"Amazing" is a song recorded by Romanian singer

Inna Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (born 16 October 1986), known professionally as Inna (stylized in all caps), is a Romanian singer. Born in Mangalia and raised in Neptun, Romania, Neptun, she studied political science at Ovidius University before ...

for her 2009 debut studio album, '' Hot''. It was released as the fourth single from the record on 6 August 2009. Written and produced by

Play & Win Play & Win is a Romanian songwriting and music production project that was formed as a trio in 2008 by Radu Bolfea, Marcel Botezan and Sebastian Barac. It became a solo project by Bolfea after Botezan and Barac left and formed Marco & Seba in 201 ...

members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan, "Amazing" is a

Pop Music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

track with a Spanish guitar and beats in its instrumentation. One

reviewer A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indic ...

regarded the song as being similar to Inna's past work, however, with the addition of new elements. Other music critics gave positive reviews of the single, and praised its construction and foresaw its commercial success. Play & Win were involved in a

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...

controversy in August 2009, with Romanian singer Anca Badiu sustaining that "Amazing" had been originally intended for her before released by Inna. The song was aided by an accompanying music video premiered on 10 September 2009. Shot by Tom Boxer at the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and near

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

(more precisely, in Colares), it portrays the singer

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

and being saved from drowning by a

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and Cardiopulmonary ...

. For further promotion, Inna also performed "Amazing" on several occasions, including at the 2010

Eska Music Awards Eska Music Awards (EMA) is a Polish awards ceremony for national and international music, launched in 2002 by Radio Eska. The awards were last presented in 2017. Amongst the award winners are Jamelia, Alexis Jordan, t.A.T.u., 3 Doors Down, The Ra ...

and the

MAD Video Music Awards The MAD Video Music Awards is a Greek award show presented by the MAD TV. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, voted by the viewers of the station. Winners receive an authentic Mad designed award with the graphics of that ye ...

. Commercially, the song topped the charts in Romania and Bulgaria, while reaching the top 20 in multiple other countries. It was also nominated in two categories at the 2010 Romanian Music Awards, and won in the Pop/Dance Song of the Year section at the 2010 Radio România Actualități Awards.

Background and composition

"Amazing" was written and produced by Romanian trio

members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan. It was released on Inna's official website on 6 August 2009, as the fourth single from her debut studio album '' Hot'' (2009). ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, Hertfordshire. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', '' 20/20'', '' Sky Maga ...

noted a Spanish guitar and beats in the song's instrumentation, and called its genre "half-bad Castillian

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

". An editor of Romanian website Divercity Cafe wrote that the track was club-oriented and reminiscent of Inna's past work, while incorporating new elements.

Reception and accolades

Upon its release, "Amazing" received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. An editor of Divercity Cafe praised the harmony between Inna's vocals and the

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

, and foresaw the single's commercial success. Neeti Sarkar, writing for ''

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'', thought that the song was "quite amazing in the sense it captures a whirlwind of emotions, musically and otherwise." Pro FM listed "Amazing" in their list of "16 hits with which Inna made history". At the 2010

Romanian Music Awards The Romanian Music Awards, or simply RMA, are a Romanian annual event awarding the best artists in Romania's music scene. It is organized by Music Channel Romania and has taken place in various locations in the country. It was held from 2002 unti ...

, the track was nominated in the Best Song and Best Dance categories, and won Pop/Dance Song of the Year at the 2010

Radio România Actualități Radio România Actualități is the first radio channel in Romania, both in coverage, number of listeners, and timeline (it is the first radio station to broadcast). It is owned by the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company. In 2013 alone, it was t ...

. Commercially, "Amazing" topped native Nielsen Music Control chart in October 2009 and the Bulgarian charts in December 2009, becoming Inna's second single to reach number one in the first region after " Hot" (2008). In France, "Amazing" debuted at number two on the

SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

chart in June 2010, where it sold 100,000 registered copies as of September 2010. The track opened at number 10 as the highest new entry on Switzerland's

Schweizer Hitparade The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * Singles Top 75 (released since 1968) * Singles T ...

, while other top 10 placements were achieved in Russia, United Kingdom's dance chart, Greece and the Polish dance chart.

Controversy

In August 2009, "Amazing" sparked controversy when Romanian singer Anca Badiu accused Play & Win of "stealing" her song and

. According to Badiu and MediaPro Music, the label she was signed to at that time, they had paid the production trio

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

1,500 in advance for "Amazing". However, a few days after Badiu recorded the track and the alleged money transfer occurred, Inna released "Amazing" as a single. Play & Win defended their decision: "We signed the contract with MediaPro Music, but at one point we realized that Anca's version could not be a hit, so we chose Inna s" A Showbiz.ro editor questioned the credibility of their

pretext A pretext (: ''pretextual'') is an excuse to do something or say something that is not accurate. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication. Pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or r ...

in court, but thought that "since in Romania, the copyright laws and contractual obligations of artists and producers are not clearly defined, everything is possible." They also compared the case to a similar one between Romanian musicians Adrian Sînă and

Edward Maya Eduard Marian Ilie (; born 29 June 1986), better known by his stage name Edward Maya, is a Romanian musician, record producer, DJ, singer and songwriter. He is known for his 2009 smash hit single "Stereo Love". Career In and around 2006, Maya w ...

regarding the single "Se Thelo" (2009) Sarkar of ''The Hindu'' thought that the case was a reason for the song's commercial success.

Music video

An accompanying music video for "Amazing" was premiered on 10 September 2009 on the website of Romanian radio station Radio 21. It was shot by Tom Boxer in late August 2009 at a beach of the

and near

, Portugal in the span of two days. Behind-the-scenes footage was published on Urban.ro on 1 September 2009. Inna recalled of the filming: "It was the first time oxer and Iworked together and we understood excellent. I did everything I could to make the video come out well. It was a joy to shoot this clip. I traveled in a beautiful area and I met real

surfers Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

. I fell in love with their crazy and unobtrusive style .. For the clip, the singer was also required to learn a few surfing moves, which she managed to do in the first day. The clip begins with shots of the beach and Inna holding a surfboard in her hands, sporting a black wetsuit. She is then seen in a black and white swimsuit and subsequently meets friends to go surfing. Apparently drowning, she is saved by a previously shown "handsome"

, who brings her to the beach and attempts

mouth-to-mouth resuscitation Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a form of artificial ventilation, is the act of assisting or stimulating respiration in which a rescuer presses their mouth against that of the victim and blows air into the person's lungs. Artificial respiration ...

. The video ends with them standing close to each other and a shadowed Inna with a surfboard. Scenes interspersed throughout the video show the singer performing the song as well as showering in a

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...

in front of teenage surfer boys who eat ice cream while they stare at her in shock.

Live performances and other usage

In 2010, Inna performed "Amazing" live on 23 April at the

in Bulgaria, at the

on 24 June in Greece, and on 10 July at the

. In the same year, the singer also sang the track on 14 July at the Fun Radio in France, and at French music event Starfloor on 23 October. Inna's appearance at the Eska Music Awards was the subject of controversy due to a kiss between two male background dancers, and she accidentally exposed one of her

nipple The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in lactating females, breast milk, milk from the mammary gland leaves the body through the lactiferous ducts to Breastfeeding, nurse an infant. The milk can flow th ...

s at Starfloor. She further performed the single during her Inna: Live la Arenele Romane gig in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

on 17 May, where she arrived by helicopter "like a diva", as well as at the NRJ Music Tour

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

on 23 July 2011. Romanian singer

Andreea Bănică Andreea Bănică (; born 21 June 1978) is a Romanian singer and songwriter. She was part of the girl groups Exotic (1998–2000) and Blondy (2001–2005).

covered "Amazing" during Inna's appearance at the 2010 Romanian Music Awards.

Track listing

*Official versions # "Amazing (Play & Win Radio Edit Version)" - 3:31 # "Amazing (Play & Win Extended Version)" - 4:32 # "Amazing (UK Radio Edit Version)" - 2:21 # "Amazing (Buzz Junkies Radio Edit)" - 3:34 # "Amazing (Buzz Junkies Club Remix)" - 6:14 # "Amazing (Buzz Junkies Dub)" - 6:14 # "Amazing (DJ Feel Radio Edit)" - 3:37 # "Amazing (DJ Feel Original Club Remix)" - 6:12 # "Amazing (DJ Feel Vox Dub)" - 6:18 # "Amazing (DJ Feel Instrumental)" - 6:18 # "Amazing (Almighty Radio Edit)" - 3:58 # "Amazing (Almighty Club Remix)" - 7:07 # "Amazing (Almighty Dub)"- 7:06 # "Amazing (Almighty Instrumental)" - 7:06 # "Amazing (Frisco Radio Edit)" - 3:15 # "Amazing (Frisco Club Remix)" - 5:01 # "Amazing (Klubfiller Radio Edit)"- 3:07 # "Amazing (Klubfiller Club Remix)" - 5:18

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Hot'' and Urban.ro. *Inna –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Sebastian Barac –

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, producer * Radu Bolfea – composer, producer * Marcel Botezan – composer, producer *Tom Boxer –

music video director A music video director is the head, overseer or facilitator of music video production. The director conceives of videos' artistic and dramatic aspects while instructing the musical act, technical crew, actors, models, and dancers. They may or ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amazing (Inna Song) 2009 singles Inna songs English-language Romanian songs Number-one singles in Romania Song recordings produced by Play & Win 2009 songs Music controversies