Akcent

Biography

Akcent (Romanian pronunciation: [akˈt͡ʃent]) 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 Senzatzia×Senzatzia2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracksA1Ultima vară3:24A2Încearcă să mergi mai departe3:18A3Pauza de viață4:47A4Ascultă3:41A5În stradă3:06A6Muncă de DJ4:08A7Vreau să zbor3:37B1Vedeta mea3:32B2Senzatzia3:27B3Omul negru3:06B4Nu-mi pasă de nimeni3:50B5Iar aproape3:26B6În stradă (Clubbing)3:28B7Ultima vară (house mix)4:53 in 2000. Except for the first track, "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 "Ți-am promis" in their native Romania.
Their single "Kylie×Kylie18 July 2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Kylie (Original F. Edit Mix)3:352Kylie (Black Sea Remix)4:33" was commercially successful in Europe. In 2006, they attempted to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest with the single "Jokero×JoKero15 June 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1JoKero (radio version)3:422JoKero (Crush remix)4:343JoKero (Activ & Optick extended mix)6:214JoKero (Cre8 remix)4:265Kylie (Crush Thunderdome remix)5:13", 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.

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×Senzatzia2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracksA1Ultima vară3:24A2Încearcă să mergi mai departe3:18A3Pauza de viață4:47A4Ascultă3:41A5În stradă3:06A6Muncă de DJ4:08A7Vreau să zbor3:37B1Vedeta mea3:32B2Senzatzia3:27B3Omul negru3:06B4Nu-mi pasă de nimeni3:50B5Iar aproape3:26B6În stradă (Clubbing)3:28B7Ultima vară (house mix)4:53, 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×Kylie18 July 2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Kylie (Original F. Edit Mix)3:352Kylie (Black Sea Remix)4:33," which performed well across Europe.
In 2006, Akcent competed in Romania’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Jokero×JoKero15 June 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1JoKero (radio version)3:422JoKero (Crush remix)4:343JoKero (Activ & Optick extended mix)6:214JoKero (Cre8 remix)4:265Kylie (Crush Thunderdome remix)5:13," 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×100 bpm2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Intro2:212Buchet de trandafiri3:523O raza de iubire4:024Azi plang numai eu3:515Interludiu0:366O ploaie de lacrimi3:447Suflet pereche4:208Interludiu0:599Durere fara sfarsit4:1710Mi-esti draga3:40110721 AKCENT3:3712Nu refuza dragostea3:2013Cand vine seara3:3014Interludiu0:4015O raza de iubire (Unu' club remix)4:4316Buchet de trandafiri (Unu' downtempo remix)3:37. 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.×S.O.S.30 April 2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Dragoste de închiriat4:092Ultima vară3:253Dă-mi dragostea3:124Singura cale3:215S.O.S.3:466Enigma3:527M-am îndrăgostit lulea3:498I'm Buying You Whisky3:199Dragoste de închiriat (extended)6:1310Azi plâng numai eu (Gigi d'Agostono remix)4:0211Buchet de trandafiri (DJ Pandolfi mix)5:3212Buchet de trandafiri (Gigi d'Agostino Dondolandomix)3:48 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×Kylie18 July 2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Kylie (Original F. Edit Mix)3:352Kylie (Black Sea Remix)4:33" (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×French Kiss with Kylie30 August 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Kylie4:112JoKero4:043Phonesex3:094S.O.S. (English version)3:475I'm Buying You Whisky3:216French Kiss4:017Last Summer3:278Dragoste de Inchiriat4:1099 Mai4:0110Spune-mi (Hey Baby!)3:2611Kylie (Crush Rock remix)3:3812JoKero (Activ & Optick mix)4:34, was released in Europe on August 23, 2006, and it included their two hit singles, "Kylie" and "Jokero×JoKero15 June 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1JoKero (radio version)3:422JoKero (Crush remix)4:343JoKero (Activ & Optick extended mix)6:214JoKero (Cre8 remix)4:265Kylie (Crush Thunderdome remix)5:13."
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×Fără Lacrimi2 February 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Stay With Me4:092That's My Name5:413Delight3:424Lacrimi3:455Umbrela ta3:406True Believer3:257Run Away3:388Vreau să fiu cu tine până în zori3:129Lovers Cry4:1110Next to Me3:3511O noapte si o zi3:3812I Turn Around the World4:1613Stay With Me (Edward Maya club remix)7:2214Stay With Me (Edward Maya Vibe remix)5:35 (No Tears). The international hit singles "That's My Name×That's My Name9 March 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1That's My Name (radio edit)4:062That's My Name (original mix)4:063That's My Name (album version)5:414That's My Name (Harmonica edit)5:005That's My Name (Hy2drogen & Fr3cky remix radio edit)3:086That's My Name (Hy2drogen & Fr3cky remix)6:327That's My Name (Sllash remix radio edit)4:078That's My Name (Sllash remix extended)5:349That's My Name (DJ Andi remix)8:04," "Stay with Me×Stay With Me4 May 2010 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Stay With Me (Radio Edit)4:072Stay With Me (Edward Maya Club Remix)7:003Stay With Me (Edward Maya Vibe Remix)5:36," 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×My Passion17 June 2011 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1My Passion (Radio Edit)3:192My Passion (Original Version)4:043My Passion (Fred Lilla Remix)5:23" was officially released in the United States. Then came the song "Feelings on Fire×Feelings On Fire2011 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Feelings On Fire3:38," 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×I'm Sorry2 February 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I'm Sorry (Radio Edit)3:17" 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.

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×Love the Show1 April 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Serai3:212Push2:463Phou Phou3:314Boca Linda3:355Se Thelo3:566Bounce3:257Sofia3:168Deeply in Love3:579Feelings3:2510Maria Maria3:0511Amor Gitana3:0112Te Quiero3:0713Dilemma3:27. He has remained loyal to the original style of Akcent. Meanwhile, Sorin Brotnei and Gruia Mihai started their own band, "Two."