Manele (singular: manea) is a music style from the Balkans, mainly derived from Turkish, Greek, Arab or Serbian love songs. It is the cultural product of the romanian gypsy community, but is also present and widespread in Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, parts of Turkey and with expatriates and emigrants originally from these regions. The genre is closely related to Bulgarian chalga (manele brought by Romanian visitors to Bulgaria is referred to as “Romanian chalga”), Serbian turbofolk and Greek laïkó, all being a mixture of local folk, Turkish and Gypsy influences over a pop tune. .
