After two years off, Romania returns with Alexandra Căpitănescu and ‘Choke Me’, selected through Selecția Națională. Alexandra is not an unknown quantity at home. She won The Voice of Romania in 2023, and TVR has clearly decided that a darker, more confrontational package is the way to announce its return.
The song sits in that gloomy alt-pop lane where everything is treated as terribly important. It’s all black-bedroom-wall atmosphere, big feelings and studied intensity. The performance style leans more towards earnest declaration than any sense of release. Alexandra throws herself at it, but the song itself is surprisingly unremarkable musically for something packaged this aggressively. There’s no shortage of intent. Just very little in the melody or structure that genuinely lingers once the three minutes are over. It feels more of a mood board than a fully persuasive song.
The wider narrative, inevitably, has centred on the title and lyrics. ‘Choke Me’ has attracted criticism in the media and from campaigners who argue it risks glamorising sexual strangulation. Alexandra has said the lyrics are metaphorical and meant to express emotional suffocation rather than literal violence. That row has at least ensured the song arrives with attention attached, though attention and affection are not always the same currency at Eurovision.
History
Romania last appeared in 2023, when Theodor Andrei finished 15th in his semi-final with nul points, before TVR then sat out both 2024 and 2025.
This time around qualification looks difficult. Juries may respect Alexandra’s commitment if the live vocal lands, but the song itself fails to offer much compositional reward beneath the concept. Televoters could respond to the shock value or the visual package, though that usually helps more when there’s a stronger hook.
4 Points
