Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Moldova participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia. The Moldovan entry was selected through a national final, organised by the Moldovan broadcaster TeleRadio-Moldova (TRM). Geta Burlacu represented Moldova with the song "A Century of Love", which failed to qualify from the first semi-final placing 12th and scoring 36 points.[1][2]

Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Country Moldova
National selection
Selection processO melodie pentru Europa 2008
Selection date(s)9 February 2008
Selected entrantGeta Burlacu
Selected song"A Century of Love"
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (12th, 36 points)
Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2007 • 2008 • 2009►

Before Eurovision

O melodie pentru Europa 2008

TRM confirmed their intentions to participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 on 5 November 2007 despite financial hardships which led to the possibility of withdrawal from the contest.[3][4] O melodie pentru Europa 2008 was be the national final format developed by TRM in order to select Moldova's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

Format

The selection of the competing entries for the national final and ultimately the Moldovan Eurovision entry took place in two rounds. The first round involved a jury panel selecting twelve finalists from the received submissions to proceed to the second round, the televised national final. 12 finalists competed in the final on 9 February 2008 where the winner was selected based on the combined votes from an expert jury vote, a TRM committee vote and a public televote.

Competing entries

Interested artists and composers had until 11 December 2007 to submit their entries to the Moldovan broadcaster. Artists were required to have Moldovan citizenship, with the exception of up to two foreign backing vocalists and/or dancers. Songwriters could hold any nationality.[5] At the conclusion of the submission deadline, 27 valid entries were received by the broadcaster. A non-binding online vote ran from 12 December 2007, enabling users to listen to the 27 entries and vote for their favorites.[6] A jury panel evaluated the songs and selected 12 finalists for the competition.[7]

ArtistSongComposer(s)
Alexa "We Are One" Elena Buga, Alexandru Brașoveanu
Catrina Pislaru "Dance With Me" Hans-Christian Rahn, Valentin Dînga
Cristi Ruj "You Make Me Feel Crazy" Cristina Rujitcaia
Dana Marchitan "Your Name" Ruslan Țăranu
Edict "I Believe" Alina Dabija, Valeriu Cataragă
Elena Dermidjean "Living Creatures" Elena Reznic, Marian Stircea
Galina Scoda "Your Own Vision" Radmila Popovici-Paraschiv, Marian Stîrcea
Geta Burlacu "A Century of Love" Viorica Demici, Oleg Baraliuc
Jay Mon "Point of View" Ruslan Țăranu
Liusia Znamensky "Don't Deceive My Heart" Liusia Znamensky
Olia Tira "Always Will Be" Ruslan Țăranu
Scroom "Jane" Radu Zariciuc, Iulian Munteanu

Final

The final took place on 9 February 2008 at the National Palace in Chișinău, hosted by Rusalina Rusu and Sergiu Raelanu.[8] The winner was selected based on the combination of votes from a public televote (1/3), an expert jury (1/3) and a TRM committee (1/3).[9] The expert jury included Ghenadie Ciobanu (head of the Composers Union of Moldova), Anatol Chiriac (composer), Titus Zhukov (head of the "Likuric" theatre), Natalia Brasnuev (president of OGAE Moldova), Sergey Gavrilice (editor of VIP Magazin), Vasile Năstase (editor of Glasul Naţiunii), Diana Stratulat (producer) and Victoria Buketaru (Fresh FM Moldova). The TRM committee included George Musta (conductor of TRM orchestra), Ion Kerpek (producer), Vadim Styngachu (TRM representative) and Boris Foksa (member of coordinator unit of TRM).[8]

At the conclusion of the voting, there was a tie for the first place between "A Century of Love" performed by Geta Burlacu and "Always Will Be" performed by Olia Tira. The tie was resolved after each member of the expert jury and the TRM committee casted one vote for one of the two songs. After a 7 to 5 vote, "A Century of Love" performed by Geta Burlacu was selected as the winner.[1]

Final - 9 February 2008
Draw Artist Song Jury TRM
Committee		 Televote Total Place
1 Liusia Znamensky "Don't Deceive My Heart" 3 2 410 0 5 11
2 Elena Dermidjean "Living Creatures" 5 10 1,350 7 22 5
3 Scroom "Jane" 1 4 458 0 5 12
4 Galina Scoda "Your Own Vision" 6 12 1,329 6 24 4
5 Dana Marchitan "Your Name" 4 3 1,223 5 12 8
6 Jay Mon "Point of View" 2 6 773 2 10 9
7 Catrina Pislaru "Dance With Me" 7 5 644 1 13 7
8 Cristi Ruj "You Make Me Feel Crazy" 3 2 829 3 8 10
9 Geta Burlacu "A Century of Love" 12 8 4,293 10 30 1
10 Edict "I Believe" 6 7 1,124 4 17 6
11 Alexa "We Are One" 8 7 7,665 12 27 3
12 Olia Tira "Always Will Be" 10 12 2,603 8 30 2

At Eurovision
Geta Burlacu performing at the Eurovision Song Contest

In previous years, if a country placed in the top 10 countries in the final they automatically qualified to the final of the next contest. Had this rule remained for the 2008 contest, Moldova would have directly qualified for the final. However, a change in rules due to the large intake of countries participating in the contest meant that only five countries, the host country and the Big 4 countries, would automatically qualify to the final. As such, Moldova were forced to compete in one of the two semi-finals of the 2008 contest in Serbia. Moldova competed in the first half of the first semi-final and performed 4th, on 20 May 2008, following Estonia and preceding San Marino. The Moldovan entry scored a total of 36 points and placed 12th, thus failing to qualify for the final on 24 May 2008.[2]

Points Awarded to Moldova
Points Awarded to Moldova (Semi-Final 1)[2]
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points Awarded by Moldova

References
  1. Floras, Stella (10 February 2008). "Moldova sends Geta Burlacu to Eurovision". Esctoday.com.
  2. "Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Semi-Final (1)". Eurovision.tv.
  3. Kuipers, Michael (21 June 2007). "Moldova to make participation decision in October". Esctoday.com.
  4. Klier, Marcus (5 November 2007). "Moldova to take part in 2008 Eurovision Song Contest". Esctoday.com.
  5. Kalimeris, Aris (26 November 2007). "Moldova: TRM call for songs". Esctoday.com.
  6. Floras, Stella (12 December 2007). "Moldova: Listen to the 27 submitted songs". Esctoday.com.
  7. Viniker, Barry (14 December 2007). "Exclusive: 12 songs for Moldova national final". Esctoday.com.
  8. Andy, Mikheev. "Moldova at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006". ESCKaz.
  9. "MOLDOVAN NATIONAL FINAL 2008". Eurovision Song Contest National Finals Page.
  10. "Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Final". Eurovision.tv.

See also
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