Alexandra Stan

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Alexandra Stan
Alexandra Stan
Stan during a performance in Sofia (2012)
Background information
Birth name Alexandra Stan
Born (1989-06-10) 10 June 1989 (age 34)
Constanța, Romania
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, philantrophist
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2009–present
Associated acts Marcel Prodan, Andrei Nemirschi
Website Official website

Alexandra Stan (born 10 June 1989) is a Romanian singer, songwriter and philanthropist. She made her chart debut with her single, "Mr. Saxobeat", which was written and produced by both Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi. They have previously discovered her at a karaoke bar in 2009 and offered her a contract with their own label, Maan Records, through which Stan also released a promotional single titled "Show Me The Way" and her debut single, "Lollipop (Param Pam Pam)". "Mr. Saxobeat" quickly achieved commercial success in her native Romania and aboard, with it reaching the number one spot of the Romanian Top 100 and topping the record charts in nine other countries, including Germany, where it became the first Romanian song to top the chart since O-Zone's "Dragostea din tei" (2004). Worldwide, "Mr. Saxobeat" has brought total sales of over 10 million shipments. Stan's next single, "Get Back (ASAP)" reached number one in Slovakia and the top ten in Romania, Hungary, Finland and Czech Republic. Following this, Saxobeats was made available for purchase as her debut studio album to digital stores over the world, including the United States and Canada. It reached number 15 in Japan and sold over 68,000 copies in that country.

Following a violent incident between Stan and Marcel Prodan in 2013, Stan's last album under his label, Cliché (Hush Hush), was released. It was a Japan-only reissue of Saxobeats with the addition of three songs intented for her then-untitled sophomore studio album, "Cliché (Hush Hush)", "All My People" and Lemonade"; the latter one was successful in Italy. Subsequently, Stan signed a new record deal with Fonogram Records and made her second studio album, Unlocked, available for digital download on 27 August 2014. Six songs from the record were released as singles, while "Dance" peaked at number 25 on the Japan Hot 100. Another release off the album, "Give Me Your Everything", aroused controversy upon the release of its music video for a scene in which Stan is wearing a white robe with masonic symbols inscribed on its back. Critics named the clip "her most bizarre video ever". As of January 2015, Unlocked sold more than 17,000 shipments in Japan, where it peaked at number 21 on the Oricon Albums Chart.

Early life

Stan was born on 10 June 1989 in the city of Constanța, Romania, where she studied at the Traian Secondary School and the Faculty of Management Andrei Saguna.[1] From a very young age, she showed special interest in music.[1] At the age of 15, Stan was invited to sing in a televised show.[2] She participated in various music-related contests, including the Mamaia Music Festival.[1] In 2009, Stan was discovered by Romanian producers and songwriters Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi at a karaoke bar; they offered her a record deal with their own label, Maan Records, through she also released a promotional single called "Show Me The Way".[3] Stan became known in her native country with her debut single, "Lollipop (Param Pam Pam)", which failed to achieve much success although it massively aired on multiple radio stations in Romania.[1] Its accompanying music video which featured her licking seductively a lollipop was criticised by various music critics for its low budget.[1] During an interview, Stan stated that she believes in God and that she has her own religious principles, describing herself as an "untraditional Christian".[4]

Career

2009–12: Saxobeats era

Following the release of a promotional single titled "Show Me The Way"[3] and her debut single, "Lollipop (Param Pam Pam)", in 2009,[1] Stan made her chart debut with "Mr. Saxobeat" which premiered in late 2010.[1] It first achieved commercial success in her native Romania, with it remaining at number one on the Romanian Top 100 for eight consecutive weeks.[5] Subsequently, it also became a worldwide hit, topping the record charts in nine other countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland and Turkey),[6][7][1][8] with it also becoming the first Romanian song to reach number one on the German Singles Chart since O-Zone's "Dragostea din tei" (2004).[9] "Mr. Saxobeat" was certified Gold and Platinum in multiple countries for worldwide sales exceeding 10 million copies.[10][11][12][13] At the 2011 Romanian Music Awards, Stan and "Mr. Saxobeat" won Best Song and Borderbreaker, while also being nominated for Best Dance and Best Female.[14][15] Stan won a nomination for Best European Act at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards after winning Best Romanian Act, where she was nominated alongside rapper Guess Who, Puya, Smiley and Fly Project.[9][16] She lost Best European Act to German recording artist Lena Meyer-Landrut.[17]

After the success of "Mr. Saxobeat", Stan released a follow-up single called "Get Back".[1] It was a major success worldwide, reaching the top 10 in Finland and Romania, and the top twenty in other European countries.[9] In summer 2011, her single "1,000,000" featuring German rapper Carlprit was made available for purchase.[9] On 29 August 2011, Stan released her debut album titled Saxobeats, to French digital stores; the record featured eight tracks plus five remixes.[9] The album was first released to Europe and then to Canada and the United States on 25 October 2011 through Ultra Records.[9] Saxobeats was successful in Japan, selling more than 68,000 copies in that territory, alone.[18] In June 2012, Stan released a new single titled "Lemonade"; an accompanying music video was released on her YouTube channel 4 June 2012.[9] The song charted in countries like Bulgaria and Japan, as well as Italy.[19][20][21] Following this, Stan won a European Border Breaker award for her international achievements.[22] Her next releases, "Cliché (Hush Hush)" and "All My People", reached number 11 and fifty on the Japan Hot 100, respectively.[20]

2013–15: Marcel Prodan case and hiatus

Stan's announced second studio album should have been released in September 2013, but was postponed following an assault carried out on Stan by Marcel Prodan, her then-manager.[23] She revealed in Romanian tabloids that she had suffered abusive treatment over the last year, and also allowed the publication of pictures of her bruised and swollen face and eyes. However, her management team claimed that her injuries stemmed from being involved in a car accident rather than domestic abuse. She reported being repeatedly hit and kicked until she passed out. After receiving medical care at the Constanța hospital, she was carried to her car, and the beating continued. Police officers brought the situation to a close, according to Romanian media.[24][25][26][27] Her three already-released singles "Lemonade", "Cliche (Hush Hush)" and "All My People" were released on a reissue of Saxobeats, titled Cliché (Hush Hush).[23] The reissue was not successful, however, reaching the top sixty in Japan and selling about 6,000 copies.[28][29]

In the fall of 2014, Stan was sued by both Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi for copyright infringement. According to them, she performed songs such as "Mr. Saxobeat" or "Lemonade" without their permission.[30] In June 2014, Stan won the right to perform their songs, but lost the copyright for photos of her taken by Andrei Nemirschi.[31] Stan and Prodan met face-to-face at the court in Constanța on 4 June 2015 for the first time since the assault. Prodan claimed that Stan wanted to commit suicide by throwing herself from the car, but Stan asserted she was trying to escape the beating she received from him. Prodan explained that Stan did not want to leave the recording studio, and slipped on the wet floor and was knocked unconscious after he tried to push her towards the exit. Prodan then stated that he carried her to his car and wanted to drive her home, but she kicked him, and he slapped her, allegedly in self-defence. Stan denied claims of suicidal intentions, stating that she "pulled the steering wheel easily, not with the intention to kill [herself], but with the intention to calm down".[32] In the end, Prodan was sentenced to 7 months of jail.[33]

2014–2015: Unlocked era

File:Alexandra Stan Osaka.jpg.PNG
Stan performing during her Unlocked Tour.

After a short career hiatus, Stan released her comeback single, "Thanks For Leaving", on 28 April 2014.[34] About the recording, she expressed that "[she's] glad that [she] was able to express many feelings and emotions through the song and the music video".[35] The song peaked atop the Ukrainian Pop Singles Chart.[36] Following this, she made "Cherry Pop" available for purchase together with its accompanying clip, which presents her playing tennis against herself, on 28 May 2014.[37] The single entered the Japanese Hot 100 at number sixty-four.[20] Her third single following her hiatus, "Dance", was released on 18 July 2014, reaching number twenty-five in Japan.[20] A music video for the song was shot Bucharest and choreographed by Romanian performer Emil Rengle.[38] In August 2014, Stan unveiled the artwork for her announced second studio album, Unlocked ,[39] which was finally released on 28 August 2014 to Japanese digital retrailers.[40] The record charted within the top twenty in Japan,[28] where it sold more than 17,000 shipments,[41] and featured two more singles, "Vanilla Chocolat", a collaboration with Romanian rapper Connect-R,[42] and "Give Me Your Everything";[43] the latter one aroused controversy for a scene of its music video where Stan is wearing a robe with masonic symbols inscribed on its back.[44][45] Critics described the clip as the most bizarre video for her career.[44] In September 2014, Stan embarked on her Unlocked Tour.[46] Later that year, she sung Cher's song, "Strong Enough", translated in Catalan for the annual Spanish charity event La Marató,[47] and in February 2015, she was a special guest at the Spanish Carnival of Las Palmas.[48]

2016–present: Alesta era

On 8 June 2015, Stan released "We Wanna" in collaboration with fellow Romanian recording artist Inna and Puerto Rican reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee.[49] The track reached the top thirty in Argentina,[50] Poland[51] and Turkey,[52] and the top sixty in Italy,[53] Romania[54] and Slovakia.[55] In parallel with her music career, she was as well involved in volunteering for ecological and humanitarian causes at the event Expo 2016, held in Antalya, Turkey, where she planted a tree named after her.[56] Following the release of Dorian's "Motive", a song for which Stan provided guest vocals,[57] she won a trophy at the Celebrity Awards.[58] In addition to that, the singer won a nomination at the Elle Style Awards România for Best Pop Artist.[59] On 25 November 2015, a new single called "I Did It, Mama!" was made available for digital download.[60] An accompanying music video was filmed in Bucharest, Romania, and portrays Stan being a goddess surrounded by different types of men, including models, rugby players, motor bikers and dancers.[60] The track is a powerful and cheerful song which speaks about the gap between the geration of parents and of their children.[60] In March 2016, Stan released her third studio album, Alesta,[61] and toured Japan in order to promote the record.[62] The album debuted at number thirty-four on the Japanese Albums Chart,[28] and featured a collabortion with Swedish-Congolese singer Mohombi on "Balans".[63] Subsequently, Stan made her clothes collection, "Alesta X Bershka", available for sale in Japan; it consisted of a silver backpack, worth $40, that can be also used as a handbag, and as well of a gray dress, worth $60, which can be also used as a sweatshirt.[62] On 22 April 2016, the singer opened The Back To Life Easter Festival 2016 held in Cairo, Egypt, with her 2011 single, "Mr. Saxobeat".[64] In June 2016, Stan released her new single, "Écoute", in collaboration with Havana.[65] A video to accompany the song was filmed by Khaled Mokhtar in Obârșia-Brezoi.[65]

Discography

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Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2011 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards Best Romanian Act Alexandra Stan Won [9][16]
"Best European Act" Nominated
Romanian Music Awards Best Song "Mr. Saxobeat" Won [14][15]
Best Dance Song Nominated
Border Breaker Alexandra Stan Won
Best Female Nominated
European Border Breakers Award Romanian Border Breaker Won [22]
Los Premios 40 Principales 2011 Best International Song "Mr. Saxobeat" Nominated [66]
2012 Balkan Music Awards World breakthrough Alexandra Stan Won [67]
Romanian Music Awards Best Female [68][69]
Best Album Saxobeats Nominated
2013 Japan Gold Disc Award Best New Artist Alexandra Stan Won [70]
2015 Celebrity Awards Successful woman [58]
Elle Style Awards România Best Pop Artist Nominated [59]

References

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External links