Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012

Eurovision Song Contest 2012
Country  Romania
National selection
Selection process Selecția Națională 2012
Selection date(s) 10 March 2012
Selected entrant Mandinga
Selected song "Zaleilah"
Finals performance
Semi-final result Qualified (3rd, 120 points)
Final result 12th, 71 points
Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2011 2012 2013►

Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Romanian entry was selected through a national final, organised by the Romanian broadcaster Romanian Television (TVR). Mandinga represented Romania with the song "Zaleilah", which qualified 3rd from the first semi-final and went on to place 12th in the final, scoring 71 points.[1][2]

Background

Logo of Selecția Națională 2012

In early January 2012, Romania's participation remained unconfirmed. The online portal of one of Romania's newspapers, Cotidianul, assumed that Romania was not going to enter the 2012 edition of the contest due the lack of foundation, but TVR officials did not confirm this claim.[3] It was subsequently announced that Romania would take part in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.[4] TVR pressured the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to lower the entry fee and stated that participation was only possible if 40% of all the costs that may occur could be funded by a sponsor.[5]

It was announced that TVR had tried to convince worldwide-topping artist Inna to represent Romania in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest by internal selection, but she refused the offer as she was busy with her I Am the Club Rocker Tour, for promoting her album with the same name.[6][7]

TVR has announced in February that prospective participant should submit their entry between February 6 and February 23 which then initiated the process of verification that the rules have been obeyed and this will then lead the songs to proceed to a short-listing process by a jury of mass-media professionals. The TVR had said officially the rules in the Romanian television on February 5, 2012: "If rules are found not to have been obeyed, the entries will be automatically disqualified. If the jury considers the artist as not appropriate for the song, they will recommend another artist from the list for the final. A participation fee of 150 RON (€34.50) is being perceived." The grand final was in Bucharest on March 10.[8]

Irish songwriter Karl Broderick submitted his song "Twilight" in the competition to select Romania's Eurovision Song Contest entry after correctly predicting that Jedward would win the Irish selection with their song "Waterline", where Karl was one of the songwriters. After Jedward's entry was chosen to represent Irland, Broderick told RTÉ about "Twillight": "The song is a nod to the popular films of the same name, about vampires, so I thought it would be interesting to send the song to the home of Transylvania. They (Romania) came third two years ago."[9]

Selecția Națională 2012

In November 2011, a rumor started on the internet that Romania will withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. None of the TVR officials commented the rumors until mid-January, 2012 when it was officially announced that Romania will compete in that year's edition of the contest. The plan of a national final was partly abolished, as TVR approached Inna to represent Romania in the competition. She eventually refused the participation, claiming full agenda and schedules in the time prior to the final as the only reason for her resignation. As the internal selection didn't go well, on February 5, 2012 it was announced that TVR opened a pre-selection of entries for the fifteenth edition of Selecția Națională.

On February 6, SRTV published a wishlist for composers, encouraging them to compose entries for the following 84 artists.[10]

Mihai Trăistariu (left) and Elena Gheorghe (right) represented Romania in the Contest in the past and they returned back in the 2012 Selection.
Paula Seling (left) and Ovi (right) received the best place Romania ever gained in the contest, when they came third in 2010. They competed also in that year's Selection Show

Aurelian Temișan
Akcent
Alex Velea
Alexa
Alexandra Stan
Alexandra Ungureanu
Alin Vaduva
Alina Eremia
Annamarie Dancs
Anda Adam
Andra
Andreea Bănică
Antonia
Blaxy Girls
Bogdan Bradu
Cătălin Josan
Claudia Pavel
Corina
Costi Ioniță
Cristian Sanda
Cristina Vasiu
Dalma Kovács
Dan Bălan
Delia Matache
Desperado
Direcția 5
DJ Project
Dya

Edward Maya
Elena Gheorghe
Ellie White
Fly Project
Giulia
Holograf
Horia Brenciu
Hotel FM
Inna
Ionuț Ungureanu
Irina Popa
Jasmine
Kamelia
Keo
Laurențiu Cazan
Laurențiu Duță
Leo Iorga
Liviu Teodorescu
Lora (Wassabi)
Loredana Groza
Lucia Dumitrescu
Luminița Anghel
Mandinga
Marcel Pavel
Maria Radu
Mihai Trăistariu
Miki
Monica Anghel

Mona and Liviu Hodor
Morandi
Natalia Barbu
Nico
Nicola
Noni
Ovidiu Cernăuțeanu
Pasager
Pasha
Paula Seling
Pepe
Proconsul
Răzvan Krivach
RedBlonde
Silvia Ștefănescu
Simona Nae
Smiley
Ștefan Bănică, Jr.
Tabasco
Taxi
Tavi Colen
The Marker
Tica Alexe
Tony Tomas
Tara
Voltaj
Vunk
Zero

Notes:

Selecția Națională 2012 - 10 March 2012
Draw Artist Song Televote Jury Total Place
1 Cătălin Josan "Call my name" 10 8 18 3
2 Ana Mardare "If you find simple words to say" 0 6 6 8
3 Vicky Red "If you ever feel" 4 0 4 10
4 RPK "Singura care" 0 0 0 15
5 Lucian Oros "The best a man can get" 5 0 5 9
6 Raluca Ocneanu "Time is on my side" 0 4 4 11
7 Electric Fence "Șun-ta" 7 12 19 2
8 Ovidiu Anton "I walk alone" 2 7 9 5
9 Miss Mary "Rollin" 0 2 2 14
10 Mandinga "Zaleilah" 12 10 22 1
11 T&L "Twilight" 6 0 6 6
12 Ioana Bianca Anuța "Girls don't cry" 8 1 9 4
13 Tasha "Say my name" 1 5 6 7
14 Bianca Purcărea "Don't say sorry" 3 0 3 12
15 Ana Mardare "This must be love" 0 3 3 13

At Eurovision

During the Semi-Final Allocation draw which was held on 25 January 2012, it was announced Romania were scheduled to compete in the first half of the first semi-final on 22 May.[12] On 20 March 2012 the Running Order draw was held, which determined the order of which the participants performed. Romania performed 6th overall in the first semi-final[13] and at the close of the voting, qualified to the final. "Mandinga" achieved 3rd place with 120 points. In the final on May 26, Romania performed 14th. Romania ended up on 12th position scoring at the end of voting, with 71 points. Macedonia had also scored 71 points and came 13th in the grand final, because of Romania's high televoting percent.

Points Awarded to Romania[14]

Points Awarded to Romania (Semi-Final 1)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points Awarded to Romania (Final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points Awarded by Romania[14]

Semi final[15]

12 points Greece
10 points Moldova
8 points Hungary
7 points Cyprus
6 points Russia
5 points Israel
4 points Albania
3 points Denmark
2 points Switzerland
1 point Belgium

Final[16]

12 points Moldova
10 points Sweden
8 points Greece
7 points Hungary
6 points Spain
5 points Serbia
4 points Russia
3 points Turkey
2 points Cyprus
1 point Albania

See also

References

  1. "Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv.
  2. Storvik-Green, Simon (10 March 2012). "It's Mandinga for Romania". Eurovision.tv.
  3. "Romania might not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012". cotidianul.ro. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  4. "Oficial, România participă la Eurovision 2012". Evenimentul Zilei. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  5. "România depinde de sponsori pentru Eurovision". Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "TVR ar fi schimbat regulamentul Eurovision pentru Inna. Ea a refuzat să reprezinte România". Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  7. http://www.gandul.info/magazin/ce-a-raspuns-inna-cand-a-fost-intrebata-daca-participa-la-eurovision-2012-9144016
  8. Busa, Alexandru (1 February 2012). "News - Romania: National final on March 10th". Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  9. "Romania to go Irish for Eurovision?". RTÉ Ten (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). 5 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  10. "Romania: Rules and Regulations Published". February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  11. "Ellie White doesn't want to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest". February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  12. Hondal, Victor. "Insignia exchange and semifinal allocation draw.". EscToday.com.
  13. "Results of the 2012 Running Order draw revealed!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Eurovision Song Contest 2012
  15. Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Semi-Final (1), Eurovision
  16. Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Grand Final, Eurovision