Akcent
Akcent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Bucharest, Romania |
| Genres | Dance-pop, house |
| Years active | 1999–2013 (Akcent) 2013-present (Post-Akcent) |
| Labels | Fire Records Ltd., ARY Musik Records, Magic Records, Roton, Ultra, Ministry of Sound, Robbins Entertainment, Warner, Universal, Sony |
| Associated acts | Sandra N., Ruxandra Bar, Lora, Edward Maya, Lidia Buble, Maxim, XOXO, Reea, Aza, Amira |
| Members | Adrian Sina |
| Past members | Classic lineup Marius Nedelcu Mihai Gruia Sorin Stefan Brotnei Other members Ramona Barta Corneliu Ulici |
Akcent (pronounced "ascent"; originally a wordplay on "accent") is a multi-certified, award-winning Romanian dance pop act whose members sing in Romanian, English, Polish and Spanish. The group was created by Adrian Sînă, and Ramona Barta. Their first single "Nu-mi pasă de nimeni" (I don't care about anyone) got positive reactions from critics and became the reason Catalin Muraru signed them to Roton in 1999. They released their debut album Senzatzia in 2000. Except for the first track "Ultima vara" (The last summer) which received some airplay, the album was a commercial failure and the band disbanded. Soon after, Sina brought Marius Nedelcu, and Sorin Brotnei into the group, changing it from a duo to a boyband. They came to prominence once with the release of their hit single "Ti-am promis" (I promised you).
The climax of the group's career was the international release of their breakthrough single "Kylie", the English version of their internal hit "Dragoste De Inchiriat". The song reached peak position in many European charts and fared well enough in countries such as the Netherlands and France. The band even participated in the Selecția Națională, with hopes of representing Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest. They united with pop singer Nicoleta Matei and entered the song "Jockero", which failed to win. Nevertheless, it became one of their number-one singles on the Romanian Top 100. They continued to see success all through the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Early years[]
Born and raised in Baia Mare, Maramureș Adrian Claudiu Sînă formed the band in 1998. Back then, it was just him and singer Ramona Barta. The two sent their debut single to nationwide mainstream radio stations as early as 1999. The song "Ultima vara" (The Last Summer) managed to reach the top-twenty of many airplay charts. The duo also released a studio album titled Senzatia (The Sensation). The album didn’t do well and Barta split from Sînă. The duo changed into a boyband when Sina introduced Marius Nedelcu, Mihai Gruia and Sorin Brotnei to the group. Their debut album În culori was released in Romania on January 10, 2002 and included the hit single "Ţi-am promis". They rose to fame instantly when "Ti-am promis" (I promised you) reached the summit of the Romanian Top 100 during winter 2001. The album also became one of the most successful albums in the country's recent history. It received a Gold certification within three weeks. Some months later, it was eventually certified Platinum by the Uniunea Producătorilor de Fonograme din România. During this time, they won multiple MTV Romania Music Awards as well.
Continued success[]
In 2003, the band released their third studio album, 100 BPM. It’s title refers to the intensity of heartbeat during a kiss. It included their number-one single "Buchet de trandafiri" (Bouquet of roses). Their fourth album, Poveste de viata (Life story) was also a huge success for the phenomenonal band. It included hits like "Spune-mi (Hey Baby!)". They reached the zenith of their success with the release of their studio album S.O.S. and its lead single "Dragoste de inchiriat" (love for rent). It became their signature song and hit number-one in Romania, both digitally and in airplay. Due to its immense success, the song was re-written in English and released to the international market as "Kylie" (an ode to Kylie Minogue). It became a radio hit in countries like Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Greece and Ukraine. Akcent's debut English album “French Kiss with Kylie” was released in Europe on August 23, 2006, and it included their two smash hit singles, "" and "Jokero".
In April 2008, Marius Nedelcu left the band to go solo. The remaining three boys called in Corneliu Ulici, a former member of another Romanian group, Bliss. However, Corneliu didn’t want to make music his career and left after only 5 months, after which Akcent officially became a trio. Adrian Sînă was commissioned to produce Akcent's album Fără lacrimi ("No Tears"). The international hit singles "That's My Name", "" and "Lover's Cry" were all produced by Mr. Sînă. In 2009, Adrian Sînă also produced the " "True Believers" album, and it has been one of Akcent's most successful to date. The album included the hits "That's My Name", "Stay with Me," "Lover's Cry" and Tears". In the same year, Akcent won the Balkan Music Awards for Best Duet/Group. Because of the success of "That's My Name," the song along with "Stay with me" was released through U.S. record label Ultra Records, Warner Music Group in Scandinavia, Turkey, Italy, Greece and other countries. The single was also included on the "Just Dance: Vol 3" compilation album released by The Island Def Jam Music Group in 2010. Post this multi-platinum album, the band started performing worldwide.
The new decade[]
In 2011, Akcent signed a recording contract with Robbins Entertainment and in May 2012 "My Passion" was officially released in the United States. Then came the song "Feelings on Fire", which featured Ruxandra Bar and a music video that was filmed with the guys driving sports cars; in Romania, on Transfagarasan. Akcent group member Adrian Sina also became a judge of X Factor (Romania season 1) the same year. 2012 was a busy and successful year for Akcent with touring & more hits. In January, Akcent released the single "I'm Sorry" featuring pop singer Sandra N. The single was later licensed to Disco Wax Records and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment in the United Kingdom, Finland and Denmark. Several of Akcent's singles have been added to dance compilations and/or released singularly off of different major recording labels including Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Ministry of Sound to name a few.
In the summer of 2012, Akcent released another single "Chimie Intre Noi" (Chemistry between us), produced by group member Adrian Sina. In September 2012, the group embarked on a U.S. tour, performing sold out shows in New York City, NY and Chicago, Illinois. Akcent signed with Shakir Entertainment Management in New York City on November 26, 2012. As of December 2012, the group's music videos and songs on YouTube have been viewed close to 1 billion times, and they have more than 3 million fans on Facebook. Akcent is the only international pop act to perform live in Pakistan several times within the past 2 years.
2013–2014: Disbandment and Lasting Success[]
In September 2013, the band split after a quarrel, leaving Sînă as the only member of the band.
As of September 2013, Adrian Sînă is the only male artist with the most chart entries on the Romanian Top 100. Overall, only artists like Madonna or Rihanna have more entries than him. In 2014, he saw immense success with the songs "Kamelia" and "Faina". In 2015, he released the successful singles " Te Quiero" ft. Galena and "Amor Gitana" ft. with Sandra N. In 2016, he released a new album "Love the Show". Till date, Sînă has remained loyal to the original style of Akcent. Meanwhile Sorin Brotnei And Gruia Mihai Started Their Own Band "TWO" And Got Hits For Their Songs Like Lady Lady,Regrets,Angel,Fall In Love
Discography[]
Albums
- Senzatzia (2000)
- În culori (2002)
- 100 bpm (2003)
- Poveste de viaţă (2004)
- S.O.S. (2005)
- Primul capitol (2006)
- French Kiss with Kylie (2006, Rerelease 2007)
- King of Disco (2007)
- Fără lacrimi (2009)
- True Believers (2009)
- Around The World (2014)
- Love The Show (2016)
- Лучшие хиты (2014)
- Diamentowa Kolekcja Disco: Faina (2015)
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROM | TUR | BUL | FIN | FRA | GER | NED | SWE | EUR | ||||
| 2002 | "Ți-am promis" | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | În culori |
| "Prima iubire" | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "În culori" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003 | "Buchet de trandafiri" | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 100 bpm |
| "Suflet pereche" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004 | "Poveste de viață" | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Poveste de viață |
| "Spune-mi hey baby" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005 | "Dragoste de închiriat" | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S.O.S. |
| 2006 | "Kylie" | 1 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 85 | 18 | — | French Kiss with Kylie |
| "JoKero" | 1 | 6 | 7 | — | — | — | 27 | 6 | 7 | 53 | ||
| "French Kiss" | 9 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007 | "King of Disco" | 7 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 153 | King of Disco |
| "Let's Talk About It" | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "Umbrela ta" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Fără lacrimi |
| 2009 | "Stay with Me" | 1 | 9 | 9 | — | — | 22 | — | 7 | — | 79 | |
| "That's My Name" | 4 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 9 | — | 32 | 133 | ||
| "How Deep Is Your Love" | 9 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Too Late To Cry" (Vivien O'Hara feat. Akcent) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 72 | — | — | — | |
| 2010 | "Love Stoned" | 32 | 99 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "My Passion" | 2 | 31 | 16 | — | — | — | 13 | 33 | — | 85 | ||
| 2011 | "Feelings On Fire" | 95 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Angel" (Adrian Sînă feat. Sandra N.) | 7 | 16 | 27 | — | 15 | 8 | 19 | — | — | — | ||
| 2012 | "I'm Sorry" (feat. Sandra N.) | 6 | 12 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Back To Me" (Adrian Sînă feat. Diana Hetea) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Chimie intre noi" | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013 | "Arde ceva" (Adrian Sînă) | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Boracay" (Adrian Sînă feat. Sandra N.) | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Lacrimi Curg" (Adrian Sînă) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014 | "Kamelia" (Adrian Sînă feat. Lidia Buble & DDY Nunes) | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Faina" (Adrian Sînă feat. Liv) | — | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015 | "Dilemma" (Adrian Sînă feat. Meriam) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Te Quiero"
(with Galena) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| ""
(Adrian Sînă featuring ) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
References[]
1. ^http://www.click.ro/comunitate/romanesti/sorin-si-mihai-din-akcent-au-facut-o-noua-trupa-two. Click! (in Romanian). 11 December 2013.
External links[]
- Romanian pop music groups
- Romanian boy bands
- Romanian Eurodance groups
- Eurodisco groups
- Musical groups established in 1999
- 1999 establishments in Romania