Andreea Bănică Mitrea (born June 21, 1978 in Constanta) is a Romanian pop singer and model.  She was born on the 21st of June 1978 in Constanta county, more precisely in the town of Eforie Sud. She started singing from a very early age, when she was only 4 years old. At the age of 6 her talent was ackowledged by Adrian Paunescu. He advised her to take music classes at the Students Club in Constanta. Not too long after, still at the age of 6 she took part in the Cantarea Romaniei contest, where she won first prize - she had managed to trick organizers into allowing her into the competition, since the minimum age limit was 8.  She had the same success the following year at the same famous contest. This way the achievements of little Andreea had already prepared her for what was about to happen - the start of a succesful music career. But music never kept her away from her studies. She was aware that without proper training she would never be able to succeed in having a career in music. She took piano lessons for 2 years and singing classes for 4 years.  Andreea Banica always wanted to achieve more so she went on to take part in countless music festivals, but the public really embraced her in 1998, when she took the stage at the Mamaia Festival.  It was there that life changed for Andreea, as she entered show business. She was then part of the first Romanian girl band, Exotic, along Claudia Patrascanu and Iulia Chelaru. Exotic’s first single, “Sexy”, was a huge success. The band released 4 singles (“Uita-ma”, “Sexy”, “Vreau un sarut” and “Un sarut”) from 2 albums, “Sexxy” and “Pasional”. The Exotic girls were together for 2 years before splitting up.  In 2000, Andreea Banica made a good team with Cristina Rus and the two of them started a new band, Blondy. During the next 4 years, the girls released 3 albums (“Atat de aproape” ,“O parte din tine”,“Dulce si amar”). Other achivements of the band: 6 music videos and the award for BEST DANCE BAND at the Radio Romania Actualitati Awards in 2003.  In 2004 , Cristina Rus left the band and Andreea Banica pursued her solo career. Her first single, “Dansez , Dansez”, co-written with with Laurentiu Duta, was a success. The eponimous album won the Golden Disc award from Cat Music. From the same first album, 2 more singles were released: “Indragostiti” and “Dulce si amar”.