Fast confession - Helena Zeťová: I trusted someone I shouldn't have

You often travel to Greece, when was the first time you visited it?

When I was twenty-one years old. People often say that I've been there for twenty years, but the truth is only seventeen. I fell in love and stayed there.

And when I say Greece, what comes to mind?

I don't work there, I just have fun. It's my place for enjoyment, I have friends there. I originally lived in Thessaloniki. I love the village of Litochoro because it looks like a place from another world.

Dům na prodej 7kk - Praha 6, 232m2, Praha 6

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What always awaits you when you return to Czech Republic?

Under normal circumstances, I have always come only to do concerts, now I'm here to really start work on recording my third solo album. I've been here for a long time, but I think it's worth it and the result will be good. I enjoy it here, and I haven't really thought about when I'm going back to Greece yet.

You haven't changed your mind about staying here for good?

I never left completely, I'm half here, half there. I have never had to decide where I want to stay. I have a private life in Greece, here I work. For me, Europe is tiny, it only takes a couple of hours to cross, and I always say that we live fifteen hundred kilometres from the sea. I feel at home here and there and I consider both places as a whole.

How do your parents feel about you leaving, don't they shed some some tears even after all these years?

I think they have come to terms with it, they like Greece too. My dad lives in the beautiful Wallachia region, where I stay very often now. I'm a big girl, so they don't cry.

Is your style still the same, or have you changed your music a bit?

Of course, I like a classical performance also, I like private events, I like balls, but at this moment, also given the direction in which the record is actually going, and mainly because of who I worked on it with, I would naturally like to play with a band. I'm also considering a festival, so I'm planning to play with the band. It's a big difference because it's a different thing, because when you go to a show and you're there for thirty minutes as a guest, you sing six songs, it's fine, but it's completely different if you have the strong musicians behind you who will support you. I am very excited about this, it will certainly be a big change.

Is it important for you what outfit you have during a concert or a video clip?

I'm more a casual, sporty person, so I like the comfort of being in sweatpants, but when we made the first video, sweatpants didn't seem like the right thing because the song is really beautiful. It called for a certain level of class. Otherwise, if it's a fast song and just about running around Prague, I don't care if I'm wearing sweatpants.

How do you maintain your figure? You're slim, I know that's probably very genetic because your mom is also a slim woman.

I'm slim, but it's not only about that, then you get undressed and what you see is not so great. In order for a person to be toned, one must, of course, move. Genetics for sure! Mom, dad, its in the family, we're just like that, all of us did sports. I did sports until two years ago. It is true that I don't move much now and I miss it, but I had other things on my mind, so I'm looking forward to solving everything, when the record will be out and everything will be okay. Fortunately, my body has a memory, so when I get bored, I'm going back to the gym.

You are surely the center of attention in the band, surrounded by men. But what about in your private life?

At the moment I know where I stand with men and basically I only go for a beer with them and that's my only confrontation with men. This is very good for me after the break-up and it's fine. Work takes up most of my time now.

Do you think it is a disadvantage that you are pretty and successful? Are men more afraid of approaching you?

In my case it's not really about beauty, but maybe it's about the success. It is true that in Greece, I can compare it with the Czech Republic. There they don't know I'm a singer. A lot more guys invite me for coffee than in the Czech Republic. But at the moment I don't mind.

What about Greek food? Have you become unaccustomed to dumplings?

I like dumplings, but I eat a lot of vegetables, I love meat. I can't cook dumplings, so it's usually up to my mom. The Greeks have an excellent cuisine, but in some cases it is very demanding.

And what about the language. How is your Greek?

My Greek is perhaps better than my Czech, but it was difficult at first. First I wrote down words, then some short sentences in the workbook, and I kept looking at it. Over time I used it less and less until I stopped needing it altogether. It was also good in the beginning, it helped me a lot, that most of the younger Greeks knew at least some English.