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Esctoday.com
The Romanian entry is called Playing with fire. It features Paula Seling and Ovi, who actually also now lives in Norway. The stage for Romania starts off as blue with green spots during the verses and flame coloured for the choruses. The couple have their double piano on stage, and they say at each end until the last repeat of the chorus. There are four female backing singers on the left, all in black dresses. Paula is wearing a black PVC cat suit, and Ovi a leather jacket and jeans. Well suited to the song title Romania uses pyrotechnics for this number, event the piano is on fire and is filmed from below!
Ovi and Paula have rehearsed their number to a slick performance, where they seem to get their chemistry right as well as delivering a faultless vocal performance.
Allkindsofeverything.ie
Pete:
The set is blue and they have the transparent piano on stage , along with 4 female backing singers. The set changes to gold for the chorus, then back to blue. Both stand up and move to the front of the stage after Paula’s operatic part of the song.
Vocally, this is very good from both of them, my only issue is that they should seem to interact more with each other. There is a definite lack of chemistry between them and this needs to improve.
Also, the camerawork also needs improving , the set is quite busy with backing singers hand movements etc and a lot of this is getting lost on screen.
Keith:
The routine is the same as before but much better visually and vocally. There is better interplay between Paula and Ovi and while the camera (quite rightfully) focusses more on here, they are both in good form. Paula delivers the semi-operatic cresendo everytime and maybe there are too many long shots on screen, but otherwise this is sailing into the Top 10 in both the semi and even in the final, with the right draw.
Andrew:
Romania were up next and we have the perspex double piano which lights up and provides a lovely
pyro moment as well. Vocally this was pretty faultless, Paula Seling hitting those high notes so well
and so early in the morning was true class. This for me is a bigger dark horse for winning the whole thing.
Oikotimes.com
Fotis
Spectacular blue lights, three female backing vocals who dance and sing, and Paula with Ovi give a very good performance. They use the double piano as we saw in the Romanian national final. Powerful vocals by Paula and impressive dance spirit plunders the entire arena. Indeed a good song which is doing not well in the polls but there are strong possibilities to make something big in the final, in which it will proceed.
Eva
Too good for Eurovision, and I mean that this song, last year would do much better in the scoreboard. The juries are used to snub these types of songs. I cannot see anything negative to this performance as the positive energy and the dance mood created, boost this song in my eyes.