In 2006, he represented Romania at Eurovision and gave the nation one of their best ever results. But Mihai Trăistariu — now known as M I H A I — has never given up his dream of winning the song contest for Romania. He’s now confirmed his intention to win Eurovision 2020 with a ballad and has invited songwriters to submit suitable songs.

M I H A I launched his 2020 campaign on Facebook, with a post making his plans clear.

Va rog sa dati un Share masiv acestei postari !Sunt hotarat sa castig Eurovision-ul. Si, pentru ca unii colegi de…

Posted by Mihai Traistariu on Wednesday, July 24, 2019

The “Tornerò” singer wrote, “I’m determined to win Eurovision. And, because some of my colleagues have named me KING OF BALLADS, I’ve come to the conclusion that I can only impress an international jury and audience to the maximum with a slow song.”

He also emphasised that he wanted to win Eurovision for Romania, saying, “Romania deserves first place in MUSIC, too… not just in tennis!”

M I H A I invited songwriters to send him suitable ballads, opening the search to “Romanian or foreign, young or old”. He wrote, “This way, I will maximise my chances of getting that PERFECT song once and for all!”

M I H A I’s previous attempts

With M I H A I’s decision to enter a ballad this season, it seems he has been greatly inspired by Duncan Laurence’s heartfelt ballad “Arcade”. However, while “Arcade” won Eurovision 2019, it topped neither the jury nor the televote — which could make taking a similar path a risky tactic for M I H A I.

This wouldn’t be the first time that M I H A I has been inspired by previous Eurovision stand-outs. Following Kristian Kostov placing second at Eurovision 2017 with his power ballad “Beautiful Mess”, M I H A I entered the ballad “Heaven” in Selecția Națională 2018, which reminded some fans of “Beautiful Mess”.

M I H A I’s entry for Selecția Națională 2019 was “Baya”, which also gave fans deja vu. It reminded some fans of Shakira’s 2001 hit “Whenever, Wherever”, but reminded others of the iconic Eurovision 2018 runner-up, “Fuego”.

However, M I H A I never got to take “Baya” to Selecția Națională 2019. Earlier this year, he withdrew from the national final, saying “I do not trust the objectivity of the Eurovision Romania organisers”.

He also suggested that he would enter “Baya” in the 2019 Maltese national final, however that plan was quashed when Malta switched to X Factor Malta to select its artist.

But it seems that M I H A I’s faith in the Romanian Eurovision team has been restored. He’s now determined to represent Romania at Eurovision 2020.

The Romanian broadcaster TVR has not yet confirmed its participation in Eurovision 2020, but they are expected to return. In May, Romania’s Head of Delegation revealed that the broadcaster was considering making changes to its national final format, possibly changing the jury/televote ratio or even switching to internal selection.

This follows two years of non-qualification at Eurovision, with both Selecția Națională and the Eurovision Song Contest suffering from declining audiences figures in Romania. The grand final of Eurovision 2019 had just 147,000 Romanian viewers — only 3.3% of the available audience.

But could M I H A I be what Selecția Națională needs to revitalise its fortunes? If M I H A I can find the right ballad, perhaps 2020 will be his year.

What do you think? Should Romania send M I H A I to Eurovision 2020? What sort of ballad should he sing? Tell us your thoughts below!

Read more Romania Eurovision news here

Translation by Bogdan Honciuc

50 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
jack
jack
4 years ago

the guy is delusional to say the least….

Dawidek
Dawidek
4 years ago

And ps : i think you should stop writing about him…music will be safe

Dawidek
Dawidek
4 years ago

Mouahahahaha …this made my day…he should try another activity like selling fishes or ice creams on a beach…

Roy Moreno
Roy Moreno
4 years ago

If he’s not going to give up, at least do it right
He’s trying too hard to win Eurovision instead of making music and there is a difference
Just look at past winners, they weren’t really aiming for Eurovision or to adjust themselves, let alone Duncan wrote Arcade a few years ago
If he wants to win Eurovision somehow, he should try to stop trying too hard and focus on the music (plus not aiming for a ballad or any other genre alone, just keep your mind open to whatever comes)

Nikki
Nikki
4 years ago

I have more chances to win the TOFT Summer Competition than him of ever get to Eurovision again.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
4 years ago

To quote a certain ice queen, LET. IT. GO!

Charles
Charles
4 years ago

Desperation and obcession are so unflaterring … sashay away sis!

Vlad
Vlad
4 years ago

Dear Mihai, pride is a sin. Eurovision means nothing in this life, please think about your soul after life.

gaia
gaia
4 years ago
Reply to  Vlad

Eurovision means nothing in this life? Tell that to somebody who is on this blog in July.
Let MIHAI have his chance like everybody else.

Talula
Talula
4 years ago

Mihai should cooperates with Kirkorov , they both super annoying dudes who cant stay away from ESC lol

WannaEatMySpaghetti
WannaEatMySpaghetti
4 years ago

Get over it man! Every song he submits are old fashioned. He’s stuck in the 2000’s…
In conclusion I don’t want him at ESC anymore. 2006 was enough.

If Romania wants to win with previous candidates they should bring back Paula & Ovi but with serious stuff, not a kitschy song like in 2014.

EZz
EZz
4 years ago

He had a great song back in 2006, but no a Ballad is not going to get him Romania’s first win unless his vocals are pitch perfect, and the song doesn’t bore everyone to sleep and is memorable.
But overall I would say he suits better with fast energetic type of songs, so he should go that route again if he hopes to get Romania’s first win, it could break the ballad win streak.

Bella
Bella
4 years ago

I don’t remember him at all so I just looked at his 2006 performance. Good vocals (I have to say), but visually it looks like it’s from some tacky, cheap, homemade disco track from the 70s. No one should wear a suit with loose pants…

(For some context, I think that most of the songs from the 2000s decade are awful, winners included. This one is no exception).

Veta
Veta
4 years ago
Reply to  Bella

Initially he & his team had a plan of a show ready before the contest. It included him flying under the roof of arena. But when it came to the realisation, the Greek organisers said to his team it’s impossible to make. So they had to make some show quickly out of what the organisers offered then to them.

gaia
gaia
4 years ago

Romania does well happy songs, not ballads. I speak as a person who doesn’t like how serious ESC has become.

Joe
Joe
4 years ago

Romania have always been one of those countries at Eurovision that are about “playing the game,” so to speak – picking entries on the basis of potential Eurovision success rather than just on their merits as a song. This has made for a lot of great Eurovision moments, but times are changing, and if they ever want to be in any kind of contention to win (or, y’know, qualify), they need to concentrate on song quality and originality first, not on spectacle. The Romanian televote gave 12 to the Netherlands, so they know what that’s all about. (I say all… Read more »

Joe
Joe
4 years ago
Reply to  Joe

And you can go ahead and say he and Markus Riva should team their pathetic asses up for San Marino but even they aren’t that desperate. Valentina and Serhat came back cuz they wanted to and they had fun. These guys are just thirsty.

Azaad
Azaad
4 years ago
Reply to  Joe

At least Markus has never won and so his repeated attempts at Supernova are a bit more justifiable- MIHAI came fourth but is still chasing ESC glory even though he can’t even make it past selectia nationala anymore

INAMOO
INAMOO
4 years ago
Reply to  Joe

What’s with the hate against Markus Riva? Not only he is an aspiring artist but he’s also kind, unlike Mihai. Plus, you could say the same thing towards Sanna Nielsen with that kind of logic if that is the case. Weird eurofans like you just wanna bring out unnecessary hate when opportunity arises like Markus’ repeated attempts in Supernova.

pepe
pepe
4 years ago
Reply to  INAMOO

Unlike Markus Riva, Sanna Nielsen can sing.

Joe
Joe
4 years ago
Reply to  pepe

Alright, I apologize to Markus Riva. Bless him, he’s trying, but both he and Mihai keep throwing themselves in the ring with mediocre songs. I’d respect them both more if they at least tried something new in their endless returns to their national finals.

Joe
Joe
4 years ago

They’ve always done it, but now they may be having second thoughts. Maybe specifically inviting certain artists on top of an open call would work, like Sweden does?

Joe
Joe
4 years ago
Reply to  Joe

Ah, I see your point. I guess with Sweden they already have a pretty decent amount of trust with the broadcaster given their track record, but as of late Romania have been letting the people down consistently. They need to up their game in staging, for sure – all the pyro in the world can’t hide a lack of cohesive vision. I think they just have a really hard time figuring out subtlety. The last two entries weren’t big, spectacular extravaganzas like, say, “Playing with Fire” or “Let Me Try.” They were more low-key than that, and they don’t know… Read more »

Pancake
Pancake
4 years ago

just like the band Sofi Tukker once sung:
Oh, how you make me laugh
Benadryl in the bath
We gotta put this to bed
‘Cause I got some things to do

Rasmus
Rasmus
4 years ago

Is he really sure romanian broadcastet hasnt banned him from what he did and said last year? Im sure he is banned, Hes not a very likeable person either

INAMOO
INAMOO
4 years ago
Reply to  Rasmus

Maybe they still want someone who they can laugh at in their NF or maybe internal selection.

jack
jack
4 years ago
Reply to  Rasmus

Bjorkman is banned from the netherlands u know

NickC
NickC
4 years ago

Honey , comparing you to Simona Halep is like comparing a Ferrari to a Fiat. Yeah, they are both Italian cars.

Henry
Henry
4 years ago

If they want to win, send Paula/Ovi with a pop song or Luminita with a power ballad. Bella Santiago could also do it.

Edu
Edu
4 years ago

OMFG Have you seen the “Baya” pic?? Is not serious!!!
He’s a big joke nowadays.

Phil
Phil
4 years ago

He’s all about himself, his willingness to move to Malta proved that. Romania need to go back to picking acts that stand out for the right reasons not Mihai, The Humans or others. Would’ve qualified with Bella Santiago.

Alex
Alex
4 years ago

Mihai the annoying guy is back.

Tajikistan
Tajikistan
4 years ago

Lithuania is rumoured to be accepting foreign acts this year… if he enters Atranka and somehow wins I’ll officially give up on my country and move to Poland

Elnedeyer
Elnedeyer
4 years ago
Reply to  Tajikistan

Why not to Tajikistan?

Joe
Joe
4 years ago
Reply to  Elnedeyer

See, if San Marino makes a play for foreign acts, I understand – but why Lithuania or Belarus? They aren’t huge countries, but they aren’t dinky either.

Fatima
Fatima
4 years ago

I like him, he ought to be as big as Mäns.

Isa
Isa
4 years ago
Reply to  Fatima

Is Mäns big?!

Lars
Lars
4 years ago
Reply to  Isa

Mäns is packing something big

James
James
4 years ago

He had his chances, and multiple ones at that.

T.J.
T.J.
4 years ago

Gi and ask Ralph Siegl, your aspirations match perfectly, and not only these… ROFL

Roelof Meesters
Roelof Meesters
4 years ago

Jesus Christ when will this torture of bland and by the books songs end? ALL of his entries in Selectia Nationionala were cheesy and predictable and with that attitude I don’t think he will ever attract enough people to vote for him so that he could win ESC. Please someone make him stop.

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
4 years ago

If he goes to San Marino, gets selected internally (maybe) and fails to qualify for the Grand Final, THAT will definitely make him stop. Maybe he can ask Ralph Siegel to cook up a tune for him, no? >:-P

Jo.
Jo.
4 years ago

dare to dream

Isa
Isa
4 years ago

Mihai is boring. Also, he had some pretty dishonest attitudes with composers he has worked with in the past, so I doubt he will get many interested in submitting songs for him. He should retire.

Kostas
Kostas
4 years ago

He’s just ridiculous and pathetic. Last year after he withdrew he was looking for some other country to represent. Now he says that his main goal is to make Romania win the first place in music. So desperate for attention.

d44dj
d44dj
4 years ago

Just find a good song and hands down. But I’m afraid he wants Whitney Houston 90’s. Don’t look for the traditional ballad.

Idksmth
Idksmth
4 years ago

So that’s why he withdrew this year?

Loin dici
4 years ago
Reply to  Idksmth

Not really. He probably have discovered about the SN voting mishaps and the wildcard additions beforehand and made his move.

Frisian esc
4 years ago

Mihai going to eurovision for romania the year that i can actually attend would be just my kind of bad luck xD