Romania has chosen its representative at Eurovision 2026: Alexandra Căpitănescu goes to Vienna with "Choke Me"
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will feature a representative from Romania, chosen through a National Selection final organized by Romanian Television. The winner of this competition is the artist Alexandra Căpitănescu, who will perform the song "Choke Me" at the international event. This year's competition will be held in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and Romania is set to compete in the second semi-final on May 14.
The final of the Eurovision Romania 2026 National Selection took place during a television show broadcast live and exclusively by TVR 1, TVR International and TVR Moldova, as well as online, on the TVR+ platform. Following the votes, Alexandra Căpitănescu ranked first, earning the right to represent Romania on the stage of one of the world's most-watched music competitions.
Visibly emotional after the announcement of the results, the artist said the victory holds special meaning for her, especially because the winning song reflects her musical style.
"I won with a rock song, with a song on my soul. I want to encourage every person to do what they feel and how they feel, to have confidence and work for their dream", said Alexandra Căpitănescu.
Several well-known artists and musical projects from Romania participated in the competition's final. The final ranking was opened by Alexandra Căpitănescu with the song "Choke Me", followed by HVNDS with "Dor" and the collaboration between Alejandro Zandes and Emil Rengle, who performed "Bailando Solo". The top also included artists such as Robert Lukian with "Fire to the Lies", Emy Alupei with "Tili Bom", Wrs with "All the Way", Monica Odagiu with "Fereastră pentru un orb", Olivia Addams with "Croco", Yguana with "Happy Birthday", Antonio Pican with "Humans", Vanu with "Therapy Enemy", as well as the joint project signed by Edward Maya, LavBbe and Costi Ioniță with the song "Everybody Needs Somebody".
This year's National Selection Trophy was specially created for the competition by artist Dan Divrician and has become one of the symbols of the 2026 edition.
The final also included special moments for the audience. A recital by Andreea Bălan brought energy and spectacle to the competition stage. The artist had a dual role in the show, being both a special guest and a member of the jury.
The jury of the 2026 National Selection also included composer Andrei Tudor, producer and composer Marius Dia, producer Monoir (Cristian Tarcea), journalist and artist Elena Popa, TVR journalist Doru Ionescu and the editor-in-chief of Radio Romania Cultural, Cristian Marica Rădoi.
Romania's best performances in this contest were: third place twice (Luminiţa Anghel & Sistem - Kiev, 2005; Paula Seling and Ovi - Oslo, 2010) and fourth place once (Mihai Trăistariu - Athens, 2006).
Under the slogan "United by Music," the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will be held in Vienna. The semi-finals are on May 12 and 14, and the final will take place on May 16. A total of 34 countries have registered for this year's edition.
The Republic of Moldova will be represented by Satoshi with the song "Viva, Moldova!" after winning maximum points from both the jury and the public in the National Final organized by "Teleradio-Moldova." The artist is set to perform in the first semi-final of the contest on May 12. He will share the stage with participants from Georgia, Portugal, Croatia, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Montenegro, Estonia, San Marino, Poland, Belgium, Lithuania, Serbia, and Israel.
The second semi-final is scheduled for May 14, and the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest will occur on May 16, 2026. The top ten countries from each semi-final will qualify for the final, based on the combined votes of the public and national juries.
This year marks the Republic of Moldova's 20th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, a music competition that celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2026, having first been held in Switzerland in 1956. Over the past seven decades, Eurovision has become one of the most-watched music events worldwide, attracting hundreds of millions of viewers each year.
