Claydee
| Claydee Lupa | |
|---|---|
 Claydee Lupa | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Klejdi Llupa |
| Also known as | Claydee Lupa, Beetkraft |
| Born |
June 7, 1985 Tirana, Albania |
| Genres | Pop, dance-pop, house, RnB |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, Singer, Songwriter, Music executive |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Down2Earth, Ultra Music, Sony, Minos-EMI, Universal, |
| Associated acts | Sakis Rouvas, Playmen, Tamta, Eleni Foureira |
| Website |
www |
Klejdi Llupa, professionally known as Claydee Lupa and Beetkraft (born 7 June 1985) is an Albanian music artist, producer, songwriter and music executive now based in Greece.[1] He is one of the most promising young artists who emerged on the Greek music scene in the last few years and who has already have international hits both as a singer and as a producer and songwriter. His song "Mamacita Buena" became the first Greek Song on YouTube to receive more than 27.000.000 views within a year after its release.[2] His genre fits under dance-pop, RnB and house music category.
Early life (1985-2010)
Claydee was born in Albania and moved to Athens, Greece with his family at the age of four.[3] Graduating from high school, he pursued a degree in Audio Engineering at SAE (International Technology College) which he completed successfully in 2006 and a year later, he obtained a BA in Recording Arts from Middlesex University. After concluding his degrees, in 2008, he went on to work at MTV Greece, a job that changed his life and defined the next step in his career. Two years later, in 2010, he decided that it was time to quit his occupation behind the cameras and pursue one on the spotlight.
Career: Producer, Songwriter, Singer (2010-Present)
Producer & Songwriter
While working for MTV Greece he acquired the necessary experience which, combined with his talent and musical skills, resulted in his first recognition as a producer and a songwriter, under his alias Beetkraft, with the song "The End" by Reckless[4] which was released by Sony Music Greece and reached a top-rank position in the UK Club Charts. He then went on to write and produce under his real name, the Track of the Year at the 2011 MADTv Awards[5] "Last Summer" sung by Nikos Ganos. The track was released by Heaven Music in Greece and in 35 countries internationally. Moreover, in 2011, he co-wrote "Tonight" with Playmen sung by Tamta which reached No.1 in the airplay charts in Greece. Songs under his alias Beetkraft, include "Agries diatheseis" by Kostas Martakis, "Niose tin Kardia" by Tamta (in which he raps as well) and "To allo sou miso" for Sakis Rouvas, featured in his double platinum album Parafora. Using his real name, he wrote the music for "Taxidepse me", a hit of Stratos STAN Antipariotis, co-wrote "Hey you!" for Nikki Ponte, "Na m'agapas" and "Thelo" for Dimension-X, "Chiki-Chiki" and "Heleya" for Nicole Paparistodemou aka Nikki Lee.
Personal Work
As an artist, he released his first personal track "Call me" which was awarded the Best Dance Video Clip at the MADTv Awards in 2011.[6] His second track "Deep Inside", a pop/dance track, was widely loved by the audience in the winter of 2011.[7] Nevertheless, his big success arrived in the summer of 2012 with the international hit "Mamacita Buena" which became the first Greek song with the most views on YouTube[8] and reached No.1 at the airplay chart in Greece while simultaneously being released internationally by Ultra Music.[9] His international success was appreciated by the MTV Europe Music Awards as he was nominated for Best Greek Act Award.[10] Consequently, Claydee released his next big hit "Sexy Papi" which reached the No.1 in the airplay charts in countries such as Greece, Poland and Serbia[11] while Coca-Cola in Greece chose him to go on tour with the brand for the summer of 2013. His international success has resulted in him performing in different countries such as Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Serbia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Canada, United States, Sweden and Italy and alongside Sakis Rouvas, Eleni Foureira, Onirama at Athens Arena. When asked about the secret to his success, which was undeniably immense in the last few years, he states that there is not one secret element but a series of elements:
- "Over the years the element I kept finding changed! I thought it was passion, then persistence, after that I thought maybe it was the drive, or the sacrifice's along with the long hours I spent in the studio literally waking up on the console. Maybe it was raw talent, or plain luck, maybe all the research I put in, maybe it's a gift, or maybe it was something achieved from experience... Now, I finally Understand what that one element is, and I have come to this conclusion...it's not one element! It's a series of elements that all add up, they all add up to one word...Love. I love what I do, love what I create, and realise that everything I put into what I do, it's out of love. When you love someone (and I say someone because to me music is a being, it's alive), when you truly love them, anything you do for that person, any problems, sacrifice's of any sort, they make you happy, content, fulfilled and never neglected. You always do it with all your heart, just like your child, your partner in life, your parents. No matter what problems you come across, it's always worth it, they give love back and even if they don't, you are still happy you do what you do for them. What is the one element of success... easy...it's love I want to thank everyone for their support, anyone that ever believed in me, thank you from my heart."[12]
Down 2 Earth Records
In 2010, Claydee co-created "Down2Earth" with his friend Evan Klimakis which is a music industry consulting and artist development company. It recently launched Down2Earth Records, a mainstream dance label. Down2Earth represents exclusively for the world artists such as Claydee, The Fade, Cristi, Phatjak, Johnny Gerontakis and Nikki Lee while providing services such as creative consulting, artist development, music production, music video production and licensing & promotion.
Personal life
Some years after his establishment in Greece, he legally took the name, Nikodimos. Claydee is also a professional Latin dancer.[13]
Discography
|
- 2015: Who - featuring Faydee
- 2015: Te quiero - featuring Dave Audé
- 2016: Alena
References
- ↑ LAST, FM. "Claydee's Biography".
- ↑ Tralala, .gr Awards. "Claydee: Ο καλλιτέχνης των ρεκόρ!,". Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ↑ VIP, News. "Γεννήθηκα στην Αλβανία και ήρθα στην Ελλάδα σε ηλικία 4 ετών,". Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ↑ Music, Press. "Claydee Lupa Σύντομο Βιογραφικό,". Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ↑ el:Mad Video Music Awards
- ↑ el:Mad Video Music Awards
- ↑ Bizz, News. "Claydee Lupa Deep Inside,". Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ↑ E-go, .gr. "20.000.000 Youtube views για το Mamacita Buena,". Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ↑ tralala, .gr. "Το Mamacita Buena κυκλοφόρησε με το μεγαλύτερο dance label Ultra Music,". Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ↑ tralala, .gr. "Ο Claydee υποψήφιος για το φετινό MTV Best Greek Act,". Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ↑ tralala, .gr. "God is a DJ: Claydee International με … Ν#1!,". Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ↑ claydee, .com. "Biography Claydee Official,". Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ↑ Fthis, .gr. "Απόψε στο "Βράδυ" με τον Πέτρο Κωστόπουλο O Στάνκογλου, ο Claydee και οι εξωτικές χορεύτριες!". Retrieved 19 October 2013.