Doru Todorut and Irina Baiant: “‘The Voice’ is about loving yourself and facing your fears”

Doru Todorut and Irina Baiant‘s “The Voice” is the only duet of Selectia Nationala 2016. The pop-opera number which was written by the two singers is considered one of the frontrunners in Romania‘s national contest and we couldn’t wait to talk to the good-looking duo.

Dear Irina and Doru, congratulations for reaching the Semi-final of Selectia Nationala! How did you feel when you got the call and has it sunk in?

I&D: Thank you! We were surprised to find out that we advanced to the semi-final stage. We had no idea how the public would react, what the feedback would be, and we are over the moon that a pop-opera song has so much support from the Eurovision fans!

Are you preparing a special show for the semi-final? What can we expect?

I&D: Yes, we’ve already started to work on the concept, together with the whole team of choreographs. We can’t reveal more at this stage, but we can promise that you will be pleasantly surprised. It will come to life beautifully!

The song “The Voice” is dramatic and has unexpected twists, especially thanks to Irina’s voice and the dance part in the second half. You wrote it yourself and it’s timeless and modern at the same time. What was your inspiration? 

I&D: We drew from our personal experiences and from the moments when we thought that our confidence was slipping away. The song is about loving yourself, about real feelings, but also about facing the fears that we may have every day.

You’ve worked in television together, hosting the morning show Matinissimo. Your chemistry is obvious and telegenic, and you both have a lot of experience performing in big shows. Are all these factors an advantage over the other contestants?

I&D: We think it’s a plus that we have had these joint projects in the past and that we get along so well in front of the camera. We are very familiar with one another and we can work very easily together.

Doru, your band Deepcentral has collaborated with big names in the Eurovision world, like Eleftheria in Greece or SunStroke Project in Moldova, so you are not a stranger to the ESC world. How come it took you so long to make your debut at Selectia Nationala?

D: True. Although I have worked with big names in Europe, I haven’t had the chance to work on a Eurovision entry, but I have long wished to throuw my hat in the ring. This year, the idea behind our project and the fact that I was going to work with Irina convinced me to take the plunge.

You’re highly successful with Deepcentral. Your song “Gura Ta” featuring Delia is now slaying the charts. Many successful Romanian acts are afraid to take on Eurovision — how come you are so brave?

D: I wanted to come up with a different type of project, to approach another music genre, and that’s how my song song with Irina came to be. Together we thought it would be the perfect Eurovision entry.

Speaking of successful artists, Irina, you were a guest on The Voice of Romania. Your duet with Tiberiu Albu, who went on to win the competition, was the first time the mainstream audience got to meet you in prime time. Your presence and voice stole the show — how was it for you?

I: The performance at  The Voice of Romania was an incredible experience for me. I am very happy that I was able to introduce another type of music to the viewers. Maybe the most important thing is that it prepared me for the show that I want to perform alongside Doru in the Selectia Nationala semi-final with “The Voice”!

As you both know, there have been other attempts to bring pop-opera to the top of the Eurovison scoreboard. Just three years ago, countertenor Cezar Ouatu performed one of such most memorable entries, “It’s My Life”. How do you think “The Voice” is upping the ante?

I&D: “The Voice” is special because of its modern elements. Cezar had a different approach and style.

Thank you for this interview and may “The Voice” be with you at the Semifinal! Do you have a message for wiwibloggs readers and for the fans of your song?

Thank you so much for your suport! Hopefully we’ll see you all in Stockholm!

You can follow Doru Todorut and Irina Baiant on Facebook

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Photos: TVR