I am Andra. This is how I am known by those who love my music, this is how I am called by my close ones. I was born in a musical family. In our home there was always a radio on, playing music of all kinds, and all family members sang, from my mother and father to my three older brothers. So there was no surprise that I wanted also to be on the stage from a young age, singing the songs I would hear around the house, sung by my folks or by the famous artists I would hear on the radio or tape recorder. I feel as if I was born with music in my blood, like I’ve always known that I wanted to sing and could sing. In my childhood everything seemed easier when I was singing, and later I understood that this was how I best expressed myself, and this was what represented me. My parents noticed very soon the amazing effect music had on me and encouraged me to follow my dream. My family was by my side every step along the way in my career, and this has been a tremendous help. My musical career started when I was 14 years old. I remember my friends were playing outside or going out, while I was rehearsing or going to shows. Some would say that I sacrificed the beautiful moments of childhood, but I don’t believe so! I think that my best moments have always been connected to music. The work I did back then made me become what I am today. I am the youngest of four siblings so I’ve always felt spoiled by my family. Like in my childhood, we have remained a united family and there is no greater joy for me when we all manage to gather in my family home for special occasions. Mom, dad, Diana, Aura and Sandel, I love you! You are my blessings! My husband and children are another blessing. I fell in love with Maruta in 2006, we got married two years later, and God gave us David-Alexandru and Eva Maria Ioana. My children and Catalin remind me all the time that love changes everything! Thanks to them I live the most beautiful reality, in the best of all possible worlds! Television is a challenge for me. My family and my friends know that I love challenges and I do not avoid them, on the contrary, I seek them because I want to test my limits, to evolve. The first show I presented was O-la-la (ProTV), a tv karaoke contest. The show had two seasons and very good ratings. In 2011 I received “The Great Challenge”: Romania’s Got Talent. Since then I have had the honour to be one of the judges on the TV show with the greatest audience ratings ever in Romania. In 2016 I am again a judge, this time in a project that is close to my soul, The Voice Kids, where I hope to help the kids as much as I can to make their dreams come true. Along my career I have managed to gather 12 musical records and I feel that all of them are wonders in my life. Each of them adds up my personal and artistic feelings of a specific time, of a specific period in my life. They all represent me equally and I feel that, when put together, they shape me as an artist. The one closest to my heart is the album De la frate la sora (Brother to Sister) – the bestselling musical material of this genre in Romania. There I sang with my brother Sandel and due to the record sales I was awarded the Platinum and Diamond Record. Another performance I am proud of is the fact that all my singles have been top ten in most Romanian charts soon after being launched. Fame brought advertising contracts; advertisements are not goals to pursue in one’s career, but for an artist can be rather useful tools in better understanding his/her position in the audiences’ preferences. Plus, they help me look at myself objectively and see the image I project outside the music. I don’t accept every proposal and I try to promote only products and companies I have tested and provide extra quality and value in which I believe. Thus since 2010 I have become the image of Garnier Color Naturals and Essentials for Romania and Eastern Europe. This was followed by image contracts with Lidl, Banca Transilvania, Unilever – Delikat and, since I have become a mother and have discovered the importance of quality diapers, with Huggies. I think celebrity comes with social responsibility, so I answer YES whenever I am asked to be part of a humanitarian campaign. I am glad I can do some good, as little as it may be. It is not easy to talk about this, and I don’t want it to sound as bragging. But I do it for the power of example. I am myself inspired by many beautiful people and disinterested gestures made from the heart, and I feel that together we can do miracles for the less fortunate. Whether we speak of helpless old people or innocent children struck by fate, people who need a second chance, if my involvement convinces even one more person to help, my effort was not in vain. Step by step, gesture by gesture, person by person, things can change for the better and together we can make a better world for everyone.
