Razvan Dobai Terrifically Talented Teen
Razvan Dobai
A little over a week ago I received a referral from my long time YouTube friend Lutz Kroppenstedt who introduced me to a new young singing performer from the country of Romania. What I did not know at the time was that this terrific talented teen was also being interviewed by The Mystery Artist Show for Theskykid.com Radio. This was welcome news because it allowed me to do this follow up article back to back with his appearance on the radio program.
To hear the Mystery Artist Radio Interview CLICK HERE!
This terrifically talented teen is none other than fourteen year old Razvan Dobai. While many young artists from Europe have been featured on this site, Razvan is the first to represent his country of Romania.
I often enjoy watching the Euro Junior Contests live on the internet or on YouTube after their live airing. I especially appreciate listening to music from other parts of the world which are unique, and in many cases very different than what is often played here in the US.
I asked Razvan’s mother to tell us a little about Razvan and his discovery of his talent. She told me;
“Looking back, I think Razvan was interested with music since his first spoken words. They say that all children say “Ma-Ma” first. But Razvan said “LA-LA”. As he grew he was always on the move”, she said; “the only time he would stop for a minute was if he heard or saw music on TV”.
“Razy sings Englishman in New York”
When Razvan was in kindergarten he showed no interest in music. When all the other kids were singing, he would just silently watch them. Instead, he memorized all the children’s poems. Razvan also did extremely well learning English and showed very early signs for acting. His mother would often joke saying, Hollywood is waiting for him, because he was so good at pretending to be someone else. He could cry on demand and laugh a second later. Everyone that met him also comment saying that he looked like Macaulay Culkin.
Razvan has always been extremely energetic, his mother reported.
“When older children would play with Razvan he would tire them all out in no time. They would complain saying: Doesn’t Razvan ever get tired?”
Due to this overwhelming abundance of energy, his family began to seek out an activity that would absorb it. Their search led them to a dance club for children that just happen to be looking for boys to enroll in their classes. When Razvan turned six years old they made the decision to enroll him in their class. After only the first hour of class, Razy told his parents that he really enjoyed it and wanted to continue. Razvan progressed amazingly well. So much so, that his instructor asked him to participate in the National Dance Contest and to also perform in a dance show.
The show was mixed with both girls and boys who sang and danced. While participating in the show, Razvan recognized a girl from his home town. He asked her how she got into the show to sing. She replied that she had been taking vocal lessons. While his mother overheard their discussion, Razvan never mentioned it to his mother. Some time went by and she remembered hearing him singing in his room with the door closed. He came out of his room and told his mom that he liked to sing. She replied “OK, go back in your room and sing”. He did, but then came right back out and said; “No, I don’t want to sing just like that, I want to take singing lessons, just like my friend”.
While she didn’t pay much attention to his request at first, Razy became very insistent and finally convinced his mom to bring him to the singing coach. He took his first lesson at age 6 and memorized one complete song from beginning to end.
He continued with both dance and vocal lessons for four years and then began piano lessons. After a year he decided to stop dance lessons but continued with his music. During these years, he participated in many dance and music contests and was awarded with prizes for his performances. You can view some of these prize winning performances on his Domain Site.
Razvan sings “Angels” at Festival -Rasnov 2010
One day Razvan discovered Declan Galbraith’s “Tell me why”, and from that time on Razy changed from singing children’s music to older and more mature songs. His performance style also changed dramatically accommodating for his new found ability to interpret a song demonstrating a confidence beyond his years. “I can say that Declan Galbraith was the first inspiration for Razvan” his mother reported.
After his first discovery of Declan he began to take notice of other great recording artists which he started to cover. He covered “Angels” by Robbie Williams, in the style of Declan. He also performed “Click Clack” from Ralf Mackenbach which was another challenge for him due to the Dutch language.
Razy sings “Click Clack”
He was invited by “Miraj”, a local rock band, to cover “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” “Hey Jude”, “Proud Mary” and “Let It Be” which was his first experience singing with a live band.
“Fairytale” from Alexander Rybak was his choice for another singing contest where he was accompanied by a live band. This proved to be another great experience which built even more confidence in his musical abilities. Razy produced a video for this song which I think is his finest video production to date. I offer it below because this article would not have been complete without it!
Razvan’s Music Video is a Must See!
It was about this time that his voice started to change and it was this song that ended up carrying him to the finals in another contest organized by Monica Anghel on a well known radio station from Romania “Radio Europa FM”. The irony of this was that his father had sent in the song to the radio station just hoping that it would get some air time. However, they liked it so much they entered into the contest for him. It was this experience that helped him learn how to sing live on the radio and he chose Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” for his final performance entry.
While he did not win this contest due to having only three days to prepare the song, it remained in his repertoire and he continued to practice it. It soon became a favorite of many who really started to take notice of his vocal ability.
Razvan Performs “My Way” Live
Razvan has also been interviewed on local radio station “Radio Transilvania”, was featured in a magazine named “Cosmos”, and currently has a Christmas version of “My Way” available on i-Tunes :
Razvan recently purchased a new microphone for home recordings and is learning how to use a mixing board for his own music. Expanding his musical talents he plans to begin guitar lessons this coming summer.
Outside of music Razvan enjoys computer games, swimming, bike riding and skating.
If you would like to learn more about Razvan visit:
