Moldova 2022: Zdob si Zdub & Fratii Advahov with ‘Trenuletul’

Moldova have decided not to bother with their national final, instead sending old friends Zdob si Zdub (2005, 2011) for a third time…

‘Trenetul’ is not a contest song and beyond the base ethno elements there’s nothing really interesting here. It’s fine to play in the middle of a set, perhaps at a Moldovan wedding or new years eve celebration but I’m not sure this is much more than background music-There's none of the progression to keep this interesting. Going back to 2011 (a song I'm a big fan of) ‘So Lucky’ fluctuated throughout, there’s more to stick around for. The same goes for other entries going for a similar vibe like ‘Alcohol Is Free’.

Granted, all we have is the studio version and the audition so it’s hard to be too harsh but keen mathematicians may have noted with the addition of Fratti to the group- there’s no room for a Bunica beating drums or a unicyclist unless someone sits out and therefore slightly less room for a saving gimmick or visual hook. Tracking our man from backstage a la Robin Bengtson might be an option, and tie in with the music video and train theme. Whatever they go with, we need a lot of movement on stage and visual progression to make up for the song's repetitive-ness.

The good thing is Moldova usually know what they are doing (particularly with ‘fun’ entries) and Zdob are pros who have been there and done it and they’ll have to get creative once more to sneak this through.

Moldova can count on good regional support in their semi but Romania are of course a big miss with 24 points from them as close to certain as these things get. They have Balkan alternatives in their place of course, but we're still looking at perhaps a 10 point difference which is big for a borderline entry which will struggle with non neighbouring juries.

Personal Rating: 3/10

Competitive Rating: 5/10

Early Prediction: Semi 1 9th-13th, 17th-22nd if in the final.