Andrei Tiberiu Maria (Romanian pronunciation: [anˈdrej tiˈberju maˈri.a]; born 27 July 1983), better known by his stage name Smiley, is a Romanian singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and television presenter, from Pitești. He was part of the pop groups Simplu (2001–2011) and Radio Killer (2009–2015). As a solo artist, Smiley started in 2007 and has become one of Romania's biggest pop artists, archiving 14 number ones and more than 30 Top20 singles.[2]

Smiley
Smiley performing at Hard Rock Cafe Bucharest in 2022
Smiley performing at Hard Rock Cafe Bucharest in 2022
Background information
Birth nameAndrei Tiberiu Maria
Born (1983-07-27) 27 July 1983 (age 41)
Pitești, Romania
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • actor
  • television presenter
Years active2001–present
Labels
Spouse
(m. 2023)
[1]
Websitesmiley.ro
Children1

In 2013, he won "Best Romanian Act" during the MTV Europe Music Awards held in Amsterdam.[3][4] He had been nominated as a solo act three times for the same award in 2008, 2009 and 2011 and twice in 2006 and 2007 as part of Simplu. He is part of the Romanian Euro-House project Radio Killer where he is known as Killer 1. As of November 2013, he is the new Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Romania.[5]

He is also a television personality, having hosted Românii au talent (2011–present) and being a coach in Vocea României (2011–present).

History

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Smiley in 2016.

He started in music at a very young age. For three years he was part of the Romanian group Millenium 3[6] and was noted by Gyuri Pascu as a potential star. He also tried for the band Akcent in a bid to join the band.

Simplu

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After an invitation by CRBL, he joined the singing and dancing band Simplu (stylized as SIMPLU). The members were CRBL, Smiley, OmuNegru, Piticu, Francezu and Taz. Because of his reported cheerful attitude, he was nicknamed Smiley by the band, a name he adopted for his career, soon becoming the frontman of the band, at the same time developing a solo career.[7]

Simplu released five studio albums with Smiley: Oare știi (2002), Zece (2004), RMX Simplu (2006), Oficial îmi merge bine (2006) and "Dance or die trying" (2011) in addition to the compilation Simplu Best Of. In 2008, Smiley and Simplu won "Best show" during the dance program Istoria Dansului. In 2007–2008, he was also in the TV series One Step Ahead as Sebastian 'Seba' Novinski and subject of lead role in the 2008 film Un film simplu directed by Tom Gatsoulis.[8]

Radio Killer

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Smiley has also formed the Romanian Euro-House project Radio Killer launched through an initiative of Smiley[9] and his HaHaHa Production company.[10] Radio Killer is made up of seven members:

  • Killer 1: Smiley[11][12]
  • Killer 2: EleFunk (Serban-Ionut Cazan)
  • Killer 3: CellBlock
  • Killer 4: Karie
  • Killer 5: Boogie Man (Don Baxter)
  • Killer 6: Crocodealer (Alex Velea)
  • The Real Killer: Paul Damixie

The group released the single "Be Free" in 2010 on Blanco Y Negro label, the international release "Lonely Heart" on various labels in Romania, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and Sweden in 2011 and "Don't Let The Music End" on EMI in 2012. The band also enjoys popularity in Russia.[13] In 2013, Radio Killer released a joint EP Clothes Off with Francesco Diaz & Young Rebels with various mixes of their hit "Clothes Off".

Others ventures

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Smiley headlining no. 4 of the "MyBand" magazine alongside his then-time girlfriend, Laura Cosoi.
 
Smiley headlining no. 8 of the "MyBand" magazine alongside Justin Timberlake.

Acting

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In 2008, he had the lead role in the comedy Un film simplu by director Tom Gatsoulis.[14] The comedy inspired by the group Simplu and Smiley's career, is about the difficult choices Smiley had to make: his bandmates and friends or international fame as he is confronted by an American talent scout who is offering him a lucrative deal provided he quits his band, Simplu. The band members realize what's going on and they don't like it.[15]

Television

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Smiley has been a television personality co-hosting the TV show Românii au talent with Pavel Bartoș for eight consecutive seasons,[16][17][18] starting with the inaugural season 1 in 2011.

He was also invited as a presiding judge in Vocea României, the Romanian version of the international music competition franchise The Voice.[6] Ştefan Stan from Team Smiley won the first ever title in Romania for season 1 of the show.[19][20] Ştefan Stan released his debut album Povestea mea with Smiley's production HaHaHa productions; releasing "You Give Me Love" written by his coach Smiley[21] before signing a deal with Universal Music Romania.

Discography

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Studio albums

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List of studio albums
Title Album details Certifications
În lipsa mea[22]
Plec pe Marte[24]
  • Released: 30 March 2010
  • Format: CD, digital download
  • Label: Cat Music
Acasă[25]
Confesiune[26]
List of EPs
Title Album details
Mai Mult De-O Viață[27]
  • Released: 17 February 2022
  • Format: Digital download
  • Label: Cat Music

Singles

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As lead artist

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List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
ROM
[28]
BUL
[29]
CIS
[30]
"În Lipsa Mea"
(featuring Uzzi)
2007 3 În lipsa mea
"Designed to Love You" 2008 29
"Preocupat Cu Gura Ta" 8
"Am Bani de Dat"
(featuring Alex Velea, Don Baxter and Marius Moga)
11
"Plec pe Marte"
(featuring Cheloo)
2010 3 Plec pe Marte
"Love Is for Free"[31]
(featuring Pacha Man)
1 12
"Dream Girl"[32] 2011 1 33
"Dead Man Walking"[33] 2012 1 2 Acasă
"Cai Verzi pe Pereți"[34]
(featuring Alex Velea and Don Baxter)
1 Non-album singles
"Dincolo de Cuvinte"[35]
(featuring Alex Velea)
2013 3
"Acasă"[36] 1 Acasă
"Criminal"[37]
(featuring Kaan)
13
"Nemuritori" 2014 30
"I Wish" 13
"Oarecare"[38] 2015 1 Non-album singles
"Insomnii"[39] 2016 6 Confesiune
"Îndrăgostit (Deși n-am Vrut)"[40] 5
"De Unde Vii la Ora Asta?" 2017 1
"Ce Mă Fac Cu Tine de Azi?"
(featuring Guess Who)
1
"Vals"
(featuring Feli)
1
"Aprinde Scânteia"
(featuring Dorian)
2018 4 Non-album singles
"Jumătate"[41]
(featuring Sore)
2019 4
"Song About Nothing"[42] 35
"My Love"[43] 9
"Ce Mai Faci, Străine?"[44] 2020 1
"Va fi Bine"[45] 59
"Ne Vedem Noi"[46]"
(featuring Delia)
1
"Lasa Inima să Zbiere"[47]
(featuring Killa Fonic)
2021 4
"Noi Doi si Noaptea"[48] 6
"Rita"[49]
(featuring Connect-R)
1
"Purtat De Vânt"[50] 2022 3 172 Mai Mult De-O Viață
"Scumpă Foc"[51]
(featuring Juno)
1 79 Non-album singles
"Aia E"[52] 2023 1
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
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List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
ROM
[28]
"Îmi Place La Tine Tot"
(Corina featuring Smiley and Don Baxter)
2005 10 Îmi place... Tot!
"Secretul Mariei"
(Delia featuring Smiley)
2006 Listen Up!
"Hooky Song"[53]
(Andreea Bănică featuring Smiley)
2008 8 Best of Andreea Bănică
"Dangeros”
(Connect-R featuring Smiley)
Dacă Dragostea Dispare
"Da-o Tare"
(Cabron featuring Smiley and Guess Who)
2013 3 Lupu' DPM
"Statul"
(Don Baxter featuring Smiley)
2014 53 Non-album singles
"Sexual”
(Dorian featuring Smiley)
2015
"Pierdut Buletin"
(DOC & Motzu featuring Smiley)
7 DOC & Motzu în HD
"În Stație la Lizeanu (Domnișoară Domnișoară)"
(Damian & Brothers featuring Smiley)
2016 10 Gypsy Rock: Change or Die
"Lumea Noua"
(Grasu XXL featuring Smiley)
2017 Non-album singles
"The Dreamers”
(Markus Schulz featuring Smiley)
2019 We Are the Light
"Ai Grija de Femeia Ta"
(Marius Moga featuring Smiley)
70 Non-album singles
"Sâmbătă Seara"
(ADDA featuring Smiley)
2020 5
"Uită-mă"
(Emilian featuring Smiley)
"Doar Vina Ta"[54]
(Andra featuring Smiley)
2022 1
"Copacul"[55]
(Spike featuring Smiley)
2023
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Promotional singles

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Title Year Album
"10 Minutes"[56]
(with Feli)
2014 Non-album singles
"Cine-i Salvează pe Eroi?"[57]
(featuring Cabron)
2020
"Adeline"[58]
"Până la Tine"[59] 2021
"Fizz Up"[60]
"Până Când"[61]
"Nu Mai Exista Dup-aia"[62]
"Colecționarea"[63] 2022
"Neintenționat"[64]
(with Emilian and Juno)
2023
"Pata"[65]
(with Mario Fresh and RENVTØ)

Other appearances

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Title Year Other artists Album
"Cu Fuioru" 2014 Pavel Bartoș Best of Românii au Talent Sezonul 4
"Fii Tot Ce Poți"[66] 2022 Șatra B.E.N.Z. Legații
"Și Astăzi, Și Mâine"[67] Horia Moculescu
"Ramon" 2023 Pavel Bartoș Ramon

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Dancing with the Stars Romania Contestant Season 2
2007–2008 Cu un Pas Înainte Sebastian "Seba" Novinski Main role
2011–present Românii au talent Presenter
2011–present Vocea României Judge / Coach
2019 101 Dalmatian Street Dylan (singing voice only) Romanian dub[68]
2021 SuperStar România Judge

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2011 Nașa Priest Andrei
2013 Oldschool Renegades Himself
2014 Selfie Pepenar "Pepe"
2016 Storks Toady (voice) Romanian dub[69]
2018 Smallfoot Percy (voice) Romanian dub[70]
2019 Oh, Ramona! Police
2022 Odată Pentru Totdeauna Alex Zota
Legații Răzvan
2023 Ramon Tom

Awards and nominations

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  • 2006 and 2007: Nominated as part of Simplu[71] (twice)
  • 2008, 2009 and 2011: Nominated as a solo act[72] (three times)
  • 2013: Won "Best Romanian Act"[72][73] (once)

References

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  1. ^ Stamen, Diana (27 May 2023). "Smiley și Gina Pistol s-au căsătorit. Totul despre nunta lor. Cum arată locația în care vor petrece alături de cei 300 de invitați". Libertatea (in Romanian). Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Smiley | Artist | Compozitor | Producator". Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  3. ^ "VIDEO Loredana, Antonia, Corina, Smiley şi What's Up, propunerile României pentru MTV Europe Music Awards". Adevarul.ro. 16 September 2013. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  4. ^ "MTV Romania". Facebook.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  5. ^ "UNICEF Romania: Smiley is the new UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Romania". Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Vocea României – Smiley page". Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  7. ^ Cosmopolitan Romania: Smiley, un tip simplu Archived 15 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine (in Romanian)
  8. ^ "Urban.ro: Pareri despre "Un Film Simplu"". 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  9. ^ "EXCLUSIV Radio Killer, trupa care a spart topurile din Marea Britanie: "Ne-am propus să facem numai hituri"". Eva.ro. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Discogs.com: radio KIller page". Discogs. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  11. ^ de, Scris (23 January 2010). "Cine mai face parte din Radio Killer". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  12. ^ de, Scris (3 August 2010). "Radio Killer @ Europa Plus Live". Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  13. ^ "UTV.ro: Radio Killer – adorati de 300.000 de fani rusi". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  14. ^ Un film simplu official website Archived 14 May 2014 at archive.today
  15. ^ "Un film simplu (2008)A". Cinemagia. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  16. ^ "TvBlog | Carti - Filme si Seriale". TvBlog. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  17. ^ MailOnline: Afla cum se inteleg in realitate Pavel Bartos si Smiley! Archived 15 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine (in Romanian)
  18. ^ "PRO TV se imbarbateaza cu statistici | Ziarul National". 6 May 2014. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Știri de ultimă oră și ultimele știri online". Gândul. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  20. ^ Iasi, Ziarul de. "Renunţă Smiley să mai fie jurat la Vocea României?". Ziaruldeiasi.ro. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  21. ^ de, Scris (17 January 2012). "Primul single Stefan Stan - You Give Me Love (feat Alex Velea)". Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  22. ^ "În Lipsa Mea". iTunes Store. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Discul de Aur pentru Smiley" [Gold award for Smiley]. Libertatea (in Romanian). 13 July 2009. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Plec pe Marte". iTunes Store. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Acasă". iTunes Store. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Confesiune". iTunes Store. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Mai mult de-o viață". iTunes Store. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  28. ^ a b For peak positions in Romania:
    • "Cai verzi pe pereti": "Archived copy". s3.cdn.adworks.ro. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
    • "Oarecare": "Not Found". api.kissfm.ro. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  29. ^ "Charts Bulgaria". aCharts.co. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  30. ^ "Smiley - Russian charts". TopHit (in Russian). Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  31. ^ "Love is For Free". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  32. ^ "Dream Girl". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  33. ^ "Dead Man Walking". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  34. ^ "Cai Verzi Pe Pereti (feat. Don Baxter)". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  35. ^ "Dincolo de Cuvinte". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  36. ^ "Acasă". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  37. ^ "Criminal". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  38. ^ "Oarecare". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  39. ^ "Insomnii". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  40. ^ "Îndrăgostit". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  41. ^ "Jumătate (feat. Smiley) - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  42. ^ "Song About Nothing". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  43. ^ "My Love". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  44. ^ "Ce Mai Faci, Străine?". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  45. ^ "Va fi Bine". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  46. ^ "Ne Vedem Noi". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  47. ^ "Lasa inima să zbiere". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  48. ^ "Noi Doi si Noaptea". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  49. ^ "Rita". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  50. ^ "Purtat De Vant". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  51. ^ "Scumpă Foc". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  52. ^ "Aia E". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  53. ^ "Hooky Song". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  54. ^ "Doar Vina Ta". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  55. ^ "Copacul". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  56. ^ "10 Minutes". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  57. ^ "Cine-i salvează pe eroi?". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  58. ^ "Adeline". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  59. ^ "Până la Tine". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  60. ^ "Fizz Up". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  61. ^ "Până Când". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  62. ^ "Nu mai exista dup-aia". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  63. ^ "Colecționarea". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  64. ^ "Neintenționat". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  65. ^ "Pata". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  66. ^ "Fii Tot Ce Poți". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  67. ^ "Și Astăzi, Și Mâine". iTunes. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  68. ^ "Smiley, fugărit de căței într-un nou videoclip, dedicat copiilor". Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  69. ^ "Smiley, intr-o ipostaza nebanuita. Artistul debuteaza in dublajul de film cu animatia "Berzele"". Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  70. ^ "Aventurile lui Smallfoot" debutează pe primul loc în box office-ul românesc". 30 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  71. ^ "DJ Project a castigat premiul Best Romanian Act la MTV European Music Awards". Business24.ro. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  72. ^ a b "B1.ro: Smiley este marele câștigător al "Best Romanian Act": Artistul are șansa să meargă la MTV EMA din Amsterdam". Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  73. ^ "Gazeta de Sud: Smiley, câştigător la categoria "Best Romanian Act" a MTV European Music Awards". Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
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