After moving to Patras, Rouvas continued to look for performance opportunities until he met Dakis (a popular Greek artist who was the first person to help him professionally). Rouvas moved to Athens, and made his first professional appearance in 1991 at the Show Centre. His showmanship attracted the attention of music executives such as Nikos Mouratidis, who encouraged songwriter Giorgos Pavrianos to produce him. Rouvas, singing Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" was discovered by PolyGram executives who signed him to his first recording contract. Several months later he debuted at the Thessaloniki Song Festival, losing Best Vocal Performance to Giorgos Alkaios but singing the Best Composition ("Par'ta"; "Take Them", with music by Nikos Terzis and lyrics by Giorgos Pavrianos). There was a brief earthquake during the festival.
