When I listened to the songs that had been submitted to the Moldovan pre-selection after the broadcaster opened them up to public criticism back in... well, what feels like years ago, only two truly stood out. One was the trashtastic We Are One, produced by the same young man behind last year's Fight, which I knew would be murdered live by Alexa. The other was a laid-back jazzy number, produced by goodness knows who, which sounded nothing like anything else in the running. I fell for it instantly.I was therefore pleased to hear that A Century Of Love had been chosen as one of the dozen songs for the Moldovan final. I held out little hope of it making it all the way to Belgrade; in fact the thought never entered my head that it might, so I was slightly taken aback when I learned that it had won the ticket to Eurovision.
The moment of shock soon passed, to be replaced by one of resigned self-satisfaction: my favourite song in a national final, in terms of quality if not potential, would be representing its country in Serbia. There were clear parallels with the 2007 Lithuanian selection, the winner of which I was ecstatic about whilst recognising that its chances of setting the scoreboard alight were, barring accidents, rather low.
Unlike Love Or Leave, this year's entry from Moldova was more spartan than minimalist, at least prior to its pre-contest makeover. While the new version retains a sense of that self-restraint, it now also works on a number of different levels at the same time. The arrangement and choice of instruments complement the mood of the lyrics, while Geta Burlacu's almost incongruously dusky vocals very effectively contribute to the atmosphere. Musically and vocally the song is now more akin to Lorraine, Bulgaria's debut entry, than last year's entry from Lithuania.
This, unfortunately, is not a good omen for Moldova. Neither Bulgaria in 2005 nor Lithuania in 2007 fared particularly well with songs in similar veins. However, being drawn in the same semi-final as Romania, with Spain voting too, the song should see enough points handed to it to avoid an undeserved wooden spoon. Juries may back it, but if it comes down to a wildcard race between this and Israel it may fall short. And I doubt its chances of making the final with the support of televoters alone, unless it has an appeal on the night similar to Hungary's entry in Helsinki last year; that is the kind of performance I feel it would need to reach out to the masses: simple and unaffected.
Having said that, the staging of the song in Chişinău was charmingly unpretentious, but I think we can forgo the blowing bubbles bit in Belgrade.
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Big band nostalgia aside, this has to be the most unapologetically jazzy entry to hit the Eurovision stage in many a year. I love the gentle Bohemian whimsy of the national final act and hope they bring something equally tasteful and original to the stage in Belgrade. But let's face it, no amount of bubble blowing or jury wildcards are going to prevent Geta & Co. from going nowhere in a basket, however intricately woven. For me Geta's breathy vocals, accomplished though they are, are almost the antithesis of Hungary's plucky wee Helsinki hitchhiker.
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