Moldova was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Fight", written by Alexandru Brașoveanu and Elena Buga, and performed by Natalia Barbu. The Moldovan participating broadcaster, (TRM), internally selected its entry for the contest though a process entitled . 34 entries competed to represent Moldova, with three being shortlisted to participate in a live audition on 14 December 2006 where "Fight" performed by Natalia Barbu was selected by an expert jury.

Moldova competed in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2007. Performing during the show in position 9, "Fight" was announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 12 May. It was later revealed that Moldova placed tenth out of the 28 participating countries in the semi-final with 91 points. In the final, Moldova was the closing performance of the show in position 24, placing tenth out of the 24 participating countries with 109 points.

Background

Prior to the 2007 Contest, (TRM) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Moldova two times since its first entry in 2005. Its best placing in the contest was sixth, achieved with the song "Boonika bate doba" performed by Zdob și Zdub. In , "" performed by Arsenium featuring Natalia Gordienko and Connect-R placed twentieth in the final.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, TRM organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2007 contest on 15 November 2006 despite having considered to withdraw due to lack of funds for participation. TRM opted to select its entry in 2007 via an internal selection, marking the first time that a Moldovan entry was internally selected; the broadcaster has selected its entry via a national selection show in 2005 and 2006.

Before Eurovision

Artists and composers had the opportunity to submit their entries between 26 November 2006 and 10 December 2006. Both artists and songwriters were required to be of Moldovan nationality and could each submit more than one song. Artists were also required to fund their own potential participation at the Eurovision Song Contest with TRM only covering the expense of the entrance fee, but in the event of a top ten placing at the final of the contest all expenses would be covered by TRM instead. At the conclusion of the submission deadline, 34 valid entries out of 35 were received by the broadcaster; "Can You" performed by 3 BUCKS was disqualified. Among the artists that submitted a song was Zdob și Zdub (who represented Moldova in 2005).

The selection of the Moldovan entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, entitled Pentru Eurovision 2007, took place over two rounds. The first round occurred on 13 December 2006 where a jury consisting of Valentin Dânga (composer), Ghenadie Ciobanu (composer), Oleg Baraliuc (composer), Inesa Stratulat (singer), Vlad Costandoi (producer), Natalia Brasnuev (President of OGAE Moldova), Rodica Ciorănică (journalist and editor at VIP Magazine) and Diana Stratulat (general producer of NIT TV) was to select seven to ten entries out of the 34 received to proceed to the second round. However, only three were ultimately shortlisted due to the large margin of votes received between the third and fourth ranked entries. The second round was a live audition of the three entries in front of the jury panel that took place on 14 December 2006, where "Fight" performed by Natalia Barbu was selected to represent Moldova. + First Round – 13 December 2006 Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result 1 R.A.S.A. "Universal Cow" Bulat V. 2 DJ Orion "Desperado" DJ Orion 3 Sasha Bognibov "I Don't Know Why" Alexandru Bognibov 4 Artur Osipean "Moye serdtse" Artur Osipean 5 Pavel Parfeni "Steaua mea" Pavel Parfeni 6 Mircea "Vreau să-ți spun" Mircea Boian 7 R. Atamaniuc "Black and White" Rodion Atamaniuc 8 Corbus Albus "Trap" Denis Andreev, Anna Constantinova 9 DOLL "Muzica mă face tânăr" Cristian Zavadschi, Mihai Eminescu 10 Future Positive "High Like the Angels" Gladchii 11 ADAM "Crazy World" Adam Hrupalo, Anatol Neagu 12 Adam and Irina Vasilicova "Forever These Nights" Adam Hrupalo 13 Ala and Andries "A Butt of Love" Tachii 14 Ion Velcing "Crede-mă" Ion Velcing 15 Pro Bachus "Dac-aș fi zeu" Sandu Gorgos, Ady Carp 16 Thales "Hora de sărbătoare" Cebotari 17 Cezara "I'm Not Your Slave" Tamaz Djgarcova 18 Natalia Barbu "Fight" Alexandru Brașoveanu, Elena Buga Advanced 19 Moldstar "Honey Love" Marian Stîrcea, Radmila Popovici-Paraschiv 20 Olia Tira "Your Place or Mine?" Ruslan Țăranu Advanced 21 Scroom "Stop" Scroom 22 Lou "Miss Mistery" Vadim Luchin 23 Georgeta Daraban "Dincolo de cer" Alexandru Cosovan, Traian Vasilcău 24 Aylin "Dragostea" Alexandru Cosovan, Traian Vasilcău 25 Perla "I Do Believe" Perla 26 Olesea Ceaicovschi "Where the Shadows Fall" Olesea Ceaicovschi 27 Acord "Maria" Maria Stoianov 28 Anghelina "I Would Fly" Anghelina Serebreacova 29 Catrina Paslaru "Birth of a Clown" Catrina Paslaru 30 Prinzip "Lenuta" Bordea 31 Marcella "My World - My Home" Leo, Spita 32 Aliona "I Love You" Curlichin, Curlichina 33 Zdob şi Zdub "Space Cowboys" Mihai Gîncu, Roman Iagupov, Jaro Advanced 34 Liusia Znamensky "We're Here" Safrin + Second Round – 14 December 2006 Artist Song Points Place 1 Natalia Barbu "Fight" 94 1 2 Olia Tira "Your Place or Mine?" 70 3 3 Zdob şi Zdub "Space Cowboys" 76 2

Promotion Natalia Barbu specifically promoted "Fight" as the Moldovan Eurovision entry on 6 March by performing the song as a guest during the sixth show of the .

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the are required to qualify from the semi-final on 10 May 2007 in order to compete for the final on 12 May 2007; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. On 12 March 2007, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final and Moldova was set to perform in position 9, following the entry from and before the entry from the .

The two shows were televised in Moldova on Moldova 1 and broadcast via radio on Radio Moldova. All broadcasts featured commentary by Vitalie Rotaru. TRM appointed Andrei Porubin as its spokesperson to announce the Moldovan votes during the final.

Semi-final Natalia Barbu took part in technical rehearsals on 3 and 5 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. The Moldovan performance featured Natalia Barbu dressed in a leather top with leather trousers and performing on stage with three dancers and two backing vocalists. The performance began with Barbu appearing silhouetted against the stage, and a violin solo was later performed by the singer with the dancers performing a routine that included flying red scarves as well as raising and twirling a large silver silken banner. The stage featured LED screen projections that transition from neon lines to burning sparks and streams of metal. The backing vocalists that joined Natalia Barbu on stage are Liusia Znamensky and Rodica Aculova.

At the end of the show, Moldova was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Moldova placed tenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 91 points.

Final The draw for the running order for the final was done by the presenters during the announcement of the ten qualifying countries during the semi-final and Moldova was drawn to perform last in position 24, following the entry from . Natalia Barbu once again took part in dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May before the final and performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 12 May. Moldova placed tenth in the final, scoring 109 points.

Voting Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Moldova and awarded by Moldova in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to in the semi-final and to in the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Moldova

+ Points awarded to Moldova (Semi-final) Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

+ Points awarded to Moldova (Final) Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Moldova

+ Points awarded by Moldova (Semi-final) Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

+ Points awarded by Moldova (Final) Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

References