Photo credit: SunStroke Project / Aliona Moon / Pasha Parfeni
After Zdob si Zdub gave Moldova another Top 10 result, who will be the act that will represent them in 2023? After whittling the 33 acts who took part in their auditions down to 10, let’s meet the 10 acts hoping to represent Moldova this year in Etapa Națională!
Aliona Moon – Du mă
Aliona Moon is no stranger to Eurovision. She first took part as a backing singer for the former Moldovan Eurovision contestant and fellow competitor Pasha Parfeni in 2012. The following year, she won the right to represent Moldova in 2013 with her emotive Romanian ballad ‘O Mie’ meaning ‘A Million’ in English. Her performance was memorable as during the bridge, her large dress began to rise and she began to tower above the stage. She finished in 11th place scoring 71 points – which was a respectable result.
After Eurovision, she took part in The Voice Romania in 2014 and with the help of her coach Smiley, Aliona made it to the final and finished in 4th place.
Now she’s back with her new song ‘Du mă’ hoping to repeat her Eurovision success 10 years ago. She sang very well during the auditions and will definitely be one to watch in the final. You can watch her live audition here!
Corina Ivanov – When Love’s Real
Corina Ivanov first had a passion for music at a very young age. When she was age 6 she started piano lessons. As she grew up, she knew music and performing were what she wanted to do in the future. She graduated from a music college in Chisinau and then moved to Romania at the age of 21 where she went to study for a master’s degree in acting. Her songs have been played on Radio stations as well as Music TV channels across Moldova.
She most recently took part in The Voice Romania in 2022 where she sang the Eurovision song ‘Hora Din Moldova’ by Nelly Ciobanu where she received two turns and Denis (The Motans) became her coach. She won her battle round but was ultimately knocked out in the knockouts.
She’ll be singing the ballad ‘When Love’s Real’ in the grand final.
Cosmina – Indestructible
Cosmina is the youngest contestant in the competition but has a big voice. At the age of 4, her parents were the ones that discovered her passion and talent for music. After studying hard at singing, piano and musical literature, she began to take part in local and international music competitions and she won the ‘Star of Chisinau, Star of Moldova’ award in 2017. She’ll be singing the song ‘Indestructible’ hoping to wow the juries and the public on Saturday.
Donia – Red Zone
Doina Spătaru who is otherwise known as Donia is a singer from Chisinau. She started singing at age 3 and her dad enrolled her in a music school where she studied various instruments, one of which is the lesser-known Cobza which is a multi-stringed instrument that belongs to the lute family. At university, she studied even more instruments such as the oboe, piano, and saxophone. The latter she excelled at and she became a saxophonist for the band Hologram.
“Music has always been my passion. Since I was a kid, I’d go out on the street, hold concerts and do it in a natural way. I never had any emotions. After I grew up, I realized that I have a lot of work to do to improve my voice and reach a high level”
– Donia in an interview with Eurovision.md
Donia will be singing the song ‘Red Zone’ which did well in the audition jury vote so she could be a dark horse to win the title on Saturday.
N̦rdika РDamn and Down
Definitely one for the metal fans out there! Nördika was formed back in 2019 with Ghirba Lana on lead vocals, Ruslan Țăranu on the keyboard and also providing vocals, Vladimir Stavinschii on the bass guitar and Anatolii Mirocinic on the drums. Nördika actually sang two songs at the auditions but their other song ‘Squeeze Please’ was disqualified because it was performed before the 1st of September 2022. The song they will be competing with is called ‘Damn and Down’ and they’ll hope to rock the stage in Chisinau, and hope to do the same in Liverpool.
OL – Why You Play It Cool
OL is the name of the project where Olga Lysicova is the main singer. She’s collaborated with British musicians Matt Pearce and Emmett Elvin to name a few. As well as OL, she also is a part of the rock band Cassini Tales which is currently signed with the Italian record label Luminol Records. She’ll be singing ‘Why You Play It Cool’ hoping for success on Saturday.
Pasha Parfeni – Soarele ÅŸi luna
Another fan favourite, Pasha Parfeni is a popular Moldovan singer who’s no stranger to Eurovision. Originally a member of the band, (and fellow contestant) of SunStroke Project, he went solo and represented Moldova in Eurovision 2012 with his song ‘Lăutar’ which finished in 11th place with 81 points. He also composed the 2013 entry ‘O Mie’ sung by Aliona Moon which also finished in 11th place. He has tried Moldova in subsequent years, such as in 2020 where he finished in 2nd place. His great track record in Moldova’s NFs will definitely make him one to watch this year. His song is called ‘Soarele şi luna’ which means Sun and Moon and it’s an uptempo number which stands out in this year’s lineup, but will it be enough to win? We’ll find out this weekend!
SunStroke Project – Yummy Mummy
Where to begin with SunStroke Project. They are another very well-known act, not just in the Eurovision sphere but across the world. They have so far represented Moldova twice, in 2010 and 2017. Although their first attempt wasn’t very successful (they finished in 22nd place), they became an international media sensation thanks to Epic Sax Guy. The original Epic sax Guy meme video which features the full Eurovision live performance with an added minute of his sax solo so far has 84 million views.
In 2017, SunStroke Project returned with their song ‘Hey Mamma’, featuring an Epic Sax Guy solo in the drop. They drastically improved on their 2010 result and finished in 3rd place with 374 points, which to this day is still Moldova’s best-ever result in Eurovision. This time, they’re back with their song ‘Yummy Mummy’ hoping to go all the way this time.
Surorile Osoianu – Bade, bădiÅŸor, bădiţă
Suroile Osoianu or the Osoianu Sisters are a group who have had a long but successful career. Their names are Illeana, Iulia, Valentina, Maria, and Romela. Each of them studied music at college and university. They’ve won many awards for their folk music in Moldova. In 1999, they won the ‘Trandafir de la Moldova’ festival trophy and in 2012, they won the ‘Potcoava de Aur’ (The Golden Horseshoe trophy) which is a popular music show in Romania and Moldova.
They have even collaborated with some big names. In 2003, they released two songs with the popular band, as well as 2005, 2011, and 2022 Moldovan Eurovision representatives Zdob si Zdub. In 2022, Moldovan/Romanian pop star Irina Rimes invited the sisters to perform with one of her contestants on The Voice Romania, Andra Botez.
Surorile Osoianu will be singing ‘Bade, bădişor, bădiţă’ hoping to add Eurovision to their ever-growing list of accolades.
Victor Gulick – Let’s Dance
Victor Gulick is a guitarist and vocalist from Chisinau. He started playing the guitar at age 15 and began to write his first songs at the same time. He’s the current frontman of the rock group ‘Aglet’ and continues to take singing lessons to further develop his craft. He’ll be singing the song ‘Let’s Dance’ hoping to get the crowd going.
Audition Results
These were the jury results of the auditions back in January. It’s important to remember that the jury members who vote in the live final are different to the ones who voted at the live auditions. As you can see SunStroke Project are the early favourites but it’s a very close contest, so anything can happen!
Photo credit: Eurovision.md
Running Order
The running order for the show on Saturday has already been announced, Donia will open the show and Corina Ivanov will perform last.
Photo credit: Eurovision.md
Who do you want to see represent Moldova at Eurovision? Let us know in the comments!
