Hold on a second—what does a fantastic US TV show have to do with the music scene from the land of Dracula?

It does.

Indeed, this is arguably the standout success story for Romania’s music industry in 2023.

On 21 May 2023, the night of the finale, the last song of the competition – the one sung by winner Iam Tongi – was “I’ll be seeing you”, produced by Romanians Florin Boka (Feenom) and Roland Kiss, alongside the great Oak Felder.

The production team of Feenom, Roland and Oak is made possible through Romdrops – a partnership where one of the members is Hahaha Production, the production house (and label) founded by Romanian pop star Smiley in 2008.

The story of Romdrops coming together involves the deal being sealed in Dracula’s castle, and also has the giant Milk & Honey talent management company as a partner. It also means a breakthrough at global level for super talented Romanian producers and songwriters.

In the words of Șerban Cazan – another super producer in Romdrops and longtime friend of Smiley – Romania will soon become a second Sweden in terms of music exports (approx. quote from the Industria Muzicală podcast episode).

So how did the song do after that faithful night in May 2023?

It did (and still does) great and served as the artist’s debut in Billboard charts. Due to Tongi’s Polynesian fanbase (he was born in Hawaii), music produced by two Romanian guys is charting today on streaming services in places like Fiji, Tonga and Nauru.

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