Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012

O melodie pentru Europa 2012 was the national final format developed by TRM in order to select Moldova's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. The event took place at the TRM Studio 2 in Chișinău, hosted by Marcel Spataru, Evelina Vârlan and Dorina Gherganov, and included a final to be held on 11 March 2012.[3] The show was broadcast on Moldova 1, TV Moldova Internațional and Radio Moldova as well as online via the broadcaster's official website trm.md and at the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.[4]

Artists and composers had the opportunity to submit their entries between 28 December 2011 and 16 January 2012. Artists were required to be of Moldovan nationality and could submit more than one song, while an international act was able to compete only if they were part of a duo or group with a maximum of two international members. Songwriters could hold any nationality.[2][5][6] At the conclusion of the submission deadline, 85 valid entries were received by the broadcaster.[7][8] A jury consisting of Olga Ciolacu (singer), Igor Dînga (producer and composer), Vali Boghean (singer-songwriter), Tatiana Cerga (singer), Andrei Sava (composer), Victoria Tcacenco (professor at the Music, Theatre and Fine Arts Academy) and Dana Argint (Orange Moldova representative) selected 60 out of the 85 received entries to proceed to the audition round.[9]

The live audition round took place on 29 January 2012 at TRM Studio 2 in Chișinău where 20 finalists were selected to advance. Entries were assessed on criteria such as vocals and manner of the performance and the originality of the song.[10] The jury panel that evaluated the songs during the live auditions and selected the 20 finalists consisted of Olga Ciolacu, Igor Dînga, Vali Boghean, Tatiana Cerga, Andrei Sava and Victoria Tcacenco. "De departe" performed by Alexei Leahu and Georgeta Voinovan was withdrawn from the competition and therefore did not attend the auditions. Alisa Gangan also did not attend the auditions and therefore her song "Fly With Me" was disqualified.[11][12] An online wildcard vote on trm.md among 33 entries not selected from the audition round also ran between 1 and 12 February 2012, and the winner "Live On Forever" performed by Mariana Mihăilă was announced as an additional finalist on 20 February 2012.[13]

Among the finalists was 2008 Moldovan Eurovision entrant Geta Burlacu. On 20 February 2012, "Turn On the Light" performed by 2009 Moldovan Eurovision entrant Nelly Ciobanu was withdrawn from the competition and replaced with the song "Live the Show" performed by Akord, which came second in the wildcard vote.[13][14]

The final took place on 11 March 2012. Twenty-one songs competed and the winner was selected based on the combination of a public televote and the votes of an expert jury. The jury that voted in the final included Nicu Țărnă (singer), Olga Ciolacu (singer), Vali Boghean (singer-songwriter), Tatiana Cerga (singer), Igor Dînga (producer and composer), Victoria Tcacenco (professor at the Music, Theatre and Fine Arts Academy), Andrei Sava (composer), Angela Braşoveanu (journalist), Igor Cobileanschi (director), Ludmila Climoc (Orange Moldova representative) and Anatol Chiriac (composer).[15] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2012 Swiss Eurovision entrant Sinplus and 2012 Ukrainian Eurovision entrant Gaitana performed as a guest.[16] "Lăutar" performed by Pasha Parfeny was selected as the winner.[17]

Pasha Parfeny made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Lăutar" as the Moldovan Eurovision entry. On 21 April, Pasha Parfeny performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Ruth Jacott and Cornald Maas.[18] On 29 April, Parfeny performed during the Primavara Romaneasca event which was held at the ARTHIS venue in Brussels, Belgium.[19]

Pasha Parfeny took part in technical rehearsals on 14 and 18 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 21 and 22 May. This included the jury show on 21 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Moldovan performance featured Pasha Parfeny performing a choreographed routine on stage with five dancers, dressed in short colourful dresses and with two of them also performing backing vocals. The stage featured predominantly red lighting and LED screen projections of red lips and hearts as well as chequerboard patterns and a white silhouette of a dancer.[22][23] The dancers that joined Parfeny on stage are Aliona Moon, Tatiana Heghea, Julia Gakhova, Ksyusha Vertelnikova and Lera Kirichenko. The latter three are members of the Ukrainian ballet group "Lyubovniki", while Aliona Moon would go on to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.[24]

At the end of the show, Moldova was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Moldova placed fifth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 100 points.[25]

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order for the final. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Moldova was drawn to perform last in position 26, following the entry from Ukraine.[26]

Pasha Parfeny once again took part in dress rehearsals on 25 and 26 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Parfeny performed a repeat of his semi-final performance during the final on 26 May. Moldova placed eleventh in the final, scoring 81 points.[27]

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Moldova had placed thirteenth with the public televote and ninth with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Moldova scored 75 points, while with the jury vote, Moldova scored 104 points. In the first semi-final, Moldova placed seventh with the public televote with 85 points and second with the jury vote, scoring 107 points.[28][29]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Moldova and awarded by Moldova in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Romania in the semi-final and the final of the contest.