Earlier in the national final season, we discussed the national selection for Romania, with that being a massive public selection. The format of Selecția Națională has slightly changed this year, as each of the five semi-finals will take place in a different location as a celebration of the 100th anniversary year of the Union of Transylvania with Romania.
The songs for the competition were previously released, all 60 of them, meaning that each semi-final will feature 12 songs. From each semi-final, only three songs will qualify to the final which will take place on the 25th of February.
The first semi-final took place on the 21st of January in Focşani, where 12 acts were meant to be performed, however semi-finalist Tom Hartis withdrew from the competition. Here are the 11 acts:
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Alex Florea – Nobody Told Me It Would Hurt
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Lina – A Love Worth Falling For
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CornEL – Take Me Away
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Liviu Anghel – Rise Up
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Hellen – From Underneath
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Alexia & Matei – Walking on Water
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Johnny Bădulescu – Devoted
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Waleska – Renacer
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Echoes – Mirror
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Elena Turcu – The Perfect Fall
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Eduard Santha – Me som Romales
The results of the semi-finals will all be determined by the five jury members, Liliana Ştefan, Viorel Gavrilă, Ilinca Băcilă, Nicu Patoi and Marian Ionescu. The result of the final however will be based on televoting. Each jury member voted from zero to 8, then 10 and 12 points.
Here are the results of the first semi-final:
Top 3 votes from Liliana Ştefan: Alexia & Matei, Elena Turcu, Alex Florea
Top 3 votes from Viorel Gavrilă: Alexia & Matei, Johnny Bădulescu, Echoes
Top 3 votes from Ilinca Băcilă: Eduard Santha, Alexia & Matei, Johnny Bădulescu
Top 3 votes from Nicu Patoi: Eduard Santha, Echoes, Johnny Bădulescu
Top 3 votes from Marian Ionescu: Alexia & Matei, Elena Turcu, Lina
With the votes combined, the winner of the semi-final was Alexia & Matei with their song Walking on Water, which received a total of 53 points. Coming in second with 38 points was Echoes with their song Mirror, and in third was Eduard Santha with 35 points.
Missing out by only 1 point was Johnny Bădulescu, and another notable name that missed out on the final was Alex Florea, who represented Romania in 2017 alongside jury member Ilinca.
This weekend the next semi-final will take place, where another 12 acts will compete for the next three spots in the final. The second semi-final will take place in Timişoara. Here are the competing acts:
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Alessandro Dănescu – Breaking Up
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Endless ft. Maria Grosu – Thinking About You
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Jessie Baneş – Lightning Strikes
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Jukebox ft. Bella Santiago – Auzi cum bate
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Meriem – End the Battle
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MIHAI – Heaven
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Miruna Diaconescu – Run for You
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Othello – Noi Suntem Pădure
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Pragu’ de Sus – Te Voi Chema
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Rafael & Andy – We Are One
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Romeo Zaharia – Maybe This Time
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Serena – Safari