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* 2009: ''[[Hot (Inna album)|Hot]]''
* 2009: ''[[Hot (Inna album)|Hot]]''
* 2011: ''[[I Am the Club Rocker]]''
* 2011: ''[[I Am the Club Rocker]]''
* 2012: ''TBA''
* 2012: ''TBA''
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== Tours ==
== Tours ==

Revision as of 07:57, 8 June 2012

This article is about the Romanian singer. For other uses, see Inna (disambiguation).
Inna
Inna arriving at the NRJ Music Awards 2011.
Inna arriving at the NRJ Music Awards 2011.
Background information
Birth nameElena Alexandra Apostoleanu
Born (1986-10-16) October 16, 1986 (age 38)
Mangalia, Romania
OriginNeptun, Romania Romania
GenresElectronic dance, electropop, Eurodance, house
Occupation(s)singer, dancer
Years active2008-present
LabelsRoton, Ultra, UMG, Spinnin' Records, AATW
WebsiteOfficial site

Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (Romanian pronunciation: [e̞ˈle̞nä äle̞ˈksändrä äpostoˈle̯änu]; born October 16, 1986 near Mangalia, Romania), known mononymously only as Inna, is a Romanian dance-pop singer, dancer and occasional songwriter.[1] Inna is regarded as the catalyst to the wave of European dance music to hit Western Europe. On November 12, 2008, she released her debut single "Hot", which was produced by Play & Win, a Romanian dance music trio and one of the leading music producers in Romania.[2] The single performed strongly on the Romanian Top 100, peaking at number five in December 2008.[3] It also became an airplay success worldwide.[4][5] A second single, entitled "Love", was released on March 12, 2009 and peaked at number four on the Romanian Hot 100 in April 2009, surpassing the achievements of "Hot". The song "Déjà Vu" became yet another top ten hit on the Romanian Top 100, peaking at number seven in July 2009.[6] It also was a major hit in Russia; as well in Hungary and other countries in the Western world.[7] In the end of June, Inna won a Romanian Top Hits Award, the special one given by the jury, for her top five hit "Love".[8] Later that summer, the song "Hot" hit the number one position on the Spanish Singles Chart, being certified Platinum by PROMUSICAE.[9] The song sold over 40,000 copies during that summer.[10]

In August 2009 Inna released a fourth single entitled "Amazing". It became her most successful song in Romania, topping the Romanian Top 100 for four consecutive weeks. In order to promote the release of her debut album Hot in Romania, "10 Minutes" was announced and released as the fifth single in January 2010.

Her sixth single "Sun Is Up" became a number-one hit in Bulgaria and a top three in Turkey, France, Romania, Russia, and Switzerland. It was the first single from Inna's second album, entitled I Am The Club Rocker, which was released in September 2011. Along with this record, Inna encourages her fanbase to affirm themselves as Club Rockers. Four more singles were spawned by the album: the title song "Club Rocker" featuring American rapper Flo Rida, "Un Momento" featuring Spanish DJ Juan Magan, "Endless" and "WOW".

Inna started her European concert tour "INNA en Concert" in June 2011. The tour reached North America in fall 2011, when Inna performed in Mexico. It concluded with a performance at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in November, 2011. Inna embarked in her second world tour, the I Am the Club Rocker Tour on January 13, 2012.[11] The tour is to reach the United States in the first half of 2012.[12]

In France, she has five consecutive top 10 singles, "Hot", "Déjà Vu", "Amazing", "10 Minutes" and "Sun Is Up",[13] and her debut album Hot reached the top 10 there.[14] In the United Kingdom, she has three songs which charted within the top 20 of the The Official Charts Company's UK Singles Chart, with a top 10 success ("Hot") and two top 20 hits, ("Amazing" and "Sun Is Up").[15] Inna received numerous awards and nominations, including ones at NRJ Music Awards[16] or at the MTV Europe Music Awards.[17] In 2011 Inna won an European Border Breakers Award for her international success.[18]

As of December, 2011 Inna sold over 100,000 albums and over 600,000 singles in the United Kingdom alone.[19] By the end of 2011 it was reported that Inna's fortune is estimated at round €8 million from which Inna accomplished €800,000 in 2011 solely, becoming the richest artist in Romania and in Eastern Europe.[20][21][22]

As of February, 2012 Inna is the first European female singer to surpass one billion hits on YouTube.[23]

Biography

1986—2004: Early life and career beginnings

Landscape of Mangalia, city where Inna spent her first years of life.

Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu was born on October 16, 1986, in the village of Neptun, nearby Black Sea shore-city Mangalia in Dobruja, Romania.[3] The singer recalls that her love for music was first encouraged and supported by her family. Her grandmother and mother were both occasional singers at local parties or night clubs.[3] When she was a teenager, Inna would listen to a large variety of musical genres. Although her favourite style was Electro house, she also used to listen to Christina Aguilera and Beyoncé or even towards ballads by Celine Dion or Whitney Houston.[24][25] She also recalls how easy it was for her to sing every song that she liked, her vocals letting her reach most of the high notes.[24] As a student, she attended classes at the "Mangalia Economical Lyceum", a middle class high school in the town of Mangalia (in the vicinity of her hometown), now called "Colegiul Economic Mangalia" — Mangalia Economy College.[26] After graduating from high school with moderate to good marks and therefore acceptable averages, she attempted a degree in Political Sciences at the "Ovidius"University of Constanţa.[27] She stated that she has never enjoyed the courses nor the subjects, so after a rushed graduation she changed her mind towards making music.[28]

From the age of sixteen, Apostoleanu took Bel canto lessons with master Traian Broască, who told her she has a pure talent since she was in the second grade.[28] At the age of seventeen, Apostoleanu left Broască's classes after he told her and her mother that she really has to work and exercise her voice to make it sound musically, statement that bothered her mother and made her withdrew from his training school.[28] Later that year, Apostoleanu started a musical duo with Broască's daughter, Alexandra Broască, but the project didn't get any attention.[28] Before turning eighteen, she auditioned to join the nationwide famous pop group A.S.I.A. but she was rejected in favor of soloist Alina Diana Crișan.[29] She said that her physic inhibited her and the rejection discouraged her and made her give up on her musical career.[29] She started a career as a household retailer at a small boutique in Neptun where she was selling slippers.[30]

Play & Win, the producing trio that discovered Inna.

In late 2007, producer Marcel Botezan came across to Inna while singing in the market and, impressed by her vocal ability, he proposed her a contract with Roton.[30] At the end of 2007, Apostoleanu signed a contract with Romanian producers Play & Win and she started recording her first tracks.[30] In early 2008, Apostoleanu took the stage name "Alessandra" and entered a couple of songs produced by Play & Win for the Selecţia Naţională Eurovision 2008 in order to represent Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, but neither of them ("Goodbye" and "Sorry") managed to pass the anterior pre-selection. They are both pop-rock ballads. If the former one was performed live during primetime TV show "Teo!" on Prima TV in March, 2008, the latter one became a viral hit within a couple of months in Romania.[31] After the unsuccessful attempt, the producing trio and Alessandra reinvented themselves and chose to opt for a House music project. In summer 2008, the four recorded some new tracks including a demo for "Hot" or "Left Right".[30]

When interviewed about the choice of her stage name, the singer told that Inna was an extremely rare name throughout her native Romania, and only met it in Slavic countries, so she found it an accessible pseudonym.[28] Additionally, the singer stated that in her early childhood, her grandfather used to call her Inna, a hypocorism for Elena, and she therefore decided that her stage name would be Inna, in the memory of her deceased grandfather.[32]

2008—10: Hot era

On November 12, 2008, Inna released her debut single "Hot", which was produced by Play & Win, a Romanian dance music trio and one of the leading music producers in Romania.[2] The single performed strongly on the Romanian Top 100, peaking at number five in December 2008.[3] It also became an airplay success in the Balkan countries, before reaching success across Europe and the Middle East.[4][5]

Inna performing live "Hot" at the Sopot Festival, August 8, 2009.

In November 2008, Inna was seeking back-up dancers for her promo tour.[33] As demos such as "Left Ride" and "O, ce veste minunată!" began to leak on the internet,[34][35] Inna was announcing shows in some of the hottest Romanian clubs, such as Club Turabo.[36] In early 2009, the single "Hot" entered the Spanish Singles Chart and the Hungarian Dance Chart. In both countries, the song managed to climb toward the top spot. Furthermore, it garnered huge airplay success in countries such as Poland, Ukraine and Turkey.[37] Meanwhile, the promo songs "Fever" and "On and On" officially premiered on Inna's website, being free for download for a limited period of two weeks.[38][39] Finally, the song "Hot" was released and charted within the top ten in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The second single, entitled "Love", was released on March 12, 2009[40][41] and peaked at number four on the Romanian Hot 100 in April 2009, surpassing the achievements of "Hot".[42] Inna received the first award nominations of her career at the Polish Eska Music Awards in 2009, being nominated for Best Singer and Best Single. She also performed "Hot". On April 15, 2009, Inna signed a contract with a prestigious American record label, Ultra Records.[43][44] On May 12, Inna was nominated four times at the MTV Romania Music Awards, for "Best Dance", "Best Debut", "Best Show" and the special award for "Borderbreaker".[45] The Awards were held on June 6, at Craiova. That night, Inna won all the awards she was nominated for, her show being named the best of the evening.[46] Not long after, Inna became famous in Iceland.[47]

At the end of May 2009, on Antena 1's main news program, the singer unveiled information about her upcoming album, entitled Hot, after the lead single.[48][49]

In the spring of 2009, Inna collaborated with Romanian DJ and producer Bob Taylor, and they released their song "Déjà Vu" to Romanian mainstream radio on June 2, 2009.[50] At first, the two of them decided to promote the single under pseudonyms, Inna becoming Anni. After reaching the Romanian top ten, they confirmed that they were the performers of the hit.[50] It became yet another top ten hit on the Romanian Top 100, peaking at number seven in July 2009.[6] It also was a major hit in Moldova, Bulgaria, Russia and Hungary.[7] At the end of June, Inna won a Romanian Top Hits Award, the special one given by the Jury, for her top five hit "Love".[8] Later that summer, the song "Hot" hit the first position of the Spanish Singles Chart, being certified Platinum by PROMUSICAE.[9] The song sold over 40,000 copies during that summer.[10]

On August 6, 2009, Inna released her fourth single "Amazing", a song originally recorded by Anca Badiu.[51][52] The song became the most successful song of her career in her home country to date,[53] reaching number one on the Romanian Top 100 in October 2009.[54] It also entered the charts of several European countries, peaking at number one in Bulgaria and at number three in Russia.

Inna during her acceptance speech for her first MTV Europe Music Award for Best Romanian Act in November, 2009.

At the MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 on November 5, 2009 in Berlin, Germany, Inna won the award for Best Romanian Act.[55][56] However, she did not make the shortlist for the Best European Act.

In November 2009 "Deja Vu" entered the first half of the Single Top 100 in Netherlands and the top ten in Belgium.[57][58] In December, Inna premiered a new single, a Christmas song, called "I Need You For Christmas", which entered the Romanian Top 100 and the Russian Charts at lower positions. Later, it was listed in the 2010 compilation "I Need You For Christmas".[59][60] In the end of 2009, Inna was named the "Woman of The Year" during the "Young Talents Awards".[61] She won over other big Romanian names, such as Paula Seling, Elena Gheorghe, Claudia Pavel, Andra, Anda Adam, Amadeus and the girl band Blaxy Girls.[62]

At the beginning of 2010, Inna reached an overwhelming chart success, as her single "Hot" peaked at number one on the U.S. Like all her other songs Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart. Both Inna and U.S. singer Ke$ha became the first artists on this chart to swap each others' number-one chart positions with debut singles, with Inna's "Hot" succeeding Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" and then having the latter return the favor.[63][64] To support the Romanian release of her debut album Hot in March 2010, Inna promoted a fifth single entitled "10 Minutes" and released it to Romanian radio on January 23, 2010.[65][66] Without a music video, it failed to reach the top ten of the Romanian Top 100 and only peaked at number eighteen.[67][68] For its international release a video was shot in London, England.[69] The video was directed by Paul Boyd, a British director who has worked with Shania Twain and Mariah Carey.[70] With the video out, the song re-entered the Romanian Top 100, but missed the top forty. It has also charted in Bulgaria and Russia, but out of the top ten.

During 2010, Inna's "Hot" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at #8, while also managing to reach the #1 spot on the UK Dance Chart. On the March 28 UK Singles Chart, "Hot" climbed 2 places to a current peak of #6.[71] On 1 April 2010, the single also debuted on the Irish Singles Chart at #48. The song has also entered, on a lower position, the Canadian Hot 100. The song charted in Germany and peaked at number six in the French Singles Chart. The single "Amazing" was a runner-up in the French Singles Chart, debuting at number two. The song was also Inna's first top forty in Germany, her first top ten in the Swiss Singles Chart and her first chart effort in Austria. In the UK, the song entered the Official Chart at number 14. It is her second top ten in the European Hot 100, after "Hot".[72] The single "Deja Vu" peaked within the top ten in French and out of the top forty in the UK. Meanwhile, her debut album entered the top ten of the French Albums Chart, peaking at number nine.[73] The album went gold in that country, with over 50,000 copies sold.[74] It was also listed in the year-end charts from Romania and France.[75][76] A deluxe version of the album was released in France and Spain (the French edition is entitled "Very Hot"). The promotional single "Un Momento", off the re-release, charted in Spain and Romania.[77][78]

At the 2010 Romanian Music Awards Inna won the awards for Best Female, Best Album, Best Show, Best Web Site and Best International Artist, and performed her Romanian number one single "Amazing".[79][80] She also presented a brand new song entitled "Sun Is Up".[81] The track was sent to Romanian radio stations in June 2010, premiering on Kiss FM.[82] and quickly became a hit in her home country. On November 28, 2010 "Sun Is Up" reached number two on the Romanian Top 100, becoming Inna's fifth top ten single and her second highest charting single of her career, behind only "Amazing".[83] The song has also reached the top spot in Bulgaria and the peak position of number 3 in Russia.[84] The music video for "Sun Is Up" was shot on August 24, 2010 in Marbella, Spain. It was directed by Alex Herron, who previously worked with Taio Cruz and Ke$ha ("Dirty Picture") and Basshunter ("Saturday"). A teaser of the video was released on September 27, 2010. It showed Inna posing on a bed for a photo shoot. The official music video finally premiered on September 30, 2010 on Inna's web site.[85] The video's length is 3:18 and it was filmed in HD. For the second time in a row Inna won the regional voting in the run-up of the MTV Europe Music Awards 2010, receiving the award for Best Romanian Act.[17] But for the first time she became one of five regional winners having the chance to win the Best European Act award at the main show on November 7, 2010. She competed with Afromental from Poland, Dima Bilan from Russia, Enrique Iglesias from Spain and Marco Mengoni from Italy but lost to the Italian representative.[17] At the end of the year, Inna performed, for the first time in more than two years, in a Romanian club. She sang at the Club Kasho in Braşov.[86] In December, she was awarded for her rising career during the "Zece Pentru Romania" awards held by Realitatea TV, along with Paula Seling, Ovi, Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina.[87] In a short time, Inna became one of the most beloved singers in France, with hundreds of invitations and thousands of fans. She garnered over 2,000,000 fans on Facebook, and was named the best known Romanian act of all time.[88]

Inna won the Eurodanceweb Award 2010, with her single "Sun Is Up". The song was named the best dance track of Europe.[89]

Inna's single "10 Minutes" peaked at number eight in France, becoming Inna's fourth consecutive top ten debut.[90] The singer was nominated for the "International Revelation of the Year" award at the NRJ Music Awards along with Justin Bieber, Ke$ha and Taio Cruz, but lost to Bieber.[91]

2011—present: I Am the Club Rocker, world tour and next release

Inna during a sound check in SoHo.

Inna released her second studio album I Am the Club Rocker in October, 2011. It contains the hits "Sun Is Up", "Club Rocker" and "Un Momento" along with the previously released promo songs "Señorita" and "Moon Girl".[92][93][94] In late January 2011, it was announced that Inna was nominated for the second time at the "Successful Women Awards". This time, she had to face Paula Seling, Luminiţa Anghel and Analia Selis.[95] She was also named the third "Best Female Voice" by the Romanian public, only after Paula Seling and Andra.[96]

In early 2011 she embarked on her first official tour, through France, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Lebanon and Romania. The concert tour hit nine French cities, two Spanish cities and, for the first time in a major venue, Bucharest. Inna bought a $250,000 penthouse near Paris.[97] She toured the United Kingdom for the first time in June 2011. From July 4 to July 14, Inna returned to France, in order to promote "Club Rocker". In 2011, Inna was promoted in the United States more than in previous years via Ultra Records. will.i.am of the The Black Eyed Peas wished Inna good luck in the American music business.[98] "Club Rocker" premiered on May 17, during her Romanian gig.[99]

It was announced that Inna received a total of four nominations at the RRA Awards 2011, one of the most important Romanian music awards. She was nominated for the "Artist of the Year" award, along with Mădălina Manole, Paula Seling and Ovidiu Cernăuţeanu and for the "Dance Artist of the Year". She was also nominated for the "Album of the Year" (with Hot) and "Best Pop/Dance Song" (with "Sun is Up").[100] Eventually, she won the "Dance Artist of the Year".[101] She was also nominated for the "Best Female Act" and "Best Romanian Song" ("Sun Is Up") at the Balkan Music Awards, taking both of the trophies, after a short performance held during the award show in Sofia, Bulgaria.[102] At the Romanian Music Awards 2011 held in Braşov, Inna won three awards: "Best Female", "Best Websites" and the OK! Special Prize. She released her second album "I Am the Club Rocker" after a mini-tour in Mexico, the first time she has ever been overseas.

The album's first single, "Sun Is Up", managed to peak at number-one in Bulgaria and in the Romandie region in Switzerland while also being a top ten in France, Romania, Russia and the UK Dance Chart and it was certified Gold in both Switzerland and Italy.[103] The title song, "Club Rocker" was a moderate hit in Europe. It became Inna's first song to miss the top ten in France as it peaked at number thirty-two while also her first song to miss the top twenty in her native Romania, completely missing the top forty there.[104] It was more successful in Slovakia and Poland where it reached the top twenty. The third release off "I Am the Club Rocker", the Juan Magan collaboration "Un Momento", became Inna's highest-charting single in Slovakia, when it peaked at number-four on the Airplay Chart.[105][106][107] It barely missed the top ten in Romania, reaching number twelve. The following release off the album was "Endless", which became the second most successful single release from the album in Romania, peaking at number five on the Romanian Top 100.[107] In April 2012, Inna released the fifth single "W.O.W." and its accompanying music video. After debuting on the Romanian Top 100, "W.O.W." quickly rose up the chart and peaked at number twelve in May 2012.

When it comes to sales, charts and statistics, the album itself was much less successful than its predecessor "Hot" in mainland Europe, only reaching the top twenty in Czech Republic and in Belgium and the top-forty in France.[108] It was more successful in Poland, where it was certified Gold after three weeks.[109] In Mexico the album was a real hit. It debuted at number-eight on the chart and spent numerous weeks within the top-forty.[110]

In December, 2011 Inna was offered to star in an upcoming French movie but she turned the offer down because the role she had to play involved nudity.[111]

During a Great Union Day interview with Cătălin Măruţă, Inna stated that she will tour the United States during the first half of 2012 and she will then release a third studio album. The tour "I Am the Club Rocker Tour" kicked off in January, 2012 in Belgrade, Serbia.[12] On January 9, 2012, Inna released a remix to the song "Ai se eu te pego!", a cover after the Brazilian artist Michel Teló.[112]

It was also announced that Romanian Television (SRTV) approached Inna and would have changed their rules for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 so that Inna was the Romanian representative, but she turned the offer down because of her "I Am the Club Rocker" tour.[113] It was announced that a re-release for "I Am the Club Rocker" is due for a late-summer come out date, so it's unknown if next her next album will be the new re-release or a brand new third.[114] The singer's first self-composition was entitled "Caliente" (Spanish for Hot) and it was produced along with Play & Win.[1] She released lyric videos on her YouTube Account for two more new songs entitled "OK" and "Alright".[115] in early May 2012. They serve as promotional songs for her next release. After releasing a music video for "Caliente", the song debuted on the Romanian Top 100 at number ninety-three, becoming Inna's twelfth entry on the chart since she started her career in 2008.

Musical style and influences

Inna is compared to Shakira, Rihanna, Britney Spears,and Lady Gaga.[116] In her teens, Inna performed with a pop rock band that did not achieve much success.[24][117] Her first recordings are the ballads and soft pop/rock songs "Goodbye", "Sorry" and the Romanian language song "Oare" (Do You?), which were not released until her later success.

After meeting the producers from Play & Win, her musical style changed radically. Dance and club songs became her most frequent recordings.[118] In an interview with Adevǎrul magazine, the singer stated that "Hot is an up-beat house song with club beats and it is very commercial."[32] She performed all of her singles live and unplugged in countries such as Poland, Belgium, France and Spain. On December 1, during the Romanian National day, Inna gave a live performance of traditional Romanian songs and the military anthem "Treceţi Batalioane Române Carpaţii".[119] Inna's second album "I Am the Club Rocker" contains more down-midtempo songs than the previous "Hot". Songs like "Put Your Hands Up" or "Endless" are the best examples. The album also contains tropical—flavored track "Un Momento" which is Inna's first movement toward R&B music. On December 1, 2011 Inna covered the song "Mai frumoasa" originally performed by Laura Stoica, a classic pop song in her native Romanian. In an interview with a DJ from Fun Radio (France) Inna stated that her main sources of inspiration are David Guetta, Kelly Rowland and Kylie Minogue, but also listed Beyonce, Lady GaGa and Shakira as her music idols. In an interview with Cătălin Măruţă, on Pro TV's show "Happy Hour", she said that her Romanian music icons are Andra and the late Mădălina Manole. During an interview for News of the World, Inna cited Swedish House Mafia, The Black Eyed Peas and singer Jessie J as her later inspirations.[120] She also says that her biggest icons that she might never approach are P!nk and Shakira.[121] She was also influenced by Latino acts such as RBD or Thalía.[116]

Public image, controversies and philanthropy

Inna and backup dancers performing in Kemer, Turkey.

Inna is considered the most influential Romanian star both in Romania and worldwide.[122] Fashion designer Alina Latan has created a collection of eleven pieces, inspired by Inna.[123]

In 2009, after an automobile accident in Hungary, a frightened Inna misspoke some words in English, most notably saying that she "saw my dead with my own eye", "we were scary" and miscalling herself "boring" instead of "nervous".[124] In late 2011, Romanian newspapers speculated that Inna might have connections with the Illuminati organization by posing in a way reminding of the All-seeing eye.[125][126]

Inna is an activist for Children's rights in Romania and she has been proposed for the title of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador but the request is still pending.[122] She is also against deforestation and she stood up against exterminating the horses from the Letea Forest in late 2010.[127] In late November, 2011 Inna signed herself-in in an anti-domestic violence campaign in order to empower women to rise and stand up against being abused or battered.[128] The campaign was created and it is being maintained by Acasă (a Romanian feminist TV station) under the title "Pain Is Not Love" (Durerea nu este iubire).[127]

She signed a petition that asks the Government of Romania to improve upon a law that makes all domestic violators be punished as official outlaws.[127][128] She has also given a sixty minute special interview on feminism, fighting against domestic violence and developing shelters or asylums for women and children in need. It aired in a two-part mini-series with the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25).[127] The "Bring The Sun in My Life" campaign (named after the chorus of Inna's song "Endless") brings together many Romanian female stars made-up like they were previously abused by their partners. The no-violence campaign fights against females' ignorance regarding violence.[127]

Discography

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