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Sixteen Romanian finalists racing for Eurovision

26 January 2010 at 02:12 CET

On Monday, the Romanian broadcaster TVR revealed the line-up for the national final. The total number of participating entries for the big night on the 6th of March is 16.

Initial reports stated that the pre-jury's mission was to select 12 to 15 songs. But when the actual jury vote took place, the three songs on positions 14 to 16 ended up scoring 79 points. Therefore, the jury decided to include all of them in the final.

 

Bronze medallist returns

The full list for the final, including the points awarded from the pre-jury, consists of the following artists and songs, with some artists still to be announced:

1. Come As One. Composer: Baruta Gabriel. Artist: [Forthcoming]. Points: 97.
2. It's Not Too Late. Composer: Andrei Tudor. Artist: Paula Seling & Kamara. Points: 97.
3. Searching For Perfect Emotion. Composer: Vlad Cretu. Artist: [Forthcoming]. Points: 93.
4. Running Out Of Time. Composer: Bourosu Daniel. Artist: Pasager. Points: 90.
5. Playing With Fire. Composer: Ovidiu Cernauteanu. Artist: Paula Seling & Ovi. Points: 89.
6. See You In Heaven, Michael. Composer: Mircea Romcescu. Artist: [Forthcoming]. Points: 89.
7. Come Along. Composers: Vlasceanu Bogdan and Turcu Paul. Artist: Laura Petrescu & Mihai Preda. Points: 88.
8. Jack Pott. Composers: Marias Mona, Rogoz Tudor, Sandru Ana Maria, Crivaci Razvan. Artist: Crivaci. Points: 88.
9. Around Around. Composer and artist: Catalin Josan. Points: 85.
10. Crazy. Composer: Deac Alexandru. Artist: Ungureanu Alexandra. Points: 83.
11. Love Is War. Composer: KEO. Artist: TINA G. Points: 82.
12. I'm Running. Composer: Ilie Cornel. Artist: Dalma Kovacs. Points: 81.
13. Save Their Lives. Composer: Eduard Carcota. Artists: Luminita Anghel, Tony Tomas & Adrian Piper.  Points: 80.
14. Baby. Composer: Mihai Alexandru. Artist: [Forthcoming]. Points: 79.
15. Lay Me Down. Composers and artists: Zero. Points: 79.
16. Surrender. Composer: Matache Razvan and Zoltan Pop. Artist: Anda Adam. Points: 79.

Luminiţa Anghel, in 2010 performing Save Their Lives together with Tony Tomas and Adrian Piper, is familiar to fans of the Eurovision Song Contest since her 2005 entry Let Me Try, which finished third in the Grand Final in Kyiv. Other performers with experience from trying out in the Romanian national selection include Zero, Paula Seling, and Laura Petrescu. Furthermore, Ovi competed in the Norwegian selection Melodi Grand Prix 2009.

One of the song titles, See You In Heaven, Michael, hints at a possible tribute song to the late Michael Jackson. Jackson's concert in Bucharest as part of the The Dangerous Tour on the 1st of October 1992 was released to TV, and is counted among the most famous concert events given by any artist.

 

New rules

For 2010, the Romanian broadcaster has changed the rules for the national selections. The semi-finals from past years will be skipped, with all the focus being on the one final on the 6th of March. The mission of the Romanian project is stated as finding "the best song performed by the best voice".

Some 40 of Romania's top composers was asked to name the best voices of the country, producing a list with the nominated artists. The composers were strongly recommended to consider these artists when submitting their songs. As an extra motivation, the composer of the winning entry not only gains a spot in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, but also a brand new car.

To determine who will represent Romania in Oslo, both televoting and regional juries with specialists will be used, on a 50/50 basis. A feature that will remain from previous years is the production of video clips for the finalists' songs.

Romania reached the Final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 19th on the big night, with Elena and The Balkan Girls.