It was a shambolic process which hopefully will be reviewed next year as it saw a jury ditch several popular entries, but in the end Romania’s Selecţia Naţională came together for a 10-song final. Not that this wasn’t without some controversy either, as “Llámame” (Call Me) came second in the televote, and if there’s one thing that will set people off, it’s when juries appear to have final say. Nevertheless, Romania finally has a song, and it was definitely one of the popular options available.

Romanian is one of the Romance languages, and so I guess the use of the Spanish for the chorus (including the title of the song of course) feels somewhat appropriate, even though the verses are in English. In fact, I’d say that there’s no real advantage in including English at all. WRS mumbles half the time, and I think the song communicates more than enough with its rhythms and the chorus, which you don’t even need to know Spanish to instinctively understand. I imagine the choreography is going to stay for Eurovision, because it’s a chilled dance song at heart, and really benefits from this kind of interpretation.

While this isn’t one of my absolute favourites, I like listening to this song and think it would be a decent addition to a grand final line-up, depending on whether the staging holds up. Romania haven’t qualified since 2017, and I can’t say I’m convinced that this run will end in 2022. However, I’m confident enough to clear a very low bar and say that it won’t suffer the same fate as the first song called Llámame to have been sent to Eurovision. That was the Spanish entry in 1962, which finished equal last.