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Moldova: Bacho has secured sponsorship for Eurovision 2025!

Bacho secured financial sponsorship to ultimately allow Moldova to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.

Bacho, along with Carnival Brain, who were the favourites to win the  Etapa Națională 2025, before Moldova’s withdrawal was announced, revealed that they have received sponsorship that could allow the country to participate. The national broadcaster, TRM, announced the country’s withdrawal due to financial, administrative and artistic difficulties.

While it was initially reported that Bacho and Carnival Brain had declined an internal selection offer, Bacho denied this by announcing that they had secured financial sponsorship for Moldova to eventually participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 and that they intend to make a proposal to TRM.

Bacho posted the below

“Today, our team received a sponsorship offer. They are offering financial assistance to cover all expenses related to the trip to Eurovision as they are invested in ensuring Moldova presents itself positively on the global stage during this milestone 20th anniversary of participation. In turn, we are ready to represent our country with dignity at Eurovision, considering that no one has yet seen our stage show concept, which plays a big role in the artistic image,which we haven’t had the chance to present to the public in this year’s final!
We are awaiting a response from TRM team representatives
So, let’s give the green light to Semafoare this year and show that Moldova can rely on its young artists!”

You can read the post of Bacho below:

In addition, Antonio Ragoza, member of the duet Carnival Brain, also commented on the whole situation.

Bacho and Carnival Brain, would participate in the Etapa Națională 2025 with the song “Semafoare” which you can listen to below.

Do you think this development will be enough to overturn the decision of TRM to withdraw Moldova from this year’s contest?

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Moldova: Is Etapa Națională 2025 canceled?

A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow where, according to speculations, the national broadcaster of Moldova will announce the cancellation of the Eurovision selection process and proceed with an internal selection, despite the fact that the auditions have already taken place and the list of finalists has been determined.

According to speculations around the internet, tomorrow at 11:00 CET, the national broadcaster of Moldova, TRM, will organize a press conference where it will announce the cancellation of Etapa Națională 2025 and will proceed with an internal selection of Bacho and Carnival Brain with their song “Semafoare” to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel. The broadcaster has already held the auditions where 26 songs took part and the date for the final of Etapa Națională 2025 had already been scheduled on February 22, 2025.

The internal selection of Bacho and Carnival Brain, if true, likely is due to the poor quality of this year’s national competition. The songs of Etapa Națională 2025 are not of high quality and contestants who would normally finish last in the auditions managed to qualify to the Etapa Națională 2025 final (for example, Sasha Bognibov’s song).

The rules of the Etapa Națională 2025 indeed permit the national broadcaster to cancel the entire process and to internally select the contestant for Eurovision 2025. It is also stated that the contestants have no right to claim anything against the TRM.

Additionally, Lidia Isac, who represented the country at Eurovision 2016 and was a member of the Etapa Națională 2025 jury, seems, according to her post, to criticise the low quality of the songs in this year’s process.

Source: Euromix

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

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Moldova: Artists competing in Etapa Națională 2025 Auditions announced!

Just a few moments ago, Moldova’s public broadcaster, TRM, revealed the list of artists and song titles set to participate in the Etapa Națională 2025 auditions.

The artists competing in the ETAPA Națională Eurovision 2025 auditions are:

  1. Diana Elmas – Fly Away
  2. Sasha Khanedanyan – Silent Hills
  3. NR.11 – Bye
  4. NORDIKA – Ludmila
  5. Royals ST – Zboară-n Sus
  6. TUDOR BUMBAC – Pace Noi Vrem
  7. Sasha Letty – Haute Couture
  8. AnnaG – Meet Me in the Dark
  9. Dan Alexandrov – Can’t Escape
  10. Nadya Crajevschi – Nota Shodow
  11. Eblansh Band – O, Moldova Mea Dragă!
  12. Sasha Bognibov – All-Night Party
  13. Predein Cristian – Moldovian Dance
  14. Chris Cross – Eu Vin
  15. Vadim Eleni – Mamă, Să Fii!
  16. Rina – Dorințele
  17. Βacho & CARNIVAL BRAIN – Semafoare
  18. Lylu – Pop
  19. POOPS ft Zaffi – Destinul
  20. PRIZA feat Mc MIKE – Kookoo
  21. Lisa Volk – O Lacrimă, Un Dor
  22. Y-gaga Band – Alexia
  23. LODOS – Sentimental
  24. Sasha Bognibov – We Changed Our Gender
  25. Katy Rain – Timpul
  26. Catalina Solomac – Demons
  27. Tanya Tudor – Bring Me Back
  28. Pavel Pașcan – Alăturea De Tine
  29. Zelorielle – Miracle
  30. Valleria – A Picture of Myself

Key Dates to Remember

The live auditions will take place on January 18, while the national final is scheduled for February 22. In the final, ten artists will compete for the honor of representing Moldova at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.

Last year, Moldova was represented by Natalia Barbu, marking her second Eurovision appearance (following her 2007 debut). Her song “In The Middle” failed to qualify for the Grand Final, finishing 13th in the first semi-final with a total of 20 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evIoGkZXj2s

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates on the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Source: TRM

Moldova: Artists for the Etapa Eurovision 2025 Auditions to Be Announced on January 13!

As we informed you in a previous article, the auditions for the artists competing in Etapa Eurovision 2024 will take place on January 18. Moments ago, Moldova’s national broadcaster, TVR, revealed that the artists participating in the auditions will be announced on January 13 at 16:00 Greek time.

We remind you that the final of Etapa Națională 2025 is scheduled for Saturday, February 22.

In the Etapa Națională 2025 final, 10 artists will compete. Voting will be determined 50% by the public and 50% by the jury, with the organizers deciding in the event of a tie.

Last year, Moldova was represented by Natalia Barbu for the second time (first in 2007) with the song “In The Middle”. Unfortunately, she did not qualify for the Grand Final, finishing 13th in the first semi-final with a total of 20 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evIoGkZXj2s

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all updates regarding Eurovision 2025!

Source: TRM

Moldova: Etapa Națională 2025 final to take place on 22nd of February!

The date for the 2025 version of Etapa Națională, the national competition through which Moldova selects its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, was announced today.

Moldova’s national broadcaster, TRM, announced today two dates related to Etapa Națională 2025. Specifically, on Saturday, January 18, the auditions of the candidates are going to be broadcast live, and on Saturday, February 22, the final of Etapa Națională 2025 is going to take place.

10 artists are going to participate in the final of Etapa Națională 2025. The result will be determined 50% by the audience and 50% by the committee, with the organizers deciding in case of a tie.

Last year, Moldova was represented by Natalia Barbu for the second time (first time in 2007) with the song “In The Middle”, where she failed to qualify for the grand final, finishing 13th in the first semi-final with 20 points overall.

https://youtu.be/evIoGkZXj2s

Source: TRM

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Moldova: The submission period for the Selecția Națională 2025 has begun

The national broadcaster of Moldova, TRM, has officially launched the process to select the song that will represent the country at Eurovision 2025, taking place in Basel, Switzerland.

In a recent announcement, TRM revealed the regulations for Selecția Națională 2025, Moldova’s national final. The submission period is now open, and interested participants are invited to send their entries no later than the deadline, set for December 27.

The submitted songs will be reviewed and evaluated between December 28 and January 15. Following this, the second phase will involve live auditions, scheduled to take place between January 15 and February 5.

In the final stage, the top ten entries will compete in Selecția Națională 2025, where the winner will be chosen to represent Moldova at Eurovision 2025. The national final will be held between February 20 and February 28. Voting will be determined by 50% public vote and 50% jury vote, with the organizers resolving any ties.

It is worth noting that last year, Moldova was represented by Natalia Barbu with the song In The Middle. Unfortunately, she did not qualify for the Grand Final, finishing 13th in the first semifinal with a total of 20 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evIoGkZXj2s&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates!

Source: X, @ESCdiscord

Moldova: Present in Eurovision 2025| The representative will be selected through a national final!

As it seems, one more country will join the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place next year in Basel!

We’re talking about Moldova, which will participate in the contest in Switzerland, hoping to return to the positive results of previous years after last year’s elimination. The submission window is expected to open in the coming days.

The country’s official Eurovision website has been updated, featuring a special section about artist wanting to participate in the national selection for Eurovision 2025, which will once again include a national final as Moldova has done in recent years! The application form and regulations are expected to be posted HERE.

Moldova is the 37th country to confirm its participation in Eurovision 2025, meaning that, in the worst-case scenario, the contest will feature 37 entries, as it has in the past two years.

The only country that has not made any announcement about its participation is Armenia, which will most likely be present, as it usually announces its plans for the contest after the conclusion of Junior Eurovision. Therefore, its current silence is not unusual. The countries confirmed so far are:

  • Switzerland
  • Spain
  • Malta
  • Denmark
  • Belgium
  • Luxembourg
  • Austria
  • Portugal
  • Croatia
  • Serbia
  • Germany
  • Israel
  • Finland
  • Albania
  • Lithuania
  • Sweden
  • Norway
  • Italy
  • Cyprus
  • Latvia
  • United Kingdom
  • San Marino
  • France
  • Azerbaijan
  • Montenegro
  • Georgia
  • Czechia
  • Ukraine
  • Iceland
  • Slovenia
  • Greece
  • Estonia
  • Ireland
  • Netherlands
  • Australia
  • Poland
  • Moldova

If we take Armenia’s participation for granted, all 37 broadcasters from Eurovision 2024 will return, along with Montenegro’s comeback after two years. This would bring the number of participants to 38, the highest since 2022, when 40 countries participated. It remains to be seen if any other countries will join, further increasing the total.

In Eurovision 2024, Moldova was represented by Natalia Barbu with the song “In the Middle” which placed 13th in the first semi-final:

https://youtu.be/evIoGkZXj2s

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Moldovan participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, in Basel!

Source: eurovision.md

Eurovision 2024: Family Show of the First Semifinal- Live Commentary (Updated Live)

The family show of the Eurovision 2024 First Semi-Final in Malmö at the Malmö Arena! We are just a couple of hours before the First Semifinal kicks in but, before we get to know the first results the artists competing in the First Semifinal will perform once again for the Family Show.  The Family Show is more financially convenient, identical to the live one for families and takes place earlier on the same day of the Semifinal. EurovisionFun will be watching all the shows live both at the on-site press centre in Malmöä and at the online press centre and will be commenting on the full performances of the 15 participating countries and the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden.  This year we will watch the automatic qualifiers perform their entire songs as part of the Semifinal

 

This article gets updated in real time, all you need to do is hit the refresh button on your browser!

So stay tuned to this article as we update it with all the details, preparing you for what you will see in the Semi-Final today May 7th, at 21:00 CEST.

The Show

The show opens with the iconic Cyprus representative Eleni Foureira singing her 2018 Eurovision song, Fuego! She is performing an oriental-inspired version of Fuego. After Eleni, Eric Saade comes to the stage to sing Popular in an explosive performance. Last but not least, Chanel rocks the stage.  The 2022 Spanish representative sings SloMo with a different dance performance than what we saw in Turin two years ago. An amazing way to start this year’s Eurovision Season!

The host of the show is Petra Mede who is familiar to Eurofans as she has hosted the contest twice before in 2013 and 2016.  She is joined by actress Malin Åkerman. The female duo are dressed in pink and orange neon suits that are suitable for the LED background.

Petra welcomes us back in Sweden and she made a joke about her voting for Finland last year. They also thank last year’s organizers for hosting an incredible show back in 2023. Malin praises Petra for hosting for a third time the contest and Petra said that she never tried to host with a woman and she was thrilled about this experience.

The hosts are explaining the voting process in English AND French this year.  We’ve missed so much Petra speaking French!! Malmo are we ready? Let the Eurovision Song Contest begin!

The Competing Countries – LIVE COMMENTARY

Cyprus: Silia Kapsis – Liar

Silia becomes the youngest artist to open a Eurovision Song Contest.  With 17 years Silia opened the First Semi-final! She’s joined by 4 male dancers all in white t-shirts which they removed by the end of the song. The LED’s are mostly in neon turquoise colours. Silia has improved her vocals from her previous attempts. She danced in the whole performance. The dancebreak looks better than the second rehearsal, the camera shots are improved by a lot!! In the last 20 seconds, the colours of the LED turn red.

Serbia: Teya Dora – Ramonda

Following Teya Dora brings a Serbian ballad.  Teya Dora is standing and sitting on a rock during the performance.  The performance is introspective and very emotional.   The LED screens show thunders and a flower by the end of the song and the atmosphere is dark throughout the performance.  Will this be enough for Teya Dora to get to the Grand Final?

Lithuania: Silvester Belt – Luktelk

Lithuania is next with Luktelk! His performance has most of the elements from their national final one. The LED’s are based in red and blue colours. Silvester enjoys his performance and is very energetic. A sure qualifier!

Ireland: Bambie Thug – Doomsday Blue

Bambie Thug has grown in the weeks.  The change from her national final to Malmö is incredible. Bambie really knows how to pull a live performance with their voice and their face expressions. They are accompanied by a shirtless dancer who seems that he is their lover in the performance. The dancer dresses off Bambie revealing a very thin suit. On the bridge of the song, the candles rise upwards, and the lighting turns red. At the end of the song they scream and the performance is finished with a LED phrase “Crown The Witch”. The crowd was clapping for a long time.  Ireland is back in the game!

Break

Petra Mede interacts with the audience.  She is tested on her Eurovision knowledge from previous songs but fails.

United Kingdom: Olly Alexander – Dizzy (not competing)

Olly is the first of the Big 5 plus Sweden to sing live in one of the Semifinals.  He is performing in a Box that has a shower.  He is accompanied by 4 male dancers in boxer shorts. The whole performance is very physical and sensual. The choreography increases this sexual tension. In the last chorus, he leaves the box with his dancers and he’s performing in the front part of the stage. Olly’s vocals were not the best.

Ukraine: alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – Teresa & Maria

The folk duo is next to perform. In the first chorus the shots are from above with the LED floor being in grey and blue colours making a hurricane. Aliona comes to the stage for her rap part and she is vocally perfect. After that, we can see Jerry in the LED wall being as mother Teresa.  The images on the LED screens and the light work elevates this song. At the end of the performance, Jerry and alyona are lying on the floor and the LED is full of women.   A very moving performance that could give Ukraine another victory!

Poland: Luna – The Tower

Luna honors the name of her song with a floor that resembles a chessboard and two towers onstage.  Luna is surrounded by two dancers dressed in black and white as chess pieces. Then, a red figure appears forming the shadow of the singer. At the final point of the song, the two towers come together and change color to red, while we also have fireworks.  Overall it is not a very impressive performance.  It seems to me that Poland risks not qualifying this year.

Croatia: Baby Lasagna – Rim Tim Tagi Dim

The fan and bookers favourite is next on the stage.  We start with smoke and a setup resembling a rock concert. There are fireworks, and the lights are in various colors with alternations. At the last chorus we can see many smoke and many fireworks also. In general, the dancers and the choreography is an upgraded version of the national final. The crowd went crazy with Croatia’s performance you can listen them joining the chorus.

Iceland: Hera Björk – Scared Of Heights

Eurovision legend Hera Björk, started her performance with her standing at the top of some stairs. The LED backdrop is in golden colours and it suits her iconic dress of the same color. Vocally Hera never disappoints. At the middle of her performance, the colours are transformed in red colours. Up until the second chorus, she is alone on stage, and then her backing singers joined her. The platform rises, and we see fireworks as well. It seems that she enjoyed the performance by 100%!

Break

Malin Åkerman shares her love for Swedish cinema as well as Eurovision music.  A segment that mixes classic Swedish movies such as “The Seventh Deal” and “Fanny Alexander” with Eurovision songs entries.

Germany: ISAAK – Always On The Run (not competing)

The performance starts in an apartment with a fire in a barrel. In the chorus, the whole living room catches on fire, and Isaak stands in the middle. In the end, we see the backing vocalists on stage, while the fires go out.  Isaak’s vocals are impeccable but he risks going unnoticed by the audience in the final.

Slovenia: Raiven – Veronika

After Germany, next on stage is Raiven. She is dressed in a transparent bodysuit, at the beginning of the performance she is laid on the floor by herself, and then in the chorus, she is accompanied by her dancers wearing light beige underwear.  The choreography is good but the whole work is not as impactful.  At the end of the song, the LED floor is in blue colours like they are floating in the sea.

Finland: Windows95man – No Rules!

Windows95man takes his UMK concept including the jean egg for Malmö. Windows95Man emerges from the egg. The dancers have a 1990-2000s style, and the shots are framed to create an illusion of nudity. In the end, he wears denim shorts with fireworks.  A novelty act that could go either way.  You either love it or hate it.  Windows95man and Henri Piispanen vocals did not sound as good as in UMK.

Moldova: Natalia Barbu – In The Middle

The Malmö version of In The Middle is a much polished one from Natalia’s national final. Natalia’s vocals are really good but the stage feels empty during most of the performance which plays against her. There are images of flowers, a tree, bubbles and butterflies. When Natalia plays the violin the angel wings are displayed.

Sweden: Marcus & Martinus – Unforgetable (not competing)

Twins Marcus & Martinus represent the host country. The performance does not change the concept from Melodifestivalen but expands it. It feels like the inside of a club with flashing lights and dancers. A very professional presentation that will surely do well in the Final.

Azerbaijan: Fahree feat. Ilkin Dovlatov – Özünlə apar

Next act on the stage is the male duo from Azerbaijan, the LED wall displays an unknown character in silver waving his hands and performing some movements.  In the middle of the performance, two huge hand props were revealed on the stage. Overall, the performance is not very memorable.  Azerbaijan may not qualify for a second year.

Australia: Electric Feilds – One Mikali (One Blood)

Electric Fields is the next onstage.  The camera shots are good but there is nothing particularly impressive. “On the LED screens, we see scenes from the video. Then three dancers-vocalists appear, and in the second chorus, the didgeridoo appears, and the title of the song is written on the wall.  In fact the second half of the performance is more eye-catching and colourful.  Will this be enough for Australia to qualify?

Portugal: Iolanda – Grito

Portugal is bringing art to the stage!  A classy performance with an impressive, minimalistic choreography. The vocals of Iolanda are on point and the camera frames and shots are perfect. One of the floating cubes is lower the whole performance based on the other three. The performance is based on white colours as we already saw at Festival da Cançao.

Luxembourg: Tali – Fighter

Luxembourg had not competed in Eurovision since the 90s and is closing the First Semifinal with a French/English pop song, which is unusual based on the previous representatives. Tali is good vocaly but the camera shots are weak. The performance is based on purple and golden colours as well as images of tigers roaring. She has changed her braids from the first rehearsal. There is fog on the stage and shots towards the audience. In the last chorus, we also have fireworks, and the word ‘Fighter’ appears on the LED screens.

A recap of all the entries follows.

Interval Act

Petra Mede present us in a really special interval act the double Irish winner Johnny Logan! Johnny sings Loreen’s Euphoria with a live orchestra. A beautiful performance!

We are now watching a video with the turquoise carpet. Petra jokes that according to social media, “it was the best turquoise carpet ever”.

A recap of all the entries follows.

We go from lighthearted humor to a sad moment. In addition to reminding the audience that Nicole and Hugo were the first performers to dance and sing together for Eurovision, Malin also briefly remembers that Nicole who passed away the previous year.  A compilation of Eurovision dance acts as a tribute to the Belgium representatives in 1973 follows.

Second Interval act for the semi-final one is Benjamin Ingrosso in an amazing medley of three songs.

The hosts highlight the several nations and languages that have participated in the show right before the results are announced, and another video compilation is presented.

Certain Qualifiers

Cyprus

Lithuania

Ireland

Ukraine

Croatia

Finland

Portugal

Luxembourg

Borderline Qualifiers

Serbia

Poland

Slovenia

Australia

Non-Qualifiers

Iceland

Moldova

Azerbaijan

The Results

The green room is behind the stage and the LED wall opens so we can see the contestants behind it. Martin Osterdahl executive producer of Eurovision Song Contest 2024, declares that he is happy to see that we now have a valid result!

Here we have a big change, as the 15 competing acts stand on stage, without their delegations, waiting for the result. The camera shows them one by one, as the presenters announce the qualifiers. After the first 5 qualifiers are announced, Alesha interviews them backstage and then we learn the 5 remaining qualifiers.

The ten countries that (virtually) qualified for the finals for rehearsal purposes only were the following:

  • Australia
  • Ireland
  • Iceland
  • Moldova
  • Finland
  • Croatia
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia
  • Luxembourg
  • Ukraine

Closing the televised show, we will get to watch a recap of the ten finalist songs.

You can watch our live reaction from the Family Show of the First Semi-Final on our YouTube channel:

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Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the latest news regarding the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which is held in Malmö!

Moldova: Watch the official video-clip of “Ιn the Middle”!

Natalia Barbu has released the official video-clip of her 2024 Eurovision entry “Ιn the Middle”!

You can watch the official clip below!

Moldova is scheduled to compete from the 11th spot of the first semi-final tomorrow Tuesday 7th of May, claiming one of the 10 tickets for the grand final of Saturday 11th of May.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the updates around the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!

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Eurovision 2024: Watch the exclusive TV footage from today’s second rehearsals!

The fifth day of technical rehearsals for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö is now over, and the preparations are heating up. Following their first technical rehearsals, the 15 countries competing in the first semi-final took the stage of Malmö Arena for their second round of rehearsals.

The second rehearsals allowed the delegations to iron out any issues from the first round of rehearsals and gave the artists a greater sense of security and comfort on the Eurovision main stage.

We know very little about what this year’s artists have prepared for the Eurovision stage because accredited journalists are not permitted to watch both the first and second rehearsals. The EBU has just posted a recap of today’s rehearsals on YouTube via the official Eurovision channel. More precisely, we’ll get to see the exclusive TV footage of today’s rehearsals.

The countries that had their second rehearsals today were the following:

  1. Cyprus
  2. Serbia
  3. Lithuania
  4. Ireland
  5. Ukraine
  6. Poland
  7. Croatia
  8. Iceland
  9. Slovenia
  10. Finland
  11. Moldova
  12. Azerbaijan
  13. Australia
  14. Portugal
  15. Luxembourg

You can watch the recap of today’s rehearsals below:


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Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news about the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!