Inna

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. 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. The single performed strongly on the Romanian Top 100, peaking at number five in December 2008. It also became an airplay success worldwide. 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. It also was a major hit in Russia; as well in Hungary and other countries in the Western world. 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". Later that summer, the song "Hot" hit the number one position on the Spanish Singles Chart, being certified Platinum by PROMUSICAE. The song sold over 40,000 copies during that summer.. Inna is compared to Shakira, Rihanna, Britney Spears,and Lady Gaga. In her teens, Inna performed with a pop rock band that did not achieve much success. 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. 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." 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". 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....
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