Kaiti Garbi

About Kaiti Garbi

Early Life

Kaiti Garbi, born Katerina Garbi on June 8, 1961, in Athens, began her singing career at fifteen alongside her younger sister Liana, performing together as the "Garbi Sisters" starting in the late 1970s. Their father initially opposed their singing careers given their young age, but chose not to stand in the way of what he saw as real talent. The sisters became especially known for providing backing vocals at Yannis Floriniotis's performances in the early 1980s, learning the realities of professional performing from a young age.

Musical Style & Sound

Garbi's catalog spans Laïko, pop, folk, and éntekhno, giving her one of the more versatile discographies among her generation of Greek singers. Her voice is known for its distinct, emotionally direct tone, capable of shifting between tender balladry and more powerful, dramatic delivery. She's particularly associated with composer Foivos, often described as his "first muse," a partnership that shaped some of her most dramatic, orchestrally driven work.

Career Rise

Garbi broke away from performing with her sister in 1987, releasing her solo debut single, a cover of "Saint Tropez," which led to her first solo album, "Prova," in 1989. Her fourth album, "Tou Feggariou Anapnoes," shifted her toward a more pop-driven sound, went gold, and led to her selection to represent Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993, where she placed ninth. She followed that with a run of major commercial successes through the 1990s, including the platinum "Os Ton Paradeiso" and the double- and triple-platinum albums "Atofio Hrysafi," "Arhizo Polemo," and "Evaisthisies," all of which reached number one on the Greek album charts. Across her career she has sold more than two million records and holds the distinction of being the only Greek artist with more than thirty duets in her discography.

Diaspora Impact

Garbi's decades-long catalog and reputation as one of Greece's most consistently commercial voices have made her a recognizable name across Greek and Cypriot communities abroad, with a fanbase spanning multiple generations who grew up on different eras of her sound. Her extensive collaborations with other major Greek artists throughout her career have also helped keep her presence current, connecting her original 1980s and 1990s fanbase to newer listeners discovering her music through those partnerships.