Laïko

Among the most significant songwriters and lyricists of this period are George Zambetas and the big names of the Rebetiko era that were still in business, like Vassilis Tsitsanis and Manolis Chiotis.

Many artists combined the traditions of éntekhno and laïkó with considerable success, such as the composers Stavros Xarchakos and Mimis Plessas.

Legendary figures associated with Laiko (specifically Zeimpekiko) are Dimitris Mitropanos, Stratos Dionysiou and Stelios Kazantzidis.

Many artists have combined the traditions of éntekhno and laïkó with considerable success, such as the composers Mimis Plessas and Stavros Xarchakos.

In effect, there is no single name for contemporary laïká in the Greek language, but it is often formally referred to as σύγχρονο λαϊκό, a term which is however also used for denoting newly composed songs in the tradition of "proper" laïkó; when ambiguity arises, σύγχρονο ("contemporary") λαϊκό or disparagingly λαϊκο-πόπ (laïko-pop, "folk-pop", also in the sense of "westernized") is used for the former, while γνήσιο (gnísio, "proper, genuine, true") or even καθαρόαιμο (katharóaimo, "pureblood") λαϊκό is used for the latter.

The choice of contrasting the notions of "westernized" and "genuine" may often be based on ideological and aesthetic grounds.

Despite its immense popularity, the genre of contemporary laïká (especially laïko-pop) has come under scrutiny for "featuring musical clichés, average singing voices and slogan-like lyrics" and for "being a hybrid, neither laïkó, nor pop".