Florin Stoian (born 1 October 1979, Bucharest), better known by his stage name Florin Salam,

is a Romanian manele singer from Romania. He was associated in 2018 with singer and laureate
Eduard Ghinea, nicknamed Ghinea from Arad, thus propelling his career.

Contents

 1Early life and first contact with music

 2Saint Tropez and subsequent success
o 2.1Discography (2012–present)
 3Personal life
o 3.1Relations with moneylenders
 4References

Early life and first contact with music[edit]

Stoian was born into a family of lăutari.[1] During his adolescence, he sang together with his father
and uncle's ensembles.
After his father got too old to sing, Stoian took his place, singing with his uncle under the name of
Florin Fermecătorul. Thus, he became a singer highly appreciated by fans of the genre.[1] In the
meantime, Stoian befriended bandleader Dan Bursuc. He helped Stoian to record his first single,
called "Ce gagică șmecherită" (English: Such a picky chick), in 2002. He played an important part
when the smash hit "Of, viața mea" (English: Oh, my life) was released in 2000, sung by Adrian
Minune and Costi Ioniță. At the end of 2002, Stoian changed his stage name from "Fermecătorul"
(English: charming) to the Arabic "Salam" (English: peace, cf. Hebrew shalom). His first song was
a great success, and for this reason he continued to record songs and market them with the help
of Dan Bursuc. In this way he released his first album of manele which was surprisingly well-
received by fans of the genre; the album sold more than 40,000 copies. Likewise, Costi
Ioniță recorded one of his albums which enjoyed a high success, the album entitled "Doar cu tine"
(English: Only with you). The album was recorded in Constanța where Costi Ioniță has his own
recording studio.
His friendship with Dan Bursuc brought only advantages, so he met artists of this genre, artists
like Vali Vijelie, Nicolae Guță and Daniela Gyorfi.[1]
In 2008 he performed a song together with pop singer Paula Seling and the Bucharest
Symphonic Orchestra. The show host described their performance as a reconciliation between
manele and mainstream pop music; in the same respect, the song's lyrics raised the problem of
ethnic intolerance.
In October 2011, Stoian collaborated with the Bosnian musician Goran Bregović, along with
whom he recorded "Hopa Cupa" and "Omule", songs which were included in the
album Champagne for Gypsies. The album is "in reaction to the extreme pressure that Gypsies
(Roma) have been experiencing lately across Europe".[2]
Stoian is the vice-president of Asociația Artiștilor, Muzicanților și Lăutarilor Romi din România
(English: The Association of Romani Artists, Musicians and Lăutari from Romania). In December
2005, he was announced as the best manele performer of the year. According to the daily
paper Libertatea, politician Mădălin Voicu and footballer Marius Niculae count among his fans.

Saint Tropez and subsequent success[edit]

External video
 Florin Salam - Saint Tropez on YouTube

Șușanu feat. Salam - Ești bombă on YouTube

Florin Salam și Claudia - Mergem mai departe on YouTube

In February 2013, Stoian recorded "Saint Tropez". The song had an unexpected success, with
the official video gathering more than 70 million views on YouTube, inasmuch as he was accused
that he copied the song from Bulgarian singer Azis.[3] His video became viral and was ranked in
most-viewed videos on Romanian YouTube in 2013, after Andra's song, "Inevitabil va fi
bine".[4] Since then, Stoian has several concerts in the country and abroad, where large
communities of Gypsies live.
Among the most resounding collaborations have included those with Claudia Păun and Nicolae
Șușanu, enjoying great success in the country. His smash hit "Ești bombă" (English: You're a
bomb), released in July 2013 in collaboration with Șușanu, was viewed by more than 27 million
people on YouTube. The songs launched with Claudia ("Ce bine ne stă împreună" – How well we
stand together, "Ce frumoasă e dragostea" – How beautiful is love, and "Mergem mai departe"
– We go further) feature themes like unfeasible love or desire to be near a loved one, as themes
with great appeal to the public.
Today, as Florin Salam, he collaborates with record labels Nek Music and Big Man.

Discography (2012–present)[edit]

Florin Salam discography

Singles 60

showSong English translation Date released Label

Personal life[edit]
Stoian was married to Ștefania in September 2007, in Antalya, Turkey; the best man was manele
singer and close collaborator Adrian Minune. The wedding cost was not less than 500,000 euros.
On 12 April 2009, Ștefania (aged 27) died from renal failure, aggravated by a kidney infection.
Moreover, she had long suffered from hepatic cirrhosis.[5]
After his wife's death, Stoian had no partner, until 2013, when he met Oana, a young woman
from Ploiești.[6] But their relationship did not last more than a few months. As of 2014, he was in a
relationship with Roxana Dobre, who had previously posed for Playboy magazine. They intended
to marry,[7] and Roxana was pregnant with a girl.[8]