The first Romanian semi-final took place last night at the Teatrul Municipal in Focșani. 11 entries competed for three spots in the Selecția Națională 2018 final.
Alexia & Matei, Echoes and Eduard Santha qualified for the final, placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively, while Tom Hartis, who was supposed to perform 6th, withdrew due to health problems.
The winning song is written by the same guy who knocked together ‘Yodel it’ last year. Interestingly, Ilinca Băcilă was on the jury last night and chose to mark down her former ‘singing’ partner Alex Florea.
| Artist | Song | Jury vote | Total | Psn | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Ionescu | L. Ștefan | N. Patoi | I. Băcilă | V. Gavrilă | ||||
| Alex Florea | Nobody Told Me It Would Hurt | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 5 |
| Lina | A Love Worth Falling For | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 7 |
| CornEL | Take Me Away | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| Liviu Anghel | Rise Up | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 9 |
| Hellen | From Underneath | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 8 |
| Tom Hartis | Teardrop Rain | Withdrew due to ill health | ||||||
| Alexia & Matei | Walking on Water | 12 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 53 | 1 |
| Johnny Bădulescu | Devoted | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 34 | 4 |
| Waleska | Renacer | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| Echoes | Mirror | 6 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 38 | 2 |
| Elena Turcu | The Perfect Fall | 10 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 6 |
| Eduard Santha | Me som romales | 1 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 35 | 3 |
The opening act of the show was Luminița Anghel, performing “Hora din Moldova” alongside the Țara Vrancei Folk Ensemble. A thirty-minute recital by the band Pasărea Rock was the interval act of the show. Viewers must have been thrilled.
Next Sunday, twelve more acts compete in Timisoara, with three more places in the final up for grabs.
Want to watch the (very long) show (again)?