Romania

Alex Florea

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameAlexandru Ionuț Florea Born15 September 1991 Nationality???????? Romanian National SelectionSelecția Națională 2018Selecția Națională 2017 In Eurovision2017 Kyiv SongYodel It1 (2017, with Ilinca) Biography Alexandru Ionuț “Alex” Florea (b. September 15, 1991, Constanța[2][3]) is a Romanian singer. He was born in Constanța and studied journalism, but interrupted it and studied acting at “Ovidiu” University in Constanța. In March 2015, he took part in The X-Factor, together with his brother Cristian Goaie. In the same year, he was in Vocea României (The Voice of Romania) and managed to reach the semi-finals. In 2017, he took part in Selecția Națională 2017, the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, together with Ilinca. With the song “Yodel it!”, they were able to win, so that they could represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. In the Grand Final they ended up in 7th place. A year later, Florea took part in Selecția Națională again, with a song called “Nobody told me it would hurt”. The song didn’t manage to survive the semifinals. In the same year, Florea took part in another talent show, The Four – Cei 4!. As an actor, Florea played the role of Quasimodo in the musical Cocosatul de la Notre Dame. The play was premiered on June 22, 2018 and he did the tour in 2018 and 2019. In January 2021, Alex teamed up with Masymeno and released the song “Soare”. Entries Yodel It! (with Ilinca) Country???????? Romania Year2017 LanguageEnglish LyricsAlexa Niculae MusicMihai Alexandru BackingsCristian Goaie Results Semi Points: 174Position: 6Running order: 5 Results Finals Points: 282Position: 7Running order: 20 https://youtu.be/ZSHc7iDuBCQ

Ilinca Băcilă

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameMaria Ilinca Băcilă Born17 August 1998 Nationality???????? Romanian National SelectionSelecția Națională 2017 In Eurovision2017 Kyiv SongYodel it! (with Alex Florea) Biography Ilinca Băcilă is a Romanian singer and Yodeler. She was born in Târgu Mureș, but currently lives lives in Cluj-Napoca. She has been studying music since she was 7 years old. In 2012, she took part in Românii au talent at age 13. She went on to the semifinals. A year later she participated in The X Factor as a member of a girl band, managing to reach the live galas. In 2014, she took part in Vocea României (The Voice of Romania), where she was part of Loredana Groza’s team and where she reaches the semi-finals. After getting noticed on The X Factor and Vocea României, Ilinca began collaborating with several cultural institutions in the country, such as the Iași Philharmonic, the Cluj Romanian Opera and the Brașov Dramatic Theatre. At the beginning of 2017, Ilinca Băcilă collaborated with Alex Florea and presents the song “Yodel it”, the song entered in the Selecția Națională, the Romanian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition, and Ilinca and Alex represent Romania at Eurovision 2017, reaching the final. Romania reached the 7th place with the song. After Eurovision, Ilinca released a solo song, “Amici”. In 2018, another one called “Nu acum” was released. Since May 2022, Ilinca is the lead singer of a band called Gadjo Dilo. Their music is based on the gipsy culture. Entries Yodel It! (with Alex Florea) Country???????? Romania Year2017 LanguageEnglish LyricsAlexa Niculae MusicMihai Alexandru BackingsCristian Goaie Results Semi Points: 174Position: 6Running order: 5 Results Finals Points: 282Position: 7Running order: 20 https://youtu.be/ZSHc7iDuBCQ

WRS

©EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameAndrei-Ionuț Ursu Born16 January 1993 Nationality🇷🇴 Romania National SelectionSelection Method In Eurovision2022 Turin SongLlámame Biography Andrei Ionuț Ursu (born in Buzău, Romania), professionally known as Wrs, pronounced in Romanian [urs], , is a Romanian dancer, singer and composer. He started dancing at the age of 12 because he was encouraged by his parents, folk music dancers. He worked as a dancer for famous artists such as Inna, Antonia or Carla’s Dreams and was part of the PRO TV ballet on shows such as The Voice Romania and Romania Got Talent. He started his musical career in the boys’ band Shot in 2015. In 2017, he left the project, moved to London and began composing music. Wrs debuted in January 2020 with the song “Why”, which received over one million views on YouTube and 400,000 streams on Spotify. The singles “Amore”, with İlkan Günüç and “Tsunami”, were successful, both digital and on the radio, and took where hits in the music charts in Romania and Bulgaria. In February 2022, Wrs released the single “Llámame”, with which he represented Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. Entries Llámame Country🇷🇴 Romania Year2022 LanguageEnglish/Spanish LyricsAndrei UrsuCezar Gună MusicAndrei UrsuCezar GunăAlexandru TurcuCostel Domințeanu BackingsLaurian Manta DancersVivienne Meda-SzentyobbiAndrei Iulian AngelescuEmanuel NeaguRuxandra Anamaria Results Semi Points: 118Position: 9Running order: 13 Results Finals Points: 65Position: 18Running order: 2 https://youtu.be/nPpuwy79sHs

Did six countries make a mutual deal?

Six countries have mutually agreed on the voting in this years Eurovision Song Contest. That’s what Jean Philip De Tender of the EBU said to Belgian newspaper “Het Laatste Nieuws“. Earlier it was announced that the points of the aforementioned six countries were annulled. The EBU announced that there were irregularities during the broadcast. A new points list has been compiled for these countries. The EBU then looks at the voting behavior of comparable countries.This situation would concern Azerbaijan, San Marino, Romania, Montenegro, Georgia and Poland, but the EBU does not want to confirm that. It seems that the EBU had not informed the countries about the nullification of the points. Georgia and Romania were not amused. Georgia is said to have given the twelve to Ukraine and now saw them go to the United Kingdom. Romania had awarded twelve points to Moldova, which went to Ukraine.

And the last ten finalists are….

Yes, the die is cast again. Ten songs will go through to the final, to be exactly the ten countries you will find below: Belgium Czech Republic Azerbaijan Poland Finland Estonia Australia Sweden Romania Serbia Congratulations to the ten winners. And remember: only ten songs could go through. That does not mean that the other songs are bad.

Our prediction for the 2nd semifinal

Two days ago we made a prediction for the first semi-final. Okay, no Albania and Latvia, but Moldova and Iceland instead. But don’t forget: we got no less than eight countries right! That’s why we’re taking the risk for another prediction tonight, this time for the second semifinal. We think that these are the countries that will advance to the final tomorrow: Finland: Who doesn’t know The Rasmus? These rockers have a huge fan base all over Europe. They will vote en masse. Finland makes it to the final. Serbia: The bookmakers are even predicting that Serbia will finish in the top-10. The act with washing hands will be appreciated by enough people for a place in the final. Unfortunately, Britain’s Prince Harry lives in the US. He would definitely vote for this song that mentions his wife. Azerbaijan: This country almost always makes it to the final according to a fixed recipe: a foreign team writes a song. A strong act is built around it. A guarantee for success! Australia: This song is one you either love or hate. There are plenty of people who really appreciate the act with the mask and feathers. The message also gets across. Sheldon is also a very good singer. Cyprus: A surprising song in Greek. Cyprus is not necessarily high on all lists, but it is just such a number that still gets enough appreciation to reach the final tomorrow evening. Estonia: This song makes people happy. And if there’s one thing we need right now, it’s hope, and what’s this song about….? Stefan will be in the final on Saturday. Romania: Spain votes in this semi-final and that helps, but in the meantime WRS also puts on a slick show. We think there is a good chance that it will be a final place. Poland: This is one of two entries on which our entire team is unanimous: Poland goes to the final with the rock-solid, well-sung ballad. Welcome back in the final, Poland! Belgium: The Belgian gospel song is one of a kind, well sung and therefore stands out in a positive way. Although the Belgians themselves seem to have doubts, we are convinced of a place in the final for Jérémie Makiese. Sweden: If Sweden doesn’t go to the final, nobody will. Even when everything went wrong, Cornelia Jacobs remained professional. The bookmakers are still predicting a very high position. But are we right? We’ll know in about 24 hours!

Day 7: A crystal mask, a thunderstorm and Murphy’s Law

The penultimate day of rehearsal: it is becoming increasingly clear what the viewer can expect. Today we saw the last artists of the second semifinal. Let’s take a closer look at the rehearsals: AUSTRALIA: Whatever you think of Sheldon Riley, he sings like no other. During his emotional ballad he wears the white suit with the enormous drag of feathers. He wears his crystal mask for most of the act, but it goes off. It can’t be difficult for Australia to make it to the final. CYPRUS: For the first time in years, Cyprus is singing (partially) in Greek again. Andromache and her dancers stand in a kind of shell as they sing the song. We have to admit that we would describe Andromache’s vocals as ‘not bad’. If is that a recommendation….? IRELAND: Ireland falls into the ‘how nice’ category. Brooke’s vocals are certainly not bad, neither is the act. However, you may wonder if this is the song with which Ireland will finally reach the final again. We cannot rule out the possibility that it will not work. NORTH MACEDONIA: Perhaps Andrea had hoped for greater success. She was not happy with her first rehearsal. The song comes across as screaming; a hoarseness that suits Kaliopi (2012 and 2016) but not Andrea. ESTONIA: Unfortunately, Stefan can’t count on the 12 points from Armenia, because the country where his roots lie is performing in the other semifinal. The many movements he makes do have an effect on Stefan’s voice, but somehow it doesn’t seem to matter for the entry. It is a happy song that can easily go through to the final. ROMANIA: The Romanians made some minor changes to the act, making it even better and slicker. Furthermore, it seemed as if WRS had changed the melody of the chorus a little bit here and there. In any case, a spectacular show is in store for Romania. POLAND: The ballad of Polen starts very calmly with Ochman alone on stage. Halfway through, when the song becomes a little less quiet, the aforementioned dancers (forest nymphs?) come on stage. We see that a heavy thunderstorm erupts on the stage. Finally a strong contender for Poland agiain. MONTENEGRO: A ballad in which not much happens in 3 minutes. The advantage is that not much can go wrong. We had already mentioned the blue dress that Vladana is wearing. Behind her a circle that most resembles the fluff ball of a dandelion. It is not sure whether it stands out enough to go to the final. BELGIUM: The Belgians have a strong singer with a gospel-like power ballad in Jérémie Makiese. He will definitely get points for that. Fortunately, because the act he shows looks a bit stiff and doesn’t really do justice to the song and singer. SWEDEN: Murphy’s Law strikes. If one thing goes wrong, everything immediately goes wrong. Problems with the sound, problems with the technique and a falling cameraman meant that she was only able to do one whole runthrough. Cornelia did manage to show how professional she is, by showing a good rehearsal even with all that trouble. CZECH REPUBLIC: The act with lots of light and nice graphics fits very well with the Czech entry. In that respect it is a unity. The vocals, however, leave a lot to be desired. That could cost them their heads if it has to be clear who will go to the final.

Day 4: new sun troubles, a Swedish circle and many more

Today is the day of the stage again. Today the EBU has made an official statement about it: “During the technical tests in Turin, the production team has experienced challenges with how long it takes to adjust the “sun” to different positions in the time between the different performances. Together with the host station RAI it was therefore decided that the sun will remain in the same position during all 40 songs, to ensure a fair competition for all participating countries.”. What position that is, is still being discussed. So to be continued again. It is certain that a number of countries now have to make changes in their staging. Meanwhile, 9 countries rehearsed for their performance in the second semifinal. IRELAND: Brooke takes the stage in a bright blue suit. During her performance she is assisted by four dancers. They start the song lying on the floor! Ireland uses many floor projections. Brooke is also praised by Eurovision.tv for her strong voice. Pyrotechnics are used at the end of her performance. NORTH MACEDONIA: Andrea stands alone on the podium for North Macedonia. She sings her song completely wrapped in black leather. In her performance she uses the lifting bridges over the water. Shadows of hands are visible on the LED screens. The sun is not only orange but also white and blue. ESTONIA: Stefan starts his performance on the B stage. He is accompanied only by his guitar. Later in the song, he goes wild: then he uses the entire stage to present his performance. The two cowboys from the national final stayed home. ROMANIA: WRS from Romania wears glittering wetlook trousers. He also wears a red blouse, but according to Eurovision tradition, that goes off. He turns out to be wearing a sleeveless shirt with glitter underneath. There is a lot of dancing. As a result, the Romanian likely gets a lot of attention from the crowd. POLAND: The Polish competitor Ochman is also in black, he wears a black suit. He is assisted by four dancers, who seem to represent some kind of water spirits. Flashing light effects can be seen during the performance. The waterfall on the stage is also used… what else could we expect with a song about a river? MONTENEGRO: Vladana has her entire performance on the B stage. She wears a blue dress during her performance. The background is also blue, with splashes of white as graphics. Vladana mainly remains in one place. BELGIUM: The Belgian Jérémie Makiese impressed with his song. Jérémie is flanked by four dancers. He himself wears blue-grey trousers, a black shirt and a silver jacket, while the dancers wear black jackets. At the end of the act all the light falls on Jérémie, who is standing on a platform on which flames are projected. SWEDEN: Cornelia Jakobs ranks high among the bookmakers. As the Swedes always do, Cornelia Jakobs also puts on the same act as during the national final Melodifestivalen. The starry sky at the beginning, the large, first green and then red, circular plate right behind Cornelia, even the silver-black clothing and the bare feet are the same. CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czech group We Are Domi is the last to rehearse today. The group uses a lot of light, which makes you feel like you’re in a disco. Funny effect: the ‘sun’ on stage looks like a vinyl album here. Eurovision.tv mentions the cello-string guitar: the guitarist made it himself.

Blast from the past: Romania 2004

We know a lot about Eurovision; this is knowledge we want to share with you. Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Back to 2004, when Sanda represented Romania with “I admit”. Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest In the Eurovision Song Contest, Romania did not do bad, but real top scores were yet to come. It was “Tell me why”, the song with which Monica Anghel and Marcel Pavel reached the 9th place, the best score so far. In 2003, Nicola became 10th. That was enough for Romania to be placed directly in the 2004 final. National selection The Romanian national selection contained two semifinals: one with 12 and one with 11 songs. On March 13, Dan Teodorescu and Nicola hosted the national final with, again, 12 songs. The contest was held in the TVR TV-Studios in Bucharest. Supermarket with “De 2 ore te astept“, 12th with 0 points Nico with “Feeling snow white“, 9th with 4 points Shake with “Music”, 11th with 1 point Andra with “Just a little love“, 2nd with 17 points Elena Cârstea with “Don’t be afraid“, 4th with 16 points Paula Seling with “Perfect“, 6th with 8 points Salamandra with “Într-o zi“, 6th with 8 points Maria Radu with “All this time“, 2nd with 17 points Sanda Ladoşi with “I admit“, 1st with 24 points Parlament with “Tot pe ea“, 5th with 9 points Alexandra Ungureanu with “Happy“, 9th with 4 points Hara with “Lovely“, 6th with 8 points Sanda Sanda Ladoși was born in Târgu Mures, Romania, on january 2nd 1970. She started making music at a very young age. It was in 1988 when she first won an award at the Mamaia festival. She won the contest again in 1994 in duet with Ștefan Iordache. Sanda released four albums in the nineties. In 1999 she took part in the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Five years later she was a participant again, but this time she won. Her Eurovision song “I admit” was included in her fifth album “Khalinin”, which was released in 2006. After this album, she decided to withdraw from showbusiness and become a mother. She has 2 children now. A few years later, Sanda Ladoși came back with shows and concerts, but also developed a new passion. She became a circus acrobat. In addition, she appeared as a guest in many plays at the “Constantin Tanase” Magazine Theater. In 2017, Sanda Ladoși became deputy director of the Metropolitan Circus in Bucharest. I admit The Eurovision Song “I admit” was an uptempo song. “I admit I fell for you so badly and I admit you make my senses wild”, Sanda sang. You can find the full lyrics of the song here. During the performance at the Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul, Sanda was joined by to singers and 3 dancers. She was wearing a black romper suit. The act was more of a dance act than a singing act. Results The voting became a big disappointment for Romania. With 10 points, awarded by the Spanish jury but furthermore only a few points from Cyprus (3), Israel (1) and Portugal (4), Romania ended up with a total of 18 points and an 18th place.

News about Poland, Iceland, Malta and Romania

Today, the EBU came up with a new statement about the four delegations that couldn’t attend the Turquoise Carpet Event yesterday. “Following the positive COVID-19 test in the Polish delegation on Saturday 15 May all other members of the delegation undertook a PCR test, in accordance with the health and safety protocol of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, and we’re pleased to report that all these PCR tests returned negative results. As a precaution the Polish delegation will remain in quarantine until being retested ahead of dress rehearsals for Semi Final 2, in which Poland perform, on Wednesday. Following a positive COVID-19 test within the Icelandic delegation yesterday (Sunday 16 May), they too have had PCR tests for which we are awaiting the results today and will remain in quarantine. They will also have further testing ahead of the same dress rehearsals in which they are also due to perform. All accredited individuals, including artists, have to test negative for COVID-19 before they can re-join the production. The delegations from Malta and Romania have not tested positive for COVID-19 and are not quarantining but, due to the fact they are staying in the same hotel as Poland and Iceland, did not take part in the Turquoise Carpet event and were also PCR tested as a safety precaution. Both these delegations will be welcomed to the arena today for rehearsals following negative results from the routine test this morning, as is normal procedure. Throughout the whole process, all decisions taken by the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest are based on the expert medical advice of the event’s medical team and the Erasmus Medical Centre.” In cooperation with Eurovision Artists