The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 40 competing songs in Eurovision 2022. Next we review Moldova, who have chosen Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers with “Trenulețul”.
Were we riding the train all the way? Read on to find out!
Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers – “Trenulețul” (Moldova Eurovision 2022)
Review: Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers – “Trenulețul”
Tom: Maybe it’s my Eastern European heritage but this is brilliant. Zdob şi Zdub make it a hat trick of appearances at the contest and this could be their best yet. It has a wonderfully fun, folk quality and I just want to dance at weddings to this song. It just makes me happy and smile from ear to ear. These boys are showmen and you should bet on the group doing something wild and wacky on stage, and I cannot wait for it. Of course this won’t even come close to winning, but for those thinking this won’t qualify – think again.
Score: 8.5
Angus: Is the song in my top ten? No! Would I listen to it outside of Eurovision? No! Can I appreciate it as a bit of fun to liven up this year’s line up? Of course! And while the production can grate in the passage of time, it also delivers a really compelling punch in the face of Je Ne Sais Quoi Eurovision feeling.
Score: 5.5
Sebastian: Zdob şi Zdub’s latest transport-inspired entry to Eurovision can equally be described as one part well-trained, one part train-wreck. But there’s something so loveable and hypnotic about the team from Moldova, who again bring the hectic to the stage. Their sounds are authentic, unheard of, and uniquely Moldovan, so expect audiences at home to go on a journey of “WTF” to “how do I vote” for our favourite Moldovan band. Expect a huge stage performance.
Score: 7
Pablo: Every year we get a song like this in national finals, but they seldom manage to make it to the big stage, and here’s why. While it’s mindless fun, the production overall feels shallow. I get what “Trenulețul” is trying to do by the halfway mark, and from there it runs out of ideas. The hook becomes repetitive and the music just kind of drones. Even as a song to be drunkenly mindlessly bopping to, it falls short of the level of energy and quirk it needs to bring.
Score: 4
Ron: This is so much fun, yet I feel like we’ve heard it all before so many times. Wait a minute, haven’t Zdob şi Zdub been at Eurovision before? On the plus side, I do appreciate every act that sings in its native language at Eurovision, so this one gets a bonus point from me. The song kinda stands out in the field of 40 Eurovision entries, but there’s nothing really new here. This one puts you in a great mood and you hum along to it. I’m sure they will be awesome on the Eurovision stage, but the song is not on my playlist and I guess that’s why the score isn’t higher.
Score: 6
Moldova Eurovision 2022 ranking
In the Eurovision 2022 Wiwi Jury, we have 18 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
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Antranig: 4.5 Cinan: 5 Deban: 4 Jonathan: 7.5 Josh: 8 Lucy: 9 Luis: 8 |
Natalie: 4 Oliver: 6 Renske: 8 Robyn: 6 Suzanne: 2 William: 4.5 |
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 2 and a high of 9.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.03/10
What do you think of Moldova’s Eurovision 2022 entry? Share your own score and review for Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers’ “Trenulețul” below!
🙂
No nothing special 2/10
This brings some much needed fun to the contest. I think this will qualify as, for first time listeners it’ll appeal to their jaunty WTF side, but it’ll wear off. I think the revamp kills some of that effect to be honest. Still, it brings a smile to my face.
I don’t believe we’ve agreed on a lot so I’m glad to see your take on this one, Aria! :3
Late to the party but welcome to what is easily my last-placed Eurovision song this year and quite possibly, one of my least-liked entries of the contest in recent years. I know this will have its fans elsewhere so I won’t go too long and hard about the things I dislike about it. Firstly, to me, this doesn’t sound like a professionally-produced or executed piece of music. It sounds like something you’d find in a low-budget Moldovan wedding where the musicians are being hired as a family favour. I watched the “national final”, I know there was some really bad… Read more »
Rating: 2.0/10.0
The usual Moldova ware. Since the saxophone guy Moldova has churned out very similar compositions which I am sorry to say all sound exactly the same as if written by the same guy. I might not be in line with the majority but I have always found these compositions quite irritating and also wondered how Moldova could do well. So I guess my tastes do not follow those of the majority as Moldova has always featured among the bottom of my list of favourites, even when their songs did extremely well. I was always surprised that the public liked these… Read more »
I definitely feel that from a purely musical point of view, that this is closer to their non-qualifying entries from 2014-2016 rather than the successful 2017, 2018 and 2021 entries. I feel that all of those entries contained some pretty solid vocal performances (or at least in Natalia’s case, an attempt at one).
I’d like to believe that badly-executed kitsch doesn’t really gain traction in ESC in 2022…but I guess I could be completely wrong about that.
There’s a part of me that just wants to spend their life at an endless wedding in the Balkan countryside, in a barn somewhere between the chickens and goats and strings of dried paprika, drinking a spirit distilled from a fruit in grandma’s bathtub, dancing in a circle. I have found my soundtrack, thank you Moldova!
This song is fun and has some nice melodies, however I can’t listen to it. It’s not the songs fault, it’s my problem, but there are sounds that bother me and this song has them. Which is why can’t listen to this song without getting dizzy or even sick. I repeat it’s not the songs fault, but still can’t put it higher then my last place.
The song has incredibly clever lyrics, which I think a lot of people don’t understand because you need to know the politics. Great energy, outstanding musicianship. Love them.
Not into this, unfortunately. But I have the feeling that Moldova will kill with the staging and will qualify. It is just what Moldova knows best.
Moldova is in my bottom 5 this year.
When the song was released, I missed the rock angle from Zdob si Zdub’s previous Eurovision entries. Though the revamp gave me exactly what I asked for, I have mixed feelings about its result, since it added another dimension to the track, but also made the intro and the outro a little disconnected from the rest. In any case, this being a quintessential Moldovan entry, the way we feel about the studio version isn’t nearly as important as to check how much fun they’ll bring to the stage. For now, I’ll give it a 5.5/10.
7.5/10 I love this traditional sound at ESC so much! This is the song that makes me want to get up and dance the most this year! I’m not sold on the revamp they have been performing at pre-parties though… idk if that’s like the final version?
Bronze star.
Honestly this is the worst of their 3 entries. I can appreciate what they are bringing to table but I can’t see this in final
Moldova is one of my least favourite countries at Eurovision, for me their songs are not very good but their staging is top notch and is what gives them good results. When I saw Zdob si Zdub were back again I rolled my eyes because I despise both their previous entries.
But I like this revamp! It does a good job of having a more commercial sound without taking away the cultural elements of the original too much. Eastern Europe will eat this up and this will safely qualify.
Brilliant- Eurovision needs one of these fun , upbeat, Eastern European tracks every year and Moldova serves it up to us on a golden platter this year. I really hope it can make the final- nothing more- just to hear it live twice is enough.
Who is this Suzanne person and why does she hate Eurovision? She has given every song such a low score that she’s either a troll or doesn’t understand the concept of this contest.
Suzanne is William’s sister living in the states. It’s true her scores are a bit odd hahah but I’m sure in Turin she’ll get to know the songs and artists better
This is going to do much better than many of us think.
Aye! Moldova seems to do quite well when they inject a bit of comedy into their performances (2017, 2018). Judging by the video 🙂 , I expect they will have little trouble making it to the final.
I have some relatives/friends who do not care about Eurovision at all (just so you know – they are from different countries and of different ages) and I made them listen to the songs – this is the song that stands out to most of them (an in a positive way).
This song gives me such happy vibes! I walk to my work everyday, and I listen to this song. It has a perfect walking pace and I start my job in a bright and uplifting mood!
Love the use of traditional tunes and of Moldovan, which I learn to sing-a-long now 🙂
I hope everyone ends up doing the line dance as they play it. It’s a really fun song.
Obviously not a jury magnet but when the chorus melody kicks in it just makes you want to dance along, even if the whole song is rubbish. I believe it will qualify based on the fact that people will find this quirky and funny.
took way longer than it should, but eurofans are finally learning to appreciate this
I think it’s definitely an interesting decision from Moldova to have selected this without any sort of public input but for me this doesn’t do it. The first 30 seconds or so are amusing, I’ll give them that, but the other 2,5 minutes is the exact same thing over and over until the song finally reaches its end. It’s supposed to be 3 minutes but feels much longer. I can’t listen to this for too long, and it’s a shame because I really like their 2011 song which is one of my biggest ESC guilty pleasures. But this, I’m sorry,… Read more »
A lot of what you say rings true with me. There’s just no attempt to progress the song forward in any way. Once you’ve heard the first 30-40 seconds, you’ve really heard all of it. Because of that, it’s just not a well-written song for ESC.
We absolutely LOVE this song! Makes us smile and laugh every time we hear it as it’s so uplifting. I think it will do well, especially with the public vote as we’re sure it will qualify. Just what Eurovision needs!
Big Guilty Pleasure for me. What I love from Moldova is that while other countries (specially ex-Yugos and ex-Soviets) have kinda gentrified themselves through the years, being more mainstream or choosing that ever-infamous genre called “Melfest Rejects”, Moldova has kept their essence, their weirdness and their humour.
And I love them for that.
Yes, Moldova is being authentic, but you don’t have to (inaccurately) portray all ex-Yugos and ex-Soviets as *Melfest rejects*. Serbia – It’s original as you can get! And in Serbian! Croatia – American-sounding? Sure. Melfest reject? Nope. This is Mia’s style. Slovenia – A throwback 70s sounding song in Slovenian. Montenegro – It sounds more worldwide in production, but it’s still a personal message in there. Estonia – A Western cinematic music. Melfest didn’t have anything even remotely similar since Heroes, and even then, this takes a different, more country turn. Latvia – It’s a literal over-the-top joke act about… Read more »
And yeah, how could I forget, Stefania from Ukraine is basically a poster-song for authenticity and cultural display.
I wouldn’t exactly pat Moldova *too* hard on the back. They’re still the country that sent “Falling Stars”, “Stay”, “Prison” and “Sugar”. Literally, these are songs that could’ve come from any other country. In fact, Moldova haven’t actually even performed in non-English since 2013.
I do tend to mention the words “Chaos” and “Chaotic” when talking about Moldova, but that Chaos is also one of the reasons I like them and I look forward to see their so g each year.
They’re Chaotic, but in a very good way and I hope never change. #letchaosreign #longliveMoldovanChaos
For some reason, this song reminds me a bit of a country dancing music or line dancing music. Notably, the version of the song that the band have been using for the pre-parties seems to be different to the video’s version. I find the live band version to be a lot more enjoyable than the more irritating video version. Evidently this isn’t my taste of music, but I know that the band are very good live.
fun song that will be popular with the public. adds some extra flavor to this year’s lineup. zdob si zdub are seasoned performers and this is their third eurovision so i’m sure they’ll be fine !
3) Moldova – Yeah I know, I don’t have them first place! Seriously though, I’ve always wanted ZSZ to come back because without them entering Eurovision in 2005 I wouldn’t have become such a big fan, so naturally I was thrilled when I heard they won the NF this year. I love absolutely everything about this song, from the backstory to the great music video. It just makes me super happy. Is it as good as their previous two entries? No, but it’s still great! Roman’s a fantastic performer and showman so I have no doubts that this’ll qualify. This… Read more »
Honestly this is my winner this year, it’s a massive guilty pleasure and knowing Moldova and Zdob Si Zdub, they’ll bring fun staging that helps it to qualify.
Moldova respects their culture yet again. Unique, authentic and in general really catchy. I do agree with some of the previous comments and can def see how it won’t have much of an appeal to any country outside Balkans but keep in mind that Zdob ?i Zdub know how to stage a song. And that’s exactly why they’re in my predicted qualifiers list even if the song before the revamp was much better.
Rating: 5/10 (27th)
If the UK could vote in the first semifinal, it would sail through.
3.Moldova – I will support traditional bops. This is totally a Romanian wedding song. And it’s so fun. It’s amazing. Didn’t expect them to return, but they did. With a uži?ko kolo meets shouting song. Balkan people will eat this up.
Funilly, Suzanne is the only one I agree with in this particular situation. Not in some others, but it’s her right to rate songs low if she doesn’t enjoy them. If I was in a jury and I had to rate 2004 or 2002, I’d be much like she is. Sometimes you just don’t agree with a lot of songs. Suzanne feels like a positive person, and like she loves music in general. And, as said by Pandaman, she has rated several songs with a good score.
Because the Wiwijury is filled with “music non-professionals”, for which they truly are and never denied that they aren’t.
MOLDOVA – I’ll start with the things I like: The band feels like they are having fun on stage, and there is a certain authenticity to their music. Also, the message of unity between Moldova and Romania is rather nice. Now for the rest… I really don’t like this song. It feels like an overload of sounds that don’t fit together. There are too many instruments doing the same things on a loop, creating a cacophony that pierces my ears. I’ve never been a big fan of this style of music, but I have to say that it’s been done… Read more »
Although we disagree on this entry, it is understandable that this song belongs to a category of songs you either love or hate. Funny how yesterday I was the one ranking Cyprus really low while you like that entry and now with Moldova the tables have turned 🙂
Just proves how music is subjective, and how every song can be good to someone. I actually feel a bit sorry for my score seeing how many people enjoy this song. Still, I really struggle to fo through these 3 minutes in a full, so my current rating is honest.
I am looking foward to future reviews, as most of my favorites haven’t been reviewed yet. 🙂
My places 5-10 have already being reviewed but my whole top 4 is still to be reviewed. Looking forward to see who the rest of your favourites are!
Do me a favour, Colin….throw me under said train when it comes. I am amazed that you can speak as nicely as you do about this song! Your wordmanship never fails to impress me. I really enjoy your description of it being a song that you’re trying to speak over in some sort of venue that you are attending without the listening to the music being in any way intentional. You know I don’t use a rating system but you also know that if I did, I don’t think I’d ever go below a 2/10. However, in this case, your… Read more »
Fun for the first 30 seconds, insufferable for the remaining duration
I yet can’t imagine how they’ll do it, but with them being Zdob si Zdub, I expect a spectacular staging that will miraculously book them a place in the Grand Final.
‘miraculously’ as if the song itself wasn’t strong enough, especially in a ballad-heavy lineup
To be honest, despite all the ballads, I really don’t think it is strong enough. If it was just for the song, I suppose they would have hard time finding points from outside the Balkans.
Also, do your research before complaining.
Suzanne gave the score of 5 or higher to ELEVEN songs so far, and NINE of them got score higher than Ireland.
Many good songs this year : The Netherlands, UK, Italy, Germany, Ukraine, and soooo many others. As message, I prefer veganism from Latvia. In the past, Czech Republic and Ukraine had this message in NF. Somebody great will win, remember 2021? Many fans said : all songs are so equal, and after Maneskin win, fans said : by far the best of all time. This year the same. You’ll see you’ll like the winner. What if… The Netherlands will win, and next year ESC will be cancelled by po li ti cs? Is my biggest fear, The Netherlands to face… Read more »
People in the Balkans are gonna eat this up. It’s exactly the type of music they love over there. This is easily making the final.
I mean, it’s general folk music, not done particularly well. I don’t know if that means it can necessarily rely on getting points. If it was a better song, then maybe the genre would fly a little more there but this? I’m not so sure.
As a Greek, I honestly enjoy this entry SO MUCH! It is ultimately traditional, it perfectly captures the essence of the sound of beauty for a Balkan country! And since Moldova is also known for nailing their stagings in ESC, this might as well begin being considered as a possible qualifier. My 19th place, with an 8/10 rating!
Cool song. Will qualify, but won’t make it to top half of the final. Will have its share of dedicated fans.
SUZANNE, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU POSSIBLY LIKE… ENJOY, THIS YEAR?
maybe she rates them on a 5 points scale instead of 10 points scale
23. Moldova – Trenuletul – Zdob si Zdub – 6.5/10 – engagingly fun from the very first beat, this has a theme and it sticks to it with purpose. Anyone referencing The Ramones gets extra points in my book and the song is a pleasant toe-tapping little ditty, even if it gets slightly repetitive and therefore more irritating as it reaches its destination. I suspect that this will be a lot of fun live in Turin.
We might have to get into what constitutes “slightly” repetitive! My headache is really with this one. I am glad you don’t have it *too* high though!
9. Moldova: The guilty pleasure of the year! A fun, quirky and heavily ethnic entry with a very entertaining music video and an amazing staging to look forward to (yes I am certain that their staging will be great with just the right amount of craziness added). The traditional instrumentation combined with a modern elements and a crazy atmosphere make this the best ethnic inspired entry of the year for me. The revamp has also added some rock elements, more vocalists and many opportunities for epic moments during the live performance. I have to say that I prefer the first… Read more »
A great review Thanos. I must admit that this one has been slowly rising in my rankings over the past few weeks and like you, I can see this one going through to the final. I think it will make most sense when performed live and agree this will be a televote magnet, who knows it may end up top 10, it is definitely possible.
I view it on the one hand as a welcome throwback to crazy ethnic Eurovision entries of the past (that usually did well) but on the other hand as something new to the way ethnic songs are being presented. I am glad you also like it! All kinds of results are possible with this entry really so it could even land in the top 10 as you said.
I believe they will do really good. I wasn’t a fan of their 2018 entry even if it was undeniably fan and with an imaginative staging. But as you said it seemed like a manufactured product rather than an authentic entry. This year’s song is ethnic to its core and will make Europe dance I think.
Although I’m glad that you enjoyed the song, Thanos, I have to ask if you really think this is the best “ethnic-inspired” entry of the year? I’m not somebody who has it ranked too highly but surely something like the Ukraine is a much more professionally-executed entry?
Sorry Moldova, but this is giving me a headache. It’s gonna do better with televote than with juries, but I still think it’s a NQ.
PS. As a Greek I’m not surprised by the love from my compatriots and other Balkan friends above, but as a UK resident I’m certain that this will get almost zero love anywhere northwest of the Danube. Still could qualify tho.
good thing there’s only like four countries northwest of the danube voting in this semi
I’m British living in the UK. It’s in my top 10.