🇲🇩 Moldova: Two Acts Competing With the Same Song in Selecția Națională 2026

Two acts are competing in the Moldovan national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the same song.

Fans of the Eurovision Song Contest have noticed that two acts in the Moldovan selection Selecția Națională 2026, are competing with the exact same song as one another. Dana Marchitan and Katy Rain are through to the auditions round with the same song but under different titles.

Dana Marchitan will be performing “Cry”, while Katy Rain is competing with “Dance & Cry”. The rules for Selecția Națională 2026 do not restrict a song from being submitted by multiple singers. However the situation does raise questions regarding how the final could work if both are chosen to go through to the national final.

Outside of a selection where multiple singers are competing with a pre-selected song by a broadcaster, it is rare for multiple artists to be allowed to compete with the same song in a selection. Most national selection rules prevent a song from being submitted by multiple acts.

36 artists that will take part in the live audition stage for Selecția Națională 2026, the national selection that Moldova will use to choose a representative for Eurovision 2026. The live audition stage will take place on December 16, starting at 11:00, in studio 2 of TRM in Chisinau.

The complete line-up of the auditions is as follows:

Adelisha – “Alegria” (Joy)
Adelina – “Putere în durere” (Strength in pain)
Adrian Sîrbu – “Ne-am stins” (We have passed away)
Sasha Flowers – “Can do more”
Sasha Flowers – “We fight till the end”
Alexei Legasi – “Rebel”
Annet Smirnova – “Sunt femeia” (I am the woman)
Artiom Topal – “Money”
Catalina Solomac – “Pink Margarita”
Chris Cross ft Radco – “Taci” (Be quiet)
Cristy Rouge – “Bliss”
Dana Marchitan – “Cry”
DAYANA – “Doina”
Bacho – “Tata” (Father)
Lisa Volk – “Dragostea Mea” (My love)
Emforia – “Tipare” (Patterns)
Evghenii Avramov & ALenin Ivan – “Foc la ghete” (Fire in the boots)
Ilinca Siviroveanu – “Running through the rain”
Curly – “Respir liber” (I breathe freely)
Iulia Teleuca – “Luna Mea” (My moon)
Katy Rain – “Dance & Cry”
Moniq Monua – “Like I do”
August Black – “You make me crazy”
Maxim Zavidia – “Alo” (Hello)
Nadejda Rotaru – “Winter story”
Pavel Orlov – “Can’t say goodbye”
Rodica Jabinschi – “Dependentă” (Dependence)
Oliv Sky – “Bad dream”
Sasha Bognibov – “On the right path”
Satoshi – “Viva, Moldova”
L-ERA – “Friends”
Valleria – “Valerian Steel rai di ri di dam”
Zeleno – “No pain no gain”
Chris Cross – “Close my eyes”
MOLDIE – “Moldova mea” (My Moldova)
DAYANA – “Cry a river”

For the first time since 2015, the live auditions will not be broadcast. Between 5 to 10 acts will be selected for the final.

The final of Selecţia Naţională 2026 will take place on January 17 at the Chișinău Arena. The jury for the national selection will consist of 20 members; 5 international members and 15 Moldovan members. The winner will be decided by the international jury members (33%), the Moldovan jury members (33%) and public voting (33%).

TRM also intends to offer the winner of the selection a prize to support their preparations for Eurovision and the support of the producers through their journey to the competition.

Moldova withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 “following a detailed analysis of the current situation, as well as the economic, administrative and artistic challenges”. Moldova had planned to compete in Basel, but withdrew following the live auditions stage of Etapa Națională. Moldova had competed annually in the Eurovision Song Contest since its debut in 2005.

Moldova was the third country to announce its return to Eurovision 2026, BNT of Bulgaria and TVR of Romania.

Natalia Barbu performed “In The Middle” in Semi-Final One of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. Moldova placed 13th in the Semi-Final scoring 20 points.

Image source: EBU / Sarah Louise Bennett | Source: Teleradio Moldova

Moldova debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 when the contest was held in Kyiv, Ukraine. Moldova’s best result in the contest is 3rd place in 2017 for Sunstroke Project with “Hey Mamma!”. This was the second time the group had represented their country in Eurovision. Moldova has been represented by several artists who have competed in the contest before, with five acts having represented Moldova a combined eleven times. After a one-year hiatus in 2025, Moldova has come back to the competition in 2026.

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