Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece. They selected their entry, "Tornerò" (English: "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.[1]

Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Country Romania
National selection
Selection processSelecția Națională 2006
Selection date(s)Semi-finals
24 February 2006
25 February 2006
Final
26 February 2006
Selected entrantMihai Trăistariu
Selected song"Tornerò"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Eduard Cîrcotă
  • Mihaela Deac
  • Cristian Hriscu
Finals performance
Final result4th, 172 points
Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2005 • 2006 • 2007►

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 Grand 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.[2][3]

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:[4]

Artist Song Songwriter(s)
Akcent and Nico[lower-alpha 1] "Jokero"
Laurențiu Cazan "I Believe in My Stars"[lower-alpha 2] Unknown
Delia "Baby" Umberto Tomassi[8]
"Gândești prea high"
Dora "Brand New Feelings" Unknown
Marius Dragomir "Porque te vas"
Edict "Vine Badea"
Gașca de Acasă "Lumea asta nu-i a mea"
Gina Pop Band "Give Me a Sign"
"Hey a Hey"
Dragoș Grigorescu "No One Lives Forever"
Indiggo "Boyfriend" Dieter Bohlen[9]
Jasmine "Sunshine" Unknown
Linda "Se tu vuoi"
Maria Magdalena Dănăilă "Speranța moare ultima"
MiDo "Sagapo"
Sorin Mitrea "This Is My Name"
Tony Poptămaș and Desperado "The Universe"
Maria Radu and Mike Peterson "It's Our World"
Space Ville "United Heavens"
Mihai Trăistariu "Tornerò"
  • Eduard Cîrcotă
  • Mihaela Deac
  • Cristian Hriscu[10]
Trrafic "I Want You Back" Unknown

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.[11] 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.[12]

Having also been hired for the semi-finals, Luminița Anghel and Cătălin Măruță hosted the final of Selecția Națională on 26 February 2006.[13] 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.[14] "Tornerò" by Mihai Trăistariu won Selecția Națională with a total of 22 points, consisting of ten awarded by the public (6,995 televotes) and 12 by the jury. The full results were:[5][14][15]
Place Artist Song Jury Televote Total
1
 Mihai Trăistariu "Tornerò"
12
10
22
2
 Akcent and Nico[lower-alpha 1] "Jokero"
8
12
20
3
 Dora "Brand New Feelings" Unknown
13
7
 Indiggo "Be My Boyfriend"
0
6
6
N/A Laurențiu Cazan "I Believe in My Stars"[lower-alpha 2] Unknown
Delia "Gândești prea high"
Gina Pop Band "Hey a Hey"
Jasmine "Sunshine"
Linda "Se tu vuoi"
10
 Unknown
MiDo "Sagapo" Unknown
Maria Radu and Mike Peterson "It's Our World"
Tony Poptămaș and Desperado "The Universe"

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".[15][16] Indiggo's "Be My Boyfriend" was removed from a CD of all Selecția Națională entries released by TVR.[17]

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.[18][19] A music video for "Tornerò" was released in 2006 and included on an enhanced CD release of the single that year.[20] With costs for the clip amounting to a reported €50,000,[18] it features Trăistariu walking in a hallway with dancers and other people, occasionally interacting with them and joining their activities.[20]

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.[21] In Romania, the show was broadcast on TVR,[1] with Dan Manoliu as the country's head of delegation.[22] Trăistariu was scheduled for a technical rehearsal on 15 May 2006, which saw various changes concerning the staging being made.[23] A reported €160,000 was allocated for his live performance. Over the course of the preparations, several dancers were fired and replaced.[24]

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.[21] 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.[25]

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Romania in the Grand Final, as well as by the country in the semi-final and Grand 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.[26] 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.[27] The country awarded its 12 points to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Moldova in the semi-final and Grand Final of the contest, respectively.[26][28] For the announcement of its points in the Grand Final, Andreea Marin Bănică was the Romanian spokesperson announcing the country's voting results.[29]

Points awarded to Romania
Points awarded to Romania (Final)
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
  1. "Jokero" is credited only to Akcent,[4] as well as to Akcent and Nico by sources.[5]
  2. The title of the song is unclear. Sources differently refer to it as "I Believe in My Star" and "I Believe in My Stars".[4][7]

References
  1. "Romania – Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  2. "Mihai: Tornero" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  3. "Top 50 Singles – 27/8 – 2/9/2006". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  4. Busa, Alexandru (16 February 2006). "TVR publish song titles". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  5. "Mihai Trăistariu va reprezenta România la Eurovision 2006" [Mihai Trăistariu will represent Romania at Eurovision 2006]. Bacău Online. 27 February 2006. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  6. Jokero (Liner notes). Akcent. Netherlands: Roton. (Barcode: 8714866868132). 2006.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. "Primii finalisti la selectia nationala Eurovision 2006" [The first finalists of the national selection for Eurovision 2006] (in Romanian). HotNews. 25 February 2006. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  8. Gheorghe, Florian (12 February 2006). "Costi Ionita, ascuns sub numele de Umberto Tomassi" [Costi Ionita, hidden behind the name Umberto Tomassi]. Libertatea (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  9. Be My Lover (Liner notes). Indiggo. Germany: Ariola. (Barcode: 82876822582). 2006.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. Tornerò (Liner notes). Mihai Trăistariu. Romania: Chips Records. (Barcode: 4029758696880). 2006.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. "Info" (in Romanian). Antena 3. 23 February 2006. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  12. "Paula Seling, Sistem, Blondy si Heaven s-au retras din cursa pentru Eurovision" [Paula Seling, Sistem, Blondy and Heaven have withdrawn from the Eurovision selection]. România Liberă (in Romanian). 14 February 2006. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  13. Tudorache, Simona (6 February 2006). "Maruta si Luminita, pentru Eurovision" [Maruta and Luminita, for Eurovision] (in Romanian). 9am.ro. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2006.
  14. "Circ la selectia nationala pentru Eurovision" [Controversy at the national selection for Eurovision] (in Romanian). Acasă.ro. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  15. "Mihai Traistariu startet für Rumänien in Athen" [Mihai Traistariu represents Romania in Athens] (in German). Eurovision.de. ARD. 21 May 2006. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  16. "Contestatia trupei Indiggo a fost respinsa de televiziunea nationala" [TVR dismisses Indiggo claims]. Ziare (in Romanian). 1 March 2006. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  17. Selecția Națională Eurovision 2006 (Liner notes). Various artists. Romania: Romanian Television. (Barcode: 5948204395520). 2006.CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. Busa, Alexandru (4 April 2006). "Mihai Traistariu ready for Athens!". ESCToday. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  19. Bakker, Sietse (20 April 2006). "Mihai Trăistariu to Malta and Belgium". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2006.
  20. Tornerò (Liner notes). Mihai Trăistariu. Greece: Capitol Records/Planetworks. (Barcode: 0094637051726). 2006.CS1 maint: others (link)
  21. Eurovision Song Contest 2006. Athens, Greece. 18–20 May 2006.
  22. Bakker, Sietse (10 May 2006). "TVR reveals more plans about performance". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  23. "Mihai Trăistariu a păşit cu dreptul la Atena" [Mihai Trăistariu stepped right to Athens]. Telegraf (in Romanian). 20 May 2006. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  24. Solomon, Tatiana (10 March 2016). "Ovidiu Anton plăteşte scump victoria de la Eurovision România" [Ovidiu Anton 'pays' for his victory at Eurovision Romania]. Click! (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  25. "Mihai Trăistariu merge la Atena pe mâna lui CRBL" [Mihai Trăistariu goes to Athens at the hands of CRBL]. Adevărul (in Romanian). 8 May 2006. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  26. "Eurovision 2006 Results: Voting & Points". Eurovision World. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  27. Scris de Anca (19 May 2013). "Rezultatele României în 19 ani de participare la Eurovision" [Romania's results in 19 years of participation at Eurovision] (in Romanian). 1Music. Archived from the original on 11 March 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  28. "Eurovision 2006 Semi-final Results". Eurovision World. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  29. Eurovision Song Contest 2006. Athens, Greece. 20 May 2006.
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