The singer Andreea Bălan will be part of the jury of the Eurovision 2026 National Selection, along with six other music and media specialists. An artist who will participate in the competition was outraged by the appointment of Andrea Bălan in this jury.
Romania will enter the Eurovision 2026 competition in the second semi-final, scheduled for May 14, where it will compete alongside 14 other countries, including Ukraine, Switzerland and Australia.
The jury will evaluate the entered pieces and will designate Romania’s representative at the international competition, and is composed of:
- Andreea Balan
- Andrei Tudor, composer of the song “On the edge of the world”, which Nico & Vlad Mirita performed at the 2008 edition of Eurovision
- Marius Dia, composer, producer and A&R, co-founder of Creator Records
- Cristian Tarcea, also known as Monoir, founder of the Thrace Music label
- Elena Popa, journalist, digital content creator and soloist of the Yolo Band
- Doru Ionescu, TVR journalist with over 35 years of experience in music, member of the East European Rock Alliance
- Cristian Marica Rădoi, editor-in-chief and music playlist manager of Radio Romania Cultural
The singer Mihai Trăistariu is also competing with the song “Infinity”, this year, at the national selection for Eurovision. The soloist launched harsh criticisms at some of the jury members and, especially, at Andrea Bălan.
“Andreea Bălan would not even pass the pre-selection if she competed at Eurovision. Let alone put her on the jury.” declared Mihai Trăistariu, exclusively for Click!
The artist continued with a message on the same note, sent on his social media page.
“On the Facebook page – Eurovision Romania – the jury that will choose this year’s representative for Romania at this contest was announced.
Dear TVR… Eurovision is not a simple show. It is not an amateur contest or an experiment of personal taste. It’s an international competition with very specific rules, history and criteria.
Eurovision is a competition with an extremely specific format, unlike any other music contest. Therefore, selection and judging should be based on direct experience with this phenomenon“, is the message of Mihai Trăistariu.
What does it say about jurors
“The Eurovision jury Romania is currently:
– a singer who performs more through dance than vocals;
– two producers, who were not directly related to Eurovision, being mainly composers in a studio;
– three journalists;
– and a composer (THE ONLY ONE FROM THIS JURY – ANCHORED IN THE EUROVISION PHENOMENON).
The natural question is: how can an artist who has to be chosen to represent our country at Eurovision be judged… by people who have not experienced this contest from the inside? Eurovision is not judged only “by ear”, by personal taste or by what sounds good on the radio.
Here it matters:
– live voice under extreme pressure;
– stage presence for an audience of hundreds of millions;
– fitting into an extremely strict format;
– the real experience of the Eurovision stage.
With all due respect to everyone’s jobs, Eurovision is not judged by the press, nor by the studio, nor by those who would not even pass the pre-selection if they were to sing live! It is judged from the stage!
It’s not about pride. It’s about competence and relevance. If you want to participate in Eurovision, you should be judged by people who have been there, who know what the stage means, the international vote, the rehearsals, the live voice, the stress, the EBU rules.
“Selection becomes an exercise in preference, not competence”
I’ve always said in interviews over the years:
“People who have had contact with this type of competition MUST be included in the jury! You can’t play, do tests, try things! You are not allowed to do such a thing!”
Otherwise, the selection becomes an exercise of preferences, not of competence Eurovision requires direct experience, not outside opinions. We run the risk of turning a world-wide competition into a banal competition of… «I liked that!». And then we marvel at the results… Eurovision deserves more! Artists deserve more!
P. S: And this message is not my arrogance, it is a professional reality! Not a personal criticism, but a pertinent observation!
For artists to be properly evaluated, context matters. Eurovision has its own rules and a huge stake. Perhaps it deserves to be judged, first of all, by those who lived it!
I’m not talking about the fact that the public vote MUST count for 50%, just like in the international stage! And you removed that tooMihai Trăistariu said indignantly.
Mihai Trăistariu has great confidence in the song with which he entered the national selection for Eurovision.
Read more on Click!
