The first semi-final of O melodie pentru Europa – the Moldovan national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest – will take place tonight in Chişinău. Twelve artists will perform their songs live on stage but only seven of them will qualify for the national final to be held on 16 March.

Moldova will be the last country to select its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. The Eastern European country decided to change the format of their national selection for 2013, opting for two separate competitions, one for the artists and one for the songs, the top 24 acts competing in the two semi-finals of O melodie pentru Europa.

How to watch?

• Live on Moldova 1 at 19:00 CET
• Webcast 1: TRM official 

The show

The Moldovan national selection consists of two semi-finals and a national final. The first semi-final will take place tonight at 19:00 CET. Twelve artists will perform their songs live on stage and the top seven acts will qualify for the national final. The qualifiers will be determined though a combination of tele-voting (50%) and jury (50%). Pasha Parfeny, last year’s Moldovan representative, will open the show with his song Lăutar while the famous local band Zdob şi Zdub will perform during the interval act. The show will be hosted by Cătălin Josan and Evelina Vîrlan.

The participants

1. Diana Staver – Underestimated
2. Vitalie Maciunschi – I want you back
3. Margarita Ciorici – Coma
4. Cristina V. & Glam Girls – Celebrate
5. Doiniţa Gherman – Planeta e un rai
6. Stela Botan – Inima mea
7. Vitalie Negruţă – You’ll be mine
8. Aliona Moon – A million
9. Ruslan Ţaranu – Amadeus
10. Boris Covali – Runaways
11. Felicia Dunaf – Codename Felice
    
12. Svetlana Bogdanova – Conquer my heart

Moldova debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 when Zdob şi Zdub represented them with the song Bunica bate doba which placed 6th in the grand final in Kyiv, Ukraine. The country is yet to win the contest but managed to score good results so far.