O-Zone was a MoldovanEurodance group andboy band produced byDan Balan; originating in 1999[1][2] as a duo, which consisted of Bălan, and Petru Jelihovschi before the latter's departure. Their official trio lineup in 1999 consisted of Bălan,Radu Sîrbu, andArsenie Todiraș.[3]
The group became the first Moldovan act to gain global popularity with their song "Dragostea din tei" and their subsequent albumDiscO-Zone, which was released in 2003, before disbanding the following year.
The group members have since focused on their solo careers. The band occasionally reunited for concerts in 2017 (Chișinău, Moldova;Bucharest, Romania) and 2019 (Bucharest, Romania). In 2024, it was announced that O-Zone are going to do a summer tour, but this time as a tribute band, consisting of Arsenie as the only singer and two dancers. Worldwide, O-Zone have sold over 12 million copies of "Dragostea din tei" and over 2.5 million copies of its parent albumDiscO-Zone.[4]
O-Zone first formed as a duo of Dan Bălan and Petru Jelihovschi in 1999.[1][2][5] They released their first album,Dar, Unde Ești..., in 1999. However, Jelihovschi had not intended to make music his career, so he split from Bălan. Undaunted, Bălan held open auditions for new band members. At one such audition, he met Arsenie "Arsenium" Todiraș, who eventually won over the initially skeptical Bălan with his version ofElvis Presley's "Love Me Tender". Bălan and Todiraș would have proceeded as a duo act until Bălan received a call from Radu Sîrbu, who wanted a chance to audition for the group. Despite Sîrbu having missed the initial auditions, Bălan agreed, and after a successful audition, Sîrbu joined O-Zone, officially making the group a trio.
In 2002, O-Zone moved fromMoldova to Bucharest, Romania, hoping to gain more recognition. There, the group became an instant hit band with their upbeat song "Despre Tine" ("About You"), which held the top position on theRomanian Top 100 chart for three weeks in February 2003. Their second hit, which brought them worldwide attention, was "Dragostea din tei", translated roughly as "Love from the Linden Tree". It quickly became popular in Romania, where it also topped the Romanian singles chart for four weeks in September 2003, but faded from popularity by the end of 2003.[6] However, the song gained popularity inItaly when the little-known duoHaiducii released a cover of "Dragostea Din Tei", which topped the Italian pop charts.[6] Arsenie Todiraș later said that at the time that, while not illegal, Haiducii's cover felt like a betrayal because the group had not asked permission to make a cover.[6] However, the cover's success led to curiosity about the original artist, and led to Time Records, an Italian record label, offering O-Zone a one-year contract.[6] Soon after the song's release in Italy, it was also released in various other countries inEurope underPolydor Records and became an instant hit.[6]
"Dragostea Din Tei" topped the singles charts of nearly a dozen European countries in 2004. It reached the top-10 in many other countries, including in theUnited Kingdom, where it reached number 3 on the singles chart.[7] The re-release of "Despre Tine" in 2004 from the same album had similar success across Europe.
In contrast to their multi-platinum status in Europe, O-Zone never entered theBillboard Hot 100 singles chart in theUnited States,[8] although it did reach the 14th position on theHot Dance Airplay chart.[9] The viral video "Numa Numa Dance" by interneter Gary Brolsma helped to boost awareness of "Dragostea Din Tei" in the U.S. In the video Brolsma was seen lip-syncing to the song while sitting in a chair and dancing with only his arms and hands,[10] but, while the song received moderate to major airplay, most Americans knew it simply as the "Numa Numa Song" and never knew the name of the original song or the group that performed it. "Dragostea din tei" was sampled in the song "Live Your Life" byT.I. andRihanna, which topped theBillboard Hot 100 in late 2008.[11]
On 13 January 2005, while still very popular, the members of O-Zone announced their disbandment,[5] citing personal reasons.[12] Their last European concert was held at the 2005Golden Stag Festival in Romania.[13]
Also in 2005, Japanese music labelAvex Trax gained distribution rights for O-Zone music inJapan and released the albumDiscO-Zone in August 2005 in the country.[9] The album, which features the song "Dragostea Din Tei", became immensely successful in Japan. Topping theOricon albums charts for two consecutive weeks,[14] it reached over 800,000 sales in 2005 alone and became the 12th-most popular album of 2005,[15] partially because the album was re-released twice by Avex Trax.DiscO-Zone ended up charting for over a year on the Oricon weekly albums chart[16] and sold over one million copies overall.[17] In 2006, O-Zone won the Best Foreign Act award at the 2006Japan Gold Disc Awards,[18] as well as a special prize at the47th Japan Record Awards.[19]
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On 5 May 2017, Dan Bălan, Radu Sîrbu and Arsenie Todiraş announced that O-Zone would be reforming for two concerts. O-Zone re-united forEurope Day on 9 May 2017. One of concerts was held in Chișinău and the other took place on the same day in Bucharest.[20]
On 17 December 2019, Dan Bălan, Radu Sîrbu and Arsenie Todiraş announced that O-Zone would be performing for one concert, which took place on New Year's Eve 2019 in Bucharest as part of performances by stars of the 90s and 00s called Revelion 2020 Disco Night Fever. After the event, all three returned to their projects again. The exception was the collaboration of Radu and Arsenie for the song "Lay Down".
In 2024, O-Zone announced a summer tour in Europe, but this time as a tribute band, consisting of Arsenie from the original group and two dancers.[21]
^This reflects the highest certification awarded to "Dragostea din tei" in Japan, which denotes ringtone sales. The song was further certified platinum and gold in other formats.[55]
^ab"O-Zone" (in French).SNEP. Retrieved24 April 2025 – via Hung Medien.
^ab"Offizielle Deutsche Charts" [The Official German Charts] (in German).GfK Entertainment charts.Archived from the original on 31 May 2015. Retrieved24 April 2025.Note: Enter the name of the song/album and/or the artist(s) into the "Suchen" search bar.
^"History" (in Italian).Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved23 April 2025.Note: Enter the name of the artist(s) into the "Per favore inserisci 1 o più caratteri" search bar.
For "Dragostea din tei":"Arhivă Romanian Top 100 – Ediția 34" [Romanian Top 100 archive – Edition 34] (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. 1 September 2003. Archived fromthe original on 14 May 2005. Retrieved24 April 2025.
For "De ce plâng chitarele" (As Chitarele):"Arhivă Romanian Top 100 – Ediția 10" [Romanian Top 100 archive – Edition 10] (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. 8 March 2004. Archived fromthe original on 14 May 2005. Retrieved4 October 2025.
^Badea, Evelyn (13 October 2007)."Dan Balan revine în România" [Dan Balan returns to Romania].Adevărul (in Romanian).Archived from the original on 9 August 2024. Retrieved14 August 2024.
^Ciobanu, Dana (21 April 2004)."O-zone ne-a integrat in UE" [O-Zone have integrated us in the EU].Jurnalul (in Romanian).Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved3 September 2024.
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