Two weeks ago, shortly after TVR was excluded from the EBU and from this year’s contest, with the grim prospect of Romania not returning to Eurovision any time soon, we asked you to vote for your favourite Romanian entry in a dedicated poll. You had to choose from 18 diverse songs and, with over 20% of the 5,633 votes, you picked Paula Seling and Ovi’s 2010 entry “Playing With Fire”.

First place: Paula Seling & Ovi – “Playing With Fire” (2010)

“Playing With Fire” was written by Ovi, who convinced Paula Seling to enter the song as a duet in Selectia Nationala 2010. After winning over both juries and televoting at the national final (with a whooping 23,412 votes cast, a record for Romania), the song went on to finish third in Oslo, with 162 points, eight points behind Turkey’s maNga. With a memorable performance, complete with a double piano and spectacular pyrotechnics, the duo was a surprise contender for the win. Paula’s high notes in particular were a hit with the audiences. The song has since remained a definite favourite among Romanian entries at Eurovision, and it also won our poll with 1,191 votes, that is 21.14% of the ballot. The duo tried to replicate the success four years later in Copenhagen, but finished 12th with “Miracle”. In our poll, “Miracle” was your fifth choice. Last but not least, the beautiful Paula Seling also won the title of Eurovision Next Top Model in 2010, which she claimed again in 2014.

Second place: Mandinga – “Zaleilah” (2012)

One of the hottest tracks of Eurovision 2012, “Zaleilah” was an interesting mix of Latin and Oriental vibes. Performed by the multicultural band Mandinga and fronted by yet another Eurovision Next Top Model winner, Elena Ionescu, the song finished 12th in Baku, but went on to enjoy a huge commercial success on radios all over the continent. In our poll, Mandinga got 706 votes, that is 12.53% of the total.

Third place: Luminita Anghel feat. Sistem – “Let Me Try” (2005)

“Let Me Try” was Romania’s first big Eurovision hit, which put the country on the podium and made it a real force of the contest. The song made both Luminita and Sistem famous internationally and is still, after 11 years, a favourite with the Eurofans, as evidenced by the third place they got in our poll.

Full results

[polldaddy poll=9396151]

Interestingly, this year’s entry “Moment Of Silence” by Ovidiu Anton, who eventually did not get to compete, finished on a respectable ninth place. The rock singer was supposed to perform in Thursday’s Second Semi-final.

WATCH THE PRESS CORPS TRIBUTE TO OVIDIU ANTON

Do you agree with the results? Are you missing Romania in the contest this year?

WATCH OUR COVERAGE OF ROMANIA AT EUROVISION 2016

READ MORE ROMANIA EUROVISION NEWS HERE

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Adam
Adam
7 years ago

Tornero, Playing with Fire, Let Me Try, It’s my Life, and Don’t Break my Heart are my top five in that order. If only we can go back to the times of “Tornero” style of music, i’d be so happy! Though Mihai should be brought back down to earth and become more humble

Leaf
Leaf
7 years ago

When I think of Romania at Eurovision I don’t think of “Zaleah” ……. It’s “Tornero”, “Let Me Try” and “Playing with Fire” …… 3 amazing results !!!!

Chance
Chance
7 years ago

Cezar was robbed.