In the Zone: O-Zone and "Dragostea Din Tei"

We go a bit pop in our random tune with Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone. O-Zone was a Moldovan-Romanian pop trio formed in 1999 in Moldova. They moved to Bucharest in 2002 and became an instant hit with their first single. Their second single, this song, was a hit in Romania and faded from attention, but then an Italian group covered the song without permission and saw success with it. The cover led to more interest in O-Zone, and the re-release of O-Zone's version became a smash hit in Europe. Americans learned of the song through the YouTube video Numa Numa Dance, but only knew of the song as the Numa Numa song. In 2005, O-Zone disbanded due to personal reasons at the height of their popularity. Around this time, the group's major hit CD DiscO-Zone was released in Japan, and the song and album enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in that country. Dragostea Din Tei (Beneath the Linden Trees) can be found on O-Zone's 2004 DiscO-Zone.