Akcent
{{Short description|Romanian dance pop act}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Akcent
| image = Akcentul 50
| genre =*Dance-Pop
| years_active = 1999–present
| label = Roton
| past_members = * Ramona Barta
- Marius Nedelcu
- Corneliu Ulici
- Mihai Gruia
- Sorin Brotnei
| current_members = Adrian Sînă
| caption = Akcent, in Bucharest, Romania, 2007
}}
Akcent ({{IPA|ro|akˈt͡ʃent}}){{YouTube|id=qwC4jk_c-Cs|t=|title="Interview Akcent 2007}} is a Romanian dance pop group whose members sing in Romanian, English and Spanish. Their name originated as a wordplay on accent. Originally a duo, it consisted of Adrian Sînă and Ramona Barta. They released their debut album {{lang|ro|Senzatzia}} in 2000. Except for the first track, "{{lang|ro|Ultima vara}}", which received some airplay, the album was a commercial failure and the duo disbanded shortly after. Sînă brought Marius Nedelcu, Mihai Gruia and Sorin Brotnei into the group, changing it from a duo to a boyband in 2001. They came to prominence with the single "{{lang|ro|Ți-am promis}}" in their native Romania.
Their single "Kylie" was commercially successful in Europe. In 2006, they attempted to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest with the single "Jokero", in collaboration with Romanian singer Nico. It became their first number-one single on the Romanian Top 100. Due to several conflicts, Sînă became the sole member of the project in 2013.
History
= Early years =
Akcent is a Romanian dance-pop group known for performing in Romanian, English, and Spanish. The group's name is a wordplay on "accent." Initially formed as a duo in 1999 by Adrian Sînă and Ramona Barta, Akcent released its debut album, Senzatzia, in 2000. Despite some airplay for the single "Ultima vară," the album did not achieve commercial success, leading to the duo's disbandment.
In 2001, Sînă restructured Akcent as a boy band by bringing in Marius Nedelcu, Mihai Gruia, and Sorin Brotnei. The group gained widespread recognition in Romania with the release of the single "Ți-am promis." They later achieved international success with the song "Kylie," which performed well across Europe.
In 2006, Akcent competed in Romania’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Jokero," a collaboration with Romanian singer Nico. The song became their first number-one hit on the Romanian Top 100.
Following internal conflicts, Sînă became the sole remaining member of Akcent in 2013, continuing the project as a solo act.
= Continued success =
In 2003, the band released their third studio album, 100 BPM. Its title refers to the intensity of a heartbeat during a kiss. It included their number-one single "Buchet de trandafiri" ("Bouquet of roses"). Their fourth album, Poveste de viata (Life story), was also a huge success for the band. It included hits like "Spune-mi (Hey baby!)" ["Tell me (Hey baby!)"]. They reached the peak of their success with the release of their studio album S.O.S. and its lead single "Dragoste de inchiriat" ("Love for rent"). It became their signature song and hit number one in Romania, both digitally and in airplay. Due to its success, the song was rewritten in English and released to the international market as "Kylie" (an ode to Kylie Minogue). It became a radio hit in countries like Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Greece, and Ukraine. Akcent's debut English album, French Kiss with Kylie, was released in Europe on August 23, 2006, and it included their two hit singles, "Kylie" and "Jokero."
In April 2008, Marius Nedelcu left the band to go solo. The remaining three members called in Corneliu Ulici, a former member of another Romanian group, Bliss. However, Corneliu did not want to make music his career and left after only five months, after which Akcent officially became a trio. Adrian Sînă was commissioned to produce Akcent's album Fără lacrimi (No Tears). The international hit singles "That's My Name," "Stay with Me," and "Lover's Cry" were all produced by Sînă. In 2009, he also produced the True Believers album, which has been one of Akcent's most successful to date. The album included the hits "That's My Name," "Stay with Me," "Lover's Cry," and "Tears." In the same year, Akcent won the Balkan Music Award for "Best Duet or Group." Because of the success of "That's My Name," the song, along with "Stay with Me," was released through U.S. record label Ultra Records and Warner Music Group in Scandinavia, Turkey, Italy, Greece, and other countries. The single was also included on the Just Dance: Vol 3 compilation album released by The Island Def Jam Music Group in 2010. After this multi-platinum album, the band started performing worldwide.
= The new decade =
In 2011, Akcent signed a recording contract with Robbins Entertainment, and in May 2012, "My Passion" was officially released in the United States. Then came the song "Feelings on Fire," which featured Ruxandra Bar and a music video that was filmed with the band members driving sports cars in Romania, on Transfagarasan. Sînă also became a judge of X Factor the same year. 2012 was a busy and successful year for Akcent with touring and more hits. In January, the group released the single "I'm Sorry" featuring pop singer Sandra N. The single was later licensed to Disco Wax Records and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment in the United Kingdom, Finland, and Denmark. Several of Akcent's singles have been added to dance compilations and/or released singularly off of different major recording labels, including Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Ministry of Sound.
In the northern-hemisphere summer of 2012, Akcent released the single "Chimie Intre Noi" ("Chemistry between us"), produced by Sînă. In September 2012, the group embarked on a U.S. tour, performing sold-out shows in New York City, New York, and Chicago, Illinois. Akcent signed with Shakir Entertainment Management in New York City on November 26, 2012. As of December 2012, the group's music videos and songs on YouTube had been viewed close to 1 billion times, and they had more than 3 million fans on Facebook. Akcent is the only international pop act to perform live in Pakistan several times within the past two years. [When?]
= 2013–2014: Disbandment and lasting success =
In September 2013, the band split after a quarrel, leaving Sînă as the only member of the band.
As of September 2013, Adrian Sînă was the only male artist with the most chart entries on the Romanian Top 100. Overall, only artists like Madonna or Rihanna had more entries than him. In 2014, he saw immense success with the songs "Kamelia" and "Faina."In 2015, he released the successful singles "Te Quiero" ft. Galena and "Amor Gitana" ft. Sandra N. In 2016, he released the album Love the Show. He has remained loyal to the original style of Akcent. Meanwhile, Sorin Brotnei and Gruia Mihai started their own band, "Two."
Discography
=Albums=
=Extended plays=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of extended plays ! scope="col" style="width:8em;"| Title ! scope="col" style="width:19em;"| Extended play details |
| scope="row" | Poveste de viaţă
| |
|---|
| scope="row" | Around the World
|
|
=Compilations=
= Singles =
=Other charted songs=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of other charted songs |
| scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Title
!scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year !scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions !scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album |
|---|
| scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"|ROM {{cite news|url=http://www.rt100.ro:80/editie-top-100_x10000.html|title=Ediția 2, săptămâna 20.01 – 26.01, 2003|publisher=Romanian Top 100|language=ro|access-date=11 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050514151003/http://www.rt100.ro/editie-top-100_x10000.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 May 2005}} |
| scope="row"|"Cel mai dulce cadou"
| rowspan="1" |2002 |21 |În culori |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
=Sources=
- [http://www.click.ro/comunitate/romanesti/sorin-si-mihai-din-akcent-au-facut-o-noua-trupa-two. Click!] (in Romanian). 11 December 2013
External links
- http://akcentonline.com/
- http://www.adriansina.com/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624020508/http://www.adriansina.com/ |date=2011-06-24 }}
- [http://www.pr-inside.com/global-dance-pop-sensation-akcent-signs-r3495793.htm/ Akcent signs with U.S management] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130131151750/http://www.pr-inside.com/global-dance-pop-sensation-akcent-signs-r3495793.htm/ |date=2013-01-31 }}
- [http://www.c895.org/2013/01/top-89-of-2012/ KHNC Top 89 of 2012 New Years Eve coundtown]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akcent}}
Category:Romanian pop music groups
Category:Romanian Eurodance groups
Category:Musical groups established in 1999
Category:1999 establishments in Romania