Romania: Internal selection for Roxen’s Eurovision 2021 song
The Romanian national broadcaster, TVR, has confirmed that they will an determine Roxen’s Eurovision 2021 entry via an internal selection.
Following last year’s unprecedented cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest, TVR opted for their Eurovision 2020 hopeful and decided to stick with Roxen for Rotterdam.
The young talented act stated on her ESC 2021 comeback:
“I do believe our Eurovision slogan – #somethingdifferent- really fits the whole context perfectly. We all went through a completely unusual year, with a lot of challenges and a competition that lasted close to two years. Still, in the end, the most important thing is to be healthy and to have the chance to meet with good vibes.
I am very much looking forward to finding out which will be the song I will represent Romania with at this year’s ESC. Whichever the song might be, I hope you will like it and that it will bring you joy. I can’t wait to start anew our journey to Rotterdam and for all of us to feel the best energy ever.”
This will be the first time Romania will be selecting their Eurovision entry internally through a jury. Roxen will record a number of songs, demos of which will be sent to the jury to be assessed. The entry that will eventually fly to Rotterdam with Roxen is expected to be revealed by the end of February.
Why an internal selection
With the pandemic still going on and the social distancing restrictions implemented, TVR decide to abandon this year the national selection format used in previous editions. The Head of Delegation Liana Stanciu explains:
The Eurovision Song Contest will probably be the first music event on the planet to be back in the game, after a year which has seen the fall of live performances on stage and the affliction of the music industry.Musicians from 41 countries will be in Rotterdam more united and eager than ever to prove the a miraculous and healing power of music.
The Eurovision Story so Far
Romania attempted to compete for the first time in the contest back in 1993. After taking part in the preliminary semi-final round in Slovenia with Dida Dragan, the country failed to win one of the three place that secured the ticket to the Eurovision stage in Millstreet, Ireland
Romania marked its first participation at the the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 with Dan Bitman and has participatted a total of 23 times since then. The nation’s most outstanding results were achieved in 2005 with Luminita Anghel and in 2010 with the duo Paula Seling & Ovi achieving in both cases the honorable 3rd place in the Grand Final. In 2016 the country was banned by the EBU due to its broadcaster’s overdue debt and withdrew from the contest, although it had chosen its Eurovision entry and act for Stockholm.
In 2018 Romanian band The Humans won the Selecţia Naţională with their song Goodbye . In Lisbon the country didn’t make it to the final for the first time in history. In 2019 the country was represented by Ester Peony with her entry On a Sunday but didn’t qualify to the grand final.
In 2020 Roxen was internally selected to represent Romania at Eurovision 2020 . Through a national final with 5 songs a jury and the public selected the song “Alcohol you” for Roxen to perform in Rotterdam.
Source: TVR
Image: ESCxtra.com
