Buna Seara Europe! Since there are no other Eurovision related shows tonight, then Romania had the pleasure of hosting their national selection, and keep the Eurovision fans active for another night.
Background
Romania is one of those countries, who stay true to their national selection, and once again “Selectia Nationala” was held in order to select, who would get the honor of representing Romania.
There were some fear about Romania’s participation, as there has been the recent years, since every year, there are news that suggest that the national broadcaster suffers and lacks the needed amount of profit. However, Eurovision is a big event in Romania, and do gather viewers, so even when Romania’s participation is in question, then the chances of them withdrawing, is never really there.
MIHAI, one of tonight’s competing acts, was ready to fly the flag and represent Romania in Stockholm, way before any plans regarding “Selectia Nationala” was revealed, and even ready to be picked internally by TVR. However, sooner or later, it was revealed that the national selection would be held, and submission for the songs were opened on the 18th of January to the 7th of February, and along with that, all details regarding the national final was revealed.
Within a few amount of days, the 94 songs that were sent in, were reviewed, and only 12 of the songs managed to qualify to the semi-finals.
The 12 artists that took part in the semi-final, on the 4th of March, had to compete for 6 spots in the final. The 6 songs were selected with the help of a 5 person Jury, and televoting. The Jury picked 4 of the artists, while 2 were saved by Televoters.
The Show
This years national final, took place in the Northen Romanian city of Baia Mare, and was opened in a traditional Romanian way, with lots of folklore and as well as Paula Seling performing along.
Before the show could really start, the hosts of tonight, Cornel Ilie & Ioana Voicu, introduced us the jury for tonight, who would be judging and giving their opinion about each song. Unlike during the semi-final, the juries opinion had no influence in the results.
The 6 finalists who made it from the semi-final, performed in the following order:
- Florena – “Behind The Shadows”
- Doru Todoruț feat. Irina Baianț – “The Voice”
- Dream Walkers – “Let It Shine”
- Vanotek ft. The Code & Georgian – “I’m Coming Home”
- Ovidiu Anton – “Moment Of Silence”
- MIHAI – “Paradisio”
After the conclusion of the 6 competing acts, the televoting was given a start, and viewers could now vote for their favorite act, viewers were given about an hour to vote for a winner.
During the interval act, we were presented for various performances, which included the Zoli TOTH Project, featuring lots of drums, and a performance with Randi as well. Afterwards, Horia Moculescu, Randi & Uddi took the stage and performed the song “Vagabondul Vieții Mele”. Cezar “The Voice” Ouatu were also among the artists to perform during the interval act, here he performed his single “Painful Love”, a duet with Horia Moculescu & the 2014 Eurovision winning song “Rise Like A Phoenix”. Last but not least, The Transylvanic Folklore Assemble, had also the pleasure of performing for the audience.
The Winner
Once again, the winner was decided by 100% Televoting, unlike the semi-final, where the jury had a influence. This being the first time ever, that only televoting deciding the final outcome.
The results were announced in reversed order, starting with who finished last, to who finished in the top.
After it was revealed who finished from 6th to 3rd place, it was time to keep the excitement going, and instead, the artist who will represent Moldova at this years competition was invited to perform. Lidia Isac performed her Eurovision entry “Falling Stars”.
Afterwards, the final 2 were called back on stage, which were Vanotek and Ovidiu Anton.
Ultimately, the winner and Romanian represent would be the artist who got most votes from the viewers, ending with the following outcome:
- Ovidiu Anton – “Moment Of Silence” – 6585 Votes
- Vanotek feat. The Code & Georgian – “I’m Coming Home” – 4702 Votes
- Florena – “Behind The Shadows” – 3491 Votes
- Dream Walkers – “Let It Shine” – 2332 Votes
- MIHAI – “Paradisio” – 2142 Votes
- Doru Todoruț feat. Irina Baianț – “The Voice” – 1235 Votes
Ovidiu Anton will now get the chance to finally represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest, after having tried to represent the country back in 2012, 2013 & 2015, finishing on 3rd place last year.
Romania will compete in the second half of the second semi-final, which will take place in Stockholm on the 12th of May, in Globen Arena. Romania is one of the few countries left in the competition, to always have qualified to the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, since semi-finals were introduced in the competition.
