It’s hard to choose the right gimmick for Eurovision, and Moldova knows this only too well. A projection dress and a hydraulic podium can propel you to the fringes of the top ten, while a pack of loincloth-clad dancers and a detachable pigtail can leave you stranded in last place in the semi-final. So what will the always entertaining nation pull out of its bag of tricks this year?

Eduard Romanyuta ended his winning performance at this year’s Moldovan national final with a visual gag themed around a “Conchita beard” (see thumbnail), but it would be very surprising if this ill-advised move is reused in Vienna. One could say that Eduard himself is already enough of a novelty. Hailing from Ukraine, there were loud accusations that he “bought” his victory in the neighbouring country. Whether true or not, the 22-year-old stands out with his floppy blond hair – one is reminded of Ace Wilder, of all people – and the video to his ESC 2015 entry is also something of a novelty, being cheaply if competently pasted together from his previous promo clips.

So what about the entry? I Want Your Love is about as straightforward and generic as it comes, a loosely electro-driven pop number that lifts from Liberty X and a bunch of other hit songs from the turn of the Millennium. In combination with Eduard’s looks and persona, it’s vaguely reminiscent of that weird moment when Aaron Carter decided to be all grown-up and sexy and try singing Proper Pop Music – but there’s a commitment and drive at the heart of the performance that you have to respect, even if you feel a little grubby and violated afterwards.

My verdict is that this is a decent choice to open the first semi-final, even if I can’t warm to the song or the performer myself. It’s a rare up-tempo pop song in this year of slow and mid-paced entries, and if Eduard can allegedly buy a Moldovan preselection, who’s to say he can’t pay his way into the ESC final too? It might depend on whether the song that follows it, from Armenia, is the on-stage car crash that many are anticipating. If it is, a competently performed Moldova could benefit as a result. Or if they’re both a bit messy, they could quickly be annihilated by the actual contemporary sounds from Belgium in the third slot in the running order. Even if Moldova does qualify, though, my traffic lights for its further progress are staying firmly on red.

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