The idea of the song “Man, how much longer can you do?” to be released by Eugenia Nicolae and Sișu can be attributed to a challenge launched by the artist on TikTok, which generated an unexpected interest from the public and became viral before the official release.
Eugenia Nicolae
The video featuring her performing the song's chorus has already amassed 1 million views, with the overwhelming response from the audience prompting the artist to officially release the track and release it on her YouTube channel.
Eugenia Nicolae became known to the Romanian public thanks to the creative way she combines folklore with pop music. His unmistakable, soulful voice is matched by his talent for songwriting. A complex artist, Eugenia is the one who composes her own pieces. The artist has collaborated with a lot of prominent artists from our music industry, such as Randi, Puya, Cazanoi Brothers or Elena Gheorghe. He also composed songs for other Romanian artists, such as Theo Rose, Spike and is preparing many other surprises for the public.
The Truth: How did you feel when you saw that your TikTok challenge went viral and that the chorus of the song was so well received by the public?
Eugenia Nicolae: I was extremely excited and surprised at the same time. I knew that for many artists viralization of unreleased tracks on Tik Tok is the best way to figure out if the track is worth releasing or not. But I had no such strategy. I simply went with the flow of my community, which, lo and behold, pleasantly surprised me.
What made you turn this viral challenge into an official single – Man, how long can you take it?
The hundreds of comments coming from people that were like, “Release the song!” “Where do we find the piece?” “Please finish the song!”. These reactions made me finalize this idea and turn it into a song, because I knew it would help many people who needed such a message.
How did the collaboration with Sisu go?
Wonderful! Sișu is a very good man. We met officially on the set, I had emotions, but he made our meeting very natural, as if we had known each other for many years. The producer of the piece, Liviu Tanasoiu, thought that Sișu was suitable for this piece. I didn't have high expectations, because I knew he was very busy with the La Familia album promotion tour. I was extremely surprised that only a few hours after he received the piece, he came back to tell us that he had finished writing his part and was coming to the studio the next day.
How do you think social media influences artists in the process of creating and promoting their music today?
Very much. Tik Tok is now the best promotion tool in my opinion. But it takes a lot of work and persistence. I have been working daily for social media for several months, because I realized what a force it can have in promoting artists. Being present in social media as an artist is a “must” these days. On this occasion, I invite you to follow me on social networks.
Do you generally consider online feedback and reactions when deciding to finalize and release a track? How does this feedback help or influence you?
Most of the time I take online feedback into account because I care about my community, but whatever I decide to release has to pass through my filter, I really like it. Feedback from my followers is very important, but I've never gotten to the point where I release something just because it's “trendy”.
What positives and negatives do you think the virality of a piece brings on social media platforms?
It really depends on the content itself. I don't like videos that go viral and contain bad words, grammatical mistakes, or promote non-values… Even more I don't like viral pieces that have no artistic substance.
The most important positive aspect of going viral on social media is the promotion of that song, which is as organic as possible. We have no way of forcing Tik Tok users to make videos of our music. If they choose to do it, it's only because they like it.
How do you think the dynamics of the music industry are changing with the increasing influence of social media?
I think artists are becoming more independent. They have the biggest promotion tool at a “click” away. Now there is no need to knock on the doors of production houses. With a small home studio and active social media accounts you can make your dream come true. Up to a point you can handle yourself. When things start to grow you will need to increase your team, look for dedicated people, but until you get there, social media can be used to your advantage.
How do you manage the balance between authentic artistic expression and adapting to the demands and trends imposed by social media?
Carefully. It's easy to fall into the trap of “people pleasing” for the sake of success, but trends come and go, and your artistic identity will not be able to form. Art does not go well with trends. The great artists of the world broke patterns, they often went against the trend. We owe them everything we have today. I want to be on stage for 20 years and I can only do this by creating my own musical identity. Of course, to a certain extent, as weighted as possible, we also adapt to social media trends.
What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of using social media to promote music compared to traditional methods?
The biggest advantage is the ease with which you can get your music heard by the public. It's all at your fingertips, you just upload the track and in a few seconds it becomes visible to users. The downside is that everyone can do it, so the competition is very high. The avalanche of content is overwhelming. It takes a lot of determination and persistence to get results.
You're open to adopting new technologies – we know you've also made a video using AI – tell us more about that.
Both myself and the team I work with strive to keep up with the evolution of technology. AI is another great tool that we have integrated into the videos as well. The reduction of production costs is the biggest advantage to which we can add the efficiency of filming time, but also of the post-production process. Another big advantage is that almost anything you can think of starts to become possible when it comes to video. You just need to be creative.
Which social network do you spend the most time on? Which one is your favorite?
I post the most content on Tik Tok. I find this app more user friendly.
The most unique comment ever received online…
I get comments every day that surprise me, but the most unusual is a comment on my YouTube channel. It's the greatest comment I've ever received. A lady tried to explain all the underpinnings of the piece I posted, appealing to her imagination, but also to philosophy, history, mythology.
What's next for Eugenia Nicolae?
A time full of music. “Man, As Long As You Can” was the second track on my first EP. There will be 3 more songs, and at the end of the month we are organizing a launch concert for this little album. I am very proud of what is to come.
