December 1 is the National Day of Romania, also known as Great Union Day, and marks the "unification of
Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom".
Romania’s first Eurovision Song Contest was in 1994 and they have appeared in 23 Contests since. Romania has been in the Grand Final 19 times, with the most recent being WRS in 2022 with‘ Llámame ’.
While Romania is yet to have a win at the Eurovision Song Contest, they brought us diversity in their entries and have had some pretty good results. Romania can be very proud of what they have sent to Eurovision!
So, let's take a look at Romania’s five best placings.
9th place: Marcel Pavel and Monica Anghel - 'Tell Me Why' (2002)
The first song on our list is Romania’s 2002 entry which is a duet ballad sung by Marcel Pavel and Monica Anghel. The song is about the heartbreak of an ending relationship and was chosen after winning the national final, Selecția Națională. This was the second time Monica had represented Romania, as three years before she had been in another duet but the song failed to qualify. 'Tell Me Why' was at the time, Romania's most successful entry of 9th place, and remained so until 2005.
7th place: Ilinca featuring Alex Florea - 'Yodel It' (2017)
In 2017, fans got quite the surprise when a yodelling-rapping duo won the golden ticket to Kyiv in 2017. The song was originally just written for and recorded by Ilinca but then singer/rapper Alex Florea was added. Ilinca was only 18 years old when she represented her country. The song crept up the odds during the Contest, and 'Yodel It" finished in an impressive place of 7th.
4th place: Mihai Traistariu - 'Tornero' (2006)
Banger alert! In 2016, Mihai Traistariu gifted us with this absolute gem and the song is still loved by Eurovision fans to this day. 'Tornero', was sung in both English and Italian, and was one of the favourites to win the competition. Mihai has an impressive discography to his name and before the Contest, had tried on multiple ocassions to represent Romania, and has also tried several times since. 'Tonero' has also seen strong chart success, especially in Greece, Sweden and Finland. 'Tornero' finishing in 4th place was Romania's second top-five entry in two years.
3rd place: Luminita Anghel & Sistem - 'Let Me Try' (2005)
In 2005, Luminita Anghel brought us this absolute treat complete with percussion band, Sistem. The song was chosen via a national final where 'Let Me Try' convincingly won the public vote. The busy staging gave off an industrial vibe with multiple types of drums and oil barrels which required 20 people to assemble the stage. 'Let Me Try' won the semi final to qualify, and remains a tie for the most successful Eurovision entry for Romania as the song finished in 3rd overall place.
3rd place: Paula Selig & Ovi - 'Playing With Fire' (2010)
The double pianos in 'Playing With Fire' is not only a stroke of genius, but is said to be the inspiration for the double piano scene in the 'Fire Saga' movie. Paula Selig and Ovi won the National Final to represent Romania and 'Playing With Fire' is still a big fan favourite today. Just four years later, the duo would return to the Eurovision stage with 'Miracle'. 'Playing With Fire' is equal best placing at Eurovision for Romania - a well-deserved 3rd place. Iconic!
We have not yet heard whether Romania will be in next year's Contest, but we do think that the Eurovision Song Contest would miss them if they are not there, don't you think?
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