Alex Velea
Alexandru Ionuț Velea is a Romanian singer, songwriter, television personality and actor from Craiova. Velea is a two-time recipient of the Romanian Music Awards "Best Pop Artist" prize and a one-time nominee at the MTV Europe Music Awards for the Best Romanian Act. He is one of the most iconic figures in the Romanian music industry, having released more than forty single hits and collaborating in more than fifty songs as a featured artist alongside various other notable artists such as Smiley, Connect-R, Puya, Grasu XXL and Anda Adam.
He began his career as the winner of the 2003 edition of the Star Factory competition. Between August and December 2018, Velea worked as the co-host of the Romanian talk-show Acces direct alongside Simona Gherghe.
Early life
Velea was born on May 13, 1984, in Craiova, Romania. He discovered his passion for music from an early age, starting to sing at the age of nine. At the age of eleven, he became a student at his hometown's Children's Palace. At the age of sixteen, he began to study classic canto for a total of four years. He is of Romani descent.Musical career
Pop/HipHop career
After winning the competition show Star Factory in 2003-2004 and participating at the Romanian counterpart of the Big Brother reality show, Velea made his musical debut alongside Anna Lesko in the song entitled Nu mai am timp released in the album Pentru tine .A collaboration with Anda Adam followed for her second solo album, Confidential. The song, entitled "Ce ti-aș face/Selecta " earned great success in Romania, being broadcast often on music stations. His debut album, entitled Yamasha, was released in the fall of 2006. For this album, Alex collaborated with Smiley, Puya, Marius Moga, Connect-R, Matteo and Don Baxter. Four songs were promoted from the album: "Yamasha", "Dragoste la prima videre" , "Când sunt cu tine" and "Doamna mea" . Yamasha brought him nominalizations at the "Best show", "Best male singer" and "Best new artist" categories at the 2007 edition of the Romanian Music Awards.
In 2009, Velea released the songs "Doar ea" and "Secret ". In the same year, he joined the production team of the musical group Radio Killer, under the stage name "Crocodealer", sharing the nickname of one of the "seven killers" with his group mates.
He also released the song named "Don't say it's over" which became the hit of year 2010, and whose video presented a choreography which generated one of the biggest flashmobs in Romania. It took place in Bucharest's Constitution Square, in June the same year.
In September 2011, he released the song "Whisper". In April 2012, Velea released the song "Când noaptea vine" which was widely received by the public. In June 2012, during the Romanian Music Awards event, he released a new hit, "Minim doi" . The song managed to collect millions of views on YouTube in a few days time. Shortly after, he released the music video for the song, a clip shot in Ferentari, a marginalized neighborhood of Bucharest. Also in June 2012, he won the award for "Best Pop" artist at the Romanian Music Awards. The song topped the Romanian music charts, occupying the fourth position in the top 10, and the 33rd position in Bulgarian charts.
In 2013 he released the songs "E Marfă Tare" and the continuation of the song in a collaboration with Pacha Man "Aia E ".
In 2019, together with Lino Golden, Mario Fresh and Rashid, Velea founded the band Golden Gang, with which they released their first album "10 out of 10" the same year.
New musical styles
Following a challenge received in a creative training camp in Borșa, the artist composed, in just one hour, a manele song with electrifying lyrics named whose lyrics start as: "Gucci, Gucci, Balenciaga/I'll buy you designer clothes, but you I want in a thong". Being surprised by the audience's reaction and listening to the fans' requests, he later released the official version of the song as a featuring hit alongside fellow singers Jador and Lino Golden. It became an immediate success, despite being released amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming top trending on YouTube in that respective year, and collecting a total of 90 million views on the social platform.Encouraged by the success of the first song, Velea and Jador, release their second manea song, , which also became an instant success and made it to the first place into the top trending songs on YouTube in less than a week from its release date. The song collected over 40 million views.
Other media
Filmography
In 2009, Velea made his videography debut on the big screens, with the "Un film simplu " film directed by Tom Gatsoulis, where he played a negative role of himself alongside Simplu band members and various other notable autochthon actors. He starred in several more pelicules such as Nașa , Selfie, Zăpadă, Ceai și Dragoste , and Băieți deștepți . He most recently played the role of "Bujor" in the 2023 picture "Tigru" alongside Paul Ipate and others.Reality shows
In 2007, Velea participated in the Dansez pentru tine show contest where he teamed up with his dance partner Cristina Stoicescu, fighting for a noble cause, and trying to help raise money for Stoicescu's ill husband. The team finished on the first place and obtained enough funds to financially sustain Stoicescu's family.Television
Animation
Voice acting
Velea accepted the challenge offered by Turner Broadcasting System to be the voice of Wirt in the series Over the Garden Wall, which aired on Cartoon Network from April 6, 2015.Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Promotional singles (co-productions)
Awards and nominations
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards is an event presented by MTV Networks Europe which awards prizes to musicians and performers. In 2007, Velea was nominated for the Best Romanian Act.!scope="row" rowspan="1"|2007
Romanian Music Awards
The Romanian Music Awards is a yearly major Romanian musical event, awarding the best artists in Romania's music scene. Velea was nominated a total of eight times at five different categories and has won a total of two awards.!scope="row" rowspan="3"|2007
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|2010
!scope="row" rowspan="1"|2011
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|2012
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|2014
Radio Romania Music Awards
!scope="row" rowspan="3"|2011!scope="row" rowspan="3"|2011
!2014