Glykeria (born Glykeria Kotsoula)(Greek: Γλυκερία; born 1953, in Agio Pnevma, Serres is a Greek singer active in Greece and Cyprus, while also gaining fame in Israel, France, Turkey and England. Her career has spanned over 30 years and is marked by several multi-platinum releases.

Early Solo Career
Glykeria began her career in 1974 working in the Athens Plaka music boites and gave performances with well-known artists, singing songs by M. Hadjidakis, M. Theodorakis, M. Loizos and others.

She began her discographical career by signing with Lyra Music, releasing her first album alongside another rising artist Giorgos Gerolymatos called "Min Kaneis Oneira" in 1978. This release caused a stir in the industry, showcasing Glykeria's unique voice to the nation.

1980-1985: Rise To Fame
Marking the beginning of the 80's, Glykeria released her first solo album, "Ta Smyrneika", a compillation album with traditional songs from Smyrn. During the following years, Glykeria would perform at well-known clubs and bouzoukia gaining momentum and many fans, collaborating with other well-known singers including George Dalaras. The same year she released her debut album "Sta Matia Koita Me", composed completely by Stelios Fotiadis marking the beginning of their successfful on-going collaboration.

In 1982 she was selected to represent Greece in the Europalia '82 festival in Brussels, together with Sotiria Bellou, George Dalaras and Margarita Zorbala. The following year, in 1983 Glykeria released her first official live concert "Omorfi Nyhta" and due to its massive succes Lyra released her first live album, "I Glykeria Stin Omorfi Nyhta" which went on to become a record-breaker, breaking every musical sale in Greece till that point in time.

In April 1985, the release of the double-disk album "Tragoudi Aisthimatiko" brings to life some of Glykeria's biggest hits like "Magisses", "Pentohiliara", "Ta Dahtilidia" and "Fantaraki" pointing the new artist to first place in the album sales of 1985 amonst national and international sales.

In 1986 she sang “Earini Symfonia” (poem by Yiannis Ritsos, music by Yiannis Markopoulos) for the song’s premier performance, at the opening ceremony of the World Championships held for the first time at the Athens Olympic Stadium, broadcast to 120 countries all over the world.

International Career
She has sung in concerts in Greece and abroad (Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus, Israel) and Turkey. Due to the successful concerts she gave in Israel she was proclaimed most popular foreign singer; the Mayor of Jerusalem awarded her the golden key of the city (1994). Three albums were released in Israel at the same time, all of them gold in a very short time: Glykeria golden-hits, Far away, Glykeria – 14 classics, and her first album in France: Golden hits – The voice of Greece.

In 1998 her second album was released in France. She took part in two albums for the American label Putumayo and in compilations released in Europe.

In 1999 she performed two concerts in Tel Aviv with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. A few months later the concert’s album was released and, immediately afterwards, Glykeria and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was released throughout the world by Sony Classical.

In 2001 she participated in the album Alif of the world-renown musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek.

In 2002 she gave concerts with the “Mikis Theodorakis Orchestra”, the “Estudiantina” orchestra, and gave a personal tour all over Greece as well.

In the same year her album “Open Heart” was released in Israel and “Glykeria’s Rebetika Songs” in Turkey. In the First Arion Awards in Greece she was awarded the prize for best Greek popular singer. Glykeria, "The Sweet one" in Greek, has been a successful female singer in Greece for many years. In the of summer 1993 she performed in Israel for the first time. She ended her performance with her own captivating version of an Israeli anthem "Shabechi Yerushaly'im" ("praises to Jerusalem") in Hebrew. This magical moment triggered a Greek-Israeli love story.

Glykeria became the most loved Greek singer in Israel and a major part of Israel's cultural scene in the 90s. Her special style full of depth, melancholy and endless emotion captured the heart of the Israelis, and her songs, both in Hebrew (with perfect pronunciation) and Greek became all-time classics. She became a "household" name in Israel, an "honorary citizen", a platinum and gold albums seller, and the favorite of Israel's top leaders and celebrities. Her deep connection to Israel culminated in 1998 when she was the only foreign artist to be invited to sing in the special memorial event for Yitzhak Rabin, the beloved leader who was assassinated three years before. With tears in her eyes she sang and wailed in front of 200,000 people in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. In the summer of 1999 she was invited to perform with The Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. Also in 2006 during The Israel–Lebanon conflict she came to Israel with her son and met Ehud Olmert and sang for the soldiers at the borders. [1]