Romania‘s Selectia Nationala 2018 kicked off tonight in Focsani, where eleven acts clashed for a place in the final. In the end, three of them advanced: Alexia & Matei, Echoes and Eduard Santha.
In Semi-final 1, the eleven candidates — a twelfth act, Tom Hartis, withdrew because of flu — competed in front of the national jury, made up of former Eurovision representative Ilinca Bacila, songwriter Viorel Gavrila, rocker Marian Ionescu, guitarist Nicu Patoi and lyricist Liliana Stefan.
On the stage of Focsani’s Municipal Theatre, emotions ran high, some hopefuls couldn’t cope with the pressure and others rose to the challenge. In the end, three acts remained standing and qualified for the National Final of Selectia Nationala on 25 February.
The three qualifiers were determined by jury decision alone, but they will face the public vote in the final.
Alexia & Matei
The duo formed by Alexia & Matei is the first favourite act of the jury. Also our readers’ favourite, the teenage pair got 53 points from the jury for an energy-filled performance of “Walking On Water”.
Echoes
With two rockers on the jury, it was to be expected that one of the rock numbers should go through. Echoes received 38 points from the jury for their “Mirror”.
Eduard Santha
In third place we find Eduard Santha. Despite performing last, he brought the house down with “Mesom Romales”, getting top points from Ilinca. Over all, he qualified with 35 points.
Alex Florea, who was the first to perform, failed to impress the jury and will not go on to the final.
Full results of Semi-final 1 – Selectia Nationala
- Alexia & Matei – 53 points
- Echoes – 38 points
- Eduard Santha – 35 points
- Johnny Badulescu – 34 points
- Alex Florea – 28 points
- Elena Turcu – 27 points
- Lina – 24 points
- Hellen – 22 points
- Liviu Anghel – 20 points
- Waleska – 7 points
- CornEL – 2 points
The three qualifiers will now face off the other 12 finalists — to be determined in the next four semi-finals — in the National Final, which will be held in Bucharest’s Sala Polivalenta on 25 February. There, the winner of Romania’s Selectia Nationala 2018 will be chosen by the viewers.
Next Sunday, twelve more acts will face off in Timisoara, where three more finalists will be picked by the jury.
What do you think about the results? Did your favourite act go through? Let us know in the comments!
Good choices. I must say, very happy Alex Florea did not pass…
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Can’t wait for the iconic smash “Safari” to win next week
I’m so sorry to say this but… she didn’t pass… the judges ( except Ilinca) sucks …
semifinal 2 is strong , 3 ,4 and 5 is horror
I thought Alex Florea would be a sure qualifier but the song went nowhere from auditions to semifinal, it lost all emotion instead of gaining some. The songs that qualified had the best package last night, with Alexia and Matei being the worst of the three – Matei is just not from the same picture with Alexia. The jury is professional, sees maybe some potential, some progress made, but if things are not improved quite a lot the public will dump the song. Cannot understand why singers do not want to sing in Romanian or in Spanish (in the case… Read more »
Ilinca said : ”Cezar, you and I know what competitors feel, I promise you all, I will never be juror in my entire life.”
Cute. I believe her, it’s a cruel job.
hahahah byebye Alex FLOPea
Eduard was the only good act. I don’t quite understand how he finished 3rd tho?? prob some discrimination going on idk. I originally liked Walking On Water but seeing them live has definitely changed my whole aspect on them and their song. It’s just a whole big mess.
I could not agree more. Walking in water is so bad, I have hard time believing it has the same composer with Yodel it.
I also agree with you that Eduard is probably being discriminated against. He is miles ahead of the other two acts that qualified.
I don’t think he’s discriminated, his song is something too unusual to be liked by everyone. Ok, that 1 pointer could have an impact about being agains the message of the song (which is a message I don’t entirely get either, I like the song as a muiscal composition, not for the message), but let’s not put the blame on the fact he’s gypsy. Thankfully, he’s got a big chance in the final, especially with the help of his community.
Waleska’s song was just Tina Cousins “Pray”?????
lol my favorite (santha) made it somehow? cool
Am I the only one who wishes “walking on water” was just sung by Alexia?
You are not alone.
The guy in the duo can’t sing for his life and their choreography was so horrendous…..and then they got 1st place….I was like WoW(walking on water)
i want evreyone to know that yodel it and walk on water has the same writter mihai alexandru so we already know who will win its that right tvr?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVexeMf29HU
POLAND 2018!!!
Oh God, that song is so terrible, this is straight last place for Poland.
Why Ilinca? WHY???
Safari has to win!! She is the best option.
Did you watch her performance during the live auditions? If you want to cringe, go ahead and look it up on youtube
Agreed! “Safari” is not that good. Feli is a way better choice.
Same, her voice and the song in the music video is quite promising but her live performance is atrocious (her voice is weak and she cannot dance). I won’t be surprised if she pulls a Margaret 2016.
Don’t be joking, no comparison between Safari and Margaret, you have nothing to compare.
I just watched Serena’s live audition. Well, IMHO, she is a really good singer. Better than most of them, actually. No dodgy accent, no vocal breaking points, no off tune noise, just good singing.
What this performance lacks, though, is flashiness and raw seduction. Someone like Elena from Mandinga would probably nail it. Usually, less can be more, but this is such “out there” song which needs more direct approach.
Still, among the best options Romania has.
Alexia and Matei have a good song, but their performances need a lot of polishing. Eduard Santha had an interesting performance. Echoes were definitely not up my alley. Johnny had the best song, but his accent could have been better. Hellen and Elena gave good performances. Waleska was way better in Spanish than in English, but the song is still average at best. Liviu Anghel was not good. Lina was okay. CornEL just isn’t a performer. It was like watching an amateur on his first X-factor audition. Alex Florea was okay, but definitely not in the same league as in… Read more »
Don’t be joking, no comparison between Safari and Margaret, you have nothing to compare.
I am happy that Eduard Santha and Echoes went through. I would have also picked Elena Turcu instead of Alexia & Matei.
There’s nothing special about “Walking on the water”. It’s a generic pop wong that is easily prone to get lost among the rest.
I agree with you. I personally would have chosen Elena Turcu, Echoes and Hellen
Political correctness at its best. Elena Turcu should have qualified instead of the gypsy band that managed to impress with chest hair and nothing else.
It’s an all or nothing song, some will hate it, some will love it. Personally I love it, original, great vocals, best interpretation in terms of coreography… It seems that you hate it.
I said it simply failed to impress me. Not liking something does not mean I hate it. The thing I hate is that there were more deserving acts that should have qualified.
In your opinion. The fact that you blame political correctness for a result you didn’t like shows your bitterness.
Truly delighted! My 3 favourites after the show were the ones who qualified! Although I would change the order – Echoes were number 1 for me (not that it really matters, they start from 0 in the final)
Sorry, but all these songs are terrible… Next please!
The qualifiers are normal and predictable… that 1 point to Santha and 6 or 7 to Walewska by the first juror… he ruined the vote there, I really like his music, but what what he did there, he has no right to be a juror on a competition, it’s not possible to give such an amount of points to a person that can not sing. Finally, it went well, they were exactly the participants that deserved to get through.
Maybe he read the points the other way round? (That is, Edaurd Santha was his top choice?) I was also very surprised by his choices.
I thought a little about that possibiliy :)) Just if he wouldn’t have put Alexia and Matei on the last place and I would have said the same thing for real.
Elena Turcu had the best performance without a doubt!! She should have gone through!!
For real! She had one of the best voices in such a crappy night.
Alex had a great voice too, but it’s a contest about the songs especially, not just about the voice. Their songs were weak.
Like really you think that mirrors is a stronger song than Perfect fall??
Oh definitely!!! Much stronger!
Yes, ‘Mirrors’ sounded pretty well and had something of a radio song (which is not necessarily always a plus but at least it is something). And vocally, absolutely good. A better song sang well.
They had a better performance for sure!! But song quality wise I think it’s lacking
Ilinca giving Alex 6 points was one of the highlights, especially her poker face she tried so hard to keep.
Other highlight was when she used a google translator to give her opinions to Waleska (de Espania).
Oh, and how can we forget the 30+ minute music concert while we were waiting for the jury’s decision?
Oh Alex Florea. Maybe he forgot his sad story. Or a good voice. Or a decent song. Or Ilinca. He certainly brought the KARMA!
Karma for what? What did I miss? And what was the sad story? Tell me everything…
Alex mentioned that Salvador only won the Eurovision because of his sad story and also said that the only disease that Salvador had was in his head. I guess that’s what Jake is talking about…
Thanks! I read a few things about it in the meantime (when I found out it had smth to do with Salvador).
Elena Turcu >:(