Born on Christmas Day and Related to God through Song: An Interview with Singer-Songwriter Paula Seling
Paula Seling was born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1978 in the city of Baia Mare, Romania. She attended the School of Arts (1993) and graduated the “Gheorghe Şincai” National College in Baia Mare (1997), then studied at the Music University in Bucharest (with a major in Composition, 2013).
Paula Seling is a singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. She has released more than a dozen albums and over twenty singles over her 20-plus-year career (Christian music, pop, rhythm and blues, soul, dance), including hits which entered the charts in Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom.
The artist is trilingual and speaks, writes and performs in Romanian, English, French and, additionally, in Italian. She received multiple awards (Golden Stag Trophy, Braşov, 2002; MTV Romania Music Awards, Bucharest, 2002; Eurovision Song Contest, the 3rd Place finalist, Oslo, 2010; Eurovision Song Contest, the 12th place finalist, Copenhagen, 2014).
She opened for, and/or performed with, Joan Baez (Bucharest, 1997), Chick Corea (Bucharest, 1998), Scorpions (Braşov, 2002), Michael Bolton (Braşov, 2007), Beyoncé (Cluj, 2007), Al Bano (Iaşi and Timişoara, 2008).
Paula is an outspoken supporter of personal freedom, individual rights and human rights.
During the period of October 3 and 4, 2019, she attended the annual ALIANŢA/The Alliance Gala, in Washington, DC, at the Conrad Hotel and the Romanian Embassy, respectively. With that occasion, on October 3, 2019, Paula granted me an exclusive interview.
1. Dear Mrs. Paula Seling, you are an artist highly appreciated both in Romania and in the world. Tell us a few words about your American tour this year.
I am very glad that I have the opportunity to work with some wonderful people. In fact, one of the people I did a lot of work with, Adrian Dreana, thought it would be time for me to come here and sing, both for the Romanians who left for the United States and for the American side, who are curious to listen to songs, Romanian and not only. And I got in touch with the wonderful Mrs. Gabriela Sandoz, who organized these few shows here in Washington. We have this wonderful gala, the Alliance Gala. Tomorrow we have another show, on the fourth [of October 2019], also in Washington. Then it will be in Atlanta and Seattle. It is a special repertoire because I came to the United States with a bag full of songs, both Romanian and the English versions of songs that I sing and which are dedicated to God. I came with some liturgical chants translated into English. Some of my songs have been translated into English and I very much wish to spread the word in as many places as possible. So it really is an adventure that I hope is good for all who will be part of these events.
2. You anticipated my next question. In many of your songs, you worship the Christian spirit. What role has religion played in your artistic act?
Faith for me has a very important place and, often, in most of my songs I talk about my relationship with God. So, when I have the opportunity to write certain songs, I do not miss the moment to talk about faith and how it influences us and should influence our lives.
3. Thank you. Last question. What projects, artistic and social, do you currently have now and for the future?
First of all, I have a whole winter tour, which I am going to sustain in the country, from the first of December until the twenty-third of December [2019], in most of the important cities in the country. I have an entire album to be released, with songs I have written over time. I have a video clip that will be for a bilingual piece, so there will be two video clips for the same piece, which will be in Romanian and in English.
4. Any albums?
Yes, I just said I have an entire album, with songs written by me over time. And next year — some surprises that I would like to keep for then.
5. Thank you very much.
I thank you dearly.
(October 04, 2019)
NOTE — Versions of the article were published in:
AMERICAN THINKER (El Cerrito/San Francisco, California) [+ comments]
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and
CARIBBEAN NEWS GLOBAL (Brooklyn/New York City, New York) [+ views, comments]
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and
CARIBBEAN NEWS NOW! (Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas) [ comments]
***
and
CONSERVATIVE READ (Scottsdale/Phoenix, Arizona) [ comments]
***
and
INTELLECTUAL CONSERVATIVE (Phoenix, Arizona) [ comments]
and
MARIANAS VARIETY (Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) [ comments]
and
MEDIUM (San Francisco, California) [100+ views; comments; 100+ likes]
and
SAIPAN TRIBUNE (Garapan/Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) [ comments]
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and featured in:
320ro.com (Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom) [ comments]
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and
ACCENT (Toronto, Canada) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
ACTIVE BOARD
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and
AFRO-CONSCIOUS MEDIA (Canada; Long Beach, California) [ comments]
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and
ALTERNATIVA/THE ALTERNATIVE (Toronto, Canada) (_________ 2018) [in Romanian] [NOTE = scroll down on the journal’s home page to get the article and then press OPEN on the article]
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and
ARMONIA/THE HARMONY (Hickory/Charlotte, North Carolina) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and also
ARMONIA MAGAZINE/THE HARMONY MAGAZINE (Hickory/Charlotte, North Carolina) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
BLUNT FORCE TRUTH (Detroit, Michigan) [ comments]
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and
BURNING PLATFORM [ comments]
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and
CARIBBEAN POST (Santiago, Dominican Republic) [ comments]
***
and
CLICK ROMANIA (London, United Kingdom) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
CURENTUL/THE CURRENT (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
CURENTUL INTERNAŢIONAL/THE INTERNATIONAL CURRENT (Sterling Heights/Detroit, Michigan) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
FIWEH (Okinawa, Japan) [ comments]
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and
FREE REPUBLIC (Fresno, California) [ comments]
***
and
GÂNDACUL DE COLORADO/THE COLORADO BEETLE (Estes Park/Denver, Colorado) [in Romanian] [ + views; comments]
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and
GOP BRIEFING ROOM [ + views; comments]
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and
INVESTORS HUB (London, United Kingdom) [ comments]
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and
JURNAL DE CHIŞINĂU/CHIŞINĂU JOURNAL (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
LUCIANNE.COM (Cliffside Park, New Jersey) [ + comments]
***
and
LUMEA ROMÂNEASCĂ/THE ROMANIAN WORLD (Grand Rapids, Michigan) [in Romanian]
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and
MENAFN (Amman, Jordan)
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and
MERIDIANUL ROMÂNESC/THE ROMANIAN MERIDIAN (Santa Clarita/Los Angeles, California) [in Romanian]
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and
MEXICAN OCCUPATION
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and
MIORIŢA USA (Sacramento, California) [in Romanian]
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and also
MIORIŢA USA (Sacramento, California), printed edition [in Romanian]
***
and
MOLDOVA9/NEW MOLDOVA (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
MOLDOVA ŞTIRI/MOLDOVA NEWS (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] (300+ views; comments]
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and
MORNING IN ARIZONA [ comments]
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and
NAŢIUNEA/THE NATION (Bucharest, Romania) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
NEW YORK MAGAZIN/NEW YORK MAGAZINE (New York City, New York) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
OBSERVATORUL/THE OBSERVER (Toronto, Canada) [in Romanian]
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and
OCCIDENTUL ROMÂNESC/ROMANIAN WEST (Madrid, Spain)
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and
OFICIAL/OFFICIAL (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
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and
PARADIGMS AND DEMOGRAPHICS (Cleveland, Ohio) [ comments]
***
and
PROTECTORS OF LIBERTY (Mount Pleasant, Michigan) [ comments]
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and
QOSHE (Netherlands & Turkey)
***
and
QWIKET (Kingston, New York) [ comments]
***
and
ROMANIA JOURNAL (Bucharest, Romania) [ + views; comments]
***
and
ROMANIAN TIMES (Portland, Oregon) [in Romanian]
and also
ROMANIAN TIMES (Portland, Oregon) (print edition, p. 15) [in Romanian]
and
SAVE AMERICA FOUNDATION (Clearwater, Florida)
***
and
TAPATALK (Santa Monica/Los Angeles, California) [ comments]
***
and
TIMP ROMÂNESC/ROMANIAN TIME (Bucharest, Romania) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
TRIBUNA/THE TRIBUNE (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [ comments]
***
and also
TRIBUNA/THE TRIBUNE (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
TRIBUNA ROMÂNEASCĂ/ROMANIAN TRIBUNE (Chicago, Illinois) [in Romanian] [ comments]
***
and
TRULY TIMES [ + views, comments]
***
and
TRUMP’S MINUTEMEN (Fort Worth, Texas)
***
and
UNIMEDIA (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian] [ + views, comments]
***
and
US POLITICS 10z [ comments]
***
and
ZIARUL DE GARDĂ/THE GUARD NEWSPAPER (Chişinău, Republic of Moldova) [in Romanian]
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and referenced in:
CENTRUL DE PRESĂ — PRESSPEDIA/THE PRESS CENTER — PRESSPEDIA (Bucharest, Romania) [in Romanian] [+ views]
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and
CURENTUL INTERNAŢIONAL/INTERNATIONAL CURRENT — FACEBOOK (Sterling Heights/Detroit, Michigan) [in Romanian]
***
and
HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY (Cincinnati, Ohio)
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and
LIBERAL FORUM
***
and
MUCK RACK (New York, New York)
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and
OBAMA LIES
***
and
PRESS RUSH (Turku, Finland)
***
and
THY BLACK MAN [ comments]
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and
ZENITH NEWS (Duluth, Minnesota)
***
NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS = 5
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