O-Zone was a Eurodance group formed in Moldova in 1999 by Dan Balan, and its founders had previously played in a gothic and doom metal band. After their debut album found success in Moldova, the group moved to Romania in 2002, a move made easier because Romanian is spoken in both countries. Their first big hit there, Despre tine, reached number one on the Romanian Top 100 in February 2003. Later that year they released Dragostea din tei from their third album. Internal disputes over the band's name and direction, and its management, led to a planned split, and the band's official disbandment was announced in January 2005, when it was still very popular internationally.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.