"Xonia"
"Xonia"
1989–2007: Early life and education
Xonia was born 25 June 1989 in Melbourne, Australia to Romanian parents. Her full birth name is Loredana Sachelaru but she started promoting herself as "Xonia" since her adolescence.
In 1997, Xonia began showing interest in music and was subsequently signed to a recording contract with a local label in early 2003. Throughout her adolescence she worked with several music producers such as Rob Davis, Doug Brady and Kevin Colbert in order to record her debut album. Simultaneously, Xonia graduated the Australian Ballet School (Certificate III in Dance) and was taken under the mentorship of Robert Sturrock, a well-known choreographer and dance coach. In early 2000s Xonia put aside her musical career and focused on acting; shortly after she had a number of cameo appearances in high-profile TV series such as Noah's Arc, SeaChange, Holly's Heroes and Neighbours.
In 2006 Xonia was selected to represent Australia at the international Beauty Contest "Miss Diaspora", where she had the opportunity to perform in front of 20,000 live spectators. Same year later she performed in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies and was selected to dance with a guest star, the football player Nathan Brown from Richmond team. Throughout 2007, Xonia showcased her choreography abilities while working with pop singer Georgina Ward for her live shows; eventually she was featured as a backup dancer in some of the music videos produced by Ian Smith and Laura Gissara. At the age of 19, Xonia enrolled in at the Hollywood Pop Academy in California, where she studied dance theory for a short time.
2008–present: Career breakthrough
In early 2008, Xonia started touring the United States, where she sang for the Romanian diaspora at some social events. Eventually she spent some time in New York recording music and working on her original material. Whilst living in America, Xonia received an invitation to participate as a jury member at the annual Miss Diaspora Contest; she accepted the invitation and performed on the stage of the Callatis Festival same year later. Shortly after this representation, as a reward for her musical efforts, she was given a record deal with Star Management Romania in order to launch her career.
Xonia's debut single, titled "Someone to Love You", was released in late 2009 and enjoyed moderate success. Same year later she was selected to represent Australia at the international music festival the Golden Stag, where she performed two songs: "Dirty Dancer" and "Trandafir de la Moldova". Impressed by her vocal ability showcased during the contest, the Universal Romania representatives offered her a management contract. Eventually Xonia released a single in early 2010, entitled "Take the Lead", which has received favorable reactions and created a significant buzz on the internet.
In early 2010 Xonia collaborated with the Romanian pop band Deepcentral on a new single called "My Beautiful One". As of November 2010, the track spent 25 consecutive weeks in the top 30 on the Romanian Top 100, peaking at number four. Xonia is currently working on her debut album with some well-known Romanian music producers including Marius Moga, George Hora, Mihai Ogășanu and Deepcentral.