Moldova has selected their Eurovision entry! Tonight, the country used the national final Etapa Naţională 2023 to select their artist and song, and after an exciting night, Pasha Parfeni was declared the winner! It is not his first time on the Eurovision stage: he represented Moldova in 2012 with “Lăutar” where he reached 11th place!
The results
Ten acts performed in the national final, including familiar names such as Sunstroke Project (Moldova 2011, 2017), Pasha Parfeni (Moldova 2012), and Aliona Moon (Moldova 2013). The results were determined through a combination of 50% jury points and 50% televote.
The full results were:
| Song | International jury points | Televote points | Total |
| 1. Pasha Parfeni – “Soarele şi Luna” | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| 2. Sunstroke Project – “Yummy Mommy” | 8 | 10 | 18 |
| 3. Aliona Moon – “Du-mă” | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 4. Surorile Osoianu – “Bade, bădişor, bădiţă” | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| 5. Donia – “Red Zone” | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 6. OL – “Why You Play It Cool” | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 7. Corina Ivanov – “When Love’s Real” | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 8. COSMINA – “Indestructible” | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 9. Victor Gulick – “Let’s Dance” | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 10. NÖRDIKA – “Damn and Down” | 1 | 4 | 5 |
This means that Pasha Parfeni will represent Moldova and fly his country’s flag in Liverpool! The ESCXTRA team must be happy, since he was our winner on XTRA Decides. You guys predicted Sunstroke Project to win, but it was a close call, so you’ll still get some points!
You can rewatch the audition performance here:
And in case you need a reminder of Pasha’s 2012 song, you can rewatch it here:
Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest
Moldova made their Eurovision debut in 2005 with Zdob și Zdub’s “Boonika bate doba“. With a successful sixth place, this was the start of things to come. Overall Moldova has participated in the contest 17 times, reaching the final on 12 occasions. As well as reaching the top 10 with three more attempts. Their best ever result came in 2017 with SunStroke Project’s “Hey Mamma” achieving third place.
In Turin, Zdob și Zdub and Advahov Brothers brought Moldova yet another top 10 posting, finishing in 7th place with 253 points, notably placing second in the televote behind winners Ukraine.
Are you happy with Moldova’s results? Let us know by leaving a comment below! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram, @escxtra on TikTok and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite ESC and JESC acts.
