Nicoleta Alexandru (; born 5 November 1968), whose stage name is Nicola (), is a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n singer. She is best known for representing Romania at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest.

Life and career

Nicoleta Alexandru was born 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 ...

. Nicola began her solo career in 1992 and has since toured extensively and made numerous television, radio and stage appearances. In 2003, she was awarded the Woman of the Year award by ''Avantaje'' magazine, her song "Lângă mine" was awarded "The Song of the Year" prize by București and Actualitati Radio stations, and she was awarded Mamaia and Love Song Festival trophies for the same song. On 1 March 2003, after a huge response to her song " Don't Break My Heart," Nicola won the Romanian national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

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. In the international final, she came in 10th place. She released her fourth LP, ''Best Of Nicola'', that same year. 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 also won "Best Female" at the TV K Lumea awards. In January 2005, she released "De mă vei chema" which went on to spawn two hit singles; "De mă vei chema" and "Honey". She subsequently launched the video for lead single "De mă vei chema," which was filmed near Bucharest. It featured her backing band, consisting of Andrei Stanoevici, Cătălin Dalvarea, Ștefan Corbu and her ex-husband

Mihai Alexandru Goodbye to Gravity was a Romanian metalcore band from Bucharest, active from 2011 until 2015, when four of the band's five members died during their concert at a night club in Bucharest, due to a burning firework that started a large fire. His ...

. 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 on to win. In late 2005, it was announced she and her husband,

, 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, Nicola returned to the charts with "Doar noi doi". The video was filmed on location in

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Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Later on in the year, she released "Dacă-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

. Her song, "Fairytale Story", placed 7th out of 12 songs in the national final. Nicola then went on to release the single, "Leave No Heart Behind," in fall 2008, which was written by Thomas Nichols, who co-wrote songs by

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

and All Saints. On 21 August 2009, Nicola launched her studio album, "Thank You". The first single released from the album was My Love, which was co-worked with Kord. The single has a music video, which was directed by Dragoș Buliga.

Discography

Albums

*''Cu tălpile goale'' (1999) ("Barefoot") *''Turquoise'' (2000) *# Vamos a Mamaia *# Domnul președinte *# Ce mult te vreau *# I Feel Good *# Freak d'a disk *# Turquoise *# Iarna (Milioane) *# Mr. Joe *# Hercules *''Lângă mine'' (2002) ("Beside Me") *# Lângă mine *# Undeva, cândva *# I Do *# Eu *# Îți mulțumesc *# Cântec pentru Iisus *# Te așteaptă cineva *# Undeva, cândva – rmx *''Best of Nicola'' (2003) *# Lângă mine *# Dincolo de noapte e zi *# Îți mulțumesc *# Turquoise *# Lângă mine (phantom winter tale rmx) *# Iarna (Milioane) *# Dincolo de noapte e zi (rmx) *# Don't Break My Heart *# Cu tălpile goale *# I Do *# Halimah *# Undeva, cândva *# Vamos a Mamaia *# Lângă mine (phantom rmx) *''De mă vei chema'' (2005) ("If You Call Me") *# De mă vei chema *# Honey *# Ascunde-mă de ploaie *# A venit *# Don't Break My Heart *# Nu știam *# Power of Love *# Love Is... *# Ascunde-mă de ploaie – rmx *# Îți mulțumesc (feat. Dana Dorian) *''Thank You'' (2009) *# My Love (Tango remix by Kord) *# My Love (white vers.) *# My Love (extended) *# Leave No Heart Hehind *# Doar noi doi *# Fairytale Story *# Omule de pe stradă *# Thank You *# Poveste *# Vise în doi *# Dacă-i târziu *# The Winner Takes It All *# Dansez *# Yeah, Yeah

References

External links

www.nicola.ro-NICOLA Official Website

NICOLA Official MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexandru, Nicoleta 1968 births Living people 20th-century Romanian women singers 21st-century Romanian women singers Romanian women pop singers English-language singers from Romania Musicians from Bucharest Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Romania Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2003