Back in February, 20-year-old artist Roxen was chosen to represent Romania through an internal selection. Today it was time to decide which song Roxen will perform in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, and that song is 'Alcohol You'!

Artists were not the only ones being chosen this weekend; Romania just aired Selecția Națională 2020, the national selection show to choose Roxen's participating song for Rotterdam. Earlier Roxen was selected by broadcaster TVR, with advice from an expert committee who analysed potential artists based on vocal abilities, artistic performance, musical empathy and expressiveness.

Alcohol You

The chosen song, Alcohol You, is written by Breyan Isaac, Ionut Armas and Viky Red.

A song for Roxen

During the show, Roxen performed 5 songs and the Romanian public was able to weigh in on their favourite. The decision was made by a 50/50 split of a jury and public vote. In the event of a tie, the public vote would have prevailed. Her 5 potential songs for Rotterdam were:

Final score in Romania's national selection TVR

Alcohol You won both the jury and the viewers top votes, totalling 10 points. The runner up was Storm with 6 points.

Selecția Națională 2020

The show to select Roxen's song for Europe was hosted by former Romanian Eurovision participant Elena Gheorghe and Connect-R, who was a featuring artist for Moldova in 2006 alongside Arsenium and Natalia Gordienko. They also joined along with many other artists as guest performers during the show, including Eurovision winner Loreen from Sweden and this year's participants for Cyprus and Norway, Sandro Nicolas and Ulrikke, and the aforementioned Natalia Gordienko who has just been chosen to represent Moldova once again.

Romania's Eurovision 2020 participant ROXEN TVR

Romania in Eurovision

Romania joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 and, whilst the country is yet to score their first victory in the Eurovision Song Contest, they've finished in the top 5 on 3 occasions. In 2005 and 2010, Romania finished third in the Grand Final which remains the best placing for the country to date, and 4th in 2006 with Tornerò.

In 2017, Romania scored its first top 10 place in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2010 with Yodel It by Ilinca ft. Alex Florea.

What do you think of Alcohol You? Tell us in the comments below!

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Posted 21 February 2020 at 19:22 CET

Romania's Roxen presents 5 potential songs for Rotterdam

Roxen, Romania's Eurovision 2020 participant TVR

The songs are here! During Romania's national TV final on 1 March, Roxen will perform 'Alcohol You', 'Beautiful Disaster', 'Cherry Red', 'Colors' and 'Storm'.

At the end of January, Romania’s best composers and artists wrote songs together during a special Eurovision songwriting camp, organized by Romanian public broadcaster TVR in collaboration with music label Global Records.

The 5 following tracks came out on top. And one of them will become Roxen's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. Both the Romanian public and a jury will have their say in the outcome of the national final.

Alcohol You

Lyrics: Ionut Armas, Breyan Isaac

Music: Ionut Armas, Viky Red

Beautiful Disaster

Written by: Breyan Isaac, Julie Frost Produced by Breyan Isaac, Alex Cotoi

Composed by: Breyan Isaac, Alex Cotoi

Cherry Red

Written by: Theea Miculescu

Composed by: Theea Miculescu, Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan, Costel Dominteanu

Colors

Written by: Julie Frost, Breyan Isaac

Composed by: Julie Frost, Breyan Isaac, Alex Cotoi

Storm

Written by: Minelli

Composed by: Minelli, Viky Red

Which song do you like best? Let us know in the comments!

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Posted 11 February 2020 at 20:00 CET

Roxen to sing for Romania in Rotterdam

Roxen, Romania's Eurovision 2020 participant TVR

20-year-old Roxen will represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She became the country’s representative via a songwriting camp that public broadcaster TVR organized in collaboration with the music label Global Records.

About Roxen

At a young age, Roxen knew that music meant the world to her. She started singing at the age of 7 and won several musical competitions throughout the years. Right now, Roxen is the 3rd most-played artist on Romanian radio and has 2 songs in the radio charts: You Don’t Love Me (which has 8 million views on YouTube) and Ce-ti Canta Dragostea (9 million views and the most-Shazamed Romanian song).

Which song will she sing?

On 1 March, Roxen will perform 5 songs in Romania's national final on TV. During the show, the Romanian public will be able to vote for their favourite song. Both a jury and the public will pick their favourite song, in which both will have an equal 50% share in the final outcome. In case of a tie, the public vote will prevail.

Out of her comfort zone

Roxen on being selected for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020: "As a child, I participated in various competitions and festivals. I have always dreamed of making high-quality music, performing on the most important stages and in front of the largest audiences. Now I am just so excited, I feel I am facing the biggest test in my career, totally out of my comfort zone. I love the feeling, as I have always been attracted to new experiences, to all the challenges in my life. I am happy and grateful for this opportunity. At the moment, all my energy and focus goes towards Eurovision – I want to do my best for this!"

Roxen, Romania's Eurovision 2020 participant TVR

Roxen will perform in the 2nd half of the 1st Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 on Tuesday 12 May.

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Posted 03 February 2020 at 17:00 CET

Go behind the scenes at Romania’s national selection

Romania 2020 TVR

Starting Monday 3 February at 19.50 CET (20:50 EET), TVR1, TVR International and TVR Moldova will broadcast a special behind-the-scenes series called Destinaţia Eurovision. The series will cover this year’s Romanian Eurovision Song Contest songwriting camp.

Romania’s new selection includes a special Eurovision songwriting camp, organized by TVR in collaboration with the Romanian music label Global Records. At the end of January, some of Romania’s best composers and artists wrote songs together in hopes of them becoming the country’s 2020 entry.

From Monday 3 February until Friday 7 February, Destinaţia Eurovision will give viewers access to the ins and outs of this songwriting camp. If you miss a broadcast, you’ll be able to find each episode on TVR’s YouTube channel afterwards

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Posted 31 January 2020 at 14:18 CET

Romania to combine internal selection and public vote for 2020

Romanian public broadcaster TVR is changing their national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Romania previously used the format 'Selecția Națională', but this year they're moving to an internal selection process combined with a public vote. A jury will select an artist with 5 songs and during a national final, the Romanian public gets to vote for their favourite song. The winning song will represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam.

This year's Romanian representative will be appointed by a special jury. The jury will take into account criteria like vocals, artistry, empathy and expressiveness.

Romania's Eurovision 2019 participant Ester Peony performing 'On A Sunday' in Tel Aviv Andres Putting

After selecting the artist a songwriting camp will take place. During this camp, some of the best Romanian composers and artists will write songs for the chosen artist.

Out of the songs written during the camp, the best 5 tracks will be selected by experts with various professional backgrounds (e.g.: composers, songwriters, musicologists, tv/radio producers, music directors). The experts will take the following criteria into consideration: sound, originality, style diversity and message.

On 1 March, the 5 selected songs will be performed by the chosen artist in Romania's national final. During the show, the Romanian public will be able to vote for their favourite song. Both a jury and the public will pick their favourite song to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. Jury and public will have an equal 50% share in the final outcome. In case of a tie, the public vote will prevail.

Romania will perform in the first Semi-Final on 12 May in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.