Nicoleta Alexandru

Template:Infobox musical artist 2 Nicoleta Alexandru (born 5 November 1968), whose stage name is Nicola, is a famous Romanian singer. She is a star in her native country. Outside of Romania, she is remembered for representing her country at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest.

Biography

Born in Bucharest, Nicola started her solo career in 1992 and has toured widely as well as making numerous television, radio and stage appearances. In 2003, she was awarded the Woman of the Year prize by Avantaje magazine, her song "Lângă Mine" was awarded "The Song of the Year" prize by Bucureşti and Actualitati Radio stadions; she was awarded the Mamaia and Love Song Festival trophies for the same song.

On March 1 2003, after a huge response to her song "Don't Break My Heart" Nicola won the Romanian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest at Riga. In the international final she came in 10th.

In 2003 she released her fourth LP, Best Of Nicola. Building on the recognition gained from the Eurovision Song Contest, the album sold more copies than expected for a Romanian artist and was certified platinum. That year she won "Best Female" at the TV K Lumea awards.

In January 2005, she released "De ma vei chema" which went onto spawn two hit singles; "De ma vei chema" and "Honey". She launch the video for lead single "De ma vei chema" which was filmed near to Bucharest. It featured her backing band of Andrei Stanoevici, Catalin Dalvarea, Stefan Corbu and her ex-husband Mihai Alexandru. Nominated for her success, she faced tough competition for "Best Pop" and "Best Female" at the MTV Romania Music Awards 2005, the latter she went onto win. In late 2005 it was announced she and her husband, Mihai Alexandru, were set to divorce after 15 years of marriage. The divorce became big news in Romanian tabloids, not only because of her fame but also the nature of the divorce and his status as a high-profile music producer.

In Summer 2007 she returned to the charts with "Doar noi doi". The video was filmed on location in Barcelona, Spain. Later on in the year, she released "Daca-i tarziu" which was set to launch her fourth studio album, but the release was held back to participate in Romania's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Her song, "Fairytale Story", placed 7th out of 12 songs in the national final. Autumn 2008 will see the release of her most recent single, "Leave No Heart Behind" which was written by Thomas Nichols who co-wrote songs by Celine Dion and All Saints. A full album release is expected to follow.

Discography

• De Mă Vei Chema (2005) ("If You Will Call Me")
• Best Of Nicola (2003)
• Lângă Mine (2002) ("Beside Me")
• Turquoise (2000)
• Cu Tălpile Goale (1999) (Barefoot)

External links

• Official Nicola website
• Official Nicola's MySpace