΛ"". athleticlarissa.gr. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
- "Nikos Sofis - Lyricist". SoundCloud. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- "VoColor". facebook.com. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- "Τα Βούναινα έπαιξαν και βραβεύτηκαν". athleticlarissa.gr. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- "Παραιτήσεις στην διοίκηση των Βουναίνων". athleticlarissa.gr. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- "Στην Α' ΕΠΣΛ τα Βούναινα, ιστορικές στιγμές για την ομάδα". athleticlarissa.gr.
- "Παραίτηση Κώστα Μερτζανίδη από τη προεδρία των Βουναίνων, τη θέση του παίρνει ο Νίκος Σόφης". ArenaLarissaGr (in Greek). Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- "Προσωπική δήλωση Νίκου Σοφή". athleticlarissa.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- "AEL FC | Official Site | Larissa - Greece - Ανακοίνωση ΠΑΕ ΑΕΛ". Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- "AEL FC | Official Site | Larissa - Greece - Ανακοίνωση ΔΣ ΠΑΕ ΑΕΛ". Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- "Παραίτηση Σοφή από την ΠΑΕ ΑΕΛ". athleticlarissa.gr. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- "Moldova: Semi-finalists selected for O Melodie Pentru Europa 2016". Eurovisionworld. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
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- "Iceland: RÚV discloses the participants of Söngvakeppnin 2019! - ESCToday.com". Eurovision News, Polls and Information by ESCToday. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- "ΜΟΛΔΑΒΙΑ: Ο Νίκος Σοφής υποψήφιος στο «O Melodie Pentru Europa 2019»!". OGAE Greece (in Greek). 18 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- Argyriou, Giannis (23 January 2019). "Στις επιλογές της Πολωνίας, Μολδαβίας και Λευκορωσίας συμμετέχει ο δημιουργός Νίκος Σοφής". Eurovision News | Music | Fun (in Greek). Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- Bogiannos, Apostolos (27 January 2020). "Λευκορωσία: Οι 12 φιναλίστ του εθνικού τελικού | Μεταξύ των υποψηφίων η συμμετοχή του Νίκου Σοφή!". Eurovision News | Music | Fun (in Greek). Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- Herbert, Emily (22 January 2020). "Belarus: 49 Artists to Through to Eurovision 2020 Auditions Round". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- Argyriou, Giannis (19 January 2020). "Μολδαβία: Οι Δημήτρης Στάσσος και Νίκος Σόφης φιλοδοξούν να βρεθούν μαζί με την C. Sandu στο Ρότερνταμ!". Eurovision News | Music | Fun (in Greek). Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- "36 Songs submitted in Moldova's selection!". ESCBubble. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- "ΛΕΥΚΟΡΩΣΙΑ: Ο Νίκος Σοφής ενώνει τις δυνάμεις του με την Kazna! -". OGAE Greece (in Greek). 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Μολδαβία: Με τρεις συμμετοχές διαγωνίζεται ο Νίκος Σόφης!". Eurovision News | Music | Fun (in Greek). 26 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- Bogiannos, Apostolos (17 January 2023). "Μολδαβία: Ο Νίκος Σόφης μαζί με την Vera Țurcanu υποψήφιοι στο Etapa Naţională!". Eurovision News | Music | Fun (in Greek). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- "🇦🇿 Eldar Gasimov releases new single "Until the End" in collaboration with VoColor". ESCXTRA.com. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- @etday (26 February 2018). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 July 2020 – via Twitter.
- "From Cyborg to Human: Azerbaijan's Samra finds love in "Hypnotized" music video". wiwibloggs. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- Shalom, Nir Raz (23 January 2019). "Angelika Pushnova Returns To Belarussian National Finals". ESCBEAT. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- "🇦🇿 Eldar Gasimov releases new single "Until the End" in collaboration with VoColor". ESCXTRA.com. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.