ROMANIA

The Romanian Final was held on March 9th at the TVR TV Studios in Bucharest, hosted by Paula Seling, Ovidiu Cernauteanu, Andreea Banica & Marius Rizea. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals of 16 songs each and the top 6 songs moved through to the final. The winner, chosen by televoting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%), was Cezar with "It's my life".

Cezar's performance in the final was different to that in the semi-final. I have placed both at the bottom of the review although I will focus on the final performance (howver the semi-final show was more visual, but the dancing even more dire). The stage is very simple - all black with a vertical video strip and different flashing lights. At the front of the stage there were pyrotechnic displays I could imagine something much more dramatic on set in Malmo. He is joined by 4 dancers, and a hidden backing singer (boo) The dancers in the final are wearing very bad outfits which don't suit the song at all. In fact the whole dance routine doesn't fit at all.

Cezar is a counter-tenor and although we have had a few of these in Eurovision before, one has never made it to the final. He is a very over the top and engaging performer - but the song needs it. The song's structure is very predictable which makes it very catchy. Half way through her is a dub step breakdown which actually works! On the negative side the chorus, which is sung in his upper range is almost incomprehensible, apart from the title. He has a very striking look, almost like the body and the voice don't go together.

This will, for one reason or another, be a memorable performance. Although Cezar is serious about his work and the area of opera he is trying to publicise, part of me just feels he needs to... well... camp it up a bit. I did joke on twitter that the only way this would work would be if he sang in a dress.

In all fairness to the guy, he is good at what he does and over time he and the song have grown on me. And amidst all of the ballads and Loreen rip-offs this certainly stands out. I think, and almost hope, that this does qualify for the final and I really wouldn't mind if this won *stunned silence*.

Artist - Cezar

Song - It's my life
Music - Cristian Faur
Lyrics - Cristian Faur