Following two years of failing to qualify for the final, Romania opted for an internal selection for the 2020 entry.
Back in January TVR announced that it was entering into a partnership with Global Records. A jury was formed to review the roster of recording artists that are signed to Global and identify who would make a great Romania representative in Rotterdam. In parallel, a song writing camp was also taking place to select possible songs for the artist to enter. Three artists were shortlisted, namely Cezar Gună, Diana V and Roxen, with Roxen being announced as the country’s representative on February 11.
The format of Selecția Națională was tinkered with to showcase Roxen performing the five songs that were selected from the song writing camp. A traditional 50/50 split between jury and public televote was used to decide which song would be selected. The Five songs were: Alcohol You, Storm, Colours, Cherry Red and Beautiful Disaster. Alcohol You was the favourite of both the Jury and the Romania public and will be presented in Rotterdam.
Roxen, who is 20, is a relative newcomer to the Romanian music scene. She shot to fame in 2019 after she was featured on the track “You Don’t Love Me”. Her Eurovision entry is only the third single she has released commercially.
Whilst the artist behind Romania’s entry is a relative unknown, one of the songwriters behind “Alcohol You” has an impressive resume. American songwriter Breyan Isaac, who co-wrote the track, has had number 1 hits with Flo Rida, Olly Murs and Pitbull.
The song itself is a strong ballad, but Roxen’s lack of experience on a big stage showed throughout the performances of all five song. Cherry Red, an upbeat dance number where she basically played a game of statue for three minutes, was the starkest example of her lack of stage presence. A gimmick with a hologram of Roxen (which saw her turn her back to the audience) during Alcohol You fell flat with me. Likewise, a wardrobe shake up is much needed, with the dress being used for Alcohol You an early contender for the Barbara Dex award should she pack it for Rotterdam.
At the time of writing the bookmakers have her a strong top ten contender, so with some refinement Romania may find themselves returning to the big dance on Saturday 16 May, and not relegated to an early flight home for a third year running.