Loredana Groza

Biography

Loredana Groza (born 10 June 1970), also known mononymously as Loredana, is a Romanian singer. She is known for continuously reinventing herself and for approaching numerous music styles throughout her discography, ranging from pop to traditional music and manele. In 1987, Groza released her debut single "Bună seara, iubito" ("Good Evening, Love!"), which—even though it was banned and censored in Romania for alleged inappropriate lyrics—became successful and one of her signature songs. Her album of the same name would go on to sell 1.5 million copies, making it the best-selling record of all time in Romania. Over the years, Groza released several acclaimed albums and hit songs, including "Apa" in 2012, which reached number two on the native Airplay 100 chart. The singer was a coach on the Romanian version of the televised competition The Voice for its first seven seasons.

Life and career

Loredana Groza was born in Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (now known as Onești), Romania, on 10 June 1970. She started singing at the age of three and continued to sing throughout her school years. When she was 14, she was noticed by composers Dumitru Moroșanu and Zsolt Kerestely, who invited her to Bucharest for the talent show Steaua fără nume (The Star Without a Name) although she was too young, as the minimum admission age was 17. She competed in the talent show in 1986, at 16 years old, and won the big prize. In the same year, she competed in the Mamaia Music Festival, where she was awarded the best newcomer prize, which made her the youngest winner ever.
In 1987, at the Costinești Music Festival, she met the acclaimed composer Adrian Enescu, who wrote the song "O inimă de 16 ani" ("A 16-Year-Old Heart") for her; this was followed by an entire record, her debut album Bună seara, iubito!×Bună seara, iubito!1987 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Îți citesc în ochi4:202Toate femeile0:353O inimă de 16 ani3:554Să-ți spun adio4:105Tu și eu5:006Măcar o clipă4:307Bună seara, iubito! (feat. Ion Caramitru)4:00 (Good Evening, Love!) (1988). Although the title song was not broadcast on Romanian television because of the communist censorship, both the song and the album were huge successes, with the latter being sold in 1.5 million copies. In 1989, Enescu and Lucian Avramescu produced her second album, Un buchet de trandafiri×Un Buchet De Trandafiri1989 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracksA1De Mă Vrei, Voi ReveniA2Joc MatematicA3Iubirea, Cartea Mea De OftatB4Ninsoarea De MaiB5Scrisoare SimplăB6Un Buchet De TrandafiriB7Zăpada Palmei Tale (A Bouquet of Roses), which was also successful. After a career hiatus until 1994, Groza made a comeback with the album Atitudine (Attitude) and toured Romania with the band Direcția 5 in 1995. 1995 was also the release year of the album Născută toamna×Născută Toamna17 May 1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Născută ToamnaA2Fără TineA3O Iubire-n PlusA4Baby SmileA5Merg Mai DeparteB1Ei Și !?B2SecretulB3Pentru VoiB4Trăiesc Doar Clipa (Born in Autumn), whilst the gold-certified Tomilio followed in 1996. In 1998, Groza released the hugely successful hit single "Lumea e a mea×Lumea e a mea1998 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Lumea e a mea (radio edit)4:272Lumea e a mea (Romulus Constantinescu romix)5:283Lumea e a mea (DJ Vasile remix)3:274Lumea e a mea (Future Groove jungle)5:285Lumea e a mea (Future Groove II)4:256Lumea e a mea (DJ Phantom remix)3:50" with B.U.G. Mafia.
Groza appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine in 2000, which sold out and confirmed her status of a sex symbol. In 2001, Enescu and the singer worked together again for the album Diva înamorată. Two albums inspired by traditional music followed in 2001 and 2002: Agurida×Agurida2001 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Marioară de la Gorj4:202Hai iu iu3:153Trandafir de la Moldova3:284Cip-cirip4:295Bun îi vinu' ghiurghiuliu3:056Agurida4:457Un țigan avea o casă5:128Se teme lon că moare3:069Mi-am pus busuioc3:1010Mărie și Mărioară2:44, and Zarza, vânzătoarea de plăceri (Zarza, the Pleasure Seller). From 2003 to 2006, Groza released the albums Fata cu șosete de diamant×Fata cu șosete de diamant23 September 2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Fata cu șosete de diamant3:102Suflet drag3:183Femeia ta3:424Hoț de inimi3:405Capul sus3:156Visez din nou3:187E muzica4:228Mary Queen2:589Eu cu sufletul și soarele meu (planeta mea)3:4110Doar tu poți să fii3:5111Hana, mala sukara4:3412Femeia ta (radio edit)3:10 (The Girl with Diamond Socks), Extravaganza, and Jamparalele. The latter received a gold certification for sales in Romania and included Groza's successful hit single "Lele", with which she attempted to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. She had previously taken part in the Romanian national final for the contest in 1994 and 1996 with the songs "Nu adio" ("Not Goodbye") and "Visăm America" ("We Dream of America"), respectively. In 2012, Groza released her highest-charting single on national charts, "Apa", which reached number two on the Airplay 100. In 2014, she premiered another top 10 hit, "Risipitor×Risipitor28 September 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Risipitor2:59" ("Wasteful").
Groza was chosen to dub the singing voice of Gloria in Happy Feet Two and Barbara Gordon in Lego Batman: The Movie.

Personal life

Loredana was married to the television producer Andrei Boncea. They have a daughter, Elena.

Movies

Cuibul de viespi (1987)
Gheonoaia (1998)
A doua cădere a Constantinopolului (1994)
Paradisul în direct (1994)
Supraviețuitorul (2007)
Fire and Ice: The Dragon Chronicles (2008)
Assassination Games (2011)
Minte-mă frumos (2012)

Television series

Inimă de țigan (2007–2008)
Regina (2008–2009)
Aniela (2009)
State de România (2010)

Other notable appearances

Vocea României (2011–2017)
X Factor Romania (2019–present)
Next Star (2020–present)