The Balkan Girls
Encyclopedia
"The Balkan Girls" is a song by Elena Gheorghe
and was the Romania
n entry in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was selected in the Romanian national final Selecţia Naţională 2009, which Gheorghe won.
The song was performed at the first semi-final of the contest on 12 May 2009 and went through to the final on 16 May 2009, where it finished 19th with 40 points.
. "The Balkan Girls" passed the pre-selection and the semi-final. On January 31, 2009, in a live show, it was decided that Gheorghe won the National Final and she will be the next Romania
n contestant for Eurovision Song Contest
. There are two different versions of this song; The first one was presented in the Romanian final, the second one premiered once with the physical release of the single, on March 10, 2010.
, many Romanian journalists criticized her. Also, the UK
newspaper "The Sun" published on the internet that Gheorghe wasn't singing on the stage, but Lucia Dumitrescu, the backing vocals.
on March 22, 2009 at number 57. The second week it reached the top 40; The next weeks the song got closer and closer to the number one, becoming the first ESC entry to peak #1, on April 19, 2009. It has spent two weeks at number-one, leaving top 10 in June. The song left the chart in early August, 2009.
The first one, released in early January, 2009 as a promotional video for the National Selection. The video was shot in a studio of TVR 1
. In this video, Gheorghe appears in a pink dress, dancing along with her back-up dancers.
The second music video was shot in March, in Călăraşi
, Romania
and in a night club from Bucharest
. It premiered on March 15, 2009. In this video Gheorghe's style is drastically changed from the one from the first video, wearing more make-up. In the intro, Elena is appearing, ridding alongside two of her back-up dancers. For the chorus, she jumps from an old bridge into a river. In the next scene Gheorghe appears dancing in a club, with other people. As of the lyric "I'll find a boy for a kiss" a young man is introduced to us. The guy is ignored by all of the girls attending the party in that club. In the end, Gheorghe is wearing a Cheetah Coat and is lying on a sofa in that club.
The video was on the shortlist for the "Best Video" award at Romanian Music Awards 2009 and is one of the most watched ESC videos of 2009, on YouTube
.
, Greece
and Turkey
, for unknown reasons. She was present in Berlin
, Germany
, Amsterdam
, Netherlands
and she sung "The Balkan Girls" on the Preview party in London
. She has also sung the song live on several Romanian TV channels, including TVR 1
, Prima TV
, Pro TV
and Antena 1. Kanal D
, a Romanian-Turkish TV channel organised a special event entitled "Elena vs Hadise
", in order to promote The Balkan Girls and Dum Tek Tek. Gheorghe also appeared on TVR i
, an international TV channel for the Romanians in diaspora.
semi-final, and final. Besides, she sang the song on several Romanian TV shows, on the London Preview party, the Romanian Preview party@ESC, to promote it. She also has sung "The Balkan Girls" at RMA, Zilele Bucurestiului 2009 and Orange PrePay Party. The most recent performance of "The Balkan Girls" was on January 16, 2010 at the "Confidential Awards", on Antena 2
.
Elena Gheorghe
Elena Gheorghe is a Romanian singer. Gheorghe represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and qualified for the final. One of her most notable music singles is "Te Ador" and her 2010 music single "Disco Romancing"....
and was the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n entry in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was selected in the Romanian national final Selecţia Naţională 2009, which Gheorghe won.
The song was performed at the first semi-final of the contest on 12 May 2009 and went through to the final on 16 May 2009, where it finished 19th with 40 points.
Background
The song was written by Laurenitu Duta, along with Ovidiu Bistriceanu, Alexandru Pelin and Daris Mangal, in the fall of 2008, and it was Elena Gheorghe's entry at the 2009 Selectia NationalaRomania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Romania was represented at Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia by Elena Gheorghe with "The Balkan Girls" after she won the national final, Selecţia Naţională 2009.-Selecţia Naţională 2009:...
. "The Balkan Girls" passed the pre-selection and the semi-final. On January 31, 2009, in a live show, it was decided that Gheorghe won the National Final and she will be the next Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n contestant for Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. There are two different versions of this song; The first one was presented in the Romanian final, the second one premiered once with the physical release of the single, on March 10, 2010.
Critical reception
Most of the Romanian critics said that "The Balkan Girls" is a interesting song and Elena's voice is also good, but it doesn't fit with their preferences for the Eurovision Song Contest. Also, some show-mans from Antena 1 said that the lyrics aren't any good, and that the idea of "Balkan Girls as Party Girls" isn't that good for ESC. After Gheorghe's show in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, many Romanian journalists criticized her. Also, the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
newspaper "The Sun" published on the internet that Gheorghe wasn't singing on the stage, but Lucia Dumitrescu, the backing vocals.
Chart performance
"The Balkan Girls" entered the Romanian Top 100Romanian Top 100
The Romanian Top 100 is the national airplay-based singles chart of Romania. It is weekly and it started running in 1996. It is recognized as an official chart by the European division of Billboard, Music & Media....
on March 22, 2009 at number 57. The second week it reached the top 40; The next weeks the song got closer and closer to the number one, becoming the first ESC entry to peak #1, on April 19, 2009. It has spent two weeks at number-one, leaving top 10 in June. The song left the chart in early August, 2009.
Music videos
For "The Balkan Girls" there are existing two music videos.The first one, released in early January, 2009 as a promotional video for the National Selection. The video was shot in a studio of TVR 1
TVR 1
TVR1 is the main channel of the Romanian public broadcaster TVR.The most important show of the channel is Jurnalul TVR, whose motto is Jurnalul aşa cum ar trebui sǎ fie! , but on 28 March 2009 was replaced by Telejurnal...
. In this video, Gheorghe appears in a pink dress, dancing along with her back-up dancers.
The second music video was shot in March, in Călăraşi
Calarasi
Călăraşi , the capital of Călăraşi County and Sud-Muntenia Region in the Wallachia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the bank of Danube's Borcea branch, at about 12 kilometers from the Bulgarian border and 125 kilometers from Bucharest....
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and in a night club from Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. It premiered on March 15, 2009. In this video Gheorghe's style is drastically changed from the one from the first video, wearing more make-up. In the intro, Elena is appearing, ridding alongside two of her back-up dancers. For the chorus, she jumps from an old bridge into a river. In the next scene Gheorghe appears dancing in a club, with other people. As of the lyric "I'll find a boy for a kiss" a young man is introduced to us. The guy is ignored by all of the girls attending the party in that club. In the end, Gheorghe is wearing a Cheetah Coat and is lying on a sofa in that club.
The video was on the shortlist for the "Best Video" award at Romanian Music Awards 2009 and is one of the most watched ESC videos of 2009, on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
Promotion
Gheorghe started a promo tour for Eurovision, in order to promote the song. She cancelled three shows, in MoldovaMoldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, for unknown reasons. She was present in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and she sung "The Balkan Girls" on the Preview party in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She has also sung the song live on several Romanian TV channels, including TVR 1
TVR 1
TVR1 is the main channel of the Romanian public broadcaster TVR.The most important show of the channel is Jurnalul TVR, whose motto is Jurnalul aşa cum ar trebui sǎ fie! , but on 28 March 2009 was replaced by Telejurnal...
, Prima TV
Prima TV
Prima TV is a Romanian commercial TV channel, famous mainly for the Cronica Cârcotaşilor show and various reality shows.-Start:Prima TV was launched as one of the first commercial television stations in Romania in December 1997...
, Pro TV
Pro TV
Launched in December 1995, Pro TV reaches almost 99% of Romania’s 21.5 million people and has 48% of its broadcast schedule comprising locally-produced programs...
and Antena 1. Kanal D
Kanal D
Kanal D is a nation-wide television channel in Turkey and part of Doğan Holding which is owned by the Turkish media tycoon Aydın Doğan.Kanal D also runs an international channel, Euro D which is available online....
, a Romanian-Turkish TV channel organised a special event entitled "Elena vs Hadise
Hadise
Hadise Açıkgöz , is a Belgian born Turkish singer of Circassian descent. Hadise's career began in 2004 with the release of her debut single "Sweat", which peaked at 19 on the Flanders chart. Hadise continued to release more successful singles, most notably the single "Milk Chocolate Girl"...
", in order to promote The Balkan Girls and Dum Tek Tek. Gheorghe also appeared on TVR i
TVR 1
TVR1 is the main channel of the Romanian public broadcaster TVR.The most important show of the channel is Jurnalul TVR, whose motto is Jurnalul aşa cum ar trebui sǎ fie! , but on 28 March 2009 was replaced by Telejurnal...
, an international TV channel for the Romanians in diaspora.
Live Performance
Gheorghe performed live "The Balkan Girls" on the Selectia Nationala semi-final and final, and the Eurovision Song Contest 2009Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....
semi-final, and final. Besides, she sang the song on several Romanian TV shows, on the London Preview party, the Romanian Preview party@ESC, to promote it. She also has sung "The Balkan Girls" at RMA, Zilele Bucurestiului 2009 and Orange PrePay Party. The most recent performance of "The Balkan Girls" was on January 16, 2010 at the "Confidential Awards", on Antena 2
Antena 2 (Romania)
Antena 2 is a Romanian TV channel. It started broadcasting on April 9, 2007 and is part of the Intact group, owned by the family of the Romanian businessman and politician Dan Voiculescu.-External links:*...
.
Track listing
- Romania/Bulgaria CD single
- "The Balkan Girls" – 2:47
- "The Balkan Girls (Official DJ Andy remix) – 5:57
- Romanian Digital single
- "The Balkan Girls" (Album Version) – 2:58
- "The Balkan Girls (ESC cut) – 2:47
- Karaoke Series
- "The Balkan Girls" - 2:58
- "The Balkan Girls" (karaoke/instrumental) - 2:58
- "The Balkan Girls" (ESC karaoke) – 2:58
- Darone Maxi-Single
- "The Balkan Girls" (Darone Club Mix) – 3:53
- iTunes EP
- "The Balkan Girls" (studio version) – 2:58
- "The Balkan Girls (ESC cut) – 2:47
- "The Balkan Girls" (official Remix) – 5:57
- "Te Ador" - 3:35
- Eurovision single
- "The Balkan Girls" (album version) – 2:58
- "The Balkan Girls" (karaoke) – 2:58
- "The Balkan Girls" (live at ESC final) – 3:02
Credits and personnel
- Main vocalsVoiceVoice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
- Elena GheorgheElena GheorgheElena Gheorghe is a Romanian singer. Gheorghe represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and qualified for the final. One of her most notable music singles is "Te Ador" and her 2010 music single "Disco Romancing".... - SongwritingSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
- Laurenţiu Duţă, Ovidiu Bistriceanu, Alexandru Pelin, Daris Mangal - ProductionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Laurenţiu Duţă, Ovidiu Bistriceanu, Daris Mangal - RecordingSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
- Laurenţiu Duţă - Backing vocals - Lucia Dumitrescu
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Romanian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Ukraine Airplay Chart | 38 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
172 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Romanian Singles Chart End-Year Chart 2009 (Romania) This is a list of Romanian Top 100's 2009 year-end chart.* 1 The song peaked at 2 in 2008.... |
23 |
Chart Procession and succession
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... |
January 29, 2009 | Radio Radio Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space... |
| March 10, 2009 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
|
| Eastern Europe Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"... |
March 12, 2009 | CD single Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Type | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Selecţia Naţională Selectia Nationala Selecţia Naţională is a song contest which takes place every year in Romania. This contest decides who will represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest.-Winners:-See also:* Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest... |
Semi-Finale | |
| Finale | |||
| Eurovision Song Contest Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition... |
Semi-Finale | ||
| Finale | |||
| ESC Radio Awards | Best Female | ||
| Best Song | |||
| Romanian Music Awards | Best Female | ||
| Femeile Anului | Female of 2009 | ||
| 2010 | Romanian Top Hits Awards | Romanian Song of Decade |