Nicola

NICOLA, an example of perseverance for the Romanians

At the age of 35, Nicola, the Romanian singer, proves to be an accomplished woman: she has a big and wonderful family, and also a successful career. Ten years of hard work paid off: on March 1st 2003, Nicola gained the recognition of both the jury and the public in the Romanian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest at Riga.

Her musical career is now taking an international turn. Eurovision Song Contest official site is already updated on her professional achievements. So we wanted to learn about Nicola’s personal life.

Maria Antonia, the 9 year old Nicola’s daughter, disputes the importance of 24th of May with her mother: the same day, little Maria will have to pass her piano exam, which she claims to be at least as important as Nicola’s presence at the Eurovision Final in Riga. Talking one to another about these two difficult tasks, Nicola emphasizes: “Maria, if you do not get a good mark, the only one angry with you is me or maybe, the family, but if I do not sing well and do not get good marks, then a whole country will be disappointed…”.

Besides Maria, who has been studying piano in a music school, the other two Nicola’s children are in love with sports. Andrei (16 years old), the eldest son, dreams to become a famous football player and Jonathan (9 years old), the youngest son, although he studies piano, waits impatiently to turn 11 in order to enroll in a basket-ball team. Jonathan loves Michael Jordan and he wants to wear only basket-ball clothes and now he is working to convince his parents to put a basket in their apartment.

Talking about her kids, Nicola says they are like “terrorists”: each one has his/her own ideea and wants to impose it. Maria loves animals very much and that’s why Nicola’s house has often become a little zoo, although the space is not very generous. Dogs, cats, Guineea pigs, fishes, hamsters, and even a goat have populated their apartment… Just a few days ago a dobberman chewed and almost destoyed an armchair. Despite that, Nicola is still willing “to share her planet”. Sharing her apartement is now a whole new discution…

Do not even think that if her kids are so, Nicola is somekind different… No, not at all. “ I have just lost my 5th mobile phone… I am air-headed all the time, I always forget to do or to take something with me… “ [Nicola about herself]. She is lucky to have her husband, Mihai, by her side to take care of everything. Mihai also composes Nicolas’s songs… They have a tradition in their proffesional relationship: whenever Nicola doesn’t like the songs Mihai composes, those songs become for sure a big success… This happened even to “Don’t Break My Heart” that won the national selection for Eurovision Song Contest.

“I like sports, I like skating, roller skating, table tennis and also football. Not only I like to watch football matches, but also I love to play and score points. When I am tired I love to go to an extraordinary beautiful place in Moldavia (in the N-E of Romania) and refill my energy there. But I do not like cooking or cleaning the house and I am afraid to travel by plane…” Nicola confesses.

We were courious to find out if she had some funny moments on stage… She laughed and then said: “Yes, last year I performed at Mamaia Song Contest having an enormous lower lip, because a bee had stung me while drinking my favourite carrot juice. Everybody thought I had had a collagen implant…”

After coming back from Riga, Nicola will be working for her next CD that will be released during that summer. Till Riga, she will prepare her presence at the final: she will jog, exercise her voice, make general rehearsals (together with the group of dancers)… Her stage costume is not ready yet, but very good designers from Romania promise to impress Europe with their creations…

“I am not emotioned now, but I am sure I will be at the moment I have to go on stage in Riga… But I become emotion-free when I am in front of my public, because the audience gives me power and stregth. It’s easier for me to sing for the public than for the jury…”.