August 27 is Independence Day in the Republic of Moldova. It is the day Moldova became an independent nation from the Soviet Union.
In celebration we take a look at Moldova's top 6 best placed entries at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Moldova have participated at Eurovision 16 times since first competing in 2005, reaching the Grand Final on 11 occasions. They have a pretty good track record in the Grand Final, with an average placing of 12th. For a small country of 2.5 million, Moldova certainly punches above its weight!
There is a lot of love for Moldova out there in Eurovision land especially from Australian fans, and each year we are excited to see what they can bring. So let’s have a look at the best results for Moldova at Eurovision!
Pasha Parfeny - ‘Lăutar’
11th place in Grand Final Eurovision 2012
Pasha, a former member of the Sunstroke Project, finally got the opportunity to represent Moldova at Eurovision after his fourth attempt in their national finals. 'Lăutar' was originally written in Romanian and is an upbeat song about the son of a musician falling in love with the daughter of a wealthy man. It is a very catchy song, cheerful and fans still love it to this day! One of the backing singers for this song represented Moldova the following year. Pasha has since attempted to win national selection for Moldova again, but with no luck (yet). 'Lăutar' finished just outside the top ten in 11th place.
Aliona Moon - ‘O mie’
11th place in Grand Final Eurovision 2013
Aliona was the back-up singer for Pasha from the previous year and Pasha co-wrote this song! The song sung in the Moldovan tongue of Romanian is about a lost love with the last lyric translating to “I want a new beginning”. This staging was absolutely captivating, featuring gorgeous Aliona stylised with a look that you would see in a sci-fi series. Her magical white dress had images projected onto it during the song, and then towards the end, Aliona rises up from the stage! The dress apparently cost a fortune and had to be shipped (literally) over to Sweden for the contest. This song also finished in 11th place.
Natalia Barbu - ‘Fight'
10th place in Grand Final Eurovision 2007
In a year that was heavy on the rock thanks to Lordi who won in 2006, Natalia Barbu bought us Moldovan-flavoured rock. The song features Natalia playing the violin. Fun fact: Natalia was once given the title of a national sex symbol and at the time of her competing at Eurovision, her music was known abroad, particularly in Germany, Romania and Ukraine. Natalia’s song finished in 10th place.
DoReDoS - ‘My Lucky Day’
10th place in Grand Final Eurovision 2018
This catchy little song about love with a twist was composed by non-other than Philipp Kirkorov together with Scottish singer-songwriter John Ballard. 'My Lucky Day' was elevated by the simple yet incredibly clever choreographed staging featuring the three singers dressed in the colours of the Moldovan flag sneaking in and out of doors to see their love. In the Grand Final the Australian jury gave Moldova 2 points and the Australian televoters awarded the group 5 points. DoReDoS finished in 10th place.
Zdob și Zdub - ‘Boonika Bate Doba'
6th place in Grand Final Eurovision 2005
This was Moldova’s debut entry at Eurovision and they qualified to the Grand Final on their first attempt with 'Boonika Bate Doba’. This energetic folk-rock song was sung in both English and Romanian and loosely translates to grandma beating the drum (why not!). The staging was very busy and had lots of drums, jumping around, ethnic textiles, a singer that looks a little like Anthony Kiedis and a grandma in a rocking chair with a drum (of course). This song finished in 6th place.
SunStroke Project - ‘Hey Mamma’
3rd place in Grand Final Eurovision 2017
In 2017, Epic Sax guy came back to Eurovision with brand new sax-dance! SunStroke Project once again brought us their infectious energy, singing about forbidden love and a mother that doesn’t approve! Staging was rather captivating with the boys in tuxedos dancing simultaneously, and the backup singers with bouquet (flowers) microphones! Of course – towards the end of the song, there is a dress reveal and the girls’ dresses change to wedding dresses. 'Hey Mamma' was a hot favourite for the Aussies! The Australian jury gave the SunStroke Project 10 points and the Aussie eurofans at home gave them 12 points. This song finished in 3rd place and is their best result yet!
We thank Moldova for bringing so much Eurovision joy to the stage. Maybe soon (hopefully) we will find ourselves heading to Chișinău for the contest!