On Saturday March 3, broadcaster TRM in Moldova held the “O Melodie Pentru Europa” in Moldova to choose their Eurovision contestant for 2019. 10 songs vied for the place to represent Moldova in Tel Aviv. Originally, TRM received 28 songs for potential Moldavian Eurovision entries which were distilled down to 10 performers for the final instead of 2 semi-finals as originally scheduled. Each of the performers in the final and a summary of their performance are given below:
Aurel Chirtoacă performing “La Cinema”
Aurel was the first participant and performed a modern blues inspired song. Although a perfectly nice song, it was very melancholy and didn’t stand out amongst the other later contestants. Aurel sang dressed in a fedora hat and beige checkered jacket.
Vera Țurcanu performing “Cold”
Vera’s pop song felt different starting slow and picking up tempo at the chorus. There was initially some issues with the audio and so Vera was allowed a second chance to perform her song “Cold” after the last performance of the night. Vera wore a white dress and performed 4 male dancers lifting her up on a platform towards the middle of the song before the white dress change to red.
Marcela Scripcaru performing “Meteor”
Marcela’s performed a pop ballad. It felt something Sia would write or sing. The song built up to the chorus. Although not a super power ballad, it was definitely likeable and catchy. Marcela was dressed in a black dress with the stage changing color from white to a warm red with Marcela’s hair matching the background color. The background singers were equally dressed in black. Once the song hits the chorus, the background darkens to blue but progresses back to red.
Siaj performing “Olimp”
The fourth song in the Moldavian final was Olimp by Siaj. Olimp was another pop song although this time with Romanian lyrics. It had a semi rock edge with some guitar backing. Overall, the performance did not seem to have the depth of some of the other performers. Siaj wore a metallic-look long overcoat and high red boots, matching the red pants worn by the two guitarists. 3 background singers provided some more depth to the performance.
Maxim Zavidia performing “I Will Not Surrender”
Maxim brought a more contemporary rock/pop song to the competition. The song built to a strong bridge towards the end of the song highlighting his vocals. Definitely one of the standout performances in the final. The background displayed a giant clock that spins backwards at a very fast pace. Maxim is initially joined on stage by 2 dancers, performing a routine with sticks. Later in the song, additional male and female singers join him.
Diana Brescan performing “Lies”
Diane performed a simple ballad. Although a perfectly acceptable and pleasant song, it didn’t have the power punch that we have learnt to expect from a lot of Eurovision ballads. Diana wore a white pants suit with a bench used for staging although she ends up rolling on the floor to the end of the performance.
Tinna Gi performing “Virus”
Tinna Gi starts off the performance with 4 dancers dressed in blue Arabian costumes. Tinna is attached to one of the dancers with a ribbon when she tries to walk away from them. As the performance continues, all dancers seem more stuck to her. The song is pop with an interesting instrumental rip through the chorus creating some additional texture.
Lemonique performing “Gravity”
Lemonique’s song Gravity would appeal to the modern pop Electro Dance Music (EDM) fans. It sounds like something Calvin Harris or David Guetta would produce. Lemonique wore a short white tutu dress and was joined on stage by a cymbal player wearing a welding helmet decorated with bunny ears, a guitarists dressed in black leather and two female backing dancers.
Anna Odobescu performing “Stay”
Anna performed a more typical Eurovision pop ballad belting out this song dressed looking like goddess in a metallic top, and a white long flowing dress. Listening to the performers, this was definitely one of the standout performers for the night.
Che-MD feat. Elizaveta Ivasiuk performing “Sub Pământ”
The last song of the evening is another semi rock ballad. The song was staged using a drum player, both acoustic and bass guitar and a violinist. The song never quite reaches the level or more heavy metal songs and almost has a folky sound especially during each verse.
Points were awarded from seven jury members in the typical Eurovision-style 1-8, 10 and 12 points for each of the contestants. Combined with the televotes, a single combined vote was produced for each performer.
In the end per the jury and televote, Anna Odobescu won the O Melodie Pentru Europa singing “Stay” and will represent Moldova in Tel Aviv this year for Eurovision 2019.Anna received a total of 22 points (12 from the jury and 10 from televotes) making her the clear winner ahead of the second place getter Maxim Zavidia on 17 points.Maxim was the audience favorite (receiving 12 points from the televoting) but did not get the support from the jury voters.