The fifth and final of the Semi Finals in Selecția Națională 2018 takes place this weekend in the central Romanian town of Sighișoara.

We got the chance to catch up with the very talented Manuel Chivari who is participating this year with his song “Somebody To Love”.

Hey Manuel, Congratulations on being a part of Selecția Naționala 2018! What made you want to enter the selection process?

Well in the beginning I had other ideas for ”Somebody To Love”, I just wanted to launch myself into the music industry with it because I really thought that it’s not worth going to ESC as a beginner without having a fanbase (even though I had one when I was at ”Romania’s Got Talent” but lost it after 2 years of silence while I was searching for someone to help me out and continue with my music career) and fight against real artists, but then Michael (who wrote the song) encouraged me and said that I should really go because I have enough potential to participate at ESC so yeah…Here I am :))

Can you tell us a bit more about your song “Somebody to Love” and the team behind it?

”Somebody To Love” is a song that describes me well because I had a girlfriend last year,’loved her so much, but she cheated on me so many times that I had nothing else left to do but end the relationship once and for all, and now I’m really looking for somebody to love, somebody true.

At the other hand ”Somebody To Love” is a really happy song that makes people smile and dance and I think that this is actually what people wants to hear nowadays, not sad songs, we had enough sadness, I had enough sadness, so let’s be happy, we only live once anyway (YOLO) :))) 

Michael James Down was the guy who wrote the song along with William Taylor and I wanna thank them soooo much for giving me this opportunity of having such a nice song. The other guys who are helping me are Florin Apostol and Radu Groza who are managing me and I wanna thank them too for everything, and I also want to thank KEO (he’s a great artist from Romania) for helping me record the song at his studio. 

How was your time on Romania’s got Talent and do you feel this live TV performing experience will help you on a big stage like Selectia Nationala and then perhaps Eurovision?

Romania’s Got Talent was the best experience I’ve ever had, I am really happy that Andra believed in me and gave me the ”golden buzzer” and that I made it into the finals, and I think that it will actually help me in a way or another at ”Selectia Nationala” and maybe even at Eurovision who knows 😉  

Is there anything you do to prepare for a live performance? Any superstitions or particular warm ups?

I usually prepare at home, sometimes with warm ups, sometimes without. Uhm, that’s what I did when I was at Romania’s Got Talent” too. Honestly I wasn’t taking it seriously then when I should have, but good thing everything turned out to be more than great :)) But now I’m singing everyday until my neighbours come out and tell me to shut up :))) 

How would it feel to win and be selected for Romania and go to the Eurovision song contest?

For me representing Romania would be a dream come true, a mean it’s something that I never thought of, you know as a beginner it’s something I cannot even explain, it would be such a nice thing ohhh my goodnesss!  

And how are the rehearsals for Selecția Națională going?

The rehearsals are going great, I hope everything will be fine in the end.

Can you tell us anything about how the song will be staged for the contest?

Well I’ll have dancers now, and I know the audition was not that great speaking of choreography, but now I swear I’ll learn some dance moves and make the best show ever. That’s all I can say about that for now.  

Have you had the chance to listen to any of the other entries yet, any standouts?

Yep I have listened a few and they are great, but the one I really enjoyed was ”Alessandro Danescu’s song ”Breaking Up” 🙂 

Who are your biggest inspirations musically?

I think my biggest inspirations musically are Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, and Adam Levine. I would love to duet with any of them but I think this possibility will be only a dream… 

Do you currently have any other projects going on at the moment that we can look forward to?

I have in mind some projects but can’t tell about them yet 😉 But for now people listening to ”Somebody To Love” would be enough for me!

What do you enjoy doing when not performing?

While I’m not singing I enjoy playing on pc, I also enjoy going out with my friends, with girls too :)) I really don’t like being alone. I mean I’m home alone, my parents are working abroad so I’ve been left home alone in Romania!  

And finally do you have a favourite Eurovision song from previous years?

Yes I actually have one it’s Heroes by Mans Zelmerlow.

Many thanks for this interview Manuel, I’m sure we will be looking for Somebody To Love during your performance at Selecția Națională! Good Luck!

You can follow Manuel on his Instagram and listen to his song here:

If Manuel is one of your favourites in the fifth semi final of Selectia Nationala, make sure you cast your vote for him in our poll here: