Inna

1986–2007: Early life and career

Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu was born on 16 October 1986 in Mangalia and was raised in Neptun. Her mother, grandmother and grandfather sang as a hobby, and she also became interested in music. As a teenager, Inna listened to a variety of music, including electro house and europop, and to artists such as Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. She attended Colegiul Economic (Economy College) in Mangalia, later studying political science at Ovidius University in Constanţa. Inna took singing lessons and participated in music festivals. After an unsuccessful audition for the Romanian band A.S.I.A., she sold slippers in Neptun.

When Inna worked in an office, her manager heard her singing and contacted Play & Win. Adopting the stage name Alessandra in 2008, she entered "Goodbye" and "Sorry" to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008; neither was selected. Inna performed "Goodbye" live on the primetime TV show, Teo!, her first televised appearance. Later that year, she changed her stage name to Inna since it was easy to memorize; she also said that it was what her grandfather used to call her when she was young. Early in her career, Inna released pop-rock songs, but switched to "commercial" minimal-infused house music after changing her stage name. In a News of the World interview, Inna cited Swedish House Mafia, The Black Eyed Peas and Jessie J as inspirations. Others are Pink, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion.

2008–11: Hot and I Am the Club Rocker

Inna's debut song, "Hot", was sent to Romanian radio stations in August 2008. The single topped the Romanian Top 100 that winter, and she was booked at Romanian nightclubs. The track was commercially successful throughout Europe. In early 2010, "Hot" topped Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart. "Love" (2009) was released as Inna's second single, reaching number four in Romania. The singer received the first nominations of her career (for "Hot") at the 2009 Eska Music Awards in Poland. Her Romanian label, Roton, signed a contract with the well-know American Ultra Records in April 2009.

Inna collaborated with Romanian musician Bogdan Croitoru on her follow-up single, "Déjà Vu" (2009). It was controversial in Romania because the artists released the song under pseudonyms (Bob Taylor and Anni), revealing their true identities after a period of speculation. The single was as commercially successful as its predecessors. Inna had her second number-one hit on the Romanian Top 100 with "Amazing", her fourth single, in 2009. The song was originally written by Play & Win for Romanian singer Anca Baidu, who later complained that they had "stolen" it. Inna's debut studio album, Hot, was released in August 2009 and included the final single "10 Minutes" (2010). The record was commercially successful, certified Gold in the Netherlands and Romania and Platinum in France. As of December 2011, it had sold 500,000 copies worldwide. Inna was the Best Romanian Act at the 2009 and 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards, the first Romanian artist to win the award in two consecutive years. In 2010, she was also nominated for Best European Act.

Inna's sixth single, "Sun Is Up", was released in June 2010 and peaked at number two on the Romanian Top 100. It did well in a number of other European countries, earning Gold in Switzerland and Italy and Silver in the United Kingdom. "Sun Is Up" won the Eurodanceweb Award in 2010, the first time Romania won the award. That year, Inna received a career award at the Zece Pentru România Awards. In January 2011, she bought a €250,000 penthouse apartment in Pantelimon, and was congratulated by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas for her achievements during the after-party of the NRJ Music Awards, wishing her luck in the American music business. She released her second studio album, I Am the Club Rocker, in September 2011. The record, featuring europop, dance-pop, techno and house music, was honored as one of the year's best albums by her label Roton and was certified Gold in Poland. The album was promoted by the I Am the Club Rocker Tour (2011–12) of Europe and the United States. In Mexico, Inna had interviews and radio appearances. She had her first major Romanian concert at the Arenele Romane (Roman Arena) in Bucharest, where she arrived by helicopter "like a diva".

"Club Rocker" (2011), the second single from I Am the Club Rocker, was moderately successful. It was involved in a lawsuit when Spanish singer Robert Ramirez sued Play & Win for copying the refrain of his song, "A Minute of Life". Three subsequent singles, "Un Momento" (2011), "Endless" (2011) and "Wow" (2012), were released from the album. "Endless" peaked at number five on the Romanian Top 100. In December 2011 Inna was offered a lead role in a French film, but she turned it down because the role involved nudity.

2012–present: Party Never Ends and Inna

Televiziunea Română (TVR) approached Inna in early 2012 to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, but she turned the offer down due to scheduling conflicts. In the same year, she released the single "Caliente", which she dedicated to her Mexican fans. Later that year, "Tu și eu", a Romanian language song, received heavy airplay in Romania and peaked at number five. This was followed by another top ten hit, "Inndia" (2012). On New Year's Eve, Inna presented a concert at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

She released her third studio album, Party Never Ends, in March 2013 with the commercially successful singles "More than Friends" (2013) and "In Your Eyes" (2013). "More than Friends" was controversial in Romania, since it was accused of plagiarizing Pitbull, Akon and David Rush's "Everybody Fucks" (2012). The album spawned several promotional singles, including "Ok" and "Spre Mare". Party Never Ends peaked at number 10 in Mexico, and was nominated for Best Album at the 2013 and 2014 Romanian Music Awards. In March 2013, Inna was the guest singer on "P.O.H.U.I." by the Moldavian music project Carla's Dreams. The song reached number three in Romania, and was honored as the year's best song at the Romanian Top Hits Awards. In late 2013, Inna contributed to Pitbull's "All the Things" from his EP, Meltdown.

"Cola Song", a collaboration with J Balvin in April 2014, was successful in Europe, being certified Platinum by Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE). It promoted the FIFA World Cup 2014, and was used in the American action comedy film Spy (2015) and the dance video game Just Dance 2017. Inna's follow-up single, 2014's "Good Time" (a collaboration with Pitbull), was featured on the American sitcom Young & Hungry and the American film Pitch Perfect 2. She released her fourth, eponymous studio album in October 2015. Another version of the album, Body and the Sun, was released in Japan in July 2015. Inna was the Best Romanian Act and was nominated for Best European Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. One of the singles from her album was "Diggy Down" (2014), her third number-one hit in Romania. Based on airplay, it won the Best Dance award at the Media Music Awards. Inna's next single, "Bop Bop" (2015), peaked at number two in Romania and "Rendez Vous" (2016) was certified Gold in Poland.

In June 2016 Inna released "Heaven", whose chorus is sung in a language invented by her and her label. The song peaked at number four in Romania. In August 2016, Inna was the opening act for the Untold Festival. She is a member of the supergroup G Girls, with whom she released two singles. In October 2016, it was announced that Inna is working on a Romanian-language album with Romanian singer and songwriter Irina Rimes. She was a coach on the first season of Vocea României Junior with Andra and Marius Moga, and appeared in a Romanian Lidl commercial with Carla's Dreams in April 2017. Her YouTube channel surpassed two billion total views as of July 2017. A month later, Inna stated that she would like to represent Romania and Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest in the future.

Philanthropy and awards

Inna, an activist for children's rights in Romania, endorsed the 2012 UNICEF "No More Invisible Children" campaign. In late November 2011 she joined the anti-domestic violence campaign "Durerea nu este iubire" ("Pain is not Love") empowering women to stand up to abuse, and signed a petition asking the Romanian government to strengthen a domestic-violence law. Inna began the "Bring the Sun Into My Life" campaign to increase public awareness of violence against women. She sang "Tu tens la força" ("You Have the Power"), a Catalan language cover version of Gala's "Freed from Desire", during the 2015 Marató de TV3 telethon. Inna participated in Cartoon Network Romania's anti-bullying "CN Clubul Prieteniei" (CN Friendship Club) in 2016, and recorded a new opening theme for the Romanian-language version of The Powerpuff Girls. That year, she and other Romanian celebrities signed an open letter supporting the LGBT community in response to a Romanian Orthodox Church–backed action to amend the constitutional definition of a family. The amendment has been criticized by Romanian and international human-rights groups as curtailing LGBT rights.

Inna was called "one of Romania's biggest exports" by The Guardian, based on her sales and popularity. She has received a number of awards and nominations, including five Balkan Music Awards, a European Border Breakers Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Romanian Act and thirteen Romanian Music Awards. Inna's 2011 net worth was estimated at €8,000,000, and by March 2016 she had sold four million copies of her first three studio albums. In 2015, Antena 3 reported that Inna was Romania's best-selling artist abroad.

Discography