Semi 1: 15 Romania

Having songs with a message can be rather complicated. Singing about your wish for world peace, for instance. Or about children in need. Unless you have a perfect sense of fingerspitzgefühl you easily end up sounding cold and cynical. Like you don't really care but want to cash in.

Voltaj really manage to pull this one off, but then their narrative is pretty specific and unusual. Their song tells the story of a real problem, about how Romanians leave their country in order to find work and how many children subsequently are left longing for their parents who have gone somewhere far away without them.

That feels real and poignant. Not like something thrown together for the sake of selling records, but like a message that could resonate with a Romanian audience as well as the rest of us (some of which aren't very keep on welcoming the Romanians in the first place).

It is also a welcome return to form for Romania who contributed very light-weight entries for a number of years without really making use of their own musical capacity.

Qualifier:
Yes, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Not because Romania always qualifies but because this one deserves to.

Grade: 3/5



Voltaj - De la capăt / All Over Again (Romania 2015)