Moldova live auditions O melodie pentru Europa 2018

Moldova‘s broadcaster TRM may have chosen to host the live auditions for O melodie pentru Europa 2018 in a karaoke venue, but the 27 acts that competed in front of the jury took the competition seriously. In the end, 16 finalists were chosen by the national jury led by Nelly Ciobanu, and the semi-final was axed by TRM.

After Pelageya Stefoglu’s disqualification, the 27 remaining acts performed their songs in front of a red curtain, on the stage of the Karaoke Concert Hall Atrium in Chisinau. Their goal: to walk in the footsteps of SunStroke Project and make it Eurovision.

The jury was headed by Nelly Ciobanu, who famously represented her country at Eurovision in 2009 with the iconic “Hora din Moldova”. The acts were judged on the basis of vocal prowess, without the help of live backing vocalists or stage gimmicks.

The live auditions were broadcast by TRM via Facebook and you can watch the entire event here:

After the live auditions, there were live discussions among the jury members and the organising committee about axing the semi-final altogether, due to the low turnout. A whole 24 hours after the live auditions started, a decision was announced to eliminate the semi-final on 22 February altogether and instead send the 16 qualifiers directly to the National Final on the 24th.

O melodie pentru Europa 2018 — Finalists

According to TRM, the acts chosen by the jury to meet in the National Final on 24 February were, in alphabetical order:

  1. Anna Odobescu – “Agony”
  2. Anna Timofei – “Endlessly”
  3. Bella Luna – “Moments”
  4. Che MD – “Inima-n stanga” (Heart To The Left)
  5. Cobilean Constantin – “Numai Tu” (Only You)
  6. Doinita Gherman – “Dance In Flames”
  7. DoReDos – “My Lucky Day”
  8. Felicia Dunaf – “Alien”
  9. Ilia Soroceanu & Dasha DaGro – “Minds & Veins”
  10. Lavinia Rusu – “Altundeva” (Somewhere Else)
  11. Nicoleta Sava – “Esencia Del Sur” (Essence Of The South)
  12. Ruslan Tsar – “Come To Life”
  13. Sandy C & Aaron Sibley – “Once Upon A Time”
  14. Tolik – “Broken Glass”
  15. Vera Turcanu – “Black Heart”
  16. Viorela – “The Gates Of Love”

Apart from eliminating the semi-final, there were no other surprises. DoReDos remain clear favourites to win the whole thing with “My Lucky Day”, Doinita Gherman was in her usual perky form, and Tudor Bumbac was his clueless (but endearing) self.

Last but not least — despite being first to perform — Sasha Bognibov failed to advance on his 19th attempt to represent his country at Eurovision. We’re sure that we’ll see him try again next year!

The 16 finalists will now face off in the National Final on 24 February. There, the winner will be crowned by a 50/50 combination of jury and televote.

Did you watch the live auditions? Who impressed you the most? Let us know in the comments!

READ MORE MOLDOVA EUROVISION NEWS HERE

21 Comments
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Lucy
Lucy
6 years ago

It`s totaly clear, Doredos are the best!

AngieP
AngieP
6 years ago

Ok, most of the songs I like qualified. “My lucky day”, “Black Heart”, “Once Upon a Time” and “Minds & Veins”.
Personally, “Doredos” is the best choice for Moldova this year.

mocosuburbian
mocosuburbian
6 years ago

rooting for altundeva!

Nikos
Nikos
6 years ago
Reply to  mocosuburbian

Yay found another person for team Altundeva 🙂

Thiefoworld
6 years ago

I know Sasha is a punchline at this point, but I’m hoping Doinita to one day represent Moldova too, she has also tried several times 😛 however unlike Sasha, she actually has good songs. This year though, I really like My lucky day, I think is the best of this bunch.

Hunter Doerksen
Hunter Doerksen
6 years ago

Did Shvets really suck live or something? I thought his song was one of the best here 🙁

Hunter Doerksen
Hunter Doerksen
6 years ago

Just watched, he only had like two wobbles. Any other reason it might not have made it?

Colin
Colin
6 years ago

Actually, he was better in live than on the studio version. He wasn’t my favorite, but he was pretty decent.

From staging to microphones and to disengaged juries writing things down, live auditions were a production mess.

Lena
Lena
6 years ago

I’m in love with ENDLESSLY! I haven’t felt so emotional with a Eurovision entry since Nocturne.. It gives me goosebumps!

Tii
Tii
6 years ago

Aaron Sibley’s song looks the most promising of the lot. Not much to choose from really.

John
John
6 years ago

Anna Timofei is absolutely amazing!! It’s “Endlessly” for me!

Aufrechtgehn
Aufrechtgehn
6 years ago

Sasha Bognibov shunned AGAIN? That’s a crying shame! The boy belongs on a Eurovision stage.

Mark
Mark
6 years ago
Reply to  Aufrechtgehn

I hope next year they ditch the National Final and just give him the ticket and full creative control.

Sabrina
Sabrina
6 years ago

I only liked 2 songs and one of them is gone. So I’m team Endlessly now.

Kris
Kris
6 years ago
Reply to  Sabrina

What was the other one?

Colin
Colin
6 years ago

Since Anna Timofei, Aaron & Sandy, DoReDoS are the only ones with any chance of a good result, I am glad they are all in.

vida
vida
6 years ago

Bogdan, you wrote ”My lucky number” in 2 places. Is My lucky day.

Ugnius
Ugnius
6 years ago

Wasn’t Doredos song called ‘My lucky day’ not ‘My lucky number’ ?

Mark
Mark
6 years ago
Reply to  Ugnius

Who cares, the song sucks.