- Source: Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou
Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou (Greek: Στην Αυλή Του Παράδεισου) is the sixth studio album by Greek singer Despina Vandi. It was released in Greece on 24 November 2004 by Heaven Music and certified platinum, selling over 40,000 units. It was re-released with four new songs and a bonus DVD, and renamed Special Edition: Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou on 7 December 2005. With the combination of both releases, the album certified double-platinum in Greece.
Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou and its re-release Special Edition: Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou won Despina Vandi six awards over two years at Mad Video Music Awards. The first three awards were given to Vandi at the 2005 awards while the second three were awarded at the 2006 awards. Having won three each year made Vandi the artist with the most awards at both award shows.
Track listing
Singles and music videos
"Happy End"
"Happy End" was the lead single from the album. The music video was directed by Kostas Kapetanidis and won a MAD Video Music Award for "Best Contemporary Laiko Video".
"Na Tin Hairesai"
"Na Ti Hairesai" was the second single from the album. The music video was directed by Kostas Kapetanidis.
"Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou"
"Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou" was the third and final single from the original album. The animated music video was directed by Kostas Kapetanidis and won MAD Video Music Awards for "Best Contemporary Laiko Video" and "Best Direction".
"Jambi"
"Jambi was the fourth single from the album and the first from the Special Edition. The music video was directed by Kostas Kapetanidis.
"Amane"
"Amane" was the fifth and final single from the album and is a blend of contemporary laiko and hip hop in a vocal duet between Vandi and Giorgos Mazonakis. The music video was directed by Nikos Soulis, and also features actress Katiana Balanika.
Release history
Charts
Stin Avli Tou Paradeisou was successful in Greece, where it charted for 58 weeks, peaking at number 1, certifying platinum in its first week of release. It soon certified double-platinum and also certified platinum in Cyprus.
Credits and personnel
= Personnel
=Hakan Bingolou: oud (tracks: 7) || säz (tracks: 7, 9)
Giannis Bithikotsis: baglama (tracks: 2, 5, 6, 10, 11) || bouzouki (tracks: 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12) || lute (tracks: 1) || tzoura (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12)
Victoria Chalkiti: backing vocals (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 9, 11)
Giorgos Chatzopoulos: guitars (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12)
Akis Diximos: second vocal (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10)
Nektarios Georgiadis: backing vocals (tracks: 1, 2, 9, 11)
Antonis Gounaris: guitars, keyboards, orchestration, programming, tzoura (tracks: 8)
Manolis Karantinis: baglama, bouzouki, tzoura (tracks: 4)
Lefki Kolovou: cello (tracks: 11)
Trifon Koutsourelis: keyboards, programming (all tracks) || orchestration (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12) || strings arrangement (tracks: 11)
Vaggelis Lappas: whistle (tracks: 2)
Fedon Lionoudakis: accordion (tracks: 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12)
Iris Louka: viola (tracks: 11)
Selmani Migken: violin (tracks: 2, 4, 10, 11)
Andreas Mouzakis: drums (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12)
Hakan Bingolou: oud (tracks: 7) / säz (tracks: 7, 9)
Alex Panagis: backing vocals (tracks: 1, 9, 11)
Phoebus: keyboards (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 5, 8) || orchestration (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) || programming (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8)
Giorgos Roilos: percussion (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12)
Nikos Vardis: bass (tracks: 1, 3, 7)
Thanasis Vasilopoulos: clarinet, ney (tracks: 7, 9)
Martha Zioga: backing vocals (tracks: 1, 2, 9, 11)
= Production
=Giannis Ioannidis (D.P.H.): mastering
Dimitris Mourlas: sound engineer
Vaggelis Papadopoulos: sound engineer
Panagiotis Petronikolos: mix engineer, sound engineer
Phoebus: executive producer
Vaggelis Siapatis: editing, sound engineer
Giorgos Stampolis: executive producer
Christos Zorbas: additional editing
= Cover
=Bill Georgousis: cover photographer
Panos Kallitsis: hair styling, make up
Kostas Lalas: studio photographer
Alexis Valourdos: photo processing
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.