Like many selections this year, Romania’s 2021 story started in 2020. Back then, a panel of industry experts selected Roxen to represent the country from a shortlist of performers. She went on to present 5 songs at the country’s national final, Selecția Națională. “Alcohol You” won with both the jury and public votes and was set to be heard in Rotterdam.
The subsequent cancellation of the contest meant we sadly never got to see if the song would captivate voters across Europe and Australia the same. However, as early as 31 March 2020, Romania’s national broadcaster TVR announced that Roxen would get a second chance to represent her country.
Roxen is the stage name of Larisa Roxana Giurgiu, who was born in 2000 in Cluj-Napoca. Her singing career began when she was just 7 years old, and she was soon winning music contests. She is naturally at home on a stage and can incorporate dramatic elements and dance into her performance.
She rose to fame as a featured vocal on Romanian producer Sickotoy's "You Don't Love Me", which reached number 3 in the national charts in 2019. As a solo artist, she rapidly and impressively achieved number one hits with her first two single releases.
Roxen confirmed on Instagram in January that she had found “the perfect song” for Eurovision 2021, making it clear that there would be no Selecția Națională as in previous years. Nonetheless, a panel of industry experts at TVR reviewed around six English language songs before the final decision was made.
“Amnesia” was released on 4 March 2021. It is a delicate song that describes the internal battle of a young girl against her internal demons. The lyrics “self-love amnesia” refer to the ability to forget to love ourselves. The music video uses modern dance to represent the battle. Roxen also tells us that the rollercoaster of the last twelve months, in particular the voices of those who have not been heard, is partly the inspiration for the song.
Will Europe and Australia agree? We will find out at the first semi-final on 18 May, when Roxen will finally get to perform at Eurovision.