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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Romania In The Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece. They selected their entry, "Tornerò" (meaning: "I Will Return"), by Romanian singer Mihai Trăistariu through the national selection competition Selecția Națională 2006 in February 2006. Controversy surrounded the event, as seventh-placed duo Indiggo accused the organising broadcaster, Romanian Television (TVR), of vote rigging. Prior to the 2006 contest, Romania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eight times since its first entry in 1994. Its highest placing in the contest had been third place, which the nation achieved in 2005.

Prior to Eurovision, "Tornerò" was promoted by a music video, live performances, radio submissions and fellow endeavours in several countries. Romania ultimately reached fourth place in the contest's final on 20 May, achieving 172 points. This remained the country's highest score until 2017. During Romania's show, Trăistariu was accompanied by dance group Big Bounce who performed a mixture of ballet and contemporary dance onstage. Following Eurovision, "Tornerò" achieved commercial success, reaching the top ten in Finland and Greece.

Before Eurovision

Selecția Națională 2006

Romanian Television (TVR) organized Selecția Națională 2006, a competition to select their entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. In early February 2006, the broadcaster published a provisory list of songs shortlisted to compete in the two semi-finals of Selecția Națională on 24 and 25 February:

Competing entries in Selecția Națională 2006
Artist Song Songwriter(s)
Akcent and Nico "Jokero"
Laurențiu Cazan "I Believe in My Stars"
  • Laurențiu Cazan
Delia "Baby" Umberto Tomassi
"Gândești prea high"
Dora "Brand New Feeling"
  • Jamie Winchester
  • Mihai Alexandru
  • Marc Paelinck
Marius Dragomir "Porque te vas"
  • Marius Dragomir
Edict "Vine Badea"
  • Valeriu Cotoroga
  • Margareta Iorovi
  • Anatolie Neagu
Gașca de Acasă "Lumea asta nu-i a mea"
  • Gașca de Acasă
Gina Pop Band "Give Me a Sign"
  • Gina Pop
  • Jimi Laco
"Hey a Hey"
  • Robert Ilie
Dragoș Grigorescu "No One Lives Forever"
  • Dragoș Grigorescu
Indiggo "Be My Boyfriend"
Jasmine "Sunshine"
  • Adrian Cristescu
  • Silviu Paduraru
Linda "Se tu vuoi"
  • Daniele Loreti
  • Linda Valori
  • Paul Nancă
  • Max Carlo
  • Dez Durhan
Maria Magdalena Dănăilă "Nu mă uita"
  • Maria Magdalena Dănăilă
MiDo "Sagapo"
  • Mircea Romcescu
Sorin Mitrea "This Is My Name"
  • Dani Alexandrescu
  • Radu Fornea
  • Mircea Presel
  • Sorin Mitrea
Tony Poptămaș and Desperado "The Universe"
  • Tony Poptămaș
Maria Radu and Mike Peterson "It's Our World"
  • Radu Drăgănescu
Space Ville "United Heavens"
  • Mihai Ogăşanu
  • Ioana Sihota
Mihai Trăistariu "Tornerò"
  • Cristian Hriscu
  • Mihaela Deac
  • Eduard Cîrcotă
Trrafic "I Want You Back"
  • Alin Lupsa
  • Remus Carteleanu

Although selected to progress to the semi-finals of Selecția Națională, Edict's "Vine Badea" was eventually disqualified from the contest due to the song having received television and radio airplay in Moldova prior to TVR's cutoff date of 1 October 2005. Additionally, the initially submitted entries "Lacrima ta" by Paula Seling and Marcel Marza, "I Believe in Love" by Mike Peterson, "Reeditarea succesului" by Sistem, "Sentiment" by Blondy, and "Dragoste în univers" by Heaven were voluntarily withdrawn by the performers; TVR appointed replacement songs. The results of the semi-finals were:

  Qualifier

Semi-final 1 – 24 February 2006
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points
1 Maria Magdalena Dănăilă "Nu mă uita" 4 609 6 10 7
2 Maria Radu and Mike Peterson "It's Our World" 10 555 4 14 2
3 MiDo "Sagapo" 8 359 3 11 6
4 Trrafic "I Want You Back" 6 260 1 7 9
5 Akcent and Nico "Jokero" 12 4,410 12 24 1
6 Gina Pop Band "Hey a Hey" 7 567 5 12 4
7 Delia "Gândești prea high" 2 990 10 12 4
8 Space Ville "United Heavens" 3 358 2 5 10
9 Dragoș Grigorescu "No One Lives Forever" 1 690 7 8 8
10 Indiggo "Be My Boyfriend" 5 897 8 13 3
Semi-final 2 – 25 February 2006
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points
1 Laurențiu Cazan "I Believe in My Star" 12 649 5 17 2
2 Dora "Brand New Feeling" 7 854 7 14 3
3 Gina Pop Band "Give Me a Sign" 6 388 0 6 8
4 Linda "Se tu vuoi" 8 620 3 11 6
5 Delia "Baby" 2 522 2 4 10
6 Tony Poptămaș and Desperado "The Universe" 4 1211 10 14 3
7 Sorin Mitrea "This Is My Time" 0 764 6 6 8
8 Jasmine "Sunshine" 5 979 8 13 5
9 Marius Dragomir "Porque te vas" 3 624 4 7 7
10 Gașca de Acasă "Lumea asta nu-i a mea" 1 414 1 2 11
11 Mihai Trăistariu "Tornerò" 10 5,222 12 22 1

Having also been hired for the semi-finals, Luminița Anghel and Cătălin Măruță hosted the final of Selecția Națională on 26 February 2006. The winning song was determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a jury panel and a public televote. The jury consisted of music professionals Ionel Tudor, Mirela Fugaru, Cristian Faur, Mălina Olinescu, Mircea Dragan, Marius Moga and Titus Andrei. "Tornerò" by Mihai Trăistariu won Selecția Națională with a total of 22 points, consisting of ten awarded by the public (7,852 televotes) and 12 by the jury. The full results were:

Final – 26 February 2006
Place Artist Song Jury Televote Total
Votes Points
1 Mihai Trăistariu "Tornerò" 12 7,852 10 22
2 Akcent and Nico "Jokero" 8 8,007 12 20
3 Dora "Brand New Feeling" 6 1,327 7 13
4 Laurențiu Cazan "I Believe in My Star" 7 831 5 12
5 Tony Poptămaș and Desperado "The Universe" 4 2,454 8 12
6 Linda "Se tu vuoi" 10 457 0 10
7 Indiggo "Be My Boyfriend" 0 1,166 6 6
8 Maria Radu and Mike Peterson "It's Our World" 2 570 3 5
9 Jasmine "Sunshine" 5 440 0 5
10 Gina Pop Band "Hey a Hey" 3 468 1 4
11 Delia "Gândești prea high" 0 800 4 4
12 MiDo "Sagapo" 1 547 2 3

Indiggo controversy

Seventh-placed Romanian-American duo Indiggo (pictured in 2011) caused controversy upon accusing Romanian Television (TVR) of vote rigging.

In a late-night talk show following the announcement of the winner, seventh-placed duo Indiggo accused TVR of vote rigging. Threatening with a 100,000 lawsuit, they based the accusation on reports that their voting line was continuously busy preventing people from voting for them when they called. TVR and the collaborating firm Voxline Communication dismissed the claims and stated that vote fraud was "impossible". Indiggo's "Be My Boyfriend" was removed from a CD of all Selecția Națională entries released by TVR.

Promotion

For promotional purposes, Trăistariu performed "Tornerò" on several occasions alongside other endeavours. Starting from 20 April 2006, he conducted a tour in 14 countries, including Malta, France, Greece, Cyprus, Monaco, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Moldova. This was preceded by a national tour sponsored by Cosmote, which commenced on 7 April and covered ten Romanian cities. "Tornerò" and its remixes were sent to radio stations and received airplay in several countries before the Eurovision Song Contest. Further promotion was done by Ralph Siegel's Jupiter Records in German-speaking Europe. A music video for "Tornerò" was released in 2006 and included on an enhanced CD release of the single that year. With costs for the clip amounting to a reported €50,000, it features Trăistariu walking in a hallway with dancers and other people, occasionally interacting with them and joining their activities.

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 took place at the O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece and consisted of one semi-final on 18 May, and the final on 20 May 2006. In Romania, the show was broadcast on TVR, with Dan Manoliu as the country's head of delegation. Trăistariu was scheduled for a technical rehearsal on 15 May 2006, which saw various changes concerning the staging being made. A reported €160,000 was allocated for his live performance. Over the course of the preparations, several dancers were fired and replaced.

According to the Eurovision rules at the time, selected countries, except the host nation and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), were required to qualify from the semi-final to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progressed to the final. In 2006, Romania automatically qualified to the final due to their top 11 result the 2005 contest. On the occasion, Trăistariu performed in 12th place, preceded by Macedonia and followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina. Onstage, Trăistariu was accompanied by three male and two female dancers of dance group Big Bounce. Their choreography was done by CRBL and contained elements of ballet and contemporary dance.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Romania in the final, as well as by the country in the semi-final and final of the contest. On the latter occasion, Romania finished in fourth position, being awarded 172 points, including 12 by Moldova and Spain, and ten from Cyprus, Israel, Malta and Portugal. The only countries that didn't award the Romanian entry any points were Monaco and the Netherlands. This remained Romania's highest score until the introduction of a new voting system in 2016. The country awarded its 12 points to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Moldova in the semi-final and final of the contest, respectively. For the announcement of its points in the Grand Final, Andreea Marin Bănică was the Romanian spokesperson announcing the country's voting results.

Points awarded to Romania

Points awarded to Romania (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 Romania

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ It is unknown which song placed over the other.

References

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