Behind the project is a thirty-two-year-old visual designer acting under the pseudonym Tom. He claims that his goal was not to create a Roma character. “I didn’t want to offend anyone,” he said according to France 24.
According to him, Lolita “does not necessarily belong to a specific culture” and rather represents a general Balkan identity.
The Balkan aesthetic is typical for the entire project. Lolita appears in emotional videos inspired by folk music, often in a distinctive style – with big earrings, flowery dresses or dramatic make-up. Musically, the project draws on folklore traditionally associated with Roma musicians.
Tom described his work as “a combination of Balkan nostalgia and synthetic future”. According to him, he chose folk music because it “tells the truth most directly” and represents “a kind of our own blues”.
However, some critics consider this to be a problem. Roma activist Bogdan Burdusel described Lolita as a “very sexualized” character and “a non-Roma man’s fantasy of what a Roma woman might look like.” He also criticized “latent and unresolved racism” in Romanian society.
Real artists are frustrated
Singer Bianca Mihai, who appeared in the Romanian version of The Voice last year, is also skeptical of the project. According to her, the success of a virtual singer is frustrating for real artists.
“I’m trying to build a career right now and I feel like there’s no place for me,” said 25-year-old Mihai, who works as an IT consultant in addition to music.
At the same time, she points out that, according to her, Lolita stands on clichés associated with Roma culture. “She is exactly the type of girl that we very easily accept and exoticize,” she said. And she added: “It’s nice to take over elements of Romani culture, but we don’t like Roma themselves that much anymore. And that hurts.”
The debate surrounding Lolita opened several sensitive topics at once in Romania – from the role of artificial intelligence in the music industry to the issue of ethnic stereotypes and discrimination against Roma.
Photo: Profimedia.cz
Bianca Mihai
AI imitates what works well
According to interactive technology expert Grigor Burloiu, AI is extremely capable of imitating what the audience already knows and what works well. “AI is mainly about finding the lowest common denominator,” he told AFP.
Despite the criticism, Lolita’s popularity continues to grow. Thousands of enthusiastic comments appear under her videos, one fan even called her the “Romanian Amy Winehouse”. Another wrote: “Now I understand why people fall in love with AI.”
However, for some real musicians, it is more of a warning than a reason for admiration. “Lolita released five songs within a month and got a huge amount of views,” noted Mihai. “There’s just no comparison. It’s very difficult.”
