Prior to the 2021 contest, Romania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 20 times since its first entry in . Its highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been third place, which the nation achieved on two occasions: in 2005 with the song "Let Me Try" performed by Luminița Anghel and Sistem, and in 2010 with "Playing with Fire" by Paula Seling and Ovi. In 2019, Romania failed to qualify to the final, placing 13th in the second semi-final with Ester Peony's "On a Sunday". This marked the second consecutive time that the nation failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, after 2018. In , Romanian Television (TVR) had collaborated with Global Records to select the Romanian entry, yielding in Roxen being chosen internally to perform "Alcohol You"; the latter was selected through the national final format "Selecția Națională 2020". However, the contest was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.