Ever since Romanian national broadcaster TVR revealed the names of the participants in Selecţia Naţională 2023, Eurovision fans were impatiently waiting to hear the songs. Now, the waiting is finally over as all 12 songs have been uploaded on TVR’s YouTube channel.
The publication of the songs comes with a lot of enthusiasm, but also with some disappointments. While everyone was very curious to hear the songs, especially after some snippets shared last week raised many hopes, the way in which the songs were uploaded was not what everyone expected.
In previous years, the Romanian broadcaster used to publish the full studio version of each song. This year, TVR has uploaded a series of videos they received from each participant — some of them having the studio version of the song uploaded over the video, others being live performances. The differences in sound and video quality from one video to another creates some confusion when it comes to evaluating the songs.
Nevertheless, all the entries will ultimately be judged on a level playing field — the Selecţia Naţională 2023 stage on 11 February.
Selecţia Naţională 2023: Competing songs
Here are the songs according to their running order in the national selection.
Deiona – “Call On Me”
Andrada Popa – “No Time For Me”
Ocean Drive – Take You Home
AMIA – Puppet
Andrei Duţu – Statues
Theodor Andrei – D.G.T. (Off and On)
Steven Roho, Gabriella & Formaţia Albatros – Lele
Aledaida – Bla Bla Bla
Adriana Moraru – Faralaes
Maryliss – Hai vino
JaxMan – Bad & Cool
Andreea D Folclor Orchestra – Periniţa mea
Which Selecţia Naţională 2023 song is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below!
Fun typical eurovision NF Line up haha, yet kinda weak. Beside Theodor who i Can see reach grand final in Liverpool, i’m not convinced by the others. Floclor would definitily be fun, a meme and the Heart of the party in May ? thé trenetulul of 2023
I read comments about the Folclor lyrics. Okay, it has to stay in Romania haha.
I gotta Say english songs in Latvia and romania seem very very .. generic and soul-less lyric wise
I’m rooting for Theodor as well
I can echo what most of you have already pointed out. After last years demo avalanche we’re getting at least a reasonable amount of entries this year, but they all seem slightly insipid. Of course, you can always go down the Balkan folk route, if you want to score a couple of televote points, but then why would you? Musically, it’s not really interesting anymore, and you’re certainly not winning with a song like “Perinita mea”. On top of all that, there’s the questionable lyrics. Everything about this entry would be a backwards move. Romania to me seems a little… Read more »
Like I wrote in my rant, I’m very disappointed in the The broadcaster allowing the release of such sloppy presentations of the songs. Despite this, there could be a potential qualifier from the lot, but there is definitely no Eurovision winner coming out of Romania this year.
I don’t even understand the point of these videos. Just do it FdC-style with a picture and some nice graphics plus the studio track and you’re fine. It’s like you say, these videos are making the songs sound worse just because they look (and sometimes sound) so amateurish. On the other hand, there’s nothing here that convinces me musically, so in a way it’s all the same anyway.
Yeah, that’s exactly what the Romanian broadcaster should’ve done. Put up videos featuring pictures of the artists in front of an artistic background With a consistent sound quality, and that’s it. Not this sloppy display of amateur music videos. I Hope the live performances are better.
If Vidbir and Benidorm Fest (and FdC in every year) can successfully do it, I see no reason why Romania couldn’t have done the same. Not all songs are *that bad* (Perinica mea is, tho), but the format doesn’t work in their favor. I hope that TVR releases the formal videos too before the selection.
There really is no shortage of good examples how to present your entries: You can do it like Portugal, you can take the Italian route and keep the suspense brimming until the actual show is happening, or you can do it the fancy Finnish way with polished YoiuTube premieres for a whole week. Even the slightly chaotic Lithuanian way where you never know when exactly what is dropping is better than what we see from Romania now. Perhaps Jan further down is right and they struggle to attract funds and talent after years of unfortunate elimination in the semis and… Read more »
True that. Speaking of the fancy Finnish ways (in both their official video releases and on UMK during the live performances), it’s incredible how they are the only country to did the reasonable thing and add the lyrics / dialogue in subtitles. We live in 2023, and there are 0 reasons why ESC shouldn’t have the same option. Or festivals like Melfest, SanRemo, or MGP. Sure, some banter and contestants’ answers are spontaneous, but I’m sure that the basic script for announcement and intervals is pre-scripted, and so are the lyrics of the performed songs. I think it would be… Read more »
Don’t get me wrong, I see the presentation amateurish as well, but I have a feeling it was done on purpose. Romania has a tendency to have at least few decent songs every year. However, their acts tend to sound out of tune most of the time. Perhaps the reason TVR went the way it went is to make sure those acts can actually deliver a song live and alone. I mean, yeah, there is going to be a live performance during the selection but at that point you will be able to hide your out of tunes with the… Read more »
That is indeed beyond the explainable area if TVR is doing a check-up on who can sing live before releasing the songs.
As for Emilija Jokubaityte, yes, indeed, she is a Lithuanian songwriter and singer who has been cooperating with Dynoro & Gigi D’Agostino (“In My Mind”). She is also featuring with Emie in a song called “New”. 🙂
Romania getting downgraded year by year.
They need to choose at least will well receive by televotes to qualify since only televotes will vote.
Idk if Statues or Bla Bla Bla will even qualify they giving me 11th – 13th or if they did probably got 9th or 10th.
What a waste of time, money and other resources…
You said it.
Perinita mea!!! <3
Andrei Du?u for ESC Top Ten
Had to check the lyrics and… yes, I agree they don’t belong to this century.
You’re reaching. What female objectification? Is now appreciating women considered objectification? I don’t like the song either and the lyrics are infantile but they’re just describing how to dance with a woman. Perinita is the name for an old traditional dance.
+ It’s not that deep, those lyrics aren’t supposed to be taken seriously
The lyrics are as atrocious as the song itself. After reading them, I actually prefer Trenuletul by a lot. At least their lyrics were rather nice. I really hope that Romania doesn’t pick PM. Or if they do, then they can finish dead last in the semi with nil points, and then maybe, just maybe, they actually re-invent their selection process the way that Spain did. Romanian NF of 2019 was actually decent, so they obviously know how to do better.
there are worse lyrics – “Statues” is absolutely crap
We can argue about Statues’ lyrics being pretetious or not, but unless Hai Vino has absolutely mind-numbingly atrocious lyrics, Perinita mea reigns supreme in that category. And in the category of hurting my ears regardless.
I’ll applaud Romania for still taking part in the ESC, unlike Hungary or Bulgaria, but it seems clear that the way TVR is handling things is not very motivational for Romanian artists, nor will it enhance the quality of entries, improve Romania’s results or public interest in the ESC. Which is all really sad.
Ashamed with our national broadcaster. TVR is full of controversial persons named politically. Even the HoD, Mihai Predescu, is not into Eurovision. They are all amateurs. Sorry, Europe, but someone should be in the last place next year. The big stars in Romania do not wanna hear about Eurovision, because they do not want to associate the image with TVR. Also they are not informed about what Eurovision means these days. Unfortunately, they are ignorant on this point. We will not win for sure in the next years with these kind of entries. Perinita is based on very traditional song… Read more »
What I’m mostly baffled with (apart from the below-sub-par presentation videos) is why TVR shifts between absolutes = 100% jury v. 100% televoting? In most cases, both are needed to make the optimal result. Sure, in 2023, coincidentally, only televote is needed to make it through to the finals (if that result is good enough for them), but even so, a limited Romanian televote (which apparently still makes only thousands in a 20 mil. country) isn’t necessarily reflective of a wider European televote. Also, take in mind that this selection is very poor compared to something like Spain and Estonia… Read more »
True all that! I’d even say that Voila and Fulenn are both of the highest quality, regardless of the result.
I’d add Belgium to the list. Their 2000s and early 2010s songs were, with some exceptions (2003, 2005, 2006, 2010) excruciatingly poor, and of recent years, they are reliable in delivering at least solid entries. Some excellent songs, some just decent, but every single one of them passing the bar of being professional and sounding like there was a well-thought process behind them. You can’t hear something like O Julissi, LovePower or Copycat from Belgium these days.
Just all are unprofessional. Mediocrity at TVR is the king. I can bet that they never watched other selections from other countries. For them is another day at the job. This could be a real oportunity for them, but they don’t care. Next year, the management could be changed politically again. At least we will not win and never have the chance to host a disaster. After a win I would give the privilege of hosting to other country.
What classy behavior. Blame others for your own failures.
I like bad and cool. There are a few other decent ones too. I worry romania may need to rely on quirky staging in order to pop though…
I thought I would avoid a parade of soulless pop songs with clumsy lyrics by skipping the Maltese snippets, but then Romania came and… Can’t say I’m fond of any of the 12, but I would go with “Perinita mea” (playing the “Trenuletul” card wouldn’t be a bad decision given the low level of the selection) or “D.G.T.” for showing some personality. But I agree with BadWoolfGirl and Jake, the biggest problem here is the way TVR is showcasing the entries. It’s an amateur move and they’re exposing these artists to be ridiculed. It’s the kind of thing that may… Read more »
The presentation with those amateurish videos really makes the whole thing worse than it actually is, even if this is by far the weakest selection out of five released so far on average (and by snippets, it’s obvious that Belgium won’t sink this low either). I understand the strategic points in sending Perinita mea (because of the obvious comparisons with a very successful entry last year), but this is the exact same reason why on my list, even in this competition, it’s my 11th out of 12. I respect that there are people for this kind of music, but I… Read more »
I agree that “Bad & Cool” and “Bla Bla Bla” are presentable. I think they’re better than “Statues”, because I really can’t stand its lyrics. In any case, I don’t see Romania doing well in my ranking with any of these 12.
I honestly think that Bad & Cool could be in my top 15, as I find it an earworm, and I genuinely think it’s meant to be taken as a lighthearted joke. But I understand that not everyone is on board with that ”random” kind of humor, and that’s okay. Bla Bla Bla at least has some attitude, but I’d have to hear it in a bit better version. I’m not a fan of Statues’ lyrics either, but I do find the package polished enough to enter my top half of songs here. It could still result in my overall… Read more »
I’ve read the lyrics for Perinita mea, and I found them quite bad. Something about a girl at the party being oogled at. I’m giving this to Trenuletul – the lyrics are good, and the performance was engaging. Perinita mea is cerainly void of one of those things, with the second one pending.
Question, Una – Have you heard the original folk song, and to a what degree does this borrow from it?
The lyrics are indeed of bad taste. Being a foreigner, I can’t judge how original the ethnic sound is, but I trust your word. Though most viewers won’t sadly care about the lyrics or about if this is a good example of Romanian music or not. So I would still say this one is probably the one with a better chance to make a splash in Eurovision. On the other hand, would viewers feel Romania is trying to copy Moldova’s strategy?
I think that Perinita mea would, objectively, likely manage to qualify at least. Subjectively, I can’t stand it.
Yeah, never underestimate the appeal of ethnic music at eurovision with the televote, especially from homesick diaspora voters.
Have you listened to our 2000’s and 2010’s entries? Those were Romania’s best years. I have no idea why to be honest but interest in Eurovision among the Romanian public faded over the years + TVR’s lack of commitment isn’t helping either. But I like to be optimistic, hopefully this is just a bad phase and Romania will return to sending some quality music
*early 2010’s
Romania’s best days definitely seem to be behind them. There is no Eurovision winner among this lot, that’s for sure.
Oh we’re definitely not expecting to win this year lol. I just hope we can at least qualify
On the other hand, a NQ (as unfortunate as it may be) could expose TVR’s ineptitude and maybe either force them to revamp their system or move SN to a different broadcaster. I’m betting on the latter
Or if You fail to qualify again, I can see a potential withdrawal in the future. If romania can’t get their act together, Maybe you need to take a break.
In spite of the horrendous video quality, which song do you think Could get Romania in the final? Don’t forget to consider televote support and appeal because we only have televote in the semi finals.
Either Bla Bla Bla or DGT could get us in the final in my opinion
I’d personally like DGT to win since it would be a bit unexpected from Romania and it’s one of the few entries which has personality. And it’s in Romanian, like for long we haven’t sent something in our language?
The safest option would be Bla Bla Bla though.It’s absolutely nothing new but even from that horrible video you can tell that she can sing live and if she slays the stage she could do well.
Bad and Cool is the best song.
UMK entries having quality videos mop the floor with whatever these are…
While I won’t comment on the songs themselves until I have listened to them in full, I have to take the Romanian broadcaster to task about the horrendous presentation of the entries. Seriously, is this really the best you can do? Have your selected artists shoot in their own homes or studios on equipment of varying quality (at best) to make the official music videos? This is a disgrace, and if a country under war conditions (Ukraine) can produce good music videos, you have no excuse for this poor quality. What really pisses me off is that the songs look… Read more »
I agree. The way TVR decided to present their candidates in below any professional level. Every other selection so far, Malta included, has shown a level of respectable package when it comes to the format of presentation. I don’t know whether it’s the artists themselves who picked to send such a version, but TVR shouldn’t have let them. The entries which are hit the worst are Bla Bla Bla and Lele, which certainly speaks in volumes about the former, which is apparently one of the early frontrunners despite of it.
A few of the songs already have a studio track out, which baffles me that the others don’t have the same thing.
As much as I dislike TVR, those are not music videos, that’s just pure misinformation. TVR asked the artists to record a live version and then send it to them, they had a deadline and all.
The music videos/official presentations will be up later. Imo they should have just uploaded the full studio versions first like they did everytime.
They better put up better quality videos later on. I apologize for calling them “official music videos” when they really aren’t, but I didn’t have any other word to describe them.
As much as I dislike TVR, those are NOT the official music videos. The artists were asked to record themselves live and then send the filming to TVR, with a deadline and all. Why some videos look worse than others, I have no idea. It’s TVR’s fault for putting up these videos, they should have just uploaded the full studio versions like they do all the time.
That’s what really baffles me. Why didn’t they ask for the studio cuts of all the songs and then just put up the picture of the artist against a background design, which is what they did for last year’s selection?
Generic AI generated lyrics + lame ass TikTok videos
I am very sorry but sincere. Which one is my favourite means here which one I dislike less.
Many songs sent to the German selection have been out for weeks now, but it’s not decided which among them, if any, will be selected for the actual finals.
Sorry for the off topic, but does someone know what happened to ESCZ? Iirc it was supposed to take place this month
It might be taking place in 2023 which is just two days from now.
The last date for sending entries was 8th December, so they probably were picking 3 that would compete. No other info then that though (don’t know where you got the thing about it happening this month) – although it would be nice to see at least how many entries they recieved or something.
I wasn’t expecting anything from Romania and they still managed to disappoint
It makes me think of this line from Malcolm in the middle—“ I expected nothing and I am still disappointed.”
I see a woman of culture 😀
You make it sound like Romania never sent anything good…
The last few years have been dissapointing for Romania but don’t most countries have some bad years as well?
I’d say this year’s NF is more bland and uninspired rather than being outwardly bad… We have indeed done better in the past
Yeah, Romania has sent good songs in the past, but that’s the problem. They haven’t sent a lot of good songs lately. I doubt that will change with this lot.
I know it sounded like that, but at this point it’s been ages since the last time they sent something good. Romania today doesn’t have anything to do with Romania before 2019
Honestly, at this point, I think countries have stopped trying because they know it is highly likely that Ukraine will win again. Truth hurts, but this is reality right now….
You still say that, even after Ukraine has chosen their song? I don’t think Heart of Steel is strong enough to win Eurovision for Ukraine twice in a row.
Not only it isn’t as strong, it’s nowhere near to being as impactful as Stefania was
Yes, that’s why I don’t think Ukraine will win again.
Let’s be honest neither stefania nor heart of steel are worthy of winning eurovision. But politics get involved… do you think stefania would have won had Russia not invaded Ukraine? Probably not…
Just look at how poorly Ukraine scored at JESC a few weeks ago…
You’re right, I didn’t want Stefania to win ESC either, but I came to terms with that long ago, and also the context and its content made the song resonate with the televote
I think folks are being waaaay to harsh on these songs…unfortunately the way they are being presented, they are not being painted in the best light…imagine Chanel lip synching Slo Mo to an audio track playing in the background looking at the camera against a dark background—it would all sound underwhelming … some of these songs will really rely on performance and staging
Nothing personal but they are just amateurs at a casting show and the entries fully reflect that, what are we supposed to say? Would anyone actually sit through any of these outside of this ESC context? Should ESC followers just have no standards at all?
I maintain that the actual product is better than a few things we’ve heard recently, even if the presentation is terrible
Oh, God, this is bad. It sends me back to my friends’ music band in middle school. So So bad. As a Romanian, I can not support this. That year, when we had Roxen and those couple of songs composed for her, was literally the best. TVR, just do that again…Please….
Perfect, let’s send again someone with 0 vocal talent on a live show.. sure..
Voice or no voice, at least we had songs 🙁
I am so sorry and in barest on behalf of you for Romania. You guys deserve a lot better.
Embarrassed. I hate using my phone to write comments.
We need a song that washes the pain away…
This is lowkey embarrassing. I know Romania has more to offer than this.
Perinita Mea, Lele, and DGT. In that order. All the other ones are bad.
We’ve got to be completely honest, I actually wanted to say this is pretty much San Marino level but even they had someone like Achille Lauro last year, so probably not even SM level unfortunately. San Marino is also just a microstate, not a country that’s not far off 20 million, if you compare population to output we’re 100% one of the worst countries in the contest and I’m not talking just about this year either, quite simply one of the worst in general. I was already resigned to the fact it will be a very long time before we… Read more »
We had a pretty solid start to the NF season for the upcoming ESC but it keeps getting weaker now. Ukraine, Estonia and Spain seem pretty good, Belgium and Lithuania are alright thus far… But now Albania, Malta and Romania too are really dragging things down. Here’s to hoping the other selections (particularly the ones that give a lot of good results) can steer the vehicle back on course because it’s looking like we’ll have an internally selected winner at this rate.
Lithuania only has three songs out of 30 released and Belgium hasn’t released the full version of their 14 songs yet so I wouldn’t make any judgments until they’re all out.
“Statues” by Andrei Du?u is my favourite. “Lele” is also pretty decent. But they better not send that ‘Benny-Hill-gone-wrong’ song.
I hope they will choose one of the 2 ethnic bops. Yes, almost the same thing from almost the same country won’t work well enough second year in a row but still, at least some diversity to the semi finals lineup. No need of just another generic pop song
Ok so quality is in the gutter from all countries who have put out so far, its like everyone knows now the competition is rigged after last years result so why bother.
Portugal, Norway and Lithuania’s NF songs are out in January. We can expect something decent from them!
It’s just a very (very) bad start to the season so far.
Bit harsh on Ukraine and Albania. Yeah, they’re not winning material, but they’re not bad either.
I have now listened to all the songs at least twice, and I can give my verdict on the songs from the Romanian selection. I base my verdict on the studio versions, although we have some that we haven’t heard yet. There are, in my opinion, four songs that are bops, bangers – or otherwise just great songs. So my TOP 4 (in order): (with ratings from 1-10) Ocean Drive – “Take You Home” (9) Andrei Du?u – “Statues” (9) JaxMan – “Bad & Cool” (8) Steven Roho, Gabriella & Forma?ia Albatros – “Lele” (8) Then the other songs were… Read more »
After the first listen I’d say that Theodor Andrei, Amia and Aledaida are my favorites, with everyone else a joint, distant fourth. Props to Adriana Moraru for trying Spanish, though.
Side note: I’ve noticed Malta and Romania both have made the first look at the songs be the artists just singing it in empty sets or random rooms. This trend has just started and I already want it to die because of the strong pandemic flashbacks it gives me, on top of how unprofessional it looks, as Amigo already pointed out.
Say what you Will about Malta, at least their snippets are presented with a consistent audio and visual quality that is very lacking with Romania.
That I will concede.
Ouch! This hurt. Not so much the songs but the unprofessionalism!
It just makes the songs look worse even the ones that are or could be good.
The elephant in the room is just how bad this looks and sounds. C’mon, Romania, couldn’t you take another week or so and finish the songs and make them look at least half-presentable? And that’s a pity because I thought the song selection was pretty good (the finished-sounding ones, anyway). A few ethnic bops, some nice-uptempo pop, and a ballad I really like. After the weak sauce that was Albania and Malta, I’ll take this any day! It doesn’t seem to be gaining any traction, but I love “No Time for Me,” even if the best justification I can make… Read more »
Rought ranking: 1. Puppet – it’s a bop and her voice is amazing 2. D.G.T – I do like when a song tries to do something a little different. A strong contender. 3. Bla Bla Bla – it’s a nice dark number, but it does start to get a little repetative near the end 4. Faralaes – takes a little bit to find its footing, but is fun. Also the choreography is good 5. Lele – also takes a minute to get going but is a fun litle bit of folk pop 6. No Time for Me – lovely little… Read more »
We share number 12. It’s hard for me to imagine that anyone would actually vibe with it. There’s nothing particularly aggravating in there, but the melody is forgettable, the hook simply isn’t present, and there’s no build-up. It’s not catchy, it doesn’t create an atmosphere, and doesn’t add to genre diversity. I’m genuinely perplexed on how that made the cut. (Nothing against the singer.)
Otherwise, while I have different opinions on many songs, it’s nice to hear a well-explained top 12.
I don’t know what the point of a country song is with a canned-sounding instrumental like that.
This only real potential lies in “bla bla bla”. The other songs are either horrible or a mess, or wanna be last year Moldova (Andreea D Folclor Orchestra – Perini?a mea). Waiting to hear the studio version of Bla Bla Bla
The only real*
“Bla bla bla” is wannabe SloMo:
SloMo is wannabe Fuego
Its not weak but not strong at the same Time…
I love Andrei Dutu, Amia, Aledaida & Jaxman ! But Andrei Dutu & Aledaida are my Big favorites !
I think Andreea D Folclor Orchestra is the winner because Moldova 2022 success its the same kind of music !!! But its very repetitive & a little boring…
I Hope for Andreï Dutu or Aledaida !!!
Statues or Bla Bla Bla. These are really great songs that I think could do well in Liverpool.
Another disappointing selection. I’ve never skipped more songs. Have countries stopped giving a damn and just participate just to participate? If you see that the entries suck, just shut the whole thing down and do an internal selection.
i don’t think this selection is weak, it has enough enjoyable songs. of course i’d choose perinita mea, especially after trenuletul’s success last year it’d be a safe choice. no need for romania to send a middle of the road pop song.
I also prefer perinita mea….
Zdob si Zdub are pros, the Perinita Mea guys just played a few weddings and decided to apply for ESC. There’s not even a comparison to be made.
Indeed a really weak preselection. What a shame, Romania !
Is TVR not embarrassed? If I was Romanian I would be livid.
The songs are all trash, but what’s annoying me more is how lazy TVR is. They’re revealing their NF songs in the cheapest and laziest way possible, literally zero effort.
That´s unfortunately the bitter truth….
Statues, Bla Bla Bla or Puppet!
There are a few descent ones but overall nothing is really all that great here for me.
This is just a nice way of me saying they are all bad.
Andreea D Folclor Orchestra, of course.
My top 3 so far: Bad & Cool – I unironically enjoy in how funny and catchy this song is. The lyrics *have to* be self-aware, which creates a great juxtaposition. If he’s able to charm the audiences on stage, I can see this being this year’s That’s Rich or Mata Hari, aka, actually well-made ”guilty pleasure” with some quality in it. D. G. T. – I’ve seen the top lists, and I am aware this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and yes, it can be messy at parts. But still, it stands out in genre, style, and flow. It… Read more »
it’s so mean of me, but i skip skip skip all of them and haven’t finish listening not a single one of them. But I guess base on my taste I’d go for “Puppet”