Ilinca and Alex are ready to 'Yodel It' for Romania in Kyiv

05 March 2017 at 23:35 CET

Ilinca and Alex will represent Romania at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest Andreea Zamfirescu

Ilinca and Alex Florea have won the 2017 edition of Selecţia Naţională, the Romanian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Ilinca and Alex Florea will perform the song Yodel It! in the second Semi-Final in Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday 11th May. The winner of Selecţia Naţională was decided solely by the public.

Ten acts fought for the right to represent Romania in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest after being selected by the jury in the semi-final held last week.

The results

After the one hour voting window the top three acts were announced:

Ilinca ft. Alex Florea -Yodel It!
Mihai - I Won't Surrender
Instinct - Petale (Petals)

Instinct finished third, with Mihai, who represented Romanian in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006, finishing fourth, achieved second. When Ilinca and Alex were declared the winners an emotional Ilinca burst into tears. The pair will fly the Romanian flag in Ukraine in May.

The participants

Ana-Maria Mirică - Spune-mi tu (Tell me)
Ilinca ft. Alex Florea -Yodel It!
Eduard Santha - Wild Child
Xandra - Walk On By
Mihai - I Won't Surrender
Maxim - Adu-ți aminte (Remember)
Tavi Colen & Emma - We Own the Night
Instinct - Petale (Petals)
Ramona Nerra - Save Me
Cristina Vasiu - Set the Skies on Fire

During the show Arrival, an ABBA tribute band performed alongside Timebelle, Switzerland's Eurovision representative this year. The live broadcast also saw Sunstroke Project (Moldova) and Spain's Manel Navarro take to the stage.

Ilinca and Alex Florea have both taken part in the The Voice of Romania as well as The X Factor. Ilinca comes from a family of musicians and has studied music since she was 7 years old, she has also participated in several festivals over the years. Alex Florea started singing when he was 16. Fellow singer Mihai Trăistariu guided his steps towards a music school and then to festivals. Now Alex is studying to get his master’s degree within Ovidiu Arts University.

Ilinca and Alex Florea's song, Yodel It! was written by Mihai Alexandru who wrote Romania's entry in 2003, Don't Break My Heart which was performed by Nicola and finished 10th in Riga.

Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest

Romania made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. Romania's best placing in the contest is third in both 2005 and 2010. Luminiţa Anghel represented Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005, together with the band System, with the song Let Me Try and in 2010 Paula Seling and Ovi Jacobsen performed Playing With Fire. So far, Romania has a 100% qualification record for the Grand Final.