MOLDOVA WITHDRAWALS?

 

(PICTURE SOURCE: https://www.google.com/search?q=esc+moldova+tudor&sca_esv=1cb0409e6943169a&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS985US985&udm=2&biw=1536&bih=730&sxsrf=ADLYWII9FRyiC_2SAeBnCyNoDFad8m9Nrg%3A1737559393083&ei=YQ2RZ6rcBK6P9u8PxffqsAE&ved=0ahUKEwjqkJqT0YmLAxWuh_0HHcW7GhYQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=esc+moldova+tudor&gs_lp=EgNpbWciEWVzYyBtb2xkb3ZhIHR1ZG9ySNYNUKIDWJUMcAF4AJABAJgBxgKgAeQOqgEHMC4yLjUuMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCAqACpQLCAgYQABgIGB7CAgQQIxgnwgIEEAAYHpgDAIgGAZIHBTEuMC4xoAfHGA&sclient=img#vhid=_7MB57BpeC43EM&vssid=mosaic) 

BY: ELIZA SOKOLI

Hold up, we aren't even a full month into National Final season and we've already seen multiple controversies? Great job Balkans, great job. 

Before we start this debrief, the Albovision team wants to sincerely apologize for the time off, we're all students and we had quite a few exams, causing us to take a big break from the blog, but we're back now! Make sure to follow Albovision for more ESC debriefs from teenagers, we hope to post daily with your support!

On 18 January, the auditions for the Moldovan National Selection, Etapa Națională, commenced. To say that many of the entries were questionable is an understatement. We had multiple disqualifications, songs that honestly felt AI generated, our favorite icon Tudor forgetting his lyrics on stage (it's okay Tudor, we forgive you), someone reading the lyrics off their phone. To be fully honest, I believe that if I had theoretically gotten a squawking parrot, dressed it up in a suit, had it hold a Moldovan flag, it would have performed better than some of the entries in Etapa Națională. 

Many Eurovision fans were thrilled at the chance that our favorite Moldovan elder, Tudor Bumbac, after MANY attempts could finally make it to the Eurovision stage. Among his competitors, someone with a song entitled "We Changed Our Gender", a song literally about crime, a few poorly put together Balkan ballads, some poorly written English songs, and a few other questionable picks.

Unfortunately, Tutor's dream, as well as the rest of the artists', was slashed with TRM, the Moldovan broadcaster, announcing that they were withdrawing from Eurovision 2025. Sounds fishy, I know. Who would make an entire national selection, have auditions for it, and then suddenly withdrawal, having to pay a late withdrawal fee. In true Balkan spirit, Moldova.

TRM announced that their decision was largely because of artistic challenges, which is a nice way of saying that all their options sucked. But I mean Germany sends pretty similar "nothing-burger" material every year. Plus, Tudor, although forgetting his lyrics, could have easily scored Moldova a good televote score. If this was any other country, I could sort of believe their view, except this is a Balkan country, and well we've already seen questionable things from the Balkan countries this year, especially Moldova.

The other reason, and the more probable reason, was financial concerns. Let's face it, TRM is strapped for cash, but apparently they can pay enough to concur the withdrawal fee. This is where it gets sketchy. TRM has stated that they were going to internally select Bacho and Carnival Brain as their entry, but they were only offering to pay their travel fees, so Bacho and Carnival Brain rejected their offer. This clearly shows that TRM didn't have the money for a Eurovision participation, but here's the thing, it is likely that TRM is completely lying about this interaction. According to a fan interview with Bacho, Bacho and Carnival Brain were never approached about that offer, and they would have found a way to self fund their participation. That's suspicious of TRM, right?

It is no secret that Moldova almost always sends Eurovision participants who have either competed in the contest before, or have connections to previous participants. For example, last years participant, Natalia Barbu, represented Moldova in 2007. Here's the shady thing about this, the majority of these participants come from extreme money, like how Barbu's husband is a very wealthy and prominent business man. Given TRM's financial struggles, this might be how Moldova pays for its Eurovision entry every year, by sending a very well-off artist who can self pay their participation. 

Here's what I find weird, the one year that there isn't a repeat artist competition in the national selection, TRM decided to withdrawal. TRM must be hiding something, and I believe that the entire Eurovision community is going to be interested in finding out what. Sure, the songs might not have been great, but there is still two months until the official due date for songs. TRM could have totally internally selected a song, gave it an extreme revamp, and pulled together an entry if they so wished. 

Let us know what you think in the comments! Thanks for reading!