He didn't win the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 although he was a hot favorite from day one. But Mihai Traistariu is a bright example of the possibilities that the aftermath of the contest has to offer the participating artists. His career has soared and he is reported to have sold 1.5 million cds so far.
The way to success for Mihai started when he was signed by Roton, the largest Romanian record label, who represents many other Romanian stars such as Morandi, Akcent, Cream, Holograf, Mandinga among others.
His 2006 entry Tornero was played by 1600 radio stations worldwide with Greece holding the record with 160 stations, followed closely by Sweden with 120 stations. Tornero was also aired extensively in China, Peru, Libya, Melbourne (Australia) and Los Angeles (USA). Just six months after the contest, Tornero counted 1.400.000 downloads through national and international sites. After this kind of success the song entered the international tops immediately, at nr.186 in Global chart, nr.43 in top 100 international, nr 188 in top radio international.
Mihai has also signed with twelve more record companies in Europe where his future releases will be promoted. Specifically, he has signed contracts in Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Moldova, Romania.
2006 was an extremely busy year for Mihai. He somehow managed to give 300 concerts in 16 countries (sometimes performing in 2 or 3 different places in one day) attracting large audiences. His concert in Sweden holds the record here with 25.000 people, followed by Greece, Malta and Cyprus. On New Year's Eve, Mihai managed to made six appearances in six different venues! He released two albums in one year, Tornero and one with Romanian Christmas songs and appeared in 150 TV shows. All that has made Mihai richer by an estimated 2.5 million euros.
On the 13th of March Mihai Traistariu was awarded the "Artist of the year 2006" and "The best interpretation 2006" awards.
Mihai will be releasing his new album – which will contain Dimmi si o no and Ave Maria-in late May, early June this year and he is already scheduled to visit many European countries. His announced schedule so far is as follows:
6-7 April Latvia
11-13 April Cyprus (Nicosia)
14 April Spain (Madrid)
29 April Moldova (Chisinau)
9-12 May Greece (Athens)
22 May Moldova (Balti)
28 June Norway (Oslo)
30 June Greece (Athens)