Dan Bălan

Known as the mastermind behind Eurodance trio O-Zone, Dan Mihai Bălan (born on February 6, 1979) is a Moldovan singer-songwriter and producer. The son of a diplomat and a famous TV presenter, Bălan started playing music after receiving a second-hand accordion as a gift during his early childhood. Later on, he pursued a degree in law before dropping out to focus on his musical career. After a two-year stint fronting the gothic doom metal band Inferialis, Bălan took a more pop-oriented approach with his debut single “De la mine” in 1998. That same year, he formed a new project under the name O-Zone with vocalist Petru Jelihovschi and released the album Dar unde esti?, which received heavy airplay on Moldovan radios. Following Jelihovschi’s departure from the band shortly after the release of their first offering, Bălan revamped the group as a trio, adding Arsenie Todiraş and Radu Sirbu. Sophomore effort Number 1 saw the light in 2001 and spawned the chart-topping single “Despre Tine,” earning the band two MTV Romania Music Awards for Best Song and Best Dance. Their big breakthrough moment arrived in 2003 with “Dragostea din tei,” a massive global hit that went straight to Number 1 in more than thirty countries, obtaining gold and multi-platinum certifications throughout the world and becoming one of the best-selling singles in the history of world music. DiscO-Zone (2003) reaped the rewards of its lead single and charted in several countries, reaching the top in Japan and Portugal. In 2005, the group announced its dissolution at the peak of its popularity as Bălan relocated to Los Angeles to start working on his Crazy Loop project. The Power of Shower, Balan’s first and only full-length under that pseudonym, saw the light in 2007 and included the single “Mm-ma-ma,” which topped the Romanian Singles Chart. In subsequent years, Bălan served as a co-writer for T.I.’s hit single “Live Your Life” and released Freedom ,Part 1 (2010), an album that obtained gold certification in Russia aided by the Number 1 singles “Chica Bomb,” “Justify Sex,” and “Лепестками слез.” He followed this success with the Spanish single “Lendo Calendo” (2013), the “Dragostea din tei” remix, “Numa Numa 2” (2018), and a series of duets with Ukrainian singer Tina Karol (“Домой,” “Помнишь”) between 2019 and 2020.

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