Meet Andrei, one of Wiwi’s new recruits in Romania. He’s using his skills to pay the bills, and brings us this dispatch on Pasha Parfeny’s recent homecoming in Moldova. Enjoy!

On May 26, as presenters announced how the votes fell at Eurovision 2012, my heart nearly stopped. After the first countries announced their points—including Romania’s traditional 12 for ‘Moldavia’—Moldova sat in third place. THIRD! That gave me the chills. For a split second I imagined Moldova winning Eurovision, putting Russia, Sweden and Romania to shame. Sadly it proved to be a fleeting fantasy: Pasha Parfeny and his crazy dance troupe came 11th. But that’s not too bad. It’s the country’s third-best result yet, after Zdob si Zdub’s sixth place finish with ‘Bunika bate toba’ in 2005, and Natalia Barbu’s 10th place finish with ‘Fight’ in 2007.

To be honest, I would’ve loved to see Chisinau 2013. Moldova has been the dark horse of the competition every single year. There’s no doubt about it. They deserve a win in the next couple of years—and it’s a country Eurovision fans would love to see on top.

Teleradio Moldova, the Moldovan state broadcaster, hosted a talk show in honor of Pasha upon his return. Naturally Pasha was there, along with his PR manager, who, we hear, is also his girlfriend. We should add that she’s pretty hot (you can actually hear her voice in this interview Wiwi and Vebooboo filmed with Pasha in April). The network also made room for two of his back-up singers, the Moldovan head of delegation and Nelly Ciobanu, Moldova’s entry in 2009 (you gotta remember ‘Hora Din Moldova’).

Everyone’s following Pasha….

Unlike in other countries (yes, I’m thinking of you Romania), commentators on the show were all very happy about Pasha’s performance. They all acknowledged that his 11th place finish was something to be proud of. It warms your heart to see how much people in Moldova appreciate the exposure that Eurovision brings the tiny country.

Nelly Ciobanu, who made an unsuccessful run to represent Moldova again this year, congratulated Pasha. She was so enthusiastic when she said “Moldova applauds you!” that we worried she might reprise ‘Hora Din Moldova’ on the spot. She also made it clear that she doesn’t hold anything against winner Loreen. She went on to say that Loreen “truly created ‘Euphoria’ among everyone.”  Wow! See, now that’s how you treat your chosen entry (*cough* Romanian press *cough*).

Pasha used his time to lash out at bookies, who had rated him much lower than he ended up finishing. “We managed to fool the odds a couple of times,” he said. “They [the betting agencies] were our worst enemy. People usually don’t listen to 42 songs. They just like what other people like.” We’re pretty sure Rona Nishliu would agree with you.

At the end of the show Pasha surprised everyone by presenting his song ‘Lautar’ in his mother tongue. Let’s say he wouldn’t have had the same success with this version in Baku. But I’m sure the Moldovan audience enjoyed it!

Rumors are swirling that Pasha now wants to break into the Romanian music industry, and sources say he has already flown to Bucharest to start negotiations and to start filming the video for his song ‘Lautar’. Regardless of whether that all works out, I’m seriously happy that Moldova welcomed Pasha back with open arms, and I wish him a sizzling future and fantastic career. But mostly I want to see more of his backing dancers. They made the whole Cave Woman thing look very, very chic.  Those dresses. Those moves. Brilliant!

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David Thielen
11 years ago

My one question about that performance is – why are the women wearing my grandmother’s lampshades as dresses?

(Seriously, I did think it was a decent entry.)

MF
MF
11 years ago

I did not like the dance in the 1st rehearsal, but with the slight change of it and the “crazy” clothes and good voice of Pasha, I actually loved the performance. I was away during the most important period (final week of Eurovision), so I did not see live the semi-finals or the final, nor that I’ve heard the results until I returned, but I have watched all the performances Sunday after the final and this was one of the “greats”. Not sure why Romanians were not happy with Mandinga – I personally was not a fan in the Romanian… Read more »