O-Zone

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For the form of oxygen, see Ozone.
O-Zone
Country Moldova Moldova
Years active 1999 – 2005
Genres Electronica, Eurodance
Members Dan Bălan, Radu Sârbu, Arsenie Todiraş
Website(s) [1]

O-Zone was a pop group made up of Dan Bălan, Radu Sârbu, and Arsenie Todiraş (aka Arsenium). Originally from Moldova, the band launched in Romania. They mainly played eurodance music and are famous for the single "Dragostea din tei", which was also performed by Haiducii, a notable summer hit which reached Number 1 in the singles charts of many countries during 2003 and 2004, and Number 3 in the United Kingdom. The follow-up single "Despre tine" had similar success across Europe.

Compared to its multi-platinum status in Europe, O-Zone never entered the charts in the United States. An English recording of "Dragostea din tei" was released in early 2005, under the title "Ma Ya Hi". "Ma Ya Hi" was performed by Lucas Prata and Dan Bălan on the New York Today Show on February 22, 2005. Nevertheless, "Ma Ya Hi" did not prove to be a hit, peaking only at #72 in March on Billboard, although it was certified gold for 100 000 download sales. With the advent of the Numa Numa Dance, "Dragostea Din Tei" had a boom of popularity in the United States, but never played on the radio except for a single station in Bakersfield, California[citation needed].

In 2005 the group split up. All of the members went their separate ways and started their own solo careers.

Arsenie Todiraş was a co-representative of Moldova during the 2006 Eurovision contest, competing under his new moniker Arsenium).

Contents

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Singles

  • Numai tu (2003)
  • Dragostea din tei (Maiahi) (2004) UK #3; #1 Eurochart
  • Despre tine (2004)
  • Mai Ya Hi (English Translation of "Dragostea din tei") (2005) US #72

[edit] "Dragostea din tei" (a.k.a. "Numa Numa")

The song "Dragostea din tei" is written and composed by Dan Bălan.

Los Angeles resident Dan Bălan was born in Chişinău, Republic of Moldova, in 1979. His biggest success to date was with the pop band O-Zone. He was the front man of this project, producing and writing all of their compositions. Dan formed O-Zone in 1999 and released three albums through 2004. Their best-selling LP was DiscO-Zone, which reached #1 in six countries and sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide (1,000,000 in Japan alone).

Dan’s most successful song to date is "Dragostea din tei" (aka "Numa Numa song"). The song reached #1 in 32 countries (including #3 in the U.K.), selling 12 million copies worldwide. It was the biggest single in Europe and Japan in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The song was eventually covered by over 100 artists worldwide in 12 different languages.

The "Numa Numa" video clip was an early Newgrounds classic released in 2004.

Another O-Zone hit was "Despre tine". It reached #1 in five countries and topped out at #6 in the main European Chart.

Before entering the pop world, Dan enjoyed his first band experience - he formed a goth-doom metal band called Inferialis in 1997. He was the keyboard player and songwriter of this project. Inferialis had a large fan base in the underground Moldovian scene, despite never having an official release.

In 2004, Dan decided to venture closer to his rock roots. He chose the best musicians in his region and moved with them to Los Angeles in 2005. Although Dan wrote the compositions prior to the formation of this project, it took two years to get a signature sound and their own captivating style. He asked acclaimed producer Jack Joseph Puig (John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, No Doubt, The Black Crowes, Rolling Stones) to produce the record. Jack was extremely enthusiastic about working with Dan. The album was recorded in April/June of 2006 at the renowned Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles.

[edit] External links

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