2009: Nelly Ciobanu - Hora Din Moldova

Nelly Ciobanu came to the world on the 28th of October, 1974 in the small village of Cania. After her graduation from the College of Music in Tiraspol came Nelly’s stage debut in 1993, when she performed alongside her brother in the act Master Dinamit. From then on she was hooked on the attention and her professional debut followed not long after, when entering the Morning Star competition in 1994. She won the whole shebang and captivated both fellow artists and the audience alike.

Another competition followed in 1996, Maluri de Prut, where she was declared one of the major young talents of Moldova. The young starlet was also awarded third prize at the Mamaia 97 festival, giving her further recognition within Romania. Further competitions followed, with both jurors and spectators reaching for superlatives when describing Nelly’s stage presence and professionalism; Sea of Friends in 1998 (3rd prize) and the Voice of Asia (2nd place) in 1999, Vladimir Ivasiuk contest in the Ukraine in 1999 (winner) and Stavianskij Bazaar contest in Belarus in 2000 (winner). Nelly took part in one of the bigger European festivals in 2003, the renowned New Wave festival in Jurmala, Latvia ending up in 2nd place and creating quite a frenzy.

She has toured extensively both in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as such far flung places like China and Korea, with her performances being in great demand and tours planned years in advance. Nelly has also toured with great names from the music world, such as Michael Bolton and Patricia Kaas.

One of her greatest career highlights was when she awarded the prestigious rank of Honoured Artist of Moldova in 2001. Her career has gone from strength to strength, making her one of Moldova’s foremost artists. Since 2007 she has been seen on Moldovan TV screens on a regular basis, as programme host for one of the most popular shows, Vedete La Bis. She hasn’t lay idle on the recording front either, releasing an impressive four albums in the past few years, her latest being Love Hurts (2011).

Participant Profile

In the final

In the semi final