TVR's decision to release the full results of the internal selection caused some commotion among fans and participants. "The list might affect the public opinion before the actual televised selections start, and thus the outcome of the shows. On the other hand, it certainly adds excitement to the national selection," says Eurovision Song Contest expert and Eurovision.tv editor Andreas Schacht.
Anna Sahlene and Nicola are back...
Winner of the internal selection was Dr Frankenstein, a song written and composed by Henrik Wikström, Niklas Edberger and Kent Olsson from Sweden. Performers of the song in the jury's list... LaGaylia Frazier & Anna Sahlene! The latter represented Estonia at the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest with Runaway, proudly finishing third, and took part in the Swedish national selection for the contest with This Woman. Wikström, Edberger and Olsson also saw their entry Shine qualifying for the next round of the Romanian selection. The three are still looking for a performer.
Nicola gives it another try as well. She represented Romania at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest in Riga, Latvia. She finished 10th with Don't Break My Heart.
... and so is Rednex!
Another remarkable name on the list is Rednex feat. Ro-mania. The Sweden-based group Rednex, which scored hits across Europe in the nineties and is particularly known for their hit cover Cotton Eyed Joe, struggled to reach the final of the Swedish national Eurovision Song Contest selection in 2006, where they finished sixth. Shortly afterwards, the group put itself up for sale on eBay, with a starting bid of $1,500,000. Without success... In 2007, the group was disqualified from the Romanian national selection.
Well-o-well...
Meanwhile, some claim the selected song The Key Of Life, composed by Dinu Maxer and performed by Simona Nae, would have to be disqualified. "The song contains the same instrumental part that lead to disqualification of last year's Rednex song Well-O-Wee in Romania. The instrumental part was also used for the postcards of the 2006 Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Romania," writes fan site Oikotimes.com. The samples are indeed quite similar, but it is up to music experts to determine if the used melody is a solid plagirism case.
Semi-finals will be taking place on the 9th and 16th of February. On the 23rd of February, Romania will decide who will represent the country at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, Serbia.
