Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013
Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Romanian entry was selected through Selecția Națională 2013, a televised selection process organised by the Romanian broadcaster Romanian Television. Cezar represented Romania with the song "It's My Life", which qualified from the second semi-final of the competition and finished in 13th place in the final, scoring 65 points.
Before Eurovision
Selecția Națională 2013
On 13 January 2013, TVR released details regarding the national selection. A submission period between 14 January 2013 and 3 February 2013 was made available for all interested singers and songwriters to apply. At the close of the submission period, artists were required to attend one of five auditions held in cities across the country: Iaşi, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Craiova and Bucharest.Competing entries
148 songs were submitted at the close of the deadline with entries being received from the United Kingdom, Turkey, Israel, Sweden and France in addition to Romania. All entrants were then required to attend one of five auditions held in cities across the country: Iaşi, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Craiova and Bucharest, where an expert committee made up of five music industry professionals were to select 24-28 entries for the national final, which were to be announced on 18 February 2013. Instead, on 14 February 2013, 32 entries were selected due to the high quality of the acts presented at the auditions, as cited by the selection manager Dan Manoliu.| Artist | Song ' | Music / Lyrics |
| ABCD | "Final de război" ' | Cristina Haios, Gabriel Maga |
| Al Mike feat. Renee Santana | "What Is Love" | Mihai Alexandru, Alexandra Niculae |
| Alin Văduva | "Storyline" | Kevin Borg, Simon Gribe, Alin Văduva, Aidan O'Connor |
| Andrei Leonte | "Paralyzed" | Mike Eriksson, Johnny Sanchez, Michael James Down, Jonas Thander |
| Anthony | "Dream Girl" | Marcus Frenell, Frederik Randquist, Hanif Sabzevari, Jimi Thiesen, Michael James Down |
| Brigitta & Mihai feat. TIPS | "One Heart" | Tudor Nițu, David Ciente, Brigitta Szebenyi |
| Casa Presei | "Un Refren" ' | Gabriel Basarebescu, Robert Turcescu |
| Claudiu Mirea | "I Feel So High" | Daniel Alexandrescu, Claudiu Mirea |
| Cristian Prăjescu | "The Best Thing in Life is to Love" | Sergiu Rudichi |
| Diana Hetea | "I Believe In Love" | Jonas Gladnikoff, Johnny Sanchez, Sara Ljunggren, Michael James Down, Anders Kollerfors |
| Diana Matei | "Ma Ma He" | Diana Matei, Gabriel Alexandru |
| Edict | "Buddy Buddy" | Valeriu Cataraga, Anatol Neagu |
| Electric Fence | "Emilia" | David Ciente, Elena Luminița Vasile, Antonio Eduard Antemir, Lucian Indre |
| Elena Cârstea Muttart | "Spinning" | Elena Cârstea Muttart, Cristian Faur |
| Florin Cezar Ouatu | "It's My Life" | Cristian Faur |
| FreeStay | "Criminal Mind" | Matei Alexandru Mihai, Florin Ristei |
| Jul | "Wake Me Up" | Victor Bouroșu, Cristian Paul Iacob |
| Leticia | "We Are One" | Radu Alexandrescu, Sandu Ștefan |
| Liviu Mititelu | "La donna di nero" ' | Liviu Mititelu |
| Luminița Anghel | "Unique" | Rafael Herrero, Jose Juan Santana Rodriguez |
| Maximilian Muntean | "Broken Heart" | Petru Călinescu |
| Mosquito | "Feel The Same" | Gabriel Băruța, Edi Enache |
| Narcis Iustin Ianău | "Seven" | Narcis Iustin Ianău, Dan Horațiu Dumitraș |
| Natalia Barbu | "Confession" | Ana Sîrbu, Radu Sîrbu |
| Ovidiu Anton | "Run Away With Me" | Ovidiu Anton |
| Phaser | "Pour toi et pour moi" | Florin Pop-Magda, Tinu Vidaicu, Lucian Oprișan, Arnold Birta, Carina Dumitru, Radu Racz, Corian Păun |
| Station 4 | "Your Heart Is Telling Me So" | Mihai Alexandru, Marian Stancu, Constantin Axinte Amza |
| Spin & Cezar Dometi | "Silver Lining" | Cătălin Tuță Popescu, Răzvan Cârligeanu |
| Tammy | "Firebird" | Zoltan Pop |
| The Zuralia Orchestra | "Sukar Transylvania" | Aurel Mirea |
| Tudor Turcu | "Hello" | Călin Pop, Norbert Kovacs |
| 9 Gardens | "All for Naught" | Cary Shields, Dan Secheli, Florin Ștefan, Radu Iaszberenyi |
Shows
The semifinalists were subsequently drawn into two semi-finals held on 23 and 24 February 2013 with the qualifying entries proceeding to the final on 9 March 2013. The three shows were hosted by Eurovision Song Contest 2010 participants Paula Seling and Ovi with singer Andreea Bănică and actor/comedian Marius Rizea joining them to present the program in the role of the members of ABBA.The jury panel for the semifinals and final consisted of composers George Natsis, Eduard Cârcotă, Andrei Tudor, Mihai Ogăşanu, Crina Mardare and musical director Sanda Cepraga. Music critic Dana Dorian was a member of the jury in both of the semifinals, while radio presenter Ştefan Naftanailă was a member of the jury in the final.
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 23 February 2013. Of the sixteen entries competing, six proceeded to the final: "Un Refren" performed by Casa Presei, "Criminal Mind" performed by FreeStay, "Unique" performed by Luminița Anghel, "It's My Life" performed by Cezar, "Emilia" performed by Electric Fence and "Hello" performed by Tudor Turcu. The result was decided through the 50/50 combination of a jury vote and a public televote.Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 24 February 2013. Of the sixteen entries competing, six proceeded to the final: "Seven" performed by Narcis Iustin Ianău, "Spinning" performed by Elena Cârstea Muttart, "Run away with me" performed by Ovidiu Anton, "The Best Thing In Life Is To Love" performed by Cristian Prăjescu, "What Is Love" performed by Al Mike featuring Renee Santana and "Paralysed" performed by Andrei Leonte. The result was decided through the 50/50 combination of a jury vote and a public televote.Final
The final took place on 9 March 2013. Six songs from each semi-final, all together 12 songs, competed with the 50/50 combination of a jury vote and a public televote determining the winner. Cezar was the winner with the song "It's My Life".Controversy
The winning song inspired the creation of a protest group on Facebook that sought to boycott the results of the national selection and call into question jury member Ştefan Naftanailă's votes, who gave zero points to Luminița Anghel. Dan Manoliu, manager of the selection, was also surprised with Ştefan Naftanailă's votes, however, he stated that the results meet the criteria for the competition.At Eurovision
Romania was allocated to compete in the first semi-final on 14 May for a place in the final on 18 May. In the second semifinal, the producers of the show decided that Romania would close the semi-final and perform 17th, following Switzerland.Romania qualified from the second semi-final, placing 5th and scoring 83 points. At the second semi-final winners' press conference, Romania was allocated to perform in the second half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Romania would perform 14th, following the Netherlands and preceding United Kingdom. Romania placed 13th in the final, scoring 65 points.
Points awarded to Romania
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
Points awarded by Romania
Semi-final 2
Points awarded in second semi-final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Final
Points awarded in the final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Jury points awarded by Romania
Semi-final 2
Jury points awarded in second semi-final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Final
Jury points awarded in the final:| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |