Dor De Casă

Album cover for Dor De Casă (2019)

***Dor De Casă*** (translated in English: *Homesick*) is the tenth studio album and the first full non-English album of American-Romanian singer-songwriter Nicholas Stewart. It was released on April 29, 2019, by Sunset Records. It was preceded by the singles "Urăsc", "La Revedere", and "One Day (Intr-o Zi)". During the preparation of Ozymandias World Tour, Stewart decided to make a full-Romanian album as a gift to his hometown. He stated that the album's themes are "depression, found love, coming home, and finding yourself".

*Dor De Casă* is Stewart's first release to be prominently in Romanian language, with its first half as a "sharply focused hip-hop A-side, with Stewart delivering eloquent zingers" and the second half "goes back to Stewart's pop rock roots". The album received critical acclaim upon release, and debuted atop the US *Billboard* 200, shifting 552,000 equivalent album units on its first week release and was certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it the first-ever full non-English album to debut atop the chart. The album was Stewart's third highest-certified release in Europe, as it sold more than 8 million units in the continent. Currently *Dor De Casă* has sold 4,000,000 WW, making it his least-selling album until *ready. set. acoustic.* (2021).

## Background and production

While already planning his three-week long visit on his home country, Romania, Stewart was also taking a look back at the first pages of his "Nick-Notes" notebook which he had since he was 15. Mesmerized at the non-English songs he written that didn't make it into one of his albums, Stewart planned on making his first full Romanian album containing some songs he wrote in the past. He told *People* in 2019 that he really wanted long ago to make an album with all of its tracks sung in his home language to pay homage to his heritage and share his songs that didn't make it into one of his albums but his old label didn't want him to do it.

> *"I was born in Constanta, Romania, on December 29, 1974. Before we migrated to America, I sing at bars and write songs in Romanian and until now, I didn't have the chance to share them. Before I turn 50, I always thought of making a full-Romanian album and finally I am now sharing to you.*
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> *-Dragosta, Nicholas."*
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-The introductory note taken from his ten paragraph letter inside the booklet is shown also in the back cover

During the breaks of his Ozymandias World Tour, Stewart used his free time to record the songs for the album. During the show, Stewart would sing an acoustic version of "La Revedere", a song he wrote while on his trekking trip to the Andes Mountain Range in South America. After the song was featured on his Netflix documentary *Ozymandias: The Movie,* fans were already making a request to release it as a single.

## Release and promotion

On January 29, 2019, Stewart tweeted that he will have a big announcement when he arrives on Europe for the European Leg of his Ozymandias World Tour. On April 1, 2019, Stewart announced the release date of his tenth studio album and his first full Romanian album *Dor De Casă*, at the same day, the lead single of the album "Urăsc" was released. The single peaked at top 40 in the US and peaked at #1 in Europe, becoming a massive hit there. The second single of the album was the fan-favorite "La Revedere" which was released as a proper single the day the album was released. It peaked at #79 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was also a massive hit in Europe, staying atop the chart for ten weeks. The third and final single "One Day (Intr-o Zi)" features an English chorus, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the European Singles Chart for twelve weeks. Stewart shared that it was one of the first songs he have written during his childhood.

On April 20, 2019, Stewart and his family arrive in Romania and were greeted by 10,000 fans on the Bucharest Băneasa Aurel Vlaicu International Airport. Stewart went on to multiple television appearances and radio interviews to promote his tour and his new album. He performed three separate nights on Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania (April 22, 24, 26). On the final night, the concert was filmed to be released on Netflix titled *Ozymandias: The World Tour*.

## Title and artwork

Nicholas Stewart leaning on a concrete wallStewart standing between a vine treeStewart named the album *Dor De Casă,* as a reference of longing to get home. He shared in 1999 that he's been feeling a long-term homesickness since his family migrated to America in 1985 which became an inspiration for his 1998 album *Miles*. As well as the other photos in the CD booklet, the album cover was shot on Călinești, Romania, where his family used to have their out-of-town vacation and visit his grandparents. It was shot in mid-2016, during his three-day stay on Romania for his WORLDWIDE OPERATION. tour. While *Dor De Casă* wasn't planned that time, it was just a random photo shoot for fun before Stewart leaves the country.

## Critical reception

*Dor De Casă* was met with critical acclaim upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received a weighted mean score of 80 based on 20 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". AllMusic's Matt Collar found Stewart remaining "artistically fearless" on *Dor De Casă*, by taking up his European roots and sophisticating is pop sound furthermore, which ensued in a "romantic atmosphere that balances chic studio-cool with warm vulnerability". *Rolling Stone* critic Lucas Villa viewed *Dor De Casă* as Stewart's "captivating flirtation" with Romanian music. He praised Stewart's "lively" Romanian vocals as "alluring" and "masterful" production that blurs the lines between pop and hip hop music scenes. Other critics praised Stewart's strong and distinguishable Romanian diction after years of mastering the perfect American accent.. John Gillian from *NME* wrote "As much as we didn't like Stewart's non-English accent during his debut era, now is the time that he clearly used it beneficially."

## Commercial performance

*Dor De Casă* debuted atop the US *Billboard* 200, shifting 552,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, including 389,000 copies, marking the biggest sales week for a non-English album in the US. As of 2026, it is certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it the first-ever full non-English album to debut atop the chart. It went on to stay four weeks inside the top ten and eighty-seven weeks on the chart. In Europe, the album became Stewart's fastest selling release, selling over 1.2 million units in the continent on its first week and topped the chart for nine nonconsecutive weeks. It was certified eight times platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI Europe). In other countries, the album debuted inside the top ten. Worldwide, it sold more than 4 million copies.

## Track listing

All tracks are written and produced by Nicholas Stewart.

## Personnel

### Musicians

* Nicholas Stewart - lead vocals; lead guitar; backing vocals percussion ; brushes ; guitar; programming; keyboard arrangements ; drums; acoustic guitar; piano; production coordinator; additional engineering; mastering; mixing
* Jude Garfield – drums (track 10-18)
* Ryan Martin – bass guitar ; backing vocals (track 10-18)

### Design

* Alli – art direction
* Ro-Starr – art direction, logos/design
* Christine Alicino – front cover photo
* Kate Garner – photography

## Charts

### Weekly Charts

**Peak chart positions for *Dor de Casă***

### Year-end charts

**Year-end chart positions for *Dor de Casă***

 Canada Top Albums
 European Top 100 Albums
 US Billboard 200
 US Billboard 200