Alexandra Căpitănescu has won Selecția Națională 2026 and will represent Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna with “Choke Me”.
The final of Selecția Națională 2026 took place tonight in the TVR Studios in Bucharest. The show was hosted by Giulia Nahmany and Daniel Nuţă. A total of 12 acts competed for the chance to represent Romania in Vienna.
The results were decided by a jury. The jury members were:
- Andreea Bălan
- Andrei Tudor
- Cristian Marica Rădoi
- Cristian Tarcea (Monoir)
- Doru Ionescu
- Elena Popa
- Marius Dia
The results were as follows:
| Artist | Song | Jury Points Total | Result |
| Emy Alupei | “Tili Bom” | 53 | 5th |
| Robert Lukian | “Fire to the Lies” | 53 | 4th |
| Vanu | “Therapy Enemy” | 19 | 11th |
| Edward Maya x LavBbe x Costi | “Everybody Needs Somebody” | 16 | 12th |
| Yguana | “Happy Birthday” | 31 | 9th |
| HVNDS | “Dor” (Yearning) | 69 | 2nd |
| Antonio Pican | “Humans” | 24 | 10th |
| WRS | “All the Way” | 49 | 6th |
| Olivia Addams | “Croco” | 35 | 8th |
| Monica Odagiu | “Fereastră pentru un orb” (Window for a blind person) | 49 | 7th |
| Alexandra Căpitănescu | “Choke Me” | 82 | 1st |
| Alejandro Zandes & Emil Rengle | “Bailando Solo” (Dancing alone) | 66 | 3rd |
Alexandra Căpitănescu will compete in the first half of the second semi-final on May 14.
Romania first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. The country tried to participate in 1993 but failed to get through the pre-qualifying round. At the 1994 contest, Dan Bittman finished 21st in the final scoring 14 points, Romania didn’t make it through to another final until 1998. Romania’s best results in the contest are two third-place finishes. In 2005, Luminita Anghel & Sistem finished 3rd scoring 158 points, while Paula Seling & Ovi finished 3rd in 2010 with the song “Playing with Fire”. Romania missed the 2016 contest due to TVR being removed from the EBU due to debts to the organisation. Romania has not participated in Eurovision since 2023, coming back only this year.
