The long and winding Moldovan Road to Rotterdam went something like this...
November 2019 - Song submissions open
17 January 2020 - submissions close
24 January 2020 - disqualification of 1 entrant due to previous publication of song
1 February 2020 - 36 songs and artists present for Live auditions with professional jury of 5 judges to consider songs originality, melodic line and artist vocal quality.
Shortlist of 20 songs and Moldovan broadcaster TRM instructed to host and broadcast the annual National selection show “O Melodie Pentru Europa” ( despite being told earlier that it was uncertain if a national broadcast show would be needed)
2 February 2020- 20 songs and artists announced for broadcast National Final
28 February 2020 - 1 late artist withdrawal from final- always helps ratings to have a bit of drama
29 February 2020- O Melodie pentru Europa Winner selected with an overwhelming vote in both the jury and public vote
1 March 2020 - Social media outrage, Favourites overlooked, Polls wrong, runner up Artist makes public announcement.
And now for the final wrap...
The winner of O Melodie pentru Europa for 2020 is Natalia Gordienko with “Prison”. A dark dramatic pop ballad composed and arranged by “The Dream Team” of Kirkorov and Kontopoulos - remember “Scream”, “My Lucky Day”, “X my Heart”, and “ You are the Only One” - quite a back catalogue of success but no winners as yet. This new song describes how love can confuse and imprison its victims. The chorus tells us that Natalia can’t live with or without her lover.
Natalia is a Moldovan singer and dancer ( her bio says of Ukrainian descent) and she has previously represented Moldova at Eurovision in 2006. She has made a career of singing since she was 15 years old and has won many competitions including Miss Teenager in 2004, the Emeritus Artist of Moldova in 2008, and the Gold Medal for Voice in the 2008 World Championship of Performing Arts.
Her song “Prison” was eerily staged with numerous effects including fog engulfing the stage, 5 empty neon chairs ( are they supposed to be electric chairs?) laser light displays, ghostly backing dancers and ethnic moaning. Her voice faulted in the beginning but found its straps for the climax of the ballad where there was a change in tempo. Her performance was so well received, and she won both the jury and public vote, but I am taking my time warming to this song. The promotional video is polished perfect and Natalia is a seasoned professional, so she will give a stunning performance of this song in Rotterdam.
Runner - up was Pasha Parfeny with “My Wine”. Pasha is a versatile Moldovan singer songwriter who has also represented Moldova previously at Eurovision in 2012 and in his early career he was the lead singer of “Sunstroke Project”. So not a bad pedigree either. His song is a ditty extolling the virtues of the Moldovan wine cellars. It is traditional in style with a modern twist and the National costumes and dancing and the familiar melody and rhythm ( sounds polkaish ) and reminds me of many past Moldovan entries. It was entertaining but predictable. I hope he returns next year with another composition. I liked his performance and I like his diverse talents.
Third place went to Maxim Zavidia with “Take Control”. Maxim is well known to Moldovans as he was the runner up in O Melodie pentru Europa in 2019. He returned more polished and snappier in 2020. His song is a call and response pop rock offering. Solid vocals, neat choreography - without being original- and immaculately manscaped for his performance he was always going to do well. And I’m sure he will return in 2021.
I would like to complete my review with a vote for 4th placed Catarina Sandu and her song “Die for You”. And you guessed it, yes she too has previously represented Moldova at Eurovision, when she was one of the brides/ bridesmaids in Sunstroke Project’s third placing hit “ Hey Mamma!” in 2017. She has since forged a solo career and is an accomplished singer, dancer, violinist and pianist. “Die for you” is an electronic pop dance song and was artistically colourful and entertaining. She was stunning in the “ Day of the Dead” costuming and the backing dancers were entertaining. No groundbreaking song line here and not as polished as Natalia, but I felt the vocals here were superior to the winner. But that is just my opinion. What do you think?
I wish Natalia and her team the best of luck in Rotterdam. Of course if she wins, ROTW will be the host club for Eurovision in 2021, so won’t that be interesting!