Romanian singer Mihai Trăistariu, known for his song “Tornero” from Eurovision 2006, promises to find a way to win this year, but it’s still unclear which country he will represent.
Mihai Trăistariu, a singer from Constanța on Romania’s Black Sea coast, is determined to win Eurovision this year after previous attempts with various songs. His breakthrough came with “Tornero,” which led him to fourth place at Eurovision 2006 in Athens and brought him great success. Now, Trăistariu claims he has found the perfect song for victory but hasn’t decided which country he will represent.
Last year, Mihai Trăistariu missed the registration for the competition, waiting for the Romanian national broadcaster’s decision regarding participation in Eurovision 2024. Romania did not participate in the contest after receiving 0 points in the 2023 semi-final.
The singer also competed in additional Romanian Eurovision national finals in 2016, 2017, and 2018 but lost in all of them. In 2019, he was again selected to compete in the national final but withdrew before the competition. This year, Trăistariu doesn’t want to miss the opportunity again and is confident that his song will lead him to the coveted victory.
The New Song and Potential Participation
“The song was written for me last year by composers from Finland, but because Romania didn’t participate, the song remained in the drawer,” Trăistariu explained. He is now considering waiting until November when a decision might be made in Romania. If not, he will consider representing another country that allows it.
The song “Tornero” brought Trăistariu great success, with revenues of over a million euros from worldwide plays. Although the money was divided among the writers, composer, and production company, Trăistariu managed to earn a significant amount, which, among other things, allowed him to establish a taxi company in his city. Even today, 18 years later, he continues to earn from the song’s plays.
Romania’s Eurovision Participation and Future Prospects
Romania withdrew from the Eurovision 2024 competition after the proposed budget for participation was rejected by the TVR national broadcaster council. However, a broadcaster spokesperson clarified in an interview that the possibility of Romania returning to the competition next year was not completely ruled out. The Romanian broadcaster TVR spokesperson stated: “So far, no decision has been made on further participation in the Eurovision 2025 competition.”
Romania is one of several countries that have withdrawn from the competition in recent years due to economic difficulties. Bulgaria and North Macedonia also withdrew from the competition before Eurovision 2023 for similar reasons. Montenegro was also one of the countries that withdrew before Eurovision 2023, but it has already confirmed its return to the competition next year.
In 2023, Romania spent over 380,000 euros on its participation in Eurovision, held in Liverpool, UK. This amount included a payment of 180,000 euros for participation fees to be paid to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and the remaining 200,000 euros covered additional expenses such as travel, accommodation, and setup. In 2023, Romania recorded its worst result in the history of the competition, as Theodor Andrei‘s song “(Off and On) D.G.T” received no points in the second semi-final.
We will have to wait and see if Romania can send a representative to Eurovision 2025, aiming to improve this result and perhaps meet Mihai Trăistariu again.
Source: B1TV
Romania has participated in Eurovision 24 times since joining the competition in 1993. Romania has never won the contest, and its best achievement is third place, which it reached twice in 2005 and 2010.