REVIEWING THE CLASS OF 2015: ROMANIA!

Romania's national final will be remembered for Ruslana's interval act (which lasted almost 30 minutes!!) but let's not forget about Voltaj. They won the national final, beating Luminiţa Anghel, and here's what we think of their song! 

Ana: It doesn't matter the language in which they sing this song, it always touches me. It’s simple but effective at the same time and I love the message. I think they will make the whole Europe get emotional because their song has something special and they know how to transmit it. 9/10

Ilkar: Another great song with good arrangement and beautiful melody, topped with important lyrics and not artificially made to fit the Eurovision mode like most of the Romanian entries. I can even forgive them the English as most of the song is in Romanian anyways and you hardly notice they switch to English in the end until you realize you actually do understand what he is singing about. 7.5/10

Jack: I'm very impressed with Romania's effort this year. It's great they'll sing in Romanian too and not just English. Voltaj deserve to make the final and I think they will. It's an amazing song with a great message. I think it's a dark horse. Could Romania finally be victorious? 9/10

Jess: Great singers, great song, such a great choice by Romania! 7/10

John: A strong ballad such as this is a welcome move from Romania this year. If the very obvious sentimentality can be overlooked and the song judged purely on its musical merits - a pleasant melody and a really strong singer – there are possibly enough ingredients for a winner here. 7/10

OUR VERDICT - 39.5/50

OVERALL SCORE - 7.9/10

VOLTAJ TO REPRESENT ROMANIA!

Yihuuuu! Voltaj has won Selecția Națională and therefore will fly the Romanian flag in Vienna. Luminiţa Anghel came 2nd. I did love her song but we didn't need another ballad in Vienna, did we? It's unknown whether Voltaj will sing in Romanian or English for Eurovision, but I hope it'll stick in Romanian. Beautiful song. The full results:

Enjoy their live performance below - what's with the suitcases?

Romania: National final to be held tonight!

The Romanians will select their song tonight. Twelve acts are in the the running and it's a rather weak line-up.. My favourite by far is Voltaj. I'd be thrilled if they won. It's a strong song and would make a fantastic entry for Romania! Will they select it? Who knows... My 2nd choice would be Luminita Anghel and my 3rd choice would be Lara Lee. The others didn't really leave a lasting impression on me. Here's the line-up for tonight:

1. Voltaj – De la capat
2. Baietii – Dragoste in lanturi
3. Tudor Turcu – Save Us
4. Aurelian Temisan feat. Alexa – Chica Latina
5. Rodica Aculova – My Light
6. Blue Noise – Love Won’t Run Away
7. Ovidiu Anton – Still Alive
8. Lara Lee – Superman
9. Super Trooper – Secret Place
10. Luminita Anghel – A Million Stars
11. Cristina Vasiu – Nowhere
12. CEJ – We Were In Love

Vienna 2015: Super Weekend #7!

The penultimate national final weekend is here. Three more songs will be revealed/selected and Melodifestivalen also continues..

UNITED KINGDOM
The British entry will be revealed tonight! Eeeeeek! You'll be able to find out who is representing the UK at 21:30 GMT on the BBC's Red Button service. Viewers outside the UK will be able to watch the big reveal on eurovision.tv. There's not much known about the show itself apart from the fact that it'll include a short interview with our representative and Scott Mills. Here's hoping the UK doesn't disappoint!

PORTUGAL
Festival da Canção has been a three night affair this week with two semi finals taking place earlier this week. The big favourite, Simone de Oliveira, has apparently said she won't go to Vienna even if she does win the national final. These acts are in the running:

• Leonor Andrade - Há um mar que nos separa
• Yola Dinis - Outra vez primavera
• Gonçalo Tavares - Tu tens uma mágica
• Teresa Radamanto - Um fado em Viena
• Simone de Oliveira - À espera das canções
• José Freitas - Mal menor (Ninguém me guia à razão)

SWEDEN 
Melodifestivalen's Second Chance Round will also take place tonight. This is how the battles are looking:

• Andreas Weise – Bring out the fire VS Linus Svenning – Forever starts today 
• Hasse Andersson – Guld och gröna skogar VS Kristin Amparo – I see you 
• Dolly Style – Hello hi VS  Dinah Nah – Make me (La la la) 
• Behrang Miri feat. Victor Krone – Det rår vi inte för  VS Samir & Viktor – Groupie 

Who would you like to see make next weeks grand final?

ROMANIA 
And finally, Romania will select their entry tomorrow night. Twelve acts will participate - who are you rooting for? Here's the running order:

1. Voltaj – De la capat
2. Baietii – Dragoste in lanturi
3. Tudor Turcu – Save Us
4. Aurelian Temisan feat. Alexa – Chica Latina
5. Rodica Aculova – My Light
6. Blue Noise – Love Won’t Run Away
7. Ovidiu Anton – Still Alive
8. Lara Lee – Superman
9. Super Trooper – Secret Place
10. Luminita Anghel – A Million Stars
11. Cristina Vasiu – Nowhere
12. CEJ – We Were In Love

I'd like to see Voltaj win but I think it'll be either CEJ, Lara Lee or Luminita Anghel who will fly Romania's flag in Vienna...

Romania: Line-up for national final revealed!

The twelve names that'll compete in the Romanian national final have been revealed today. Luminiţa Anghel is back once again. She represented Romania back in 2005 - and also entered the Romanian selections in 2010 and 2013, although wasn't as lucky on either occasions. Will she return to Eurovision exactly ten years after her previous participation? Rodica Aculova didn't have much luck in Moldova so is trying in Romania instead - I like her song very much and wouldn't mind seeing her fly the Romanian flag in Vienna. Here's the full line-up for Romania's national final on 8th March:

• Rodica Aculova – My Light
• Luminita Anghel – A Million Stars
• Ovidiu Anton – Still Alive
• Baietii – Dragoste In Lanturi
• Blue Noise – Love Won’t Run Away
• CEJ – We Were In Love
• Lara Lee – Superman
• Alexa & Aurelian Temisan – Chica Latina
• Super Trooper – Secret Place
• Tudor Turcu – Save Us
• Cristina Vasiu – Nowhere
• Voltaj – De La Capat

Romania: National final set for 8th March!

The Romanian entry will be selected on 8th March. Wiwibloggs reports the submission period has opened today and that it will close on 8th February. Once again, international artists can apply to take part. Mihai Traistariu has already announced his interest in participating.. Although this blogger would love to see Electric Fence represent Romania!

Missed Opportunities 2014: Romania!

Romania decided to send Paula Seling & Ovi to Copenhagen - after the duo won the national selection. Was this the best Romania had to offer? I think so. But that doesn't mean it was my favourite in the selection, even though I did really like Miracle! Favourites of mine included:

Vaida - One More Time
Vaida won the televote and came runner-up with One More Time. The reason she didn't win was because the jury slaughtered her and only awarded her four points.. therefore Paula and Ovi had more points overall - and therefore they won! This is a peaceful song. Her voice is sweet and the performance was also very nice... It would have made the final in Copenhagen.

Stefan Stan feat. TeddyK - Breathe
Breath was a haunting duet sung by two extraordinary singers! I thought their performance could be messy but it was actually a very beautiful and touching presentation.. Stefan Stan won the Romanian version of 'The Voice' in 2011. The juries would've adored this and it could have been a dark horse... Very good indeed! They came 5th overall.

Renee Santana feat. Mike Diamondz - Letting go 
Finally, we have my favourite! Letting Go was fun, modern and very catchy. Renee's live vocals weren't the best though and maybe this is why the Romanian public didn't vote for them? There's just something fabulous about this one... Would they have done well in Eurovision? It' hard to say, but I would have voted for them! :')

Romania: "Miracle" video-clip released!

The official video-clip of "Miracle" has been released. Paula and Ovi are among the favourites to win in Copenhagen and the Romanian stage presentation has cost approximately 300.000 Euros, so the Romanians are in it to win it. You can watch the video-clip here!

Introducing 2014: Romania!

Paula Seling & Ovi won the Romanian national final on 1st March. The courageous duo are returning in hope to bring the Eurovision trophy to Romania, after they placed a very respectable 3rd place in 2010... Miracle is one of my favourite entries this year. The duo recently performed a traditional version of the song - and it was amazing! Meanwhile, they also performed an acoustic version. #WOW.

The Romanian selection consisted of many great songs. Vaida won the televote with One more time. My favourite was Renee Santana feat. Mike Diamondz with Letting Go. Ştefan Stan feat. TeddyK would have also been worthy Romanian representatives with Breath. But it wasn't meant to be, as Paula and Ovi were unstoppable! Will they be victorious? I doubt it, however I do think they'll make the top-ten. The performance in the Romanian selection wasn't great. But Paula's vocals are amazing! That high note is just flawless!

NuVidz: Unheilig, Anouk, Renee Santana feat. Mike Diamondz, Krista Siegfrids!

Unheilig are hoping to win the German national final with Als wär´s das erste Mal - a fantastic song and the video-clip is really lovely too. Their second song will be revealed in a few days.. every act will compete with two songs for some reason. I hope to see Unheilig in Copenhagen! Anouk's latest track is entitled You & I. She's really an amazing artist. Everything she sings is great.. I was kinda gutted that Renee Santana feat. Mike Diamondz didn't win the Romanian selection last night although it was no surprise as everyone knew Paula and Ovi were going to win from the start. Y'all can enjoy the lyrics video of Letting Go anyway! I would like to see her try again. Finally, Krista Siegfrids has released Cinderella!

Romania: Paula and Ovi to Copenhagen!

No surprises here! Paula and Ovi have just won the Romanian selection and therefore will represent Romania! A very nice song - although their 2010 entry was much stronger. Vaida, who had a very boring song, won the televote although the jury awarded Paula and Ovi their full points.

Renee's vocals were very weak indeed, which is a shame as I adored the song. Hey ho!

Romania: Representative to be chosen tonight!

The Romanian national final will take place tonight, live from Brasov, and twelve acts will participate. The clear favourites are obviously Paula and Ovi - and I wouldn't mind them winning. Although I would like to see Renee Santana feat. Mike Diamondz win. They're great!

I'd also be satisfied with Ştefan Stan feat TeddyK! Ştefan won the Romanian version of The Voice, so I'm sure he has a lot of supporters. Anca's song also seems very popular although I don't get the fuss.. it's nice but pretty dull. I'll update y'all with the results and my opinions later, so stay tuned! These next couple of weeks will be very busy so I thank you all for following my blog.

1. Paula Seling & Ovi – Miracle
2. Bere Gratis – Despre Mine Si Ea
3. The dAdA – Unpredictable
4. The Zuralia Orchestra – You Know
5. Vizi Imre – Kind of Girl
6. Anca Florescu – Hearts Collide
7. Silvia Dumitrescu – Fiorul Iubirii
8. Renee Santana feat. Mike Diamondz – Letting Go
9. Ştefan Stan feat Teddy K – Breathe
10. Naomy – Daca Tu Iubesti
11. Vaida – One More Time
12. Şăl – Hardjock

Good luck Romania!

Romania: Selecţia Naţională finalists revealed!

Renée Santana is back! 

The lucky 12 acts, that will compete in Selecţia Naţională, have been revealed. And there are some famular names in the mix too - including Paula and Ovi, Ştefan Stan with Teddy K, Renée Santana and Anca Florescu. It's a pretty strong line-up.

These are the Romanian finalists:

• Ştefan Stan feat. Teddy K – Breathe
• Naomy - Daca tu iubeşti
• Bere Gratis - Despre mine şi ea
• Silvia Dumitrescu - Fiorul iubirii
• Marcel Crăciunescu - Hardjock
• Anca Florescu – Hearts Collide
• Vizi Imre – Kind of Girl
• Renée Santana & Mike Diamondz – Letting Go
• Paula & Ovi – Miracle
• Mirela Vaida Boureanu – One More Time
• The dAdA – Unpredictable
• The Zuralia Orchestra – You Know

Romania will pick their entry on 1st March. The live version of Paula and Ovi's song can be heard here.

NuVidz: Katrine Lukins, Within Temptation, Anca Florescu, Sam Bailey!

Katrine Lukins is bidding to represent Latvia and she's released the official video-clip of You Are The Reason ahead of Saturday nights final. I think there are stronger offerings in Latvia but this is very nice. I'd be okay if she did win! I simply love this latest tune from Within Temptation! It's entitled "Whole World is Watching" - and they've actually released two versions. They have teamed up with Piotr Rogucki and  Dave Pirner, and both versions are fantastic. <3 The Romanian hopefuls will be revealed this evening and Anca Florescu hopes to make the cut with Hearts Collide. Sam Bailey will release Compass as a single on 16th March. A truly beautiful song and this lady does have a sensational voice. It'll also be released on her upcoming album, which is going to be released 24th March.

Romania: 159 songs submitted!

The Romanian broadcaster has received a total of 159 songs - however nice songs were invalid and therefore 150 songs remain in the selection. A jury will decide which 12 songs will make the grand final, which is going to be held on 1st March.

The lucky acts will be presented at the end of the week. I wonder if Alexandra Stan submitted a song?

Romania: Mihai Traistariu decides not to enter Selecția Națională...

Mihai Traistariu was set to participate on Selecția Națională with I'm Sorry although he eventually decided not to submit the song. But why? Well a well-known Romanian astrologer has said that this is not Mihai's year for Eurovision and that he should try next year instead - Mihai did actually post the advice on his Facebook page so he must have took this advice into account...

Many fans, including myself, were excited regarding his participation in the selection - although there's always next year. Maybe he thinks Paula and Ovi will be unstoppable? He said:

The song is great and it’s perfect for me. However, I realized that I need more than that for Eurovision, which is no longer just a song or voice contest. You need everything, from the song, the voice, to a great show, otherwise you risk getting home empty-handed. And I wouldn’t bear it. I wished to come back to the arena of this great contest with all my soul, but I feel like this is not my year. Something tells me that this is not my time, my heart tells me that I can do more than this.

Even though the song is song is slightly dated, it's still great! The Romanian hopefuls will be revealed next week sometime. 

Romania: Alexandra Stan to participate in Selecția Națională?

One of Romania's most successful acts, Alexandra Stan, is apparently considering entering a song into Selecția Națională - which is the Romanian selection. Nothing is official at the moment as Alexandra told one of her fans, that a decision will be reached soon.

She would certainly give Paula and Ovi a run for their money. And Stefan Stan's duet with TeddyK - I really love that song. Alexandra is planning a big comeback and she has also announced on her Facebook page that there will be a big surprise soon. And apparently, she has been recording some uptempo numbers which would be ideal for Eurovision. Watch this space! The Romanian selection is looking very promising already, very promising indeed.

NuVidz: Anna Rossinelli, Kallay Saunders András, 4FUN, Stefan Stan feat. TeddyK!

Anna Rossinelli has released a new song entitled Shine In The Light - and this is the song that'll be the official soundtrack to the Winter Olympics in Switzerland. The Winter Olympics kick off in roughly 3 weeks time. You can enjoy the acoustic version of Anna's song here. Kallay Saunders András is already one of the favourites to win Hungary's "A Dal" and earlier this week he released the official video of Running. It would make a very decent Hungarian entry indeed. The Lithuanian group, 4FUN, has released a new song today. I think they are awesome and were grossly underrated in Helsinki. Enjoy their latest offering here. The video has been recorded in a forest and includes a flute solo... it's great! The Romanian national final is already shaping up to be very strong indeed and Stefan Stan with TeddyK will try to represent the country with Breathe. And this blogger loves it! Paula and Ovi's song has been receiving mixed reviews so anything could happen.

Romania: Official version of "Miracle" released!

The official version of "Miracle" has been released today! It's fantastic, very mainstream, but fantastic nevertheless. I'm very excited about this.

This song sounds like it could have been composed by Swedish House Mafia or Avicii. I do love it - and I especially love Paula's 18-second high note... that's just fantastic. "Miracle" has the potential to do very well in Euroviison, if Romania selects it. The Romanian national final will take place on 1st March and several artists have already announced their interest in competing, such as Ştefan Stan and Krystal Mills with Mircea. Listen here.

Romania: Demo version of "Miracle" leaked!

A demo version of "Miracle" has leaked online this morning, the song Paula and Ovi are hoping to represent Romania with. Ovi has been quick to respond and has said that this isn't the official version, and that the official version will be released very soon...

Someone called "Older Tom" uploaded it to YouTube, and Ovi asked him to take the video down due to violation rules although "Older Tom" simply ignored this request and instead deleted his comment!!! I hope TVR won't penalise them because of the leak... Listen here.