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Romania has only just returned to Eurovision and already finds itself in the sort of argument the contest never quite knows how to handle neatly.
This year’s entry, Alexandra Căpitănescu’s ‘Choke Me’, won Selecția Națională on 4 March. She will perform in Vienna in the first half of the second semi-final on 14 May. That should have been the story. Instead, attention is on the song’s title and lyrics. Do they push Eurovision into territory the EBU may not want to defend in public?
On paper, the basics are straightforward. Căpitănescu, a former winner of Vocea României, took the Romanian ticket. Her song sits somewhere in the darker, heavier end of contemporary pop, with a nu-metal edge. A jury vote decided the national final, and TVR frames the song as an intense, personal piece about emotional pressure, self-doubt and the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Controversy
The problem is that ‘Choke Me’ is a title that rather insists on being taken at face value. It has seen campaigners against sexual violence criticise the song. They feel it glamorises and advocates sexual strangulation. Their objections focus not only on the title but on lyrics, which reference being unable to breathe. There are calls for the song to be changed or removed altogether.
Căpitănescu insists the imagery is about emotional suffocation rather than violence. TVR has publicly defended the entry. They say the performance concept in Vienna will underline rule out anything literal.
There has been no public comment from the EBU. The Guardian newspaper says the BBC has not lodged a complaint.
Last year’s Maltese storm in a kant pot showed that if enough pressure builds, the EBU can suddenly discover a taste for tidy last-minute adjustments.
