MOLDOVA 2024

The Moldovan act and song was chosen on February 17th  through their national final "Etapa naționala". On January 23th a live audition round was held where a jury selected the 11 songs and acts that would progress to the final. The winner was selected by a 50/50 combination of a public vote and jury vote. However the result was a tie and the jury vote took precedence. Going to Malmö is their 2007 representative, Natalia Barbu, performing the song "In the middle".

Natalia Barbu was born in the city of Bălți into a musical family. At a very young age, she began learning how to play violin. Later, she'd graduate from the State Conservatory with a major in violin. She competed in many national competitions in Moldova but did not get a record deal until 2006. Her single "Îngerul meu" was number one in the Romanian Top 100 for 11 weeks, The next year she represented Moldova at Eurovision with the song "Fight" coming tenth in the final. In 2012, she changed music labels and started realising new music which lead her in a new direction. The song " Said It's Sad" reached the number 1 position in the Top 10 Airplay Moldova. Another of her songs "Confession" participated in the national selection for Romania in 2013 but did not progress past the semi-final. In total she has released four studio albums and over 20 singles.

This particular song is rather intertwined with its staging which gives ts a rather intriguing feel. Natalia is on stage with 5 other females and all 6 of them are dressed and styled identically in black dresses and slicked-back hair. Each singer has access to two microphones and attached to one of them is a violin. The song has a verse-prechorus-chorus structure which is followed through twice. After each chorus there is a rather catchy vocalised part which has slightly folksy tones to it. Throughout the song, the people on stage have the same armography and clapping routine. After the second chorus the ladies release the violins and then, unseen from the back of their dresses, they each unveil a bow which they then use to play the violin. To finish, Natalia continues the vocalising part but in a much higher - almost operatic - register.

The backdrop, with its fire and smoke imagery and shots of crowns and sculptures, works well in mirroring the flow of the song but the constant camera cutting from straight on to side shots mean the group affect was lessened. With a larger screen behind them, or even below, the effect might be even greater. They may even create a platform so each person is on a different level or put on pedestals that rise up and down. I rather like the black dress aesthetic but they need to stay away from black on the back screen. Lastly, because of the lack of movement, the performance can come across as a little aloof and sterile. They either need to play on this and sell the "cloned puppet" feel or they need to make sure there are plenty of tight face shots and and hone the choreography so that it conveys more emotion. I think the only other issue the staging has is that it doesn't really reflect the song's meaning which also adds to its coldness. I feel like Natalia really sings the song well and the whole three minutes really shows off her vocal ability. The balance and the emphasis of what the delegation want to give to the viewer is what they need to work most on.

ARTIST - Natalia Barbu

SONG -In the middle

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Natalia Barbu, Khris Richards