[LMBTO] Will Romania's Selecția Națională be a "Eurovision Coronation"?

Mid-December there were 126 songs - now there are just 23, one of which is sung by the young lady above.  Romania are still trying to recover from their first ever DNQ at Eurovision, The Humans not managing to engage diaspora support to get "Goodbye" into the Final.  Four points and one place separated them from one of the qualification places but their style of soft rock and numerous mannequins lost out to the high intensity noise and pyros of AWS.  The submitted number of songs this year is 70% up on 2018, a great start - you would think that we'd now have two SFs and then a Final packed full of superb songs and various genres for the Romanian public and an international jury to choose from...

I've listened to them all and obviously there is personal taste that comes into play but there are only SIX tracks that I personally feel any connection with and probably only TWO that I think would do a job at Eurovision.  Have a listen yourself, see which tracks you like:

We are only under a fortnight away from the first Selecția Națională 2019 SF in Arad on 20th January, with SF2 in Iași on 27th, and the Final in the capital Bucharest.  Each SF should produce five entries voted for by the jury and one by the public, with a wildcard option for TVR itself in the Final.  The question is:


We do have some returnees who have been to Eurovision before (M I H A I and Nicola), together with a large smattering of similar sounding songs, but the ones that I have picked do 'stand out of the crowd', for me at least.  First off, I'll start with one of those returnees who has a decent enough club track that might sneak a win in Romania...


Nicola - "Weight Of The World"

As bulk standard clubland anthems go, this is a pretty good one and Nicola will probably sell this well, given her previous Selecția Națională and Eurovision experience.  She's got a really listenable voice, "Weight Of the World" is lyrically sound and the beat throughout will make this memorable at the end of the evening.  Simplicity is key here - it isn't as big a song as many of the others out of the 23 but the hook is there.  I like it, I can't see it winning though but I suspect that Nicola won't be embarrassed by her position at the end of the Final, assuming that her live vocals are as good as the studio version.  I don't think her heart will be broken this time...


Ester Peony - "On A Sunday"



I can't imagine that "On A Sunday" would ever get near Eurovision but this song is one of the artistic masterpieces in the Romanian list.  Ester Peony has a voice that I could listen to all day and the music accompanying her pulses rhythmically throughout, giving this entry loads of interest.  There is a foreboding message of lost love, a story here that you don't get with many potential Eurovision tracks that made this shine like a beacon for me, but I suspect that Ester might get more jury love than fan or public votes.  Making the Final of Selecția Națională?  Definitely YES.  Eurovision place?  I can't see that happening...


M I H A I - "Baya"

We better hope that this guy gets to Eurovision again and wins, otherwise the number of spaces in his name will eventually take up a page on their own!  Mihai (I am condensing his name for typing sake) has indicated that he will keep trying out for Selecția Națională as long as he draws breath, so it was not unexpected to see him here - what is perhaps not expected is that he has potentially as good a song here as he had in 2006 with Tornerò.  This one is fun, it is catchy, his vocal range and clarity is never in question and "Baya" is a damn fine song - I think that the only issues that this guy has is that he tends to go a bit OTT with staging (he has already announced in an interview that he will put some dancing in for himself) and that his 'ever-present nature' may put some voters off, as they might pre-judge him being there.  I would ask for everyone to look past that - this could win in Romania and be the perfect 'beach song' for Tel Aviv...


Trooper - "Destin"

In a Eurovision world that is now open to screamo metal from Hungary, perhaps some folk metal (is there such a thing?) could do the job for Romania!  Trooper are a heavy metal band that have been around for 23 years, influenced by such metal greats as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, having shared the stage with the latter.  "Destin" is a real sing-a-long track, it is totally at odds to the rest and I would assume that two decades in the business must bring with it very loyal and dedicated fans who could influence the public vote, at least if they coordinate themselves.  I wouldn't have any issues with having this entry at Eurovision but then again my musical tastes have grown with the passage of time...


2 Gents - "Ielele"



The mix of languages and musical instrumentation is what made "Ielele" stand out here - the electronic and ethnic interaction really pricks up the ear, along with the nice chop and change between English and Romanian (I assume?), seemingly not done gratuitously but as part of the natural rhythm of the song.  2 Gents look smart and, from what I can glean, have a background in electronica to produce these wonderful sounds - this could be one of the dark horse entries in Selecția Națională 2019, although the verses do stick in my head more so than the chorus, but that didn't stop other such tracks making it to Eurovision.  One to watch - I'm intrigued as to how this will be staged...


Laura Bretan - "Dear Father"



Of all the tracks that I have listened to this year so far, this was the first to give me tingles down my spine.  This could be 2019's "La Forza" or "Grande Amore", ironic really seeing that Laura Bretan sung the latter in her America's Got Talent Final WITH Il Volo.  She is only 16 and she already has such an incredible voice like that, in the studio and on stage - she has also won Romania's Got Talent two years ago and showed what an amazing operatic talent she is.  "Dear Father" demonstrates her vocal range and control and I can picture her singing centre stage in Romania AND in Tel Aviv, possibly with five backing singers with her as a small choir.  Laura Bretan wouldn't just be a safe choice for Romania to return to the Eurovision Final, she could even do great things for this nation that they have rarely seen over the last ten years (all bar the yodelling).  This entry would be a PR machine's dream too - young girl with an amazingly pure voice, singing a song about her beloved father, a story that could be easily sold in any territory, with the added bonus for the EBU that she is American.  As you can probably tell, this song is my tip for the win in Romania...
So there are my six for Selecția Națională 2019 - if I had to put stick my neck out and say which of those would get Romania back into the Eurovision Final, I would have to go for:


Remember that this is all based on the YouTube videos on the TVR playlist, not on staging or necessarily how big a name these artists are within Romania.  There is even talk of a 24th act turning up, after Dan Bittman (Eurovision 1994) pulled out of the original list but that hasn't been confirmed either way.  There is a long way to go though, what with the pressure for all 23 acts of getting through their SF and the Final with their entry and reputation intact, together with the uncertainty of how an international jury will view those songs.

To be honest, if this was an internal selection and I was TVR, this would be the artist that I'd be sending to Tel Aviv...
We will have to see how the Selecția Națională jurors and voters decide over the three nights and whether they agree with me.  I have to admit that I'm already getting that 'reality show back story' vibe for a certain 16 year old's chances that some recent Eurovision artists have benefited from, that added extra that tipped their entries 'over the edge' to grab the Contest crown...