ESCXTRA’s 2018 Hopefuls: Moldova

Welcome to our brand new weekly series, ‘ESCXTRA’s 2018 Hopefuls’, in which we will tell you who we would like to see in Eurovision next year! This series will keep you entertained with new music from across Europe every Monday until the national final season begins next year, and may give you somebody new to root for to represent your country!  Today, we look at who we want to see represent Moldova in Eurovision 2018. Let’s get started!

Irina Rimes

 
Irina Rimes’ music career began when she reached the final of The Star Factory in Moldova. She released her first single, Visele, in 2016 and topped the Moldovan charts, even winning an award for Best Debut of the Year! She has composed for various Romanian and Moldovan artists, and is currently working on her first album, Despre el.

The fact that Irina has an upcoming album is very promising; if it’s released soon, then perhaps one of the songs featured could become a Eurovision entry? Irina could follow on fantastically from the success that SunStroke Project managed to create last year. She’s definitely one of Moldova’s best artists, so it would be great to see her represent Moldova in Eurovision!

Natalia Barbu

Natalia Barbu should be a familiar name to every Eurovision fan; she represented Moldova in Eurovision 2007, with the song Fight. Her song combined metal music with classical music, giving us a unique and stand out entry. In the end, she came 10th in the final and is still Moldova’s third best-placing entry since their debut!

Natalia’s most recent single, I Said It’s Sad, was released in 2012. The song was quite different to Fight, this had a more 50’s feel to it, and reached the top of the Moldovan airplay charts! Since then, Natalia has mostly been quiet, so if she had the right song, this could be a great time for her to make a big comeback!

Nicoleta Nuca

Nicoleta Nuca has competed in many contests and took part in many festivals before. In 2004, at only 10 years old, she represented Moldova in the Slaveanski Bazar Festival! In 2015, she competed in season 4 of the Romanian X Factor, and came second in her group (beating Alex Florea, who was also in her group in the same year).

After competing in X Factor, she released her first single, Nu Sunt. The song did well in both the Romanian and Moldovan charts, and we would love her to send something like it to Eurovision! Almost a year ago, Nicoleta released another single, Amintiri. The song shows that Nicoleta is definitely not a one trick pony, it’s fantastic too!

Aliona Moon

If you don’t recognise this name, then where have you been for the last few years? Aliona Munteanu, better known as Aliona Moon, represented Moldova in Eurovision 2013 with the song O Mie, which the Moldovan representative in 2012, Pasha Parfeny, composed. Despite being a fan favourite, Aliona’s floppy ice cream hair and magically extending legs came 11th in the final.

After Eurovision, Aliona took part in season 4 of The Voice of Romania. She came fourth in the final, and later released a new single, Loc pentru dragoste. The song is a departure from the dramatic ballad O Mie, it’s a cheerful tune, and the music video features Aliona dancing happily in the streets of Chișinău. She’s also adopted a less unusual hairstyle, and has gained control of her magic legs. This new Aliona could work fantastically for Moldova in Eurovision!

Next week, we will look at who we want to see represent Ireland!
What do you think of our hopefuls? Is there anybody else you’d like to see for Moldova in Eurovision? Do the idea of any of these artists excite you? Tell us in the comments below!