Connect-R

Connect-R 2012 in Bucharest

Ștefan Relu Mihalache (born June 9, 1982 in Bucharest ), known by his pseudonym Connect-R , is a Romanian hip-hop and pop musician , music producer and actor. He represented the Republic of Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 . Mihalache worked as a singer and songwriter with the Romanian band RACLA . He also appeared in smaller roles in films and series.

Life

Mihalache was born in Bucharest in 1982. At the age of 8 he already proved himself to be a professional dancer, was a member of the Primavara dance group and took dance lessons. At the age of 15 he also took singing lessons in hip-hop.

Musical career

In 1997 Mihalache released his first single Observ , which he recorded with the band Gigantii . Two years later he released his second single Operație pe suflet deschis .

In 2000, Mihalache joined the hip hop group RACLA. After the release of the single Fără , the band composed the two albums Pătratul Roşu and Dexteritate . In 2006 Mihalache left the band to concentrate on solo projects.

After leaving the band RACLA, Mihalache applied for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens . There he interpreted the song Loca together with Arsenium from the former band O-Zone and the Moldovan singer Natalia Gordienco . Mihalache was the first rapper at the contest since it was first held.

In 2007 he released his first solo album Burning Love , which contains sixteen songs, partly written by Mihalache himself, in the areas of hip-hop, R&B and soul . The following year, the first music video was released from a single from the first album. In 2009 he released the single Burning Love , which quickly became a hit. In the same year the song Murder was released .

In 2010 Mihalache applied again for the Eurovision Song Contest , which took place from May 25th to May 29th in Oslo. Mihalache and Anda Adam performed the song Surrender in the preliminary round of the Selecția Națională, but dropped out due to the low number of points. The preliminary decision was won by the singer Paula Seling and the composer and singer Ovidiu Cernăuțeanu , who were able to prevail against 14 other candidates.

On February 25, 2011, the single Ring the Alarm was released , which reached number 7 in the Romanian charts for five weeks. About two months later, on April 1, 2011, Mihalache released the single Monday, which was created in collaboration with Jimmy Dub and Chris Mayer. The song reached number 8 in the charts. The following year, on May 22, 2012, Mihalache released the song Vara nu dorm . The song reached number 1 on the Romanian Top 20 charts for four weeks and also became a commercial success in Moldova. In October 2012, the single Love is the Way followed , which was also successful in Romania and reached number 7.

2013 Mihalache released the single Noi ne potrivim on November 19th . The song reached number 4 in the Romanian top 20 charts for eighteen weeks.

The third studio album by Mihalache was released with Dragostit . On October 19, 2017 he released the single Semne in a duet with the singer Andra. The song reached number 4 in the charts for nine weeks.

In addition to his career as a musician and singer, Mihalache also works as a producer. In the record company he founded, Rappin 'On Production , he works with other well-known Romanian music producers, such as B. Chris Mayer and Nick Kamarera .

Discography

Albums

• 2008: Dacă dragostea dispare
• 2012: From Nothing to Something
• 2016: Dragostit

With RACLA

• 2002: Pătratul Roșu
• 2005: Dexteritate

Chart placements

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		RO
2009	Burning Love From Nothing to Something	RO3 (12 weeks) RO	First published: September 6, 2009
2011	Ring the Alarm From Nothing to Something	RO7 (5 weeks) RO	First published: February 25, 2011
2012	Vara nu dorm From Nothing to Something	RO1 (4 weeks) RO	First published: May 22, 2012
	Love is the Way From Nothing to Something	RO7 (8 weeks) RO	First published: October 4, 2012
2013	Da-te-n dragostea mea	RO9 (1 week) RO	First published: June 10, 2013
	Noi ne potrivim	RO4 (18 weeks) RO	First published: November 19, 2013
2014	Tren de noapte	RO9 (1 week) RO	First published: July 18, 2014
	Rece ca decembrie	RO10 (1 week) RO	First published: December 1st, 2014
2015	Baga mare	RO5 (3 weeks) RO	First published: April 23, 2015 feat. Shift
	Mare caldura	RO10 (1 week) RO	First published: June 23, 2015 feat. Pacha Man

Guest Posts

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		RO
2010	Quiet	RO7 (6 weeks) RO	First published: July 6th 2010 feat. Chris Mayer
2011	Americandrim	RO6 (1 week) RO	First published: December 20, 2010 feat. Puya
	Monday	RO8 (4 weeks) RO	First release: April 1st, 2011 feat. Jimmy Dub & Chris Mayer
2017	Semne	RO4 (9 weeks) RO	First published: 19 October 2017 feat. Andra

More singles:

• 2007: Dacă dragostea dispare
• 2008: Nu-ți pierde dragostea
• 2009: Murderer
• 2011: Take It Slow
• 2013: Aroma ( feat.DJ Sava & Raluka )
• 2014: Aer (feat.DJ Sava & Raluka)
• 2015: Norocos (feat. What's UP & Shift)
• 2016: Scrum (feat.Killa Fonic)
• 2016: Se portă vara (feat. Nicole Cherry )
• 2017: Cearta arta ( feat.Feli )
• 2017: Geneza (feat. Cortes)
• 2018: Adio ( feat.Antonia Iacobescu )
• 2018: Vinovat (feat. Misha)
• 2018: Încredere
• 2018: Repetent
• 2018: Vrajitori
• 2019: Perfect
• 2019: Multumesc
• 2019: Independenta

Awards

• Romanian Music Awards
  • 2010: in the "Best Song" category for Burning Love (Radio Edit)
  • 2010: in the “Highest Climber” category for Burning Love

Web links

• Official website
• Connect-R at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Chart sources: Connect-R - Weekly Charts in 2009 - 2015 at mediaforest.com
2. ↑ Connect-R - Noi ne potrivim at mediaforest.com
3. ↑ Chart sources: Connect-R feat. Andra - Semne at Apple Music Preview