Rafael & Friends … Rock for Unity!
Rafael & Friends were the surprise of the Semifinal 2 from ” Seletia Nationala 2018 ” in Timisoara. Even there were other artists credited as sure qualifiers, Rafael & Friends managed to impress the judges and win a spot in the final. With a rock ballad and a strong message, they impressed not only the judges, but all of us, bringing on stage a group of talented artists who harmonised perfectly. They found the time to answer a few questions, for which we thank them a lot 🙂
Escromania: Hello Rafael & Friends and Congratulations for what you did in the semifinals. You had a super moment that touched a lot of people. We recieved a lot of apreciations on your behalf especialy from our friends abroad.We will start by asking you “Why Eurovision” ?
Rafael & Friends:
Beacuse it is the biggest musical competition in the world and the opporutnity to internationaly represent your country is the biggest honour for an artist who loves his country so much.
Escromania: Untill you decided to submmit your song in the Eurovision, did you followed this musical fenomenon? Do you have a special eurovision moment that you particularly liked?
Rafael & Friends:
The moments that are dear to hour hearts from the Eurovision, are the romanian entry from 1994, Dan Bitman with „Dincolo de nori”, and from the romanian selection we like Laurentiu Cazan – „Say Something”.
Escromania: This years selection brings to the public 60 songs. Did you listened to all of them and do you have any song that you are most „afraid” of?
Rafael & Friends:
There are many good songs this year , but we fear none of them. Fear doesn’t come from God!
Escromania: Who are the „friends” from Rafael & Friends?
Rafael & Friends:
Tina Munteanu – international spornao and first soloist of the “Ioan Dacian Opera and Musical Theatre” who will join us on stage for the final
Delia Carp – a superb rock singer, a great talent that I found in my home town, Tulcea
Stefan Bogdan Buta – an incrredible bass player and movie actor in Hollywood
Ioana Ernea – a special singer who sings south-american music
Escromania: Where did you find inspiration for the song, what does it mean for you and what’s the message for the audience?
Rafael & Friends:
Both for us and for the audience, it has a message of unity, we have to stick together as humans and as a nation, to be the voice of tomorrow, who fights so that Romania will mean something important and be respected in Europe and all over the World. After all we are descendants of Decebal, Stefan cel Mare and Vlad Tepes, of Dimitrie Cantemir, Mihai Eminescu, George Enescu and many others…they all were great spirits that we need to honour in all that we do, and in doing so, to move the country one step forrward.
Thank you very much and we wish you all the luck in the world for the national final!
Here are a few photos from the semifinal:
Here is the live performance from the semifinal:
Rafael & Friends will compete in the national final on the 25th of February in Bucharest, along the other qualified artists and their songs: Alexia & Matei („Walking On Water”), Echoes („Mirror”), Eduard Santha („Mesom Romales”), Jukebox feat Bella Santiago („Auzi Cum Bate”) and MIHAI („Heaven”). Selectia Ntionala is in full swing with 3 more semifinals coming up, which will decide the next 9 finalists. The next show is in Craiova, on the 4th of February, and can be whatched live on TVR starting 21:00 romania time. Tune in and don’t miss the excitement!
photo source: Ioana Hameeda for Eurovision Romania official Facebook page
Ionut Demetriad for escromania.com
