SOUND AND STYLE
Singer/Songwriter, Krisanthi Pappas, has a successful career in both the jazz scene as well as the adult contemporary scene. She has been compared to Norah Jones and Diana Krall by JazzTimes Magazine and to Karen Carpenter and Carole King by All Music Guide. Her jazz songwriting style has been compared to Randy Newman by Cadence Magazine, while her pop songwriting has been compared to Carole King by All Music Guide.
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Based in the Boston-area, Krisanthi is a full-time singer and musician throughout New England, New York City, the Caribbean and parts of Europe.
In the classic rock scene, Krisanthi has performed pre-shows for Sheryl Crow, Heart, Queen with Adam Lambert, Hall & Oates, Squeeze, The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Chicago and REO Speedwagon.
In the jazz scene she has opened for or shared the stage with Branford Marsalis, Chuck Mangione, The Yellowjackets, Manhattan Transfer's Cheryl Bentyne, Kevin Mahogany, Gary Burton and Makoto Ozone. As well as her vocal gentleness, she has the husky-voiced passion of Bonnie Raitt and the swinging playfulness of Ella Fitzgerald.
In the musical theatre scene, Krisanthi has been composer, lyricist, writer, director, and musical director as well as having held lead and supporting roles in several productions. Her original musical "Reality Romance; an Unaffiliated Bachelor Musical Parody" (Book by Bianca Vranceanu) entertained audiences for eight sold out shows at the Mass Arts Center September and October 2023.
Krisanthi also plays piano and drums on some of her songs as well as writing her band's musical arrangements.
Krisanthi has been the musical director and/or a performer for many prestigious events such as Governor Deval Patrick's Inaugural Celebration as well as benefits including the Faulkner Hospital Breast Center in Boston, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, The Relay For Life and others. Her Sister Friends For Life Concert featured herself with other acclaimed singers and many Boston radio personalities from WMJX and KISS 108.
Krisanthi also performs a popular virtual piano bar show on her station Krisanthi5 on YouTube Live.
FILM and TV
Krisanthi is in the 2022-23 Sony Pictures film Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody playing the role of Rickey Minor’s keyboard player in Whitney’s band.
You can hear Krisanthi's voice and/or her original music and lyrics on recent and past episodes of "Parenthood" (NBC), "East New York" (CBS), "The Mindy Project" (FOX), "Once Upon A Time" (ABC), "One Life To Live" (ABC), "Containment" (CW), "Passions" (NBC), "Californication" (Showtime), "Younger" (TVLand) and "The Lair" (HereTV). Her music and/or singing in films include "I Dream Too Much", "Happygram", "Green River" and "Tying The Not".
RECORDINGS and RADIO
Krisanthi has released seven albums which are a mix of her adult contemporary original songs, cover tunes and her jazzy arrangements of classic songs.
Her adult contemporary single "Hug A Million Times", named a "pandemic recovery anthem", reached #9 on the World Indie Charts in 2021 as well as placing in the Cashbox Top 100.
Krisanthi’s music is played on radio stations and digital platforms worldwide. She recently surpassed five million spins on Pandora Radio and her music is also played on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Sirius XM, Amazon Music and other digital radio.
SONGWRITING AWARDS
As an ASCAP songwriter and publisher, Krisanthi is a past 2nd place Winner of the prestigious Billboard® World Song Contest and The Next Holiday Classic Song Contest for her song “You and Me by the Christmas Tree” as well as having been the 3rd place Billboard® winner for her song “One Slow Dance A Day”.
She also tied for 1st place in NYC’s Cabaret Hotline Members' Choice Songwriters' Favorite Song Award for her song "My Back Yard" and was an Honor Award winner in the 10th Annual Great American Song Contest for her song “You and Me by the Christmas Tree”. She has continued to receive songwriting awards from the ASCAP Popular Music Awards Panel every year since 1999 for her music and lyrics in jazz, cabaret and pop.
Krisanthi’s songs are also performed live in her own concerts as well as by many other cabaret and jazz performers in New York City, Boston and Washington DC.
OTHER
In other areas of musical employment, Krisanthi is the Music Director at Foxborough Universalist Church. She is also a songwriter and singing voice heard on many New England television and radio jingles.
As a private instructor of piano, music theory, and vocal performance, she is a member of The National Association for Music Education and The International Association of Jazz Educators.
In other areas of musical enjoyment, Krisanthi likes to play several other instruments, tap dance and swing dance.