"Dragostea din tei" (; Romanian: "Love From the

Linden Tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

") is a song recorded by Moldovan group O-Zone, released around July 2003 in Romania by Media Services as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from their third studio album '' DiscO-Zone'' (2003). It was written by band founder Dan Balan and produced by , with the latter eventually initiating an unsuccessful lawsuit where he claimed that his alleged contribution as a songwriter had remained uncredited. "Dragostea din tei", a 1980s-inspired

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

Eurodisco Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is a genre of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the middle 1970s, incorporating elements of pop music, pop and rock music, rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...

and

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

song, is performed in Romanian, with its lyrics about having

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

under trees according to Balan. Music critics have described the lyrics as nonsensical or as being about a phone conversation with a love interest. Alongside elements of camp, the track also prominently features a yodelling sequence. Reviewers have praised the catchy nature of "Dragostea din tei", while also noting that the song's melody and rhythm had a universal appeal in spite of the

language barrier A language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to communication, i.e. the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups originally speaking different languages (or different dialects in ...

imposed on international audiences by the use of the Romanian language. At the 2005 Echo Music Prize in Germany, "Dragostea din tei" won in the Single of the Year category. Commercially, it first topped the

Romanian Top 100 Multiple record charts have been inaugurated in Romania since the 1990s. The Romanian Top 100 was the country's national chart until 2012. Founded in 1995, it was a ranking based on the compilation of charts submitted by local Romanian radio stat ...

in late 2003 before attaining worldwide success throughout 2004 and into 2005, reaching number one in Austria,

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland, which was something unprecedented for a song in Romanian. Among others, it was

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

diamond by the French

Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique 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 ...

(SNEP) and quadruple

million 1,000,000 (one million), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pro ...

(RIAJ). It stands as one of the best-selling singles of all time with sales of over 12 million copies as of October 2007. Multiple observers have opined that the song's international success was fueled by a

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

cover released by Italy-based Romanian singer Haiducii in December 2003 by Universo. It first topped the Italian singles chart in early 2004 and eventually also reached number one in Austria and Sweden. Haiducii competed with O-Zone's original version in several territories, while also either impacting the charts before the original or outpeaking it in some regions. Haiducii's cover was involved in a controversy in which Balan claimed that it was released without his permission. The original "Dragostea din tei" was further popularized by a Japanese

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

video circulating on the Internet, which in turn inspired American vlogger Gary Brolsma to use the song in his video " Numa Numa Dance" in December 2004. Featuring him sitting in a chair in front of his computer and dancing to "Dragostea din tei" in a cheerful manner, the clip went viral, with it standing as one of the most-viewed Internet videos of all time and consolidating the song's status as a

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

. The original "Dragostea din tei" was accompanied by a music video directed by Dmitri Voloshin, which mainly sees the members of O-Zone in the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

of a plane, as well as dancing to the song inside it and on one of its

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

s. For further promotion the group also gave several live performances of the song in Europe, Russia and Japan. In the United States, Balan appeared on ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' to sing "Ma Ya Hi", an English language-version of "Dragostea din tei" released exclusively to that region as a collaboration between him and American musician Lucas Prata. Over the years "Dragostea din tei" has been used in several other works, which have experienced varying levels of commercial success. In 2008 American rapper

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

and Barbadian singer

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

and interpolated it in " Live Your Life", which topped the American and British charts. It was also interpolated in French DJ

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

and American band

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 2002. The lineup currently consists of Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, viola), Drew Brown (musician), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle ( ...

's successful 2024 single " I Don't Wanna Wait", among others. Furthermore, "Dragostea din tei" was featured in several films, including '' Chicken Little'' (2005) and '' Happy Feet Two'' (2011).

Background and writing

O-Zone is a Moldovan

Eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...

group established in 1999. In 2002, the band, which consisted of founder Dan Balan, Radu Sîrbu and

Arsenie Todiraș Arsenie Todiraș (sometimes spelt ''Toderaș''; born 22 July 1983) is a Moldovan singer, best known for representing Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. He grew up in Moldova with his mother, father and younger sister. He was once the ...

, moved to Romania where they found success with their singles "Numai tu" and " Despre tine". The latter reached number one on the

in February 2003. In April 2003, the group recorded the follow-up "Dragostea din tei" at the MOF Records studio with the assistance of . It was written and composed by Balan, while the production was handled by Popoiag; the latter also mastered the track.

Authorship dispute

Around September 2004, Popoiag filed a lawsuit against Balan and Media Services, the label that signed O-Zone, at the , claiming that he had not received credit for his alleged contribution as a composer of the song. Balan countersued for

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

, and won the case, with Popoiag ordered to award him 60 million ROL after failing to present evidence for his claims. Balan announced that he would donate the money to the winner of a songwriting competititon.

Release and marketing

"Dragostea din tei" was first released as the

from O-Zone's third studio album '' DiscO-Zone'' (2003) in Romania by local label Media Services. As part of an almost 100,000

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

-deal, it was eventually

license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

d to Italian label Time Records, who in turn authorized various labels in Europe to issue the song. Mentions of "Dragostea din tei" in Romanian media date back to at least July 2003, and its

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

was in August 2003. A CD of the song was released in Romania in 2003 by Cat Music, also containing the music videos of previous singles "Numai tu" and "Despre tine". Throughout 2004, "Dragostea din tei" was physically released in several other countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In France, the track was first released on 14 April 2004 and was aided by an

advertising campaign An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...

on local television channels and radio stations. The song received a similar treatment in Germany, with it additionally being advertised at half-time during soccer matches and O-Zone partnering with travel agencies. As part of the 2004 international

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

of "Despre tine", "Dragostea din tei" was featured as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

on CDs released in selected regions. Also in 2004, Ultra Records issued two 12-inch vinyls in the United States that included "Ma Ya Hi", an English language-version of "Dragostea din tei" featuring American musician Lucas Prata. This version was recorded in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy, and was written by both Balan and Prata. "Ma Ya Hi" included only Balan out of the other band members, and media reports speculated that this caused internal tensions within O-Zone. "Ma Ya Hi" was included on Prata's studio album ''Let's Get It On'' (2006), while a remixed version was featured on the American version of ''DiscO-Zone''. The original Romanian version of the song was digitally released in the United States on 22 June 2004 by Media Services, under the name of "Mai Ai Hee (Dragostea din tei)". In 2005, a CD of "Dragostea din tei" was issued in Japan by

Avex Trax is a record label owned by Japanese entertainment conglomerate Avex Inc. The label was launched in September 1990, and was the first label by the Group. History Two years after Max Matsuura began a career distributing studio albums from othe ...

, titled .

Composition and lyrics

"Dragostea din tei" is a

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 335px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist Party of ...

-inspired

, and

song, whose instrumentation features synthesized bass and what ''

Rolling Stone Australia ''Rolling Stone Australia'' is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...

'' described as "robotic stop-start rhythms". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' staff has described "Dragostea din tei" as a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

, while several other publications have pointed out elements of camp. The song is set in the key of

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic ...

and has a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 130 beats per minute (BPM). It follows a F-C-G-Am

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

. "Dragostea din tei" is performed in Romanian and mentions the

linden tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Bri ...

(Romanian: "tei"), which is commonly used in

Romanian literature Romanian literature () is the entirety of literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language or by any authors native to Romania. Early Romanian literature inc ...

. Throughout the song, its title is pronounced in an ambiguous way that could lead the listener to hear the phrase "Dragostea dintâi" (Romanian: "The first love"). While Balan has stated that the lyrics describe having

under trees, other publications have argued that they were nonsensical. '' The Believer'' Douglas Wolk called them "nonspecific", but elaborated that they were the lyrical subject's side of a phone conversation with their love interest. The former also mentions beeping the latter, which ' Pietro Minto pointed out as something emblematic of the "adolescent life in the early 2000s". During the song, O-Zone refer to themselves as

hajduk A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...

s and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

. In the English version, "hajduk" is replaced with

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, and Picasso is further referenced through the addition of lines such as "I will paint my words of love / With your name of every wall". The sequence "Ma-ia-hii, Ma-ia-huu, Ma-ia-hoo, Ma-ia-haha" is prominently yodeled at the beginning and during the track. Analyzing the delivery, Ulf Lippitz of ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' thought that Balan provided vocals similar to those found in old Romanian folk songs. In the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

, the words "nu mă, nu mă iei" (Romanian: "won't, won't take me") are repeated as the lyrical subject details their love interest wanting to leave them; this has been perceived as "numa numa yay" by foreign listeners, prompting "Dragostea din tei" to also be referred to as the "Numa Numa Song". In the English version of the track, this sequence is changed to "Oo-aa-oo-aa-ay", which Wolk criticized for not having the " baby-talk singability" of the original.

Critical reception

Music critics have praised the catchy nature of "Dragostea din tei", with ''The Believer'' Wolk writing that " ere's scarcely a second without some extraordinary

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

, starting with the wordless keening at the beginning". Alexis Petridis of ''

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 ...

'' opined that the song "wobbles unsteadily along the line that separates catchy from infuriating".

laut.de ''laut.de'' is a German online magazine covering music and entertainment. It was founded in Konstanz in 1996 by Rainer Henze Dana Dorian of '' Jurnalul'' echoed this thought, writing that the composition was "puerile and very predictable", meant for "the masses, ..regardless of the language they speak". She further called the voices "thin, not at all technical and studied", but concluded that "neither do they need more". Another topic of discussion among music critics was the nonsensical nature of the song's lyrics. While this was criticized by ''

Libertatea (; "Freedom") is a Romanian daily newspaper and online news website covering current affairs, entertainment, sports and lifestyle. It was founded on December 22, 1989 (12:45 p.m.), by Octavian Andronic, as "the first independent newspaper ...

'' Petre Dobrescu, who likened this aspect to the band's other work, Harald Peters of '' Die Tageszeitung'' regarded it as something that "Dragostea din tei" had in common with other worldwide hits such as " The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (2002) by the Spanish group Las Ketchup. Other reviewers opined that it did not matter for the success of "Dragostea din tei" that the lyrics were written in a foreign language because the song's melody and rhythm had a universal appeal that transcended

s. ''The Believer'' Wolk concluded that the song had a refrain "as big as an abandoned government building" which allowed "huge legions of drunk people osing easily o. Some critics saw "Dragostea din tei" as part of a trend where music by artists originating from the Eastern European countries in the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

, including Russian duo

t.A.T.u. t.A.T.u. (, ) were a Russian pop duo consisting of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The two started out as part of the children's musical group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with Russian reco ...

and Ukrainian singer Ruslana, would become popular across Europe. Lippitz of ''Der Spiegel'' opined that this was facilitated by the

2004 enlargement of the European Union The largest enlargement of the European Union (EU), in terms of number of states and population, took place on 1 May 2004. The simultaneous accessions concerned the following countries (sometimes referred to as the "A10" countries): Cyprus, ...

, which allowed said territories to be exposed to Western media and trends. Other reviewers have likened "Dragostea din tei" to works by Austrian singer DJ Ötzi, as well as to the song " Chihuahua" (2003) by Swiss musician DJ BoBo.

Accolades

Commercial performance

"Dragostea din tei" was a commercial success. As of October 2007, it has sold in excess of 12 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. Among several achievements, it stands as the third-most successful song of the 2000s in Germany, and as the fourth best-selling track of the 21st century in France with 1,170,000 copies moved as of September 2014. At one point, it was Japan's best-selling digital single with four million units sold until surpassed by "

Flavor of Life "Flavor of Life" is Hikaru Utada's 18th Japanese single (25th single overall). The physical single was officially released on February 28, 2007. Compared to the preceding singles following "Colors (Hikaru Utada song), Colors", "Flavor of Life" g ...

" by Japanese-American singer

Hikaru Utada , also known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese and American singer, songwriter, and producer. She is considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan. She is best known by international audiences for w ...

in 2007.

Initial domestic success in 2003 and international recognition in 2004

"Dragostea din tei" first attained commercial success in Romania, where it held the number-one position on the

for three weeks in September 2003, making it the band's second number-one after "Despre tine" earlier that year. By April 2004, "Dragostea din tei" had sold over 250,000 copies in Romania. In March 2004, the song reached number 17 on the

Italian singles chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) or the Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when ...

. One month later, it debuted at number one in Spain―the first country outside of Romania where the song received radio support―reclimbing to the chart's top position on two more occasions in May and June 2004. In April 2004, "Dragostea din tei" further topped the French chart, holding that spot for 15 consecutive weeks. At one point, five versions of the song were present in the top 20 in France—the original, a cover recorded by Romanian singer Haiducii, as well as the

parodies A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can als ...

"Ma cé ki? Massimo" by Italian media personality , "Le poulailler" by French radio show and "Argent-Argent" by French host Cauet and Mopral. "Dragostea din tei" was eventually

diamond in the region by

(SNEP). By June 2004, the song had shipped around 500,000 copies in Europe. From June to August 2004, it impacted several other territories. It reached number one in all

DACH ''trans''-1,2-Diaminocyclohexane is an organic compound with the formula C6H10(NH2)2. This diamine is a building block for ''C''2-symmetric ligands that are useful in asymmetric catalysis. A mixture of all three stereoisomers of 1,2-diaminocy ...

countries, holding that position for 14 weeks in Germany and Switzerland, and for 13 weeks in Austria. In Germany, it was certified double platinum by

Bundesverband Musikindustrie The ( English: Federal Music Industry Association), or simply BVMI, represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 280 labels and music industry related enterprises, which comprise 90% of the music i ...

(BVMI). In the Netherlands, the song topped the

Dutch Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

. "Dragostea din tei" was also successful in

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

, becoming a number-one hit in Norway and Denmark, as well as peaking at numbers two and three in Finland and Sweden, respectively. The song further topped ''

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

chart for 12 weeks, at one point being followed by Haiducii's version at number two and "Le poulailler" at number 18. "Dragostea din tei" peaked at numbers one, two and three in Ireland, Scotland and the United Kingdom, respectively, while a

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

ed version, the "Unu' in the Dub Mix", peaked at number nine on the radio airplay chart in the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS). The song topped the 2004 year-end charts in Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland, as well as the year-end list of the European Hot 100 Singles chart, among others.

Continued success in the United States and Japan in 2005

In the United States, the Lucas Prata version reached number 14 on ''Billboard''

Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance musi ...

chart at the end of August 2004, however it was not until March 2005 that the song peaked at number 16 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

, as well as at positions 69 and 72 on the

Digital Song Sales The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking so ...

and

Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles ...

rankings, respectively. As of that month, it had sold over 35,000 digital downloads in the region, and was eventually certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). In his book ''The Click Moment: Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World'', Frans Johansson attributed the song's mediocre performance in the United States to Ultra Records not having "the experience or resources to successfully market t, further noting that "Dragostea din tei" had been released there "at a time when

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 ...

-based club tracks were ebbing in popularity .. ndairwaves were dominated by R&B and

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

". According to Johansson, the song's resulting poor sales and radio performance were the reasons for Ultra Records pulling back all promotional efforts and cancelling plans to tour the United States. In Japan, the original version of "Dragostea din tei" peaked at number 72 on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard Single (music), singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track down ...

in June 2005, with the song being awarded quadruple

, platinum and gold certifications by the

(RIAJ) across multiple formats.

Virality

On the Japanese Internet

In Japan, an anonymous user nicknamed Ikari used "Dragostea din tei" in an

video that features a character that resembles Monā, a popular cat frequently illustrated with typed symbols by users on the Japanese

textboard A textboard is a simple kind of Internet forum; most textboards require neither registration nor entry of a screen name. Textboards, like imageboards, were invented in Japan, but they remain relatively unknown outside it, in contrast to imagebo ...

2channel , also known as 2ch, Channel 2, and sometimes retrospectively as 2ch.net, was an anonymous Japanese textboard founded in 1999 by Hiroyuki Nishimura. Described in 2007 as "Japan's most popular online community", the site had a level of influe ...

. During the clip, Romanian lyrics in the song are purposefully misheard as English or Japanese expressions—for example, "salut" (Romanian: "hello") is accompanied by an image of a "monkey" (Japanese: "saru"), while "fericirea" (Romanian: "happiness") is misheard as "looking up for a skirt" (Japanese: "

panchira is a Japanese language, Japanese word referring to a brief glimpse of a woman's underwear. The term carries sexual suggestiveness , risqué connotations, similar to the word upskirt in English. In anime and manga, ''panchira'' usually refers t ...

") and "nu mă, nu mă iei" as "drink, drink, yay" (Japanese: "noma, noma, yay"). The video became popular, prompting other similar clips to be created by fellow users globally. In response, O-Zone's Japanese label Avex Trax launched merchandise depicting what they called the "Noma neko" ("Noma cat").

"Numa Numa Dance"

Having reportedly come across the song through Ikari's video, American vlogger Gary Brolsma lip-synched to "Dragostea din tei" in a video that he posted to website

Newgrounds Newgrounds is an American entertainment website founded by Tom Fulp in 1995 and owned by Newgrounds.com, Inc. The site hosts user-generated content such as games, films, audio, and artwork. Fulp produces in-house content at the headquarters and ...

on 6 December 2004. Called " Numa Numa Dance", the clip sees Brolsma sitting in a chair in front of his computer and dancing to the song. Wren Graves of '' Consequence'' elaborated: "At times he is almost still, holding his mouth open wide or punctuating a musical moment with a perfectly-timed raised eyebrow. .. d then a sudden obliteration of matter — a solid man becoming pure, dancing air. Brolsma captures all the joy of the chorus with a sly humor and full commitment, ..pump nghis fists above his head". Shortly after, the video went viral, with reported views of 700 million as of November 2006, giving Brolsma mainstream media's coverage and inspiring several parodies and remakes. It is regarded as one of the most-watched Internet videos of all time, with "Dragostea din tei" consequently also becoming a

. Referring to this phenomenon as "numanumamania", ''The Believer'' Wolk wrote that Brolsma's video was "better advertising for ..'Dragostea din tei' than anything a record label could have paid for". Francesco Gerardi, writing for ''Rivista Studio'', opined that "Numa Numa Dance" was instrumental in the song's chart entrance in the United States.

Promotion

Music video

An accompanying music video for "Dragostea din tei", directed and animated by Dmitri Voloshin, was released in 2004 at the latest. The video opens with Todiraș stretching on a couch as elements of "Despre tine" play. Following this, shots of a fictional futuristic city from the "Numai tu" music video are shown, as well as of a magazine advertizing O-Zone's comeback paired with highlights of the "Despre tine" video. Subsequently, the group is shown running to the exit of a building and towards a plane. They enter its

and take off as "Dragostea din tei" starts playing. They are then seen dancing to the song on one of the airborne aircraft's

s, as well as dancing inside the plane and recording at a studio. All wear white pants and colorful shirts, with Todiraș and Balan's open to the waist and paired with suspenders and glasses. Computer-generated shots of the flying plane are also shown, with it having a built-in red "on air" sign and

engines An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

that turn into speakers. Various animated stills are briefly interspersed throughout the video, among others showing Balan as a

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...

competition, Balan and Todiraș in a laboratory with an alien or them as vampires,

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

, three men of different ethnicities dressed in traditional clothing in front of a dove with an olive branch, and the Moldovan flag. The song ends with an animated shot of the group members in front of a crashed plane in flames, followed by them leaving the site. The video then returns to the opening sequence with Todiraș on the couch as a mellower version of "Dragostea din tei" plays. Balan is seated next to him drawing on his pencil board, and all three members come together smiling to look at Balan's sketch. The clip ends with the reveal of the drawing, which is a

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...

of the music video. In her book ''New Media Literacies and Participatory Popular Culture Across Borders'', Bronwyn Williams likened the style of the animations to

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and called them "inexplicable", concluding that the video was "eminently forgettable". Minto of ''Rivista Studio'' called the clip "spectacular", although noting that the dance scenes were "out-of-context" and the special effects low quality and "botched". In the book ''Von Hora, Doina und Lăutaren'', Marina Cap-Bun elaborates on the possibility that the video alludes to the Zburător myth. In a 2017 interview, Balan retrospectively opined that the video had helped "Dragostea din tei" become a gay anthem, particularly because of the group's outfits and display of affection for each other.

Live performances

O-Zone performed "Dragostea din tei" in Germany in 2004 on the television show '' Wetten, dass..?'' on 3 July, twice on the local version of ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'', and on '' The Dome 30''. In France, the group performed the song on the show '' Hit Machine'', and further sang it during the fourth season of ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as '':nl:Starmaker (televisieprogramma), Star Maker''. Format There are many versions of the show, each country having its own sl ...

''. O-Zone also performed "Dragostea din tei" on the show '' Fabrika Zvyozd'' in Russia, and on ''Top of the Pops'' in the Netherlands. In 2005, the group sang the track on shows in Japan, including on ''

Music Station , stylised in all caps, is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently sy ...

'' and '' SMAPxSMAP'', and Balan also appeared with Prata to sing "Ma Ya Hi" on ''

'' in the United States. Before disbanding in 2005, O-Zone gave a performance of "Dragostea din tei" at the Romanian

Golden Stag Festival The Golden Stag Festival () is an international pop song contest, festival, and award show, held annually in the Piața Sfatului of Braşov, Romania. First held in 1968, the festival honors musical talents both in Romania and abroad. Non-Roman ...

in September 2005. They also performed it during their reunions for Europe Day on 9 May 2017 at University Square in Bucharest, and on the occasion of New Year's Eve at the Constitution Square in 2019 in the same city.

Legacy

"Dragostea din tei" is the first song in Romanian to have achieved international success. While ''Libertatea'' wrote that it had "done more for Romania's image than all politicians put together", Balan stated in an interview that, for him, "the greatest pride is the fact that epromoted the Romanian language". Paul Sexton of ''Billboard'' wrote how "Dragostea din tei" served as a "reminder of music's power to connect across borders", further noting that it "managed to convey uninhibited joy better than any phrase in the English language probably could". ''Rivista Studio'' Minto views the song's "conquest of the West ..in a language atypical of contemporary pop" as a "very rare event", likening it to the popularity of South Korean rapper

Psy Park Jae-sang (; born December 31, 1977), better known by his stage name Psy ( ; ), is a South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter, known domestically for his humorous music videos and stage performances and internationally for his hit singl ...

's 2012 single "

Gangnam Style "Gangnam Style" () is a K-pop song by South Korean singer Psy, released on July 15, 2012, by YG Entertainment as the lead single of his sixth studio album, ''Psy 6 (Six Rules), Part 1'' (''Ssai Yukgap Part 1''). The term "Gangnam Style" is a n ...

" performed in Korean. Minto further regards "Dragostea din tei" as a precursor to modern virality, writing that " e cultural diffusion of the song – and its mutation into a '

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

' – can be placed at a point of transition between /nowiki>Los del Río's 1993 single">Los_del_Río.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Los del Río">/nowiki>Los del Río's 1993 single'Macarena' – which exploded in a pre-mass Internet era – and 'Gangnam Style' – which instead blossomed on the now high crests of global Social media, social networks". Elaborating on the impact of "Dragostea din tei", ''The Believer'' Wolk opined that "not even the words but the sound of the recording renow part of the fabric of the Internet. It's bypassed the monolithic American entertainment industry to become a standard".

Listicles

Use in popular media

"Dragostea din tei" has been adapted in over 35 languages. The 2004 parodies "Le poulailler" by Le 6–9 and "Ma cé ki? Massimo" by Gargia were both top 10 hits in France and competed with the original version and Haiducii's cover on the charts there. In 2008, American rapper

and Barbadian singer

released " Live Your Life", which samples and interpolates "Dragostea din tei". The song became an international success, topping the US ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

and peaking at number two in the United Kingdom, among others. Balan covered the song in 2006 on "Sugar Tunes Numa Numa" with his rock band Balan, and in 2008 on "Numa Numa 2" for his project Crazy Loop as a B-side to the single " Mm-ma-ma". He also used the refrain of "Dragostea din tei" on the identically named, but unrelated "Numa Numa 2" featuring American singer Marley Waters in 2018. In 2024, French DJ

and American band

interpolated "Dragostea din tei" on their single " I Don't Wanna Wait", which reached the top 20 in multiple territories including Germany and the United Kingdom. Acts such as 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 ...

and American band Bloodhound Gang have covered or parodied "Dragostea din tei" live, with the song also having been covered by various artists on '' Your Face Sounds Familiar'' internationally. The original or alternative versions of "Dragostea din tei" have been used in multiple films, including in '' Chicken Little'' (2005) for a reported payment of one million

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

, '' Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo'' (2005), '' Happy Feet Two'' (2011), and '' It's Only the End of the World'' (2016), as well as throughout the telenovela ''

Triunfo del amor ''Triunfo del amor'' (English title: ''Triumph of Love'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Salvador Mejía Alejandre for Televisa. It is a remake of the 1998 telenovela '' El privilegio de amar'', which itself is a remake of the 1985 Venezue ...

'' (2010–2011), and the series ''

Stargate Universe ''Stargate Universe'' (often abbreviated as ''SGU'') is a military science fiction drama television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the An ...

'' (2009–2011). The song was furthermore included on the dance video game '' Just Dance 2017'', as well as used for commercials by companies such as Yakult, ''

Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe The (German: 'Berlin Transport Company') is the main public transport company of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It manages the city's (underground), trams in Berlin, tram, bus transport in Berlin, bus, replacement services (EV) and fe ...

'' (BVG), Lazada, AliExpress, and Ant Bank.

Track listings

*Romanian CD single #"Dragostea din tei" – 3:33 #" Despre tine" (Unu' in the Mix) – 7:38 #"Dragostea din tei" (Unu' in the Dub Mix) – 3:39 #"Numai tu" (Music video) – 4:10 #"Despre tine" (Music video) – 3:53 *DACH CD single #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Unu' in the Dub Mix) – 3:39 #"Dragostea din tei" (Music video) – 4:46 *European and Swedish CD single 1 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 *European CD single 2 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:35 *French CD single 1 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Unu' in the Dub Mix) – 3:39 *French CD single 2 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (Nectar Remix) – 5:57 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Spike Norton Tekmix) – 6:37 #"Dragostea din tei" (Almighty Mix) – 7:00 *French 12-inch single 1 #"Dragostea din tei" (Nectar Remix) – 5:57 #"Dragostea din tei" (Spike Norton Flymix) – 6:34 #"Dragostea din tei" (Spike Norton Tekmix) – 6:37 #"Dragostea din tei" (Almighty Mix) – 7:00 *French 12-inch single 2 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (Acapella) – 3:30 *German CD single #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Unu' in the Dub Mix) – 3:39 *German mini CD and UK CD single 2 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 *Italian, Mexican, Dutch and Spanish CD single,
and Swedish CD single 3 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Unu' in the Dub Mix) – 3:39 *Italian 12-inch single #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (Unu' in the Dub Mix) – 3:39 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 *Spanish 12-inch single #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 *Swedish CD single 2 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Aligator vs. CS-Jay Radio Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Aligator vs. CS-Jay Club Version) – 6:04 *UK CD single 1 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (Almighty Mix) – 6:58 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Unu' in the Dub Mix) – 3:39 #"Dragostea din tei" (Almighty Dub) – 6:01 *UK 12-inch single #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Almighty Mix) – 6:58 #"Dragostea din tei" (Almighty Dub) – 6:01 *US 12-inch single 1 #"Ma Ya Hi" (featuring Lucas Prata) – 3:36 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Romanian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:15 *US 12-inch single 2 #"Ma Ya Hi" (featuring Lucas Prata) alentin Remix Club Version– 6:38 #"Ma Ya Hi" (featuring Lucas Prata) – 3:37 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Italian Version) – 3:33 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Radio Remix) – 4:16 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:23 *Japanese CD single #"Dragostea din tei" – 3:39 #"Dragostea din tei" (Overhead Champion Remix) – 6:46 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Kaya & DJ Kousuke Remix) – 5:40 #"Dragostea din tei" (Eurobeat Remix) – 4:09 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross Extended Remix) – 6:23 *Japanese 12-inch single #"Dragostea din tei" (Overhead Champion Remix) – 6:46 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Kaya & DJ Kousuke Remix) – 5:40 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Version) – 3:39 #"Dragostea din tei" (Eurobeat Remix) – 4:09 *Other official digital versions #"Dragostea din tei" (Crystal Mix) – 3:45 #"Dragostea din tei" (Seb Version) – 3:53 #"Ma Ya Hi" (featuring Lucas Prata) alentin Radio Edit– 3:34 #"Dragostea din tei" (Ole Ed Remix) – 2:52 #"Dragostea din tei" (Radu Sirbu Remix) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (W&W Remix) – 2:54 #"Dragostea din tei" (Besomorph & It's Different Remix) – 2:08

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Haiducii version

Background and composition

Italy-based Romanian singer Paula Monica Mitrache recorded a cover of "Dragostea din tei" after having been advised to do so by her label Universo, although she had initially opposed to the idea. Her stage name, Haiducii, was inspired by the mention of hajduks in the song. The cover was produced and mixed by Max Minoia at MM Studio in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, and features uncredited vocals by Italian singer Vittorio Centrone, who notably provides the "Ma-ia-hii, Ma-ia-huu, Ma-ia-hoo, Ma-ia-haha" sequence. This

version was reframed as a conversation between a man and a woman, which Francesco Gerardi of ''Rivista Studio'' likened to "" (1974) by Italian singer Claudia Mori.

Release

"Dragostea din tei" was serviced as Haiducii's debut single in December 2003 in Italy by Universo. It was physically released in various countries throughout 2004, including in France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United States. The CDs and vinyls all included a remix produced by Italian DJ and group Eiffel 65 member Gabry Ponte. A remix EP was made available for digital download on 3 August 2004 in various countries. In 2005, a CD was released in Taiwan by Avex Trax under the title of ("Mai A Hi"), featuring cartoon characters on its cover that were used to promote the song in the region. "Dragostea din tei" was eventually included on Haiducii's sole studio album, ''Paula Mitrache in Haiducii'' (2008). A remix, titled "Dragostea din tei 2k13", was released in 2012, featuring the contribution of Eiffel 65 lead vocalist Jeffrey Jey alongside Ponte. On 11 August 2023, Haiducii issued a solo re-recording of the song for its 20th anniversary.

Commercial performance

In several territories, Haiducii's version of "Dragostea din tei" impacted the charts before O-Zone's original, including in Germany, Italy, Spain, and France. It debuted atop the Italian singles chart in January 2004 with 200,000 copies sold, outpeaking the original. Significantly aided by the Gabry Ponte remix, the song claimed the top position for a total of six weeks and remained within the top 10 for over four months. In March 2004, Haiducii's version debuted and peaked at number four in Spain, following which she reached numbers one and two in Austria and France, respectively, in April. The track also reached number two in

in May 2004, being held from number one by the original. In June 2004, the cover peaked at number two in Germany—behind by the original—and Switzerland, as well as number four in Norway and number six in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

. Throughout July, it ranked behind O-Zone's original at number two on the European Hot 100 Singles chart, while also peaking at numbers four, five and seven in the Netherlands, Denmark and Hungary, respectively. In Sweden, Haiducii topped the chart in August, outcharting the original. It held the top spot for five consecutive weeks and spent five months in the top ten. For the year of 2004, Haiducii's version of "Dragostea din tei" ended within the top 10 of the best-performing singles in Austria, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, as well as on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. It was further awarded gold certifications in Austria, Belgium, France, Sweden and Switzerland. As of February 2021, the song has sold one million copies in Europe.

Promotion

An accompanying music video was released in 2004 at the latest. It opens with a man entering a hotel room and throwing himself on the bed. He then proceeds to walk through the room and the hallway of the hotel seemingly confused and in search of something. Haiducii, meanwhile sitting in another room, is watching him on a TV that shows the footage of a surveillance camera. The man ultimately finds a hidden camera and walks to Haiducii's room, which is now empty. He watches the footage on the aforementioned TV, which now depicts her leaving through the hallway in a red fur outfit. The video often has its screen

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

in four, and includes interspersed shots of Haiducii dancing to the song wearing different dresses. For further promotion, Haiducii performed the song as a musical guest at the Italian Sanremo Music Festival 2004 on 4 March 2004, as well as on the local version of ''Top of the Pops''. She also sang "Dragostea din tei" in Germany on '' Interaktiv'', as well as in France on '. In 2020, she appeared on ' in Germany. In 2023, she performed on '' ZDF-Fernsehgarten'' in the same region on 7 May, as well as on ' in Italy on 27 September. Haiducii further made an appearance during Centrone's audition on the Italian version of '' The Voice Senior'' in 2024 to sing the song with him.

Dispute over legality and impact on the original version

In February 2004, Balan claimed that, although he had been credited as a songwriter, Haiducii's cover was released without his permission. He threatened to sue Haiducii and Universo if they would not pull back her version. According to Balan, they had relied on an Italian law which they alleged allowed the release of covers. However, he concluded that such a law did not exist and would not apply to Haiducii, a Romanian citizen, as well as not to "Dragostea din tei", which had been recorded in Romania first. Gerardi of ''Rivista Studio'' wrote that Haiducii "didn't even ask permission" for her cover, but concluded that this was "a practice that was still legal at that time". In a 2016 interview, Haiducii said that no legal action had been taken against her cover. Multiple observers argued that Haiducii's cover was a key factor in bringing international attention to the original version. ''Rivista Studio'' Gerardi wrote: " n 2003, 'Dragostea din tei' by O-Zonehad achieved a fair amount of success in Romania and Moldova, only to then be forgotten along with many of the things that happen in the summer. But ..Universo ..did not miss the commercial potential of the song. .. fter Haiducii's success, Balancalled all the people he knew in the music industry to find one who would reissue he original'Dragostea din tei' and give the single global distribution". According to media reports, Haiducii's success was also the reason why O-Zone postponed their intended disbandment in December 2003. Balan saw the coexistence of Haiducii's cover as an impediment in commercializing the original version internationally, since O-Zone " adto convince other labels ..that the original song belong dto

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

Other usage

A version of the song titled "Maya Hi, Maya Hu" credited to Swedish animated character Crazy Frog was released in 2009. In 2019, Haiducii and Catholic pastor Don Allessandrou Cosu published "Parliamo di Gesú" ("Let's Talk About Jesus") on YouTube, which is an alternate version of "Dragostea din tei" with rewritten religious lyrics. The accompanying music video, which was filmed in a church, went viral on Italian social media in 2021. In June 2023, Caffellatte and Haiducii released "Troppo Chic (Dragostea din tei)", which uses portions of "Dragostea din tei" that Haiducii re-recorded. She also took part in promotional endeavours for the song on television.

Track listings

*Austrian, Italian, Dutch, US and Taiwanese CD single,
and Swedish CD single 1 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Mix) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Radio Version) – 3:42 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Extended Version) – 6:30 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the Club Remix) – 6:22 *Belgian and French CD single #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Mix) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Radio Version) – 3:42 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the Radio Remix) – 4:15 *French 12-inch single #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the Club Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Extended Version) – 6:30 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Mix) – 3:35 *German CD single 1 and Swiss CD single #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Mix) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Radio Version) – 3:42 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Extended Version) – 6:30 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the Club Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Potatoheadz Club Mix) – 6:55 #"Spring" – 7:17 *German CD single 2 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Mix) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Extended Version) – 6:30 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Friki Remix) – 5:17 #"Dragostea din tei" (Karaoke Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Music Video) – 3:35 #Kultvideo von DJ Friki – 2:21 *Italian 12-inch single #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Extended Version) – 6:30 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Radio Version) – 3:42 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the Club Remix) – 6:22 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Mix) – 3:35 *Spanish CD single #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Radio Version) – 3:42 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the Radio Remix) – 4:15 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Extended Version) – 6:31 #"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the Club Remix) – 6:22 *Sweden CD single 2 #"Dragostea din tei" (Original Version) – 3:35 #"Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte Radio Version) – 3:42 *Other official digital versions #"Dragostea din tei 2k13" (Gabry Ponte featuring Haiducii and Jeffrey Jey) adio Edit– 3:26 #"Dragostea din tei 2k13" (Gabry Ponte featuring Haiducii and Jeffrey Jey) xtended– 4:52 #"Dragostea din tei 2k13" (Gabry Ponte featuring Haiducii and Jeffrey Jey) lien Cut & Dino Brown Radio Remix– 3:38 #"Dragostea din tei 2k13" (Gabry Ponte featuring Haiducii and Jeffrey Jey) lien Cut & Dino Brown Remix– 5:46 #"Dragostea din tei" (with Dual Beat and Mr. Frog) uture Rave Extended Mix– 5:30 #"Dragostea din tei" (with Dual Beat and Mr. Frog) uture Rave Radio Mix– 3:18

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Notes

References

Background and writing

Authorship dispute

Release and marketing

Composition and lyrics

Critical reception

Accolades

Commercial performance

Initial domestic success in 2003 and international recognition in 2004

Continued success in the United States and Japan in 2005

Virality

On the Japanese Internet

"Numa Numa Dance"

Promotion

Music video

Live performances

Legacy

Listicles

Use in popular media

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Haiducii version

Background and composition

Release

Commercial performance

Promotion

Dispute over legality and impact on the original version

Other usage

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

See also

Notes

References