Moldova’s TRM responds to Pasha Parfeni’s criticism ahead of Eurovision 2026, addressing his remarks while continuing preparations for the upcoming national selection
Following Moldova’s return to Eurovision 2026, hosted in Vienna, Austria, after a one-year break, local drama erupted ahead of the national selection. Pasha Parfeni, the artist who represented Moldova at Eurovision 2012 and 2023, publicly accused the Moldovan national broadcaster TRM of mismanagement. The broadcaster responded through an official statement.
“The Statement Is Unfair and Irresponsible”
In an interview with the local newspaper NewsMaker, the national broadcaster addressed Parfeni’s criticism, stating that it was surprised and embarrassed by his words. According to TRM, the artist’s public declarations – given his history of twice representing Moldova – were “unfair and irresponsible”.
Pasha Parfeni’s Extensive Eurovision History
Parfeni is a respected and active musician in Moldova. Beyond his two Eurovision appearances, his connection with the contest is long-standing. He first competed in the national selection in 2009 as lead vocalist of SunStroke Project with “No Crime”, finishing third. In 2010, he entered as a solo artist with “You Should Like” and placed second, just behind his former band. In 2011, his song “Dorule” (“Entertainment”) reached third place.
After earning the right to represent Moldova in 2012 with Lăutar (“The Fiddler”) in Baku – where he placed 11th – Parfeni continued his involvement in the contest, composing “O Mie” (“A Thousand”) for Aliona Moon in 2013 and joining her onstage in Malmö as pianist. He later wrote “Maricica” for DoReDoS in 2015, finishing sixth in the national selection. In 2020, he returned with “My Wine”, finishing second. In 2023, he won the selection once again and represented Moldova in Liverpool, finishing 18th.
Parfeni’s recent criticism came after it was revealed that the changes to the national selection process were minimal and that the national broadcaster would retain full control over selecting the country’s Eurovision representative.
Preparations for Eurovision 2026 Underway
Despite the public controversy, the preparations for the 2026 national selection are continuing as planned. The submission deadline for entries was set for December 7th, after which live auditions will take place.
For the first time, two official producers will oversee the pre-selection process with the goal of improving production quality and streamlining the procedure. The national final will be broadcast live, culminating in the selection of Moldova’s representative based on a combination of audience votes and evaluations from a professional jury of 20 experts – 15 Moldovan and 5 international.
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.
Eurovision 2026: 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”.
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Maor Heumann has been writing about the Eurovision Song Contest and following it for over three decades. He has attended five contests and has found something to appreciate in almost every possible musical genre — from the sugary pop entries that finish last in the semi-finals to the quirky avant-garde pieces that even the competition’s juries struggled to connect with. He usually prefers original languages and songs with depth over Swedish-produced English clones — though he doesn’t promise to stick to that rule.
He grew up on the kibbutz of Sara’le Sharon, who instilled in him a love for music and created his first connection to the contest back in 1993 — before most of the current editorial team was even born.
