Last night, Romania‘s broadcaster TVR revealed the jury that was behind choosing the 12 semi-finalists of Selectia Nationala 2016. Among them, we find countertenor Cezar Ouatu, who represented Romania at Eurovision 2013, and Zoli Toth, leader of Sistem, the band that assisted Luminita Anghel in 2005 in Kyiv.

Cezar is missing from the picture because he is on holiday in Spain.

Cezar: On the jury
Cezar: On the jury

They were joined in the studio by the host on the right and Iuliana Marciuc, this year’s Head of Delegation for Romania, on the far right. The other three members of the jury are musical director Sandra Cepraga  — you may remember her as the juror who fell through a gap on the stage in 2014, songwriter Horia Moculescu — a dinosaur whose standard of quality is Sanremo — and Randi, a 32-year old music producer and singer with many recent Romanian hits under his belt. Cezar is missing from the picture because he is on holiday in Spain, but he was on the telephone line.

The Selectia Nationala 2016 jurors appeared to have had quite a difficult time deciding the 12 songs, because the high difference of opinions. (One thing they agreed upon: Conchita Wurst was a horror act in 2014.) It will be interesting to see how they react to the live shows in the semi-final on 4 March, when they have to choose four finalists. Two finalists will be saved by the viewers. In the national final on 6 March, Romania’s representative will be chosen by 100% televote.

Other details have been revealed about the shows in Baia Mare, like the fact that Paula Seling will be the interval act in the final. Host city Baia Mare is her hometown and she was widely expected to be involved in the show production. The semi-final and the final will have three hosts, two on stage (Vunk band leader Cornel Ilie and last year’s host Ioana Voicu) and one in the Green Room: Ioana Anuta, who represented Romania at Junior Eurovision 2009.

The stage design has also been shown. Baia Mare sports hall will feature a combination between a round, Malmo-reminiscent stage, and an X Factor-type studio, with the jurors’ chairs in front of the stage.

Selectia Nationala 2016 stage design

Are you excited about Selectia Nationala 2016? Will you tune in? Until then, don’t forget to vote for your favourite song in our Romania poll and sound off below!

READ MORE ROMANIA EUROVISION NEWS

Photo: TVR

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Elainovision
Elainovision
8 years ago

#BringBackBogdan2016