After storming the public vote, and winning with the juries, Pasha Parfeni will be representing Moldova in Eurovision 2023! He’s already well known in the Eurovision community, but in this article, I’ll be having a deeper look into his career up to now, as well as his previous Eurovision attempts.
Early Life and Studies
Ever since he was born, Pavel Parfeni or Pasha, as he’s known to many, has been surrounded by music. His father was a guitarist and singer, and his mother was a piano teacher at his local school. Following in his mother’s footsteps, he learned to play piano at a young age, before going on to study at Tiraspol Music College in 2002, where he was able to develop his craft further and gain experience as a vocalist. In 2006, he continued his studies, and enrolled in the State Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts which gave him even more experience that would aid him in pursuing a career in music.
SunStroke Project
In 2008, Pasha met up with Anton Ragoza and Sergey Stepanov, who were the founding members of the band SunStroke Project, and needed a vocalist: Pasha was perfect for them. The year after, the band decided to take part in the Moldovan Eurovision 2009 selection with the song ‘No Crime’ which Pasha had written and composed. Despite this being their first attempt, they did well and finished in third place. Not long after, he decided to leave the band, in order to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by their current vocalist Sergey Yalovitsky.
Solo Career and Early Eurovision Attempts
After going solo, Pasha took part in numerous music competitions where he achieved success. He won the George Grigoriu International Pop Music Festival in May 2009, and in July 2009, as well as finishing second in the Slavianski Bazaar which is an annual music festival in Belarus.
His first Eurovision solo attempt was back in 2010, when he finished in joint second place with his song ‘You Should Like.’ Ironically, Pasha‘s old bandmates from SunStroke Project represented Moldova that year with ‘Believe.’ Undeterred, he tried again the following year with his song ‘Dorule,’ this time finishing in third place.
Eurovision Success
In 2012, Pasha tried again, and won ‘O Melodie pentru Europa’ with his song ‘Lăutar’ (which translates to ‘Musician’ in English) in a tough contest that featured 84 other entries.
In Baku, he was joined by five female dancers, in a highly choreographed routine, while he performed the upbeat and catchy number. He qualified to the final with ease, and was the last contestant to perform in the Grand Final – a perfect closer to the show. He finished in 11th place scoring 81 points which was a great result for Moldova!
The year after, one of his backing vocalists of 2012, Aliona Moon, won the right to represent Moldova as a solo artist with her song ‘O Mie’ which, like Pasha’s entry last year, he was one of the composers of. At the live shows in Malmö, he was the pianist on stage, while she gave an emotional performance of her ballad. Just like Pasha, Aliona safely qualified to the final, and also finished in 11th place in the Grand Final, scoring 71 points. This showed that Pasha isn’t just a talented vocalist, but also a talented composer and pianist.
Later Career
Pasha Parfeni continued to compose and write music for himself, and other artists, in subsequent years, and tried to enter Eurovision again, as both a composer and as a vocalist. In 2015, he composed the song ‘Maricica’ by DoReDos, who were hoping to go to Eurovision, but they ultimately finished in 6th place. DoReDos would go on to represent Moldova at Eurovision in 2018 with ‘My Lucky Day’. Then in 2020, he took part in the selection as a solo artist with the song ‘My Wine,’ but ultimately finished in 2nd place.
Etapa Naţională 2023
In 2023, Pasha once again took part in Moldova’s National Final, now known as Etapa Națională with his song ‘Soarele și luna’ which means ‘Sun and Moon,’ which he, once again, co-wrote. It’s an uptempo pop song with a flute drop, and the lyrics are all sung in Romanian. He qualified comfortably in the auditions, finishing in second place. For the final his staging was elevated, now featuring dancers with reindeer antlers, and a darker background to match with the music video. It got a great reception from the crowd, and after a tense voting sequence, he won the jury vote by 1 point, and received the most votes from the public (5,428).
For the first time in over ten years, Pasha will be performing on a Eurovision stage again in Liverpool!
What do you think of Pasha’s song? Comment down below to tell us!
