Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Encyclopedia
Romania was represented at Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow
, Russia
by Elena Gheorghe
with "The Balkan Girls
" after she won the national final, Selecţia Naţională
2009.
, confirmed that they would continue to hold a national final, Selecţia Naţională, to select the Romanian entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest. Two semi-finals were held before the final of the contest on 31 January 2009. Composers were able to submit songs to TVR from 15 November to 22 December, however only Romanian composers were allowed to take part in the competition.
Past Romanian Eurovision entrants confirmed their wish to enter the contest again, including Luminita Anghel
and Mihai Trăistariu
, who gave Romania their best results at the contest, 3rd and 4th place at the 2005
and 2006
contests respectively.
After TVR extended the deadline of competing entries, it had been rumoured that the broadcaster had received very few extries for the contest, with as little as five entries being reported. However, TVR rebuked this claim, confirming that they had received over 250 entries for the contest. 24 entries were selected by a special panel to compete in the two semi-finals on 8 January 2009, and were released on 9 January.
From this semi-final, Popas Band, the Blaxy Girls
, ZERO, Tabassco, Dalma Kovács
and Tina qualified to the final.
The six qualifiers to the final from this semi-final were Costi
, Red Blonde, Elena Gheorghe
, Cătălin Josan, Alin Nica and IMBA. They will join the six qualifiers from the first semi-final.
The televoting results were not consistent with the jury results. Elena Gheorghe came first in the jury vote with her song "The Balkan Girls", with Cătălin coming second and the Blaxy Girls third. However the Blaxy Girls came first in the televote for their performance of "Dear Mama", Gheorghe coming second and Cătălin third. The final result was that Gheorghe was the winner, getting a total of 22 points, while the Blaxy Girls and Cătălin came joint second with 18 points. IMBA, who performed "Round & Round", failed to get any points from either the jury or the televote.
. There she began on 10 March and lasted for four days, she performed at the International Tourism Fair in Berlin
, at the invitation of the Romanian Tourism Ministry, and also met the local media. She also performed at the London Preview party in the United Kingdom.
. At the semi-final draw on 30 January, it was decided that the country would compete in the first semi-final on 12 May 2009. Romania qualified into the final, and was drawn at number 22. The song won a place in the final where it eventually finished 19th with a score of 40 points.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
by Elena Gheorghe
Elena Gheorghe
Elena Gheorghe is a Romanian singer. Gheorghe represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and qualified for the final. One of her most notable music singles is "Te Ador" and her 2010 music single "Disco Romancing"....
with "The Balkan Girls
The Balkan Girls
"The Balkan Girls" is a song by Elena Gheorghe and was the Romanian entry in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was selected in the Romanian national final Selecţia Naţională 2009, which Gheorghe won....
" after she won the national final, Selecţia Naţională
Selectia Nationala
Selecţia Naţională is a song contest which takes place every year in Romania. This contest decides who will represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest.-Winners:-See also:* Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest...
2009.
Selecţia Naţională 2009
The Romanian broadcaster, Televiziunea Română (TVR)Romanian television
Romanian television may refer to:* Communications media in Romania* Televiziunea Română, TVR, the national television network* List of Romanian language television channels...
, confirmed that they would continue to hold a national final, Selecţia Naţională, to select the Romanian entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest. Two semi-finals were held before the final of the contest on 31 January 2009. Composers were able to submit songs to TVR from 15 November to 22 December, however only Romanian composers were allowed to take part in the competition.
Past Romanian Eurovision entrants confirmed their wish to enter the contest again, including Luminita Anghel
Luminita Anghel
Luminiţa Anghel is a Romanian singer. Anghel, along with the percussion band Sistem, represented Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, with the song Let Me Try, where they were ranked third in the final, Romania's best ever result at Eurovision...
and Mihai Trăistariu
Mihai Traistariu
Mihai Trăistariu is a Romanian singer and musician. He represented Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 held in Athens, Greece, with the song "Tornero". Since that competition the song has been broadcast in over 30 countries in Europe.- Biography :...
, who gave Romania their best results at the contest, 3rd and 4th place at the 2005
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
and 2006
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
contests respectively.
After TVR extended the deadline of competing entries, it had been rumoured that the broadcaster had received very few extries for the contest, with as little as five entries being reported. However, TVR rebuked this claim, confirming that they had received over 250 entries for the contest. 24 entries were selected by a special panel to compete in the two semi-finals on 8 January 2009, and were released on 9 January.
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final was held on 27 January 2009. From the 12 songs that competed in the semi-final, only six qualified to the final on 31 January. The qualifiers were decided by 50% jury voting and 50% televoting.From this semi-final, Popas Band, the Blaxy Girls
Blaxy Girls
Blaxy Girls are a Romanian teenagers pop rock girl-band.The group's first single, "If You Feel My Love" became quickly very popular in Romania.The second great hit is called "Dear Mama". The clip was internationally released in the beginning of March, as a present for the women and mothers all...
, ZERO, Tabassco, Dalma Kovács
Dalma Kovács
Dalma is a Romanian pop/jazz singer and occasional television actress in the Divertis - Land of Jokes show on PRO TV channel...
and Tina qualified to the final.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Lyrics (l) / Music (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ZERO | "Sunny Days" | Radu Bolfea (m & l), Marcel Botezan (m & l), Sebastian Barac (m & l) |
| 2 | Nico Nico (Romanian singer) Nicoleta Matei, known by her stage name Nico, is a Romanian singer. She represented Romania along with Vlad in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.-Musical career:Nico started singing since she was a child... & Moni-k |
"Disco Maniacs" | Laurenţiu Matei (m), Monica Mândrescu (l), Caspa (l) |
| 3 | D.D | "Everyday" | Marius Pop (m), Adina Drăgoescu (l) |
| 4 | Romeo Zaharia | "Someone Like You" | Romeo Zaharia (m), Mihaela Barbu (l) |
| 5 | Floriana Pachia | "Take The Chance" | Floriana Pachia (m & l) |
| 6 | Alexa | "A Girl Like Me" | Radu Bolfea (m), Marcel Botezan (m), Sebastian Barac (m), Alexa (l) |
| 7 | Popas Band | "Striga" | Marius Popa (m & l) |
| 8 | Juan Xavier | "Perdoname" | Ionuţ Botea (m & l), George Hora (m) |
| 9 | Tabassco | "Purple" | Norbert Kovács (m & l), Ion Faghiura (l) |
| 10 | Tina | "Pleacă!" | Cornel Ilie (m & l) |
| 11 | Dalma Kovács Dalma Kovács Dalma is a Romanian pop/jazz singer and occasional television actress in the Divertis - Land of Jokes show on PRO TV channel... |
"Love Was Never Her Friend" | Marius Moga Marius Moga Marius Moga is a Romanian producer, composer and singer, famous in Eastern and Central Europe. He writes and produces music in various styles and genres, especially pop, R'n'B and club music.-Biography:... (m & l) |
| 12 | Blaxy Girls | "Dear Mama" | Costi Ioniţă Costi Ionita Costi Ioniţă is a Romanian singer, songwriter and record producer, regarded as one of the most celebrated ethnic Romanian vocalist of muzică orientală . Born in Constanţa, he began his musical career by singing Romanian traditional music. He however achieved fame as a member of the pop boy band... (m), Ruxandra Iliescu (l) |
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final will be held on 29 January 2009. Again, only six songs will qualify to the final on 31 January from the 12 competing entries. The qualifiers will be decided by 50% jury voting and 50% televoting.The six qualifiers to the final from this semi-final were Costi
Costi Ionita
Costi Ioniţă is a Romanian singer, songwriter and record producer, regarded as one of the most celebrated ethnic Romanian vocalist of muzică orientală . Born in Constanţa, he began his musical career by singing Romanian traditional music. He however achieved fame as a member of the pop boy band...
, Red Blonde, Elena Gheorghe
Elena Gheorghe
Elena Gheorghe is a Romanian singer. Gheorghe represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and qualified for the final. One of her most notable music singles is "Te Ador" and her 2010 music single "Disco Romancing"....
, Cătălin Josan, Alin Nica and IMBA. They will join the six qualifiers from the first semi-final.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Lyrics (l) / Music (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Besa Kokedhima | "Nothin' Gonna Change" | Sebastian Badiu (m & l) |
| 2 | Red Blonde | "Nu am cu cine" | Marius Moga Marius Moga Marius Moga is a Romanian producer, composer and singer, famous in Eastern and Central Europe. He writes and produces music in various styles and genres, especially pop, R'n'B and club music.-Biography:... (m & l), Anthony Valentiono Negoiţă (m) |
| 3 | Adrian Molnár | "Go On" | Norbert Kovacs (m & l), Florin Dumitrescu (l), Ionut Faghiura (l) |
| 4 | Cătălin Josan | "Stop" | Eduard Carcota (m), Cristian Hriscu-Badea (l) |
| 5 | SoundCheck | "You Are My Love" | Cătălin Huţanu (m & l) |
| 6 | Etnic | "The Love Is Life" | Daniel Lăzărică (m & l) |
| 7 | Irina Popa | "I Feel Your Presence" | Adrian Ordean (m), Harko Boti (l) |
| 8 | Alexa | "One Last Night" | Cornel Ilie (m & l) |
| 9 | Alin Nica | "Don't Leave" | George Hora (m & l) |
| 10 | IMBA | "Round & Round" | Costi Ioniţă Costi Ionita Costi Ioniţă is a Romanian singer, songwriter and record producer, regarded as one of the most celebrated ethnic Romanian vocalist of muzică orientală . Born in Constanţa, he began his musical career by singing Romanian traditional music. He however achieved fame as a member of the pop boy band... (m), Oana Radu (l) |
| 11 | Costi Costi Ionita Costi Ioniţă is a Romanian singer, songwriter and record producer, regarded as one of the most celebrated ethnic Romanian vocalist of muzică orientală . Born in Constanţa, he began his musical career by singing Romanian traditional music. He however achieved fame as a member of the pop boy band... |
"Can You Forgive" | Costi Ioniţă Costi Ionita Costi Ioniţă is a Romanian singer, songwriter and record producer, regarded as one of the most celebrated ethnic Romanian vocalist of muzică orientală . Born in Constanţa, he began his musical career by singing Romanian traditional music. He however achieved fame as a member of the pop boy band... (m), Ruxandra Iliescu (l) |
| 12 | Elena Gheorghe Elena Gheorghe Elena Gheorghe is a Romanian singer. Gheorghe represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and qualified for the final. One of her most notable music singles is "Te Ador" and her 2010 music single "Disco Romancing".... |
"The Balkan Girls" | Laurenţiu Duţă (m & l), Ovidiu Bistriceanu (m), Daris Mangal (m), Alexandru Pelin (l) |
Final
The final of Selecţia Naţională 2009 was held on 31 January, and featured 12 songs, six songs from each semi-final. The winner was decided by a 50/50 mix of jury and televoting. The total number of televotes and votes from each of the 10 jury members was converted into "Eurovision points": the song with the most votes was awarded 12 points, the second placed song was awarded 10 points, followed by 8-1 points for the rest of the songs, with two songs failing to receive points.The televoting results were not consistent with the jury results. Elena Gheorghe came first in the jury vote with her song "The Balkan Girls", with Cătălin coming second and the Blaxy Girls third. However the Blaxy Girls came first in the televote for their performance of "Dear Mama", Gheorghe coming second and Cătălin third. The final result was that Gheorghe was the winner, getting a total of 22 points, while the Blaxy Girls and Cătălin came joint second with 18 points. IMBA, who performed "Round & Round", failed to get any points from either the jury or the televote.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Lyrics (l) / Music (m) | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Popas Band | "Striga" | Marius Popa (m & l) | 4 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| 2 | Costi Costi Ionita Costi Ioniţă is a Romanian singer, songwriter and record producer, regarded as one of the most celebrated ethnic Romanian vocalist of muzică orientală . Born in Constanţa, he began his musical career by singing Romanian traditional music. He however achieved fame as a member of the pop boy band... |
"Can You Forgive" | Costi Ioniţă Costi Ionita Costi Ioniţă is a Romanian singer, songwriter and record producer, regarded as one of the most celebrated ethnic Romanian vocalist of muzică orientală . Born in Constanţa, he began his musical career by singing Romanian traditional music. He however achieved fame as a member of the pop boy band... (m), Ruxandra Iliescu (l) |
3 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | Blaxy Girls | "Dear Mama" | Costi Ioniţă Costi Ionita Costi Ioniţă is a Romanian singer, songwriter and record producer, regarded as one of the most celebrated ethnic Romanian vocalist of muzică orientală . Born in Constanţa, he began his musical career by singing Romanian traditional music. He however achieved fame as a member of the pop boy band... (m), Ruxandra Iliescu (l) |
6 | 12 | 18 | 2 |
| 4 | Red Blonde | "Nu am cu cine" | Marius Moga Marius Moga Marius Moga is a Romanian producer, composer and singer, famous in Eastern and Central Europe. He writes and produces music in various styles and genres, especially pop, R'n'B and club music.-Biography:... (m & l), Anthony Valentiono Negoiţă (m) |
2 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 5 | ZERO | "Sunny Days" | Radu Bolfea (m & l), Marcel Botezan (m & l), Sebastian B (m & l) | 7 | 5 | 12 | 4 |
| 6 | Elena Gheorghe Elena Gheorghe Elena Gheorghe is a Romanian singer. Gheorghe represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and qualified for the final. One of her most notable music singles is "Te Ador" and her 2010 music single "Disco Romancing".... |
"The Balkan Girls The Balkan Girls "The Balkan Girls" is a song by Elena Gheorghe and was the Romanian entry in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was selected in the Romanian national final Selecţia Naţională 2009, which Gheorghe won.... " |
Laurenţiu Duţă (m & l), Ovidiu Bistriceanu (m), Daris Mangal (m), Alexandru Pelin (l) |
12 | 10 | 22 | 1 |
| 7 | Tabassco | "Purple" | Norbert Kovács (m & l), Ion Faghiura (l) | 8 | 4 | 12 | 4 |
| 8 | Cătălin | "Stop" | Eduard Carcota (m), Cristian Hriscu-Badea (l) | 10 | 8 | 18 | 2 |
| 9 | Dalma Kovács Dalma Kovács Dalma is a Romanian pop/jazz singer and occasional television actress in the Divertis - Land of Jokes show on PRO TV channel... |
"Love Was Never Her Friend" | Marius Moga Marius Moga Marius Moga is a Romanian producer, composer and singer, famous in Eastern and Central Europe. He writes and produces music in various styles and genres, especially pop, R'n'B and club music.-Biography:... (m & l) |
5 | 6 | 11 | 6 |
| 10 | Alin Nica | "Don't Leave" | George Hora (m & l) | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 11 | Tina | "Pleacă!" | Cornel Ilie (m & l) | 1 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
| 12 | IMBA | "Round & Round" | Costi Ioniţă Costi Ionita Costi Ioniţă is a Romanian singer, songwriter and record producer, regarded as one of the most celebrated ethnic Romanian vocalist of muzică orientală . Born in Constanţa, he began his musical career by singing Romanian traditional music. He however achieved fame as a member of the pop boy band... (m), Oana Radu (l) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
Promotion
Gheorghe made a promotional tour of her entry around Europe before she performed in the first semi-final in Moscow. Gheorghe's first visit was GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. There she began on 10 March and lasted for four days, she performed at the International Tourism Fair in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, at the invitation of the Romanian Tourism Ministry, and also met the local media. She also performed at the London Preview party in the United Kingdom.
At Eurovision
Romania competed in one of the two semi-finals in the 2008 contestEurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Contest. It was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. This year was the first contest to have two semi-finals which were held on 20 and 22 May, and the final held on 24 May 2008...
. At the semi-final draw on 30 January, it was decided that the country would compete in the first semi-final on 12 May 2009. Romania qualified into the final, and was drawn at number 22. The song won a place in the final where it eventually finished 19th with a score of 40 points.
Semi final
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point | |
Final
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point | |