page_title: Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
section_title: Competing entries
hierarchical_section_title: Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 / Before Eurovision / Selecția Națională 2009 / Competing entries
caption_attribution_description: English: www.mihaitraistariu.ro
context_page_description: Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia. They selected their entry, "The Balkan Girls", by Romanian singer Elena through the national selection competition Selecția Națională 2009 organised by Romanian Television in January 2009. Prior to the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, Romania competed eleven times since its first entry in 1994. Its highest placing in the contest had been third place, which the nation achieved in 2005. In 2008, Romania finished in 20th place. "The Balkan Girls" attained local commercial success, topping the Romanian Top 100 in April.
  The song was promoted by a music video and live performances in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Romania qualified in ninth place from the contest's first semi-final on 12 May and ultimately reached 19th place in the Grand Final on 16 May, achieving 40 points. This remains one of the country's lowest Eurovision placements. Elena was accompanied by four female dancers and a background singer during her performance. Conceived as a reinterpretation of the Ieles in Romanian mythology, the show was aided by 3D computer graphics of a blooming forest.
context_section_description: Romanian Television (TVR) organized Selecția Națională 2009, a competition to select their entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. In early January 2009, the broadcaster published a provisory list of 24 contestants. Out of 177 eligible tracks submitted to TVR from 15 November to 23 December, the entries were chosen on 8 January by a 11-member jury made up of music professionals and media personalities: Zoia Alecu, Sanda Cepraga, Cătălin Crișan, Adrian Despot, Viorel Găvrilă, Mihai Georgescu, Bogdan Miu, George Natsis, George Popa, Răzvan Popescu and Mihai Trăistariu. The submission deadline had been initially set to 15 December, with its extension to attract more entries promopting sources including Gardianul to wrongfully claim that this was because only five songs had been submitted. For the first time, solely Romanian composers were invited to compete in Selecția Națională.
caption: Mihai Trăistariu (pictured in 2014) was one of the members of the jury appointed to select the 24 semi-finalists.
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