''Alesta'' is the third studio album recorded by Romanian recording artist

Alexandra Stan Alexandra Ioana Stan (born 10 June 1989) is a Romanian singer. Born in Constanța, she made her worldwide breakthrough with the 2010 single "Mr. Saxobeat", which was written and produced by Marcel Prodan and Andrei Nemirschi. They had previousl ...

. It was released both digitally and physically on 9 March 2016 through

Victor Entertainment , also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ente ...

as a follow-up to '' Unlocked'' (2014). To achieve her desired sound, Stan collaborated with several producers on the record, including

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, Sebastian Barac and Marcel Botezan. The singer also took part at a music camp organized by

Marius Moga Marius Moga () is a Romanian singer, songwriter, producer and television personality. He writes and produces music in various styles and genres, especially pop, R&B and club music. In 2011, he became the judge and mentor of the reality singing sho ...

, where she further worked on material featured on the album. Musically, ''Alesta'', a dance record, draws influence from ethnic, Eastern and Western European music. Lyrically, Stan confessed during an interview with ''

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'' that every recording " ellsa different story". Upon its release, ''Alesta'' debuted and peaked at number 34 on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart. Five tracks from the album were released as singles, with "

We Wanna "We Wanna" is a song by Romanian singers Alexandra Stan and Inna for Stan's third studio album, '' Alesta'' (2016). Featuring the vocal collaboration of Puerto Rican performer Daddy Yankee, it was made available for digital consumption on 8 June ...

"—a collaboration with

Inna Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (born 16 October 1986), known professionally as Inna (stylized in all caps), is a Romanian singer. Born in Mangalia and raised in Neptun, she studied political science at Ovidius University before meeting the Ro ...

and

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—reaching the top 60 in several countries. " I Did It, Mama!" was accompanied by a controversial music video, and experienced commercial success in her native country. Fellow singles " Balans", " Écoute" and " 9 Lives" portrayed featurings with Swedish-Congolese singer

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, Romanian band Havana and Bulgarian

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performer Jahmmi, respectively. To promote ''Alesta'', Stan embarked on a two-week venue in Japan, while appearing in many interviews and media coverages there.

Background and composition

Following the release of '' Unlocked'' in 2014, Stan commenced working on ''Alesta'' the subsequent year at a Romanian music camp organized by Romanian composer

; there she collaborated with three recording studios simultaneously. The title of the record is an abbreviation of Stan's stage name, also meaning 'ready' in Turkish. The accompanying artwork for the Japanese and other versions of the album show Stan posing in front of a black backdrop, with lettering displayed in white or red above her head. Editions of ''Alesta'' released by Ego Records and

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

featured a photograph with her laying over a motorcycle sporting a blonde wig, white underwear and a distorted pair of blue jeans. According to Stan's Italian label, Ego Records, the material from ''Alesta'' draws influence from Eastern and Western European music, which "confirms her as the undisputed queen of dance music made in Romania". Italian publication ''RnB Junk'' labelled the album as a dance record, comparing it to the singer's ''Unlocked'', and stating that it incorporates elements of ethnic and Eastern European music "from other universes". When interviewed by ''

'', Stan confessed that her favorite track from the album was "Écoute", with every single track "telling a different story". In an interview with TV Groove, the singer felt that the "summerish" record had a "very danceable and partying vibe". According to Stan, most of the songs on ''Alesta'' are

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, and the album overall incorporates genres of

electronic pop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

, dance and R&B music. The majority of the tracks are sung in English, with some songs performed in French,

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

and Spanish, as well.

Promotion

To promote ''Alesta'', Stan performed in Tokyo, Japan, in the vitrine of a

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shop, where she also released her clothes line, Alesta X Bershka. With this occasion, the singer hosted an autograph session and a press conference with Japanese magazines and televisions from

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

and Tokyo. Subsequently, Stan embarked on a two-week tour throughout Japan. Stan further performed material from the album at the 22nd Tokyo Girls Collection, Zippie Dance Party, YouTube Space Tokyo and YouTube Live during March 2016. The first single from the record—"

"— was released on 8 June 2015 and featured the vocals of Romanian recording artist

and Puerto Rican reggaeton performer

. With it being previously featured on the German edition of Stan's second studio album ''Unlocked'', the track experienced commercial success when reaching the top 30 of the charts in Argentina, Poland and Turkey, and the top 60 in Italy, Romania and Slovakia. ''Note: insert 201525 into search.'' Subsequently, " I Did It, Mama!"—the second release off ''Alesta''—became controversial in Romania because of scenes where Stan was portrayed miming the sexual intercourse with a male background dancer in its music video. While its lyrical message was compared to Madonna's "

Papa Don't Preach "Papa Don't Preach" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Madonna for her third studio album ''True Blue (Madonna album), True Blue'' (1986). The song was written by Brian Elliot with additional lyrics by Madonna, who produced it alo ...

" (1986) and its title to

Delia Matache Delia Matache (born 7 February 1982), commonly referred to as simply Delia, is a Romanian singer and songwriter. She has established herself as one of the most successful Romanian artists, releasing multiple hit singles on native record charts, ...

's "Da Mama" (2013), the recording charted at number nine on native Airplay 100. The record's third and fourth singles were " Balans", a collaboration with Swedish-Congolese singer

, and " Écoute", featuring with Romanian band Havana; both songs benefited of a music video, with the clip for the latter single being filmed in Obârșia-Brezoi, the place where Stan spent her youth. "Balans" peaked on both Russia's Tophit and the Japanese Radio Chart at lower positions, and "Écoute" became a minor success in Europe. The fifth release from the album, " Boom Pow", was accompanied by a music video which was shot in her native Constanța and premiered on 24 August 2016, while " 9 Lives", the last single, featured collaborative vocals from Bulgarian

performer Jahmmi.

Track listings

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Alesta''.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Alesta''. ;Vocal credits * Alexandra Stan – lead vocals, featured artist * Dorian – lead vocals * Havana – featured artist *

– featured artist * Follow Your Instinct – lead vocals * Jahmmi – featured artist *

– featured artist ;Technical and composing credits * Sebastian Arman – composer, producer * Ramon Ayala – composer * Sebastian Barac – composer, producer * Gabriel Benjamin – composer * Marcel Botezan – composer, producer * Trey Campbell – composer * Ion Chirinciuc – composer, producer * David Ciente – composer, producer * Nate Cyphert – composer * Davon Dixon – composer * Andrew Frampton – composer * Patrick Greska – composer, producer * Breyan Isaac – composer * Jacob Luttrell – composer * Theea-Eliza-Ioana Miculescu – composer * Dorian Micu – composer * Andrei Mihai – composer, producer * Borislav Milanov – composer *

Nzasi Moupondo – composer * Elena Moroşanu – composer * Addis Mussa – composer * Manuela Necker – composer * Julimar Santos Oliveira Neponuceno – composer * Andrei Nemirschi – composer * Joacim Persson – composer, producer * Marcel Prodan – composer * David Ritter – composer, producer *

– composer, producer * Marcian Alin Soare – composer * Adriana Rusu – composer * Laila Samuelsen – composer * Sorin Seniuc – composer * Alexandra Stan – composer * Nadir Tamuz – composer * Alexandra Ţîrţîrău – composer *

– composer, producer * Eric Turner – composer * Rainer Wetenkamp – composer, producer

Charts

Release

Process

''Alesta'' was first released by

in Japan on 9 March 2016; a deluxe version of the album premiered on the same day. Subsequently, on 16 March 2016, the record was made available for digital download in various other countries by

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and Global Records, including Romania, France, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom. In April 2016, ''Alesta'' was released in Russia, Chile and Peru, while its Italian release was on 8 July 2016 through Ego Records.

History

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Alexandra Stan albums