Ester Alexandra Crețu (; born 21 July 1993), known professionally as Ester Peony (formerly only Ester), is a Romanian singer and songwriter. She represented Romania in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "
On a Sunday" after winning the selection show ''
Selecția Națională 2019''. However, she failed to qualify for the Grand Final in Tel Aviv. Peony started to compose music for Romanian artists before gaining recognition for posting covers on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
in 2015. Later that year, she attained commercial success in Romania with her single "Sub aripa ta" featuring Vescan.
Early life
Ester Alexandra Crețu
was born in
Câmpulung, Romania on 21 July 1993.
She and her parents emigrated to
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Canada in 2001.
There, she showed a particular interest in music and started studying
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
singing at the age of eight.
Peony relocated to Romania four years later and graduated from the
Dinu Lipatti High School of Art in
Pitești
Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...
, where she studied classic singing and classic guitar.
In 2013, she enrolled at the Music Interpretation Faculty 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 ...
to study jazz.
Career
Peony released her debut single "Cuminte de Crăciun" under her
mononym
A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person.
A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...
Ester in late 2014.
At the same time, she had been composing music for other Romanian artists.
In 2015, she started posting covers on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. The cover videos gained her attention, and she was subsequently offered a record deal with a Romanian label.
Later that year, Peony released the song "Sub aripa ta", featuring Romanian rapper Vescan. The song was played on radio and television stations across the country. In 2016, she embarked on her first tour with Vescan.
The singer changed her stage name to Ester Peony and
independently distributed her debut
EP ''Dig It'' in May 2018,
for which she was also one of the main composers.
In February 2019,
Romanian Television
Televiziunea Română (), more commonly referred to as TVR , is the short name for Societatea Română de Televiziune ("Romanian Television Society"; SRTV), the Romanian public television. It operates nine channels: TVR 1, TVR 2, TVR 3, TV ...
(TVR) announced her as the Romanian representative for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, Israel, after she won the selection show ''
Selecția Națională
Romania has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 23 times since its debut in , and has placed in the top ten six times. Its best results were achieved with "Let Me Try" by Luminița Anghel and Sistem in , and "Playing with Fire (Paul ...
'' with her song "
On a Sunday".
The announcement was met with mixed reactions from the public. In 2019, TVR were able to spend significant amounts on their Eurovision entry for the first time; they spent about 100,000 euros on the visual and special effects in the performance.
Romania failed to qualify for the Eurovision Grand Final as their second consecutive—and second overall—non-qualification, placing 13th with 71 points.
During her Eurovision time, Peony had signed a record deal with
Cat Music, and is currently working on her debut studio album.
She performed at the 2019
Golden Stag Festival.
Influences and personal life
Peony cites
Delia,
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
,
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
,
Cher
Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
,
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
,
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
and
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
as some of her musical inspirations.
Her stage name refers to the
peony
The peony or paeony () is any flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'', the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguish ...
flower. In
Romanian, "peony" translates to "bujor", which refers to part of her mother's name.
The singer has been in a relationship with Alexandru Șerbu since about 2013; Șerbu acted as producer for "On a Sunday". Peony is a
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
.
Discography
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peony, Ester
21st-century Romanian singers
21st-century Romanian women singers
English-language singers from Romania
1993 births
Living people
Romanian women pop singers
Romanian singer-songwriters
Romanian expatriates in Canada
People from Câmpulung
Eurovision Song Contest entrants