Wiktionary
n. (context music English) A genre of folk music from the Balkans
Wikipedia
Manele (from Romanian, fem. sg. manea; pl. manele, the plural form being more common) is a music style from Romania.
The manele can be divided into "classical manele" and "modern manele". The "classical manele" are a Turkish-derived genre performed by lăutari in a lăutărească manner, while the "modern manele" are a mixture of Turkish, Greek, Arabic, Bulgarian and Serbian elements, generally using modern (electronic) instruments and beats.
Similar music styles are also present in other Balkan areas, like Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia, Greece and Turkey and with expatriates and emigrants originally from these regions. Related genres are Bulgarian Chalga (manele brought by Romanian visitors to Bulgaria is referred to as "Romanian chalga"), Greek modern Skiladiko and Serbian Turbo-folk, being a mixture of local folk Greek, Bulgarian and Serbian influences over a pop tune each one.