The Moldovan national broadcaster announced a last-minute withdrawal from the Eurovision Song Contest, after a date for the local national final had already been set, auditions were held, and a list of songs was published. Now, which band that passed the auditions has offered to represent Moldova at Eurovision?
In a dramatic announcement during a press conference convened by the Moldovan national broadcaster, TRM, Corneliu Durnescu, the director of the Moldovan national broadcaster, and Daniela Crudu, the head of the Moldovan delegation, declared that Moldova will not participate in Eurovision 2025. According to them, the decision was made “following a detailed analysis of the current situation, as well as economic, administrative, and artistic challenges.”
However, a surprising development has emerged. Bacho & CARNIVAL BRAIN, who had previously passed the auditions for the national final with their song “Semafoare“, have announced that they received an offer from a sponsor willing to cover all financial expenses associated with representing Moldova at Eurovision. The duo is now proposing to represent the country instead of it being absent from the competition. This unexpected offer raises the question: Will it actually happen? We will have to wait and see.
In Bacho’s post, it was stated that:
“We deeply regret that all the artists who participated in the live auditions were labeled as low-quality artists by the TRM Director, Cornel Durnescu, publicly devaluing the creative work of each participant – which is unacceptable. We would like to refute the rumors that we had any discussions with any TRM representative. We are sorry that such information has been spread online. Additionally, we want to emphasize that our song Semafoare received great appreciation on European Eurovision platforms and has become one of the fan-favorite songs for Eurovision.
Today, our team received a sponsorship offer. They are offering financial assistance to cover all expenses related to the trip to Eurovision as they are invested in ensuring Moldova presents itself positively on the global stage during this milestone 20th anniversary of participation. In turn, we are ready to represent our country with dignity at Eurovision, considering that no one has yet seen our stage show concept, which plays a big role in the artistic image,which we haven’t had the chance to present to the public in this year’s final! We are awaiting a response from TRM team representatives
So, let’s give the green light to Semafoare this year and show that Moldova can rely on its young artists!”
הצגת פוסט זה באינסטגרם
Moldova’s Dramatic Withdrawal
Durnescu elaborates and explains:
“The decision was not easy, but necessary in the current context. This year’s pre-selection highlighted certain challenges, including a decline in public interest and the overall quality of artists and performances. This fact created a negative perception among judges and the public, emphasizing the need for substantial reform in the selection process.” He further stated that TRM aims to change the selection criteria and methodology to encourage broader participation of talented artists and provide a more consistent and competitive cultural representation on the international stage in the future. He added, “We respect the opinion of professionals and the general public, and understand that we need to make responsible decisions.”
According to Durnescu, the Eurovision contest involves considerable costs, including organizing the Moldovan Eurovision pre-selection, producing performances, promoting the chosen artist, travel and accommodation for the team, stage production, technical equipment, and additional related expenses. Durnescu emphasized that Moldova’s participation fee to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is 21,486 euros and not 176,000 euros as previously circulated.
As a reminder, the network held an audition day for the pre-selection in which 26 songs competed, and a date for the final had already been set for February 22nd, 2025.
List of songs and artists selected to compete in “Etapa națională 2025”:
- Zelorielle – “Miracle”
- Vadim Eleni – “Mamă, să fii!”
- Royals ST – “Zboară-n sus”
- PRIZA ft. Mc MIKE – “Kookoo”
- Katy Rain – “Timpul”
- Catalina Solomac – “Demons”
- Rina – “Dorințele”
- Bacho & CARNIVAL BRAIN – “Semafoare”
- LODOS – “Sentimental”
- Nadya Crajevschi – “Not a shodow”
- Chris Cross – “Eu vin”
- Sasha Bognibov – “All-Night Party”
Click on the song title to listen to it!
Returning Artists to the National Selection
Several artists in the current list have previously competed in Moldova’s Eurovision national selection, including:
- Sasha Bognibov – Participated in the Moldovan national selection in 2022 with two songs – “I Just Had Sex With Your Ex” and “My Friend Is Gay“, returned in 2023 with “My Favourite Schoolgirl” and 2024 with “Married to twins“, finishing last in the audition stages.
- Catalina Solomac – Participated last year with the song “Fever“.
- Katy Rain – Participated in 2022 with “Lele“.
MC Mike – Participated in 2012 with “The Mole Girl“.
Sasha Letty – Participated in 2019, 2020, and 2024. Last year, she participated with the song “DNA“.
Moldova in Eurovision 2024
Natalia Barbu represented Moldova in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2024 with the song “In the Middle”, after winning first place in the local national final. The song reached 13th place in the first semi-final, with only 20 points, and did not qualify for the grand final. This is Moldova’s lowest result in Eurovision since 2016, when Moldova reached 17th place in the semi-final.
Source: bacho
Eurovision 2025: This will be Moldova’s 20th participation in Eurovision. Moldova joined the competition in 2005 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2017 when SunStroke Project finished in third place with the song “Hey Mamma”.
