O-Zone
O-Zone performing at Cerbul De Aur in September 2005. From left to right: Arsenie Todiraș, Dan Bălan, Radu Sîrbu
O-Zone performing at Cerbul De Aur in September 2005.
From left to right: Arsenie Todiraș, Dan Bălan, Radu Sîrbu
Background information
OriginChisinau, Moldova
Genres
Years active1998–2005 (reunions: 2017, 2019)
LabelsCat Music, Ultra, Avex, Time Records
Past membersDan Bălan
Arsenie Todiraș
Radu Sîrbu
Petru Jelihovschi
Websiteartists.universal-music.de/ozone

O-Zone was a Moldovan Eurodance group produced by Dan Balan. Originating in 1998 as a duo consisting of Dan Bălan and Petru Jelihovschi before the latter's departure, their official trio lineup in 1999 consisted of Dan Bălan, Radu Sîrbu, and Arsenie Todiraș.[1]

The group gained global popularity with their song "Dragostea Din Tei" and their subsequent album DiscO-Zone.

The group re-united in 2017 for two concerts in Chișinău and Bucharest and in 2019 for one concert in Bucharest.

History

1998–2001: Formation and early years

O-Zone first formed as a duo of Dan Bălan and Petru Jelihovschi in 1998.[2] 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 of Elvis 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.

2002–2004: Rise to success

In 2002, O-Zone moved from Moldova 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 the Romanian 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 Trees". 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.[3] However, the song gained popularity in Italy when the little-known duo Haiducii released a cover of "Dragostea Din Tei", which topped the Italian pop charts.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3] Soon after the song's release in Italy, it was also released in various other countries in Europe under Polydor Records and became an instant hit.[3]

"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 the United Kingdom, where it reached number 3 on the singles chart.[4] 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 the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States,[5] although it did reach the 14th position on the Hot Dance Airplay chart.[6] The viral video "Numa Numa Dance" helped to boost awareness of "Dragostea Din Tei" in the U.S.,[7] 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" by T.I. and Rihanna, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in late 2008.[8]

2005: O-Zone split up

On 13 January 2005, while still very popular, the members of O-Zone announced their disbandment,[2] citing personal reasons.[9] Their last European concert was held at the 2005 Golden Stag Festival in Romania.[10]

Also in 2005, Japanese music label Avex Trax gained distribution rights for O-Zone music in Japan and released the album DiscO-Zone in August 2005 in the country.[6] The album, which features the song "Dragostea Din Tei", became immensely successful in Japan. Topping the Oricon albums charts, it reached over 800,000 sales in 2005 alone and became the 12th-most popular album of 2005,[11] 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[12] and sold over one million copies overall.[13]

2017: Return

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 for Europe Day on 9 May 2017. One of concerts was held in Chișinău and the other took place on the same day in Bucharest.[14]

2019: New Year's Reunion

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".

Discography

Albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications
AUT
[15]		 BEL
(WA)
[16]		 DEN
[17]		 FIN
[18]		 FRA
[19]		 GER
[20]		 JPN
[21]		 NOR
[22]		 POR
[23]		 SWI
[24]
Dar, Unde Ești...
  • Released: 2 September 1999
  • Label: Media Services
  • Format: CD
 ——————————
Number 1
  • Released: 17 August 2002
  • Label: Media Services
  • Format: CD
 ——————————
DiscO-Zone 1539315161317
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
AUT
[15]		 BEL
(WA)
[16]		 DEN
[17]		 FRA
[19]		 GER
[30]		 NLD
[31]		 NOR
[22]		 SWE
[32]		 SWI
[24]		 UK
[33]
"Numai Tu" 2002 —————————— Number 1
"Despre Tine" 4942927179— Number 1 and DiscO-Zone
"Dragostea Din Tei" 2003 1111111313 DiscO-Zone
"De Ce Plâng Chitarele" 2004 ———17——————
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other singles

Year Single JAP[43] FRA
2005
 "Koi no Maiahi"
72
-
"Love Me Love Me"
-
-
"Megamix"
-
25
"—" denotes releases that were not released in that territory.

References

  1. ↑ "O-zone, a successful band". artline.ro. November 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Radu si Arsenie de la O-Zone vor ca trupa sa se reuneasca" (in Romanian). Retrieved 7 June 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Romania/Moldova: O-Zone Breathes Fresh Air Into European Pop Music Scene - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  4. ↑ ""Dragostea din tei" by O-Zone, in various singles charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  5. ↑ "O-Zone Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  6. 1 2 "O-Zone Japanese Official Website" (in Japanese). Avex Marketing. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  7. ↑ "Internet Fame Is Cruel Mistress for a Dancer of the Numa Numa". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "T.I. feat. Rihanna's Live Your Life sample of O-Zone's Dragostea Din Tei". WhoSampled. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  9. ↑ "Cultural Roundup". SETimes. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  10. ↑ "O-Zone's Last Concert During "The Golden Deer" Festival Was A Huge Success We will miss ozone and open up a place in our heart for them". Spotlightning News. Archived from the original on 8 January 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  11. ↑ "2005年 年間アルバムチャート-ORICON STYLE ミュージック (2005 Japanese End of Year Chart)" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  12. ↑ "O-ZONEのCD・DVDリリース情報、O-ZONEのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  13. ↑ "Biography - Dan Balan Official Website". Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  14. ↑ Marica, Irina (8 May 2017). "Famous Moldovan pop band reunites after 12 years for Europe Day concert in Bucharest". Romania Insider. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Discographie O-Zone". austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  16. 1 2 "Discographie O-Zone". austriancharts.at (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  17. 1 2 "Discography O-Zone". danishcharts.dk. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Discography O-Zone". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  19. 1 2 "Discographie O-Zone". lescharts.com (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "Chartverfolgung / O-Zone / Longplay". musicline.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  21. ↑ ディスコ・ゾーン～恋のマイアヒ～最強版. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  22. 1 2 "Discography O-Zone". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  23. ↑ "Discography O-Zone". portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  24. 1 2 "Discography O-Zone". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  25. 1 2 "O-Zone" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  26. ↑ "Top 30 Artistas – Semana 52 de 2004" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  27. 1 2 "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (O-Zone)". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  28. ↑ ゴールド等認定作品一覧 (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  29. ↑ "Certifications Albums Or – année 2004" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  30. ↑ "O-Zone (Single)". charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  31. ↑ "Discografie O-Zone". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  32. ↑ "Discography O-Zone". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  33. ↑ "O-Zone" (select "Singles" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  34. ↑ "Certifications Singles Or – année 2004" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  35. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2004". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  36. ↑ "British certifications – O-Zone". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 February 2022. Type O-Zone in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  37. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank: O-Zone" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  38. ↑ "Austrian certifications – O-Zone" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  39. ↑ "Guld og platin i september" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  40. ↑ "(Guld & Platina) ÅR 2004" [(Gold & Platinum) Year 2004] (PDF) (in Swedish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  41. ↑ "Goud/Platina" (enter "O Zone" into the "Artiest of Titel" box) (in Dutch). NVPI. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  42. ↑ "Certifications Singles Diamant – année 2004" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  43. ↑ "O-ZONEのCD・DVDリリース情報、O-ZONEのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". ORICON STYLE (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
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