Today the rehearsals for Eurovision 2023 has kicked off in Liverpool. Countries rehearsing on Day 1 include Norway, Malta, Serbia, Latvia, Portugal, Ireland, Croatia, Switzerland, Moldova and Sweden. The ninth to rehearse today is Moldova’s Pasha Parfeni.
Pasha Parfeni’s first rehearsal
The next to take to the Eurovision 2023 stage at Liverpool Arena in Liverpool was Moldova’s Pasha Parfeni. He will be competing in this year’s competition with his entry “Soarele Si Luna” following his win in the Moldovan selection ‘Etapa Nationala 2023’.
Following Pasha’s first rehearsal a clip of what went on was posted on the official TikTok account of the Eurovision Song Contest. The clip showed Pasha before and after he took to the Eurovision stage for the first time, as well as giving us some insight into how well his first rehearsal went.
What did we learn about Pasha Parfeni’s staging?
Pasha is joined on stage by two backing vocalists and well as Sergiu – his flute player. Pasha’s vocals do a good job of creating an atmosphere. All this brought together is sure to bring the ethno party vibes to the stage for this semi-final. The performance pulsates through the arena while Pasha performs.
What we thought of Moldova’s first rehearsal
After Pasha Parfeni’s first rehearsal Tim gave their initial thoughts on the snippet that we saw.
Who is Pasha Parfeni?
Pasha’s music career really kicked off in 2008 when he joined the group Sunstroke Project. In 2009 he wrote and composed the song “No Crime” which was entered into the Moldovan national final that year. The group placed third in the national final, Pasha then left the group in order to have a solo career.
Over the years Pasha has competed in many competitions and been successful. In 2009 he placed second in the Slavianski Bazaar – where he won a cash prize of $6000 for his efforts.
Between the years 2010 and 2012 he entered the national selection each time. In 2012 Pasha was finally successful and his song “Lautar” was selected to represent Moldova at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku. In Baku Pasha placed 11th in the contest.
Following on from 2012, Pasha returned to the Moldovan selection again in 2013, this time as a songwriter for Aliona Moon’s “O Mie”. The song went on to win the selection. “O Mie” went in to also place 11th at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö.
Following on from this Pasha took a break from Eurovision and didn’t return to the selection again until 2020. This time Pasha competed with the song “My Wine” and went on to place second in the national final.
In 2023, Pasha was successful in his bid to represent Moldova again with his song “Soarele și Luna” which was written by Pasha himself alongside Andrei Vulpe and Iuliana Parfeni.
Moldova’s Eurovision Journey
Moldova is relatively new to the Eurovision Song Contest, joining in 2005. Their debut entry, Zdob și Zdub, finished in 6th place, which had remained their highest scoring entry up until 2017. This was thanks to the Sunstroke Project performing ‘Hey Mamma’, finishing in 3rd place. At the close of voting, Moldova received 374 points.
In 2022, Zdob și Zdub came back to the Eurovision stage with the Advahov Brothers and represented Moldova at the Contest in Turin. Performing their song “Trenulețul”, Moldova qualified for the final and finished in 7th place. Following the jury and televote points, Moldova had received 253 points.
What do you think of “Soarele și Luna”? Can Pasha Parfeni bring Eurovision to Moldova? Let us know your thoughts! Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming/EBU
