Moldova Withdraws!

There were rumors of Moldova canceling their Finala Nationala (that were possibly exacerbated by a whisper campaign to get Bacho & CARNIVAL BRAIN shunted directly to ESC) but the situation is more dire than expected. In a lengthy statement Moldova withdrew from this year's ESC entirely, citing the cost of the endeavor, the limited administrative capacity of the Moldovan broadcaster and available performers.

Yes, the came out and said talent of the finalists played a role in their decision to quit the contest.

Sure, commenters had pointed to the success of perennial oddball entry Sasha Bognibov in advancing to the finals as evidence of poor overall quality this year. But just quiting all together is something else

/u/TjStax and /u/SuperStressGirl said it already on reddit,

"Imagine sending your song to the competition and rather than sending you, the country withdraws from the competition."

"TRM literally said "we're putting Eurovision on the top shelf until you guys learn how to write a good song""

There are numerous questions that are repeated over and over in online reaction, but I'll close with a different thought: I still appreciate the involvement of fans to highlight artists that I would otherwise never hear about from a part of the world that, if it weren't for Eurovision, I have little reason to keep tabs on.

To spotlight a couple comments from a Moldovan and a Romanian (awwww best friends) about the local perception of local musician involvement:

/u/ILXO-08

I'm from Moldova and I have to be fair, I was disappointed with the quality of this year's acts. We do have big artists but they never seem to be interested in the ESC(Carla's Dreams, Irina Rhimes, Dan Bălan, The Motans). Apart from a rotation of Natalia Barbu, Zdob și Zdub, and Pasha Parfeni we kinda suck. I liked Semafoare though. However, a fucking professor from my university got into the national final, let me tell you that says a lot. (We don't talk about Sasha Bognibov😂)

/u/geekywheelz

Honestly as a Romanian I do hope Global Records steps up and helps one of the Moldovan artists signed to them (Misha Miller, The Urs or the others that aren't as big as Irina) represent Moldova in the future. Versus has lots of talents too, I personally hope to see Magnat & Feoctist or DARA on the Eurovision stage on day. Much love from Romania <3