"Amazing" is a song recorded by Romanian singer

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 Roma ...

for her 2009 debut studio album ''

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''. It was released as the fourth single from the record on 6 August 2009. Written and produced by

Play & Win Marco & Seba, previously known as Play & Win are a Romanian singer-songwriter and music production duo formed in 2000 by Radu Bolfea, Marcel Botezan and Sebastian Barac. Since then, they have been making music without Bolfea. They are a leading ...

members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan, "Amazing" is a

Pop Music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

track with a Spanish guitar and beats in its instrumentation. One

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regarded the song as being similar to Inna's past work, however, with the addition of new elements. Other music critics gave positive reviews of the single, and praised its construction and foresaw its commercial success. Play & Win were involved in a

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...

controversy in August 2009, with Romanian singer Anca Badiu sustaining that "Amazing" had been originally intended for her before released by Inna. The song was aided by an accompanying music video premiered on 10 September 2009. Shot by Tom Boxer at the

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and near

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, it portrays the singer

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

and being saved from drowning by a

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED first a ...

. For further promotion, Inna also performed "Amazing" on several occasions, including at the 2010 Eska Music Awards and the

MAD Video Music Awards The MAD Video Music Awards is a Greek award show presented by the MAD TV. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, voted by the viewers of Mad television. Winners receive an authentic Mad designed award with the graphics of that ...

. Commercially, the song topped the charts in Romania and Bulgaria, while reaching the top 20 in multiple other countries. It was also nominated in two categories at the 2010 Romanian Music Awards, and won in the Pop/Dance Song of the Year section at the 2010 Radio România Actualități Awards.

Background and composition

"Amazing" was written and produced by Romanian trio

members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan. It was released on Inna's official website on 6 August 2009, as the fourth single from her debut studio album ''

'' (2009). ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', ''20/20'', ''Sky Magazine ...

noted a Spanish guitar and beats in the song's instrumentation, and called its genre "half-bad Castillian

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

". An editor of Romanian website Divercity Cafe wrote that the track was club-oriented and reminiscent of Inna's past work, while incorporating new elements.

Reception and accolades

Upon its release, "Amazing" received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. An editor of Divercity Cafe praised the harmony between Inna's vocals and the

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

, and foresaw the single's commercial success. Neeti Sarkar, writing for ''

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'', thought that the song was "quite amazing in the sense it captures a whirlwind of emotions, musically and otherwise."

Pro FM Pro FM is a radio station in Romania and Moldova, it broadcasts in Romanian language. It was sold by Central European Media Enterprises Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) is a media and entertainment company that operates televisio ...

listed "Amazing" in their list of "16 hits with which Inna made history". At the 2010

Romanian Music Awards The Romanian Music Awards, or simply RMA, are a Romanian annual event awarding the best artists in Romania's music scene. It is organized by Music Channel Romania and has taken place in various locations in the country. It was held from 2002 until ...

, the track was nominated in the Best Song and Best Dance categories, and won Pop/Dance Song of the Year at the 2010

Radio România Actualități Radio România Actualităţi is the first radio channel in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It bord ...

. Commercially, "Amazing" topped native

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chart in October 2009 and the Bulgarian charts in December 2009, becoming Inna's second single to reach number one in the first region after "

" (2008). In France, "Amazing" debuted at number two on the SNEP chart in June 2010, where it sold 100,000 registered copies as of September 2010. The track opened at number 10 as the highest new entry on Switzerland's

Schweizer Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 7 ...

, while other top 10 placements were achieved in Russia, United Kingdom's dance chart, Greece and the Polish dance chart.

Controversy

In August 2009, "Amazing" sparked controversy when Romanian singer Anca Badiu accused Play & Win of "stealing" her song and

. According to Badiu and

MediaPro Music MediaPro Music is a Romanian record label, part of the Universal Music Group. Launched in 1997, it became an integrated business of the Radio Company PRO in 2006. Between the main label and its sub-labels most music genres are covered, ranging from ...

, the label she was signed to at that time, they had paid the production trio

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1,500 in advance for "Amazing". However, a few days after Baidu recorded the track and the alleged money transfer occurred, Inna released "Amazing" as a single. Play & Win defended their decision: "We signed the contract with MediaPro Music, but at one point we realized that Anca's version could not be a hit, so we chose Inna s" A Showbiz.ro editor questioned the credibility of their

pretext A pretext (adj: pretextual) is an excuse to do something or say something that is not accurate. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication. Pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or rat ...

in court, but thought that "since in Romania, the copyright laws and contractual obligations of artists and producers are not clearly defined, everything is possible." They also compared the case to a similar one between Romanian musicians Adrian Sînă and

Edward Maya Eduard Marian Ilie (; born 29 June 1986), better known by his stage name Edward Maya, is a Romanian DJ, musician, composer, record producer, performer, singer and songwriter, most famous for his 2009 smash hit single "Stereo Love". Career In and ...

regarding the single "Se Thelo" (2009) Sarkar of ''The Hindu'' thought that the case was a reason for the song's commercial success.

Music video

An accompanying music video for "Amazing" was premiered on 10 September 2009 on the website of Romanian radio station

Radio 21 Virgin Radio Romania is a Romanian national radio station with coverage in almost all the cities of the country. Virgin Radio started broadcasting in Romania on 9 January 2017. Virgin Radio Romania is part of a media group that also operates ...

. It was shot by Tom Boxer in late August 2009 at a beach of the

and near

, Portugal in the span of two days. Behind-the-scenes footage was published on Urban.ro on 1 September 2009. Inna recalled of the filming: "It was the first time oxer and Iworked together and we understood excellent. I did everything I could to make the video come out well. It was a joy to shoot this clip. I traveled in a beautiful area and I met real

surfers Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

. I fell in love with their crazy and unobtrusive style .. For the clip, the singer was also required to learn a few surfing moves, which she managed to do in the first day. The clip begins with shots of the beach and Inna holding a surfboard in her hands, sporting a black wetsuit. She is then seen in a black and white swimsuit and subsequently meets friends to go surfing. Apparently drowning, she is saved by a previously shown "handsome"

, who brings her to the beach and attempts

mouth-to-mouth resuscitation Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a form of artificial ventilation, is the act of assisting or stimulating respiration in which a rescuer presses their mouth against that of the victim and blows air into the person's lungs. Artificial respiration ta ...

. The video ends with them standing close to each other and a shadowed Inna with a surfboard. Scenes interspersed throughout the main plot show the singer performing to the song, as well as showering in front of teenage surfer boys eating ice cream while they stare in shock.

Live performances and other usage

In 2010, Inna performed "Amazing" live on 23 April at the Eska Music Awards in Bulgaria, at the

on 24 June in Greece, and on 10 July at the

. In the same year, the singer also sang the track on 14 July at the Fun Radio in France, and at French music event Starfloor on 23 October. Inna's appearance at the Eska Music Awards was the subject of controversy due to a kiss between two male background dancers, and she accidentally exposed one of her

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s at Starfloor. She further performed the single during her Inna: Live la Arenele Romane gig in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

on 17 May, where she arrived by helicopter "like a diva", as well as at the NRJ Music Tour

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on 23 July 2011. Romanian singer

Andreea Bănică Andreea Bănică ( (born 21 June 1978) is a Romanian singer. She was part of the group Exotic, alongside Claudia Pătrăşcanu and Julia Chelaru. She subsequently formed the band Blondy with Cristina Rus.

covered "Amazing" during Inna's appearance at the 2010 Romanian Music Awards.

Track listing

*Official versions # "Amazing (Play & Win Radio Edit Version)" - 3:31 # "Amazing (Play & Win Extended Version)" - 4:32 # "Amazing (UK Radio Edit Version)" - 2:21 # "Amazing (Buzz Junkies Radio Edit)" - 3:34 # "Amazing (Buzz Junkies Club Remix)" - 6:14 # "Amazing (Buzz Junkies Dub)" - 6:14 # "Amazing (DJ Feel Radio Edit)" - 3:37 # "Amazing (DJ Feel Original Club Remix)" - 6:12 # "Amazing (DJ Feel Vox Dub)" - 6:18 # "Amazing (DJ Feel Instrumental)" - 6:18 # "Amazing (Almighty Radio Edit)" - 3:58 # "Amazing (Almighty Club Remix)" - 7:07 # "Amazing (Almighty Dub)"- 7:06 # "Amazing (Almighty Instrumental)" - 7:06 # "Amazing (Frisco Radio Edit)" - 3:15 # "Amazing (Frisco Club Remix)" - 5:01 # "Amazing (Klubfiller Radio Edit)"- 3:07 # "Amazing (Klubfiller Club Remix)" - 5:18

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Hot'' and Urban.ro. *Inna –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

* Sebastian Barac –

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, producer * Radu Bolfea – composer, producer * Marcel Botezan – composer, producer *Tom Boxer –

music video director A music video director is the head of music video production. The director conceives of videos' artistic and dramatic aspects while instructing the musical act, technical crew, actors, models, and dancers. They may or may not be in collaboration ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amazing (Inna Song) 2009 singles Inna songs English-language Romanian songs Number-one singles in Romania Song recordings produced by Play & Win 2009 songs Music controversies