The Romanian electronic music scene gained international recognition in the late 2000s, with artists achieving chart success in major European and North American markets. While Gheorghe Zamfir first brought Romanian music to international attention in the 1970s with his pan flute recordings, a new wave of pop and dance artists followed decades later.
Gheorghe Zamfir’s albums Music by Candlelight (1978) and Traumland der Panflöte (1979) reached number two in both the Netherlands and Germany, respectively. Throughout the 1980s, several of his records were certified multiple platinum by Music Canada, establishing a significant presence for Romanian music abroad. His singles, including “Light of Experience (Doina de jale)” and “The Lonely Shepherd,” similarly found success in various regions.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, soprano Angela Gheorghiu charted albums on the US Billboard Classical Albums chart and in European countries. This broadened the scope of Romanian musical exports beyond traditional folk instrumentation.
The twin duo the Cheeky Girls achieved four top ten hits on the UK Singles Chart, with “Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)” (2002) peaking at number two and receiving a gold award from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). This marked a shift towards more mainstream pop success for Romanian artists.
Singer Haiducii reached the top five in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain with “Dragostea din tei” (2003), a cover version of a song originally released by the Moldovan group O-Zone. Haiducii continued to achieve success in Italy with two additional top ten hits in 2004.
Around the same time, Edward Maya, in collaboration with Vika Jigulina, released “Stereo Love” which gained significant traction. A remix by Mia Martina was released in 2009 and is available on Spotify. Maya and Jigulina also released the music video for “Here’s My Life” in 2010, which featured on Cat Music’s YouTube channel alongside other artists like Ela Rose.
