Young Romanian manele singer Babasha returned to the stage at Arena Națională on June 13, for the second night Coldplay played in Bucharest, but was not booed this time. Instead, people applauded at the end of his performance. 

During the first Coldplay concert the day before, the Romanian musician came rather as an unpleasant surprise for the Coldplay public in Bucharest, as his performance alongside lead singer Chris Martin was met with boos from the audience and debates afterward.

During the second concert on Thursday night, Chris Martin also invited three young people to sing with him. Among the three was a survivor of the Colectiv nightclub tragedy from 2016.

Martin also asked the audience to repeat the boos from Wednesday night but louder, stating that he loves the fans even if they boo.

"Last night, we held our first concert in Romania. I felt shocked, sad, and somehow guilty that I had done something wrong. Then I went to bed and tried to sleep, and I realized that you are our audience, that we love you unconditionally, and that you can't change that. We travel all over the world, and maybe we don't understand what you are going through, your culture, but I know that we love the world the same, which means we also love Romanians too," Martin said. 

"Yesterday was so beautiful for us; we love you anyway. [...] I would like to change something; yesterday, you booed, so today, I would like five seconds for you to boo louder and better than yesterday. [...] It is the loudest booing I've heard. You are the greatest audience in the world," he added.

He then dedicated the song he was about to sing to the victims of the Colectiv nightclub fire. 

Then, before Babasha's performance, Martin mentioned that a three-minute manele song would follow and said that he understood if some didn't like it, but he did.

"If you don't like it, go to the bathroom, text your friends, or do whatever you want, but be kind. We like that music and those people, we like all people," the Coldplay singer told the audience at Arena Națională.

After this, Babasha took the stage but was no longer booed. At the end of the performance, the audience at Arena Națională applauded, while the three members of Coldplay each took turns hugging the 22-year-old singer. Still, some spectators left the stands during Babasha's performance.

Babasha's booing during the first concert sparked numerous debates in Romanian society, touching on racism and musical diversity.

"I believe it is God's will that there is such a great contrast between the two concert days. I wholeheartedly hope that some changes will come about because of this. I am very spiritually fulfilled to have seen so much solidarity," said Babasha in a video posted on social media after the concert.

Manele has always been one of the most controversial music genres in Romania. It is mainly played by Roma musicians, and some dislike this style because they say it comes with a rather superficial message. The incorrect use of grammar in texts is another aspect mentioned, which resulted in manele being also often associated with a low level of culture. Lyrics often make reference to the use of violence, money, and luxurious cars and include blatant sexism and misogyny.

Nevertheless, manele are still popular in Romania, being usually played at weddings or other family celebrations and parties, and the artists gather large crowds at concerts. The trending music section of YouTube in Romania is also dominated by manele.

Approximately 50,000 fans attended the concert on Wednesday, part of Coldplay's Music Of The Spheres World Tour, and another 50,000 were expected on Thursday night. According to Golazo.ro, Bucharest City Hall charged the organizers of the concert EUR 112,000 for both nights of concert. Tickets ranged from RON 200 (EUR 50) to RON 4,915 (EUR 1,000).

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/EMAGIC; credit: Daniel Robert Dinu/Gigxels)