Poll: Who should advance to Moldova’s National Final 2016?

Following live auditions on December 19, Moldova‘s expert jury has selected the 24 semi-finalists for O melodie pentru Europa 2016 — Moldova’s national selection for Eurovision. You already know our 10 favourite acts. Now it’s time for you to choose your favourites. Who do you think should advance to Moldova’s National Final on 27 February?

In case you missed the live auditions, we’re embedding them below so you can laugh and cry and pick your finalists at this intermediate stage. If you watched the show on Saturday, just jump to the bottom of the article for the poll.

MOLDOVA: NATIONAL SELECTION 2016 SEMI FINALISTS

1. Andrei Ionita & Onofrei – “Lie”

Despite sampling the traditional Romanian folk song “Lie Ciocarlie”, Andrei Ionita (who is also an X Factor Romania contestant) and Onofrei were selected to go through to the next stage of the selection.

2. Che-MD – “Voda e cu noi”

The song’s title loosely translates as “The King Is with Us”. It’s a call for freedom and peace in the nation. The rock song has obvious ethnic influences and sounds like an early Zdob si Zdub tune.

3. Nadia Mosneagu – “Memories”

Nadia’s ballad was written by Valeriu Pasa — the father of last year’s runner-up Valeria Pasa.

4. Felicia Dunaf – “You And Me”

The Moldovan press has pointed out similarities to Naughty Boy’s “Runnin’ (Lose It All)”. Felicia will try to emulate Beyoncé once again in the semi-final.

5. Emilia Russu – “I Am Not The Same”

The song was written by Smally Music, the team behind Lucia S’s “Frozen” back in 2014. But Emilia is no Lucia…

6. Valentina Nejel – “Va fi tarziu”

Valentina Nejel replaced Katherine and Litesound, who withdrew their song “Imagine” from the competition.

7. Chriss Jeff – “Good Life”

Our second pick for Eurovision, Chriss Jeff’s uplifting song is also on the qualifiers list. Will he bring a Bollywood singer for the bridge in the semi-final?

8. Rodica and Ivan Aculov – “Stop Lying”

Rodica Aculova submitted a song to Moldova’s national selection together with her husband — and they’ve made it!

9. Big Flash Sound – “Când vrei”

“Când vrei” (When You Want) is the first song from the five-piece band, fronted by singer Tatiana Turtureanu.

10. Doinita Gherman – “Irresistible”

Despite fighting a cold, Doinita Gherman was, as expected, in top form with her new bid to represent her country at Eurovision and is, unsurprisingly, a semi-finalist. We expect to see her as a top contender in the final as well.

11. Valeria Pasa – “Save Love”

Last year’s runner-up sailed through the live auditions and is widely expected to dominate the National Final with her power ballad and big voice.

12. Lidia Isac – “Falling Stars”

Lidia Isac, our top pick for Moldova 2016, qualified for the semi-final despite some shaky and shouty vocals in the chorus. Nothing she can’t iron out by February though.

13. Viola – “In The Name Of Love”

Professional backing vocalist Viola Julea took center stage at the live auditions and made her debut at the national selection with this interesting blues number.

14. Cristina Pintilie – “Picture of Love”

Cristina has been singing since she was five and is now an accomplished vocal coach — and it shows: lady can belt out this highly demanding song. A name to watch.

15. Valentin Uzun – “Mine”

Our third pick from the Moldovan selection did not disappoint, despite his struggle with the English language. The new Pasha Parfeny is here to represent!

16. DoReDoS – “FunnyFolk”

Speaking of Pasha Parfeny, the Eurovision star’s pet project Doredos (not Doritos) took to Eurovision.tv to specify that their song is not called “FannyFolk”, as TRM mistakenly said, which in itself is the funniest thing ever. And no, they don’t sing about marijuana either, but about a girl called Marioara.

17. Max Fall feat. Dan Vozniuc & Malloy – “Game lOVER”

The trio entered a BritPop inspired number and the bet paid off. Will they surprise in the semi-final as well?

18. Maxim Zavidia – “La La Love”

We know, Maxim’s song is a far cry from Ivi Adamou’s 2012 song. We wouldn’t mind him performing on a marble bench in a revealing outfit though…

19. Diana Brescan – “Till The End”

Like Doinita Gherman, Diana Brescan seems determined to represent Moldova at Eurovision one day. She has the whole package — great voice, excellent song, and an undeniable diva attitude. Could 2016 be her year?

20. Chris Maroo – “Tonight”

We don’t want to influence your voting, but the fact that “Tonight” went through makes us think that TRM must really hate Sasha Bognibov. When will he catch a break?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJPpyQCTN0k

21. Vitalie Todirascu – “Belladonna”

Vitalie Todirascu replaced Elle, who withdrew their song “Tare” from competition.

22. Priza – “Rewind”

The five-piece band was represented by its charismatic vocalist Cristi at the live auditions, which was enough to push “Rewind” (also one of our favourites) to the semi-finals.

23. Beatrice – “Saved My Heart For You”

The song, written by a Swedish team, is heavily massacred by a nervous Beatrice, whose voice broke towards the end. We hope she can get her mojo back by the semi-finals, because this sounds atrocious and stands no chance of qualifying for the final.

24. Anna Gulko – “Never Let Go”

Anna Gulko is yet another female singer who keeps competing and rarely advances to the final, but she never lets go of her dream.

So there you have it, the 24 semi-finalists who will compete on the 23rd and 25th of February for a place in the National Final on 27 February 2016. Who should advance? You can vote for as many acts as you’d like, but you can only submit your votes ONE time. We will close the poll on 22 February and reveal the results on the 23rd, ahead of the First Semi-Final. Be sure to click the box next to each song you want to support before pressing “Vote”.

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