O-Zone is a Moldovan pop group that made a splash all over the world with such hits as Dragostea Din Tei, Despre Tine and many others. The team, consisting of three members, existed from 1999 to 2005.
Group history
The O-Zone group was founded in 1999 by Dan Balan and Petru Zhelikhovsky, who came from the Moldovan rock group Inferialis. They explained the choice of the name by the fact that ozone is a substance that makes the air clean and fresh, and their music should have an equally positive effect on the listeners. In addition, the number "0" is used to denote Moldova in mobile networks.
The first album "Dar, unde eşti", consisting of 11 tracks, was released in the same year and won considerable success at home. After that Dan Balan decided to take the group to a qualitatively new level and make it popular in Europe and beyond. Petru, who did not share the ambitions of his partner, refused to participate in the further fate of the team, and in 2001 a casting took place in his place. It turned out to be difficult to choose only one candidate, and as a result, the final composition of O-Zone included:
- Dan Balan;
- Arseny Todirash;
- Radu Sirbu.
In 2002, the trio released the album "Number 1", which made the group incredibly popular in Romania and even abroad. The listeners especially liked the single "Despre Tine". A year later, the Romanian artists released their third and last album, "DiscO-Zone", which for several years in a row occupied the leading positions in sales throughout Europe.
The single "Dragostea Din Tei" brought the band the maximum fame and worldwide success. The composition with the catchy phrase "nu mă, nu mă iei" held the leading positions in the charts for a long time and is associated with the group ever since. Compositions such as:
- "Numai Tu";
- "De Ce Plang Chitarele";
- "Crede-Ma".
In early 2005, Dan decides to go into solo work and refuses to renew his contract with Arseniy and Radu. The group broke up, but unexpectedly revived in 2017, giving concerts in Bucharest and Chisinau. The future of the collective remains unknown, as the members are still focused on solo work.
Dan Balan's biography
The founder of O-Zone was born on February 6, 1979 in Chisinau. At the age of 11, he began to get involved in music and subsequently graduated from a music school. After school he entered the Faculty of Law and during his university years he founded the band Inferialis, which played in the style of gothic-doom-metal. This played a decisive role in his fate, and Dan dropped out of school, deciding to devote his life entirely to music.
Thanks to the full-length album "Dar, unde eşti" and constant concerts, the popularity of Inferialis in Moldova grew, but Dan realized that in order to go outside his country he would have to change the direction in music and create a full-fledged "boy band". In 2001 he met Arseniy Todirash and Radu Sirbu and created the O-Zone group.
After the breakup of O-Zone in 2005, Dan moved to Los Angeles and began recording a solo rock album called Crazy Loop. The album "The Power of Shower" was released in 2007, and in 2009 the next album, called "Crazy Loop Mix", was released. Experiments with electronic and rock sound did not bring the artist the desired result, and he began a solo pop career. From 2010 to 2018, he released many solo compositions (including in Russian), which became world and European hits. Among them:
- "Chica Bomb";
- "Justify Sex";
- "Petals of tears";
- "Freedom";
- "Only until the morning";
- "Love".
Biography of Arseny Todirash
The second member of the O-Zone collective was born on July 22, 1983 in Chisinau. From childhood he was fond of singing, and at the age of 15 he began to compose music. With his compositions, he performed at school concerts, and later - already on the big stage of Moldova, becoming a member of the Moldovan folk group Stejareii. In 2001, Arseniy entered the Chisinau Conservatory, where he studied piano and singing in depth.
At the age of 18, Arseniy took part in the casting for the role of a member of the Moldovan group O-Zone. Despite his little experience in professional singing, he managed to win over Dan Balan. Radu Sirbu became a competitor in the casting, but Balan decided to give both candidates a chance. The group became the embodiment of the ideal "boy band": young and beautiful outwardly members, talentedly performing songs and collective dances.
After the release of the single "Dragostea Din Tei" and the video for it, the group and each of its members gains immense popularity. CDs have been sold in millions of copies, and the song has been covered in 12 different languages. In 2005, the band received many offers to host concerts around the world. Arseniy Todirash and Radu Sirbu expressed their readiness to organize them, however, disagreements arose between them and Dan Balan, mainly concerning the size of fees. The founder of the group refused to renew the contract with partners, and the team broke up at the peak of its popularity.
In 2005 Arseniy created a solo project Arsenium and released the single "Love me … Love me", and a year later his own album "The 33rd Element" was released. In 2008, the artist released the single "Rumadai", which became a real European hit. In 2014, the artist teamed up with the Russian pop singer Sati Kazanova, recording the song Until Dawn, which also became very successful and received wide circulation on European radio stations, and the video posted on YouTube has tens of millions of views.
Biography of Radu Sirbu
The third member of the O-Zone group was born on December 14, 1978 in the village of Peresechina, Moldavian SSR. At the age of 16, he began to get involved in music, writing songs and playing the guitar. In high school, he worked as a DJ at discos and later, with the support of his parents, opened the Artshow children's creative studio, which staged musical performances. Radu himself was a director, sound engineer and soloist.
After graduating from school, Sirbu entered the Chisinau Music Conservatory, studying at the Faculty of Vocal Art and Music Pedagogy. His specialization has become academic singing. During this period, he became a member of an indie rock band and began teaching vocals to young performers at the House of Children's Art. In 2001, Radu took part in the qualifying competition for the O-Zone collective and was eventually chosen as the second soloist in the group. After the trio disbanded in 2005, Radu Sirbu focused on solo work, releasing the albums "Alone" and "Heartbeat", which were warmly received in Europe.
