Blast from the past: Romania 2003

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today we look back at Nicola’s Don’t Break My Heart, Romania 2003.

Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest

Romania made their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. The year before, they already did an attempt. That year, they took part in the Eastern European qualification round Kvalifikacija za Millstreet. Romania has never won the Eurovision Song Contest so far. Both Luminița Anghel & Sistem with Let Me Try (2005) and Paula Seling & Ovi with Playing With Fire (2010) reached a 3rd place. However, Romania did not participate in this year’s contest. They will also be absent in the 2025 contest.

Luminița Anghel

Selecția Națională 2003

The Romanian national selection is called Selecția Națională. That was already the case in 2003. Two semifinals were held with 12 songs each. Mălina Olinescu (Eurovision 1998) was one of the contestants but she didn’t reach the final. The 10 who did are listed below:

Mihai Trăistariu (member of Valahia) and Paula Seling later also represented Romania, Paula even twice.

Mihai Trăistariu

Nicola

Nicoleta Alexandru, known as Nicola, was born on November 5, 1966, in Bucharest, Romania. She began her music career in 1985, performing at the Mamaia Festival, where she won several awards. Nicola sang in various bands before launching her solo career in 1999 with the hit song Cu tălpile goale (Barefoot). The song gained widespread airplay on many radio and TV stations across Romania.

In 2003, Nicola rose to fame after winning Romania’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Don’t Break My Heart. She represented Romania in Riga, Latvia, and secured 10th place. That same year, she released her album Best of Nicola, which achieved great success and earned her a Platinum Disc.

Nicola continued her music career, releasing albums and singles such as De mă vei chema (If You Call Me) and Honey in 2005. She received several MTV Romania Music Award nominations and collaborated with well-known international artists, including Thomas Nichols.

In 2019, Nicola competed again in Romania’s Eurovision selection with the song Weight of the World.

Don’t Break My Heart

Nicola wrote and composed Don’t Break My Heart, with her husband Mihai Alexandru producing the song. With its catchy tune and her strong performance, Nicola won first place in Romania’s national competition, securing her spot at the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga.

On May 24, 2003, Nicola performed Don’t Break My Heart for an international audience. The song’s upbeat pop melody and her powerful vocals captured attention. Nicola finished in 10th place, earning 73 points from the voting countries, marking a strong result for Romania at that time.

 

 

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Blast from the past: Germany 1967

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we go back to 1967 when Inge Brück represented Germany with the song “Anouschka”. Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest Germany has a long Eurovision history, having competed since 1956 and won twice: in 1982 with Ein bißchen Frieden (Nicole) and in 2010 with Satellite (Lena). Being part of the “Big Five”, Germany is always in the final. Recent entries have had mixed success. In 2022, Malik Harris sang Rockstars and ended up 25th with 6 points. In 2023, Lord of the Lost performed Blood & Glitter, finishing 26th (last) with 18 points. The year after, Isaak represented Germany with Always on the Run, placing 12th with 117 points, a much stronger showing. For 2025, Germany was represented by Abor & Tynna with Baller. They were selected through the national competition Chefsache ESC 2025 – Wer singt für Deutschland? and finished 15th in the final, scoring 151 points. Internal selection for Germany Germany selected their song internally. 145 songs were submitted to the Hessischer Rundfunk (HR), the broadcaster responsible for the German entry. The winning song was sung by Inge Brück. The titles of the top-3 are known: Anouschka (lyrics and music by Hans Blum) Die Nacht hat viele Gesichter (lyrics and music by Fred Strittmatter) Das Glück dieser Welt (lyrics and music by Hubert Wolf) Inge Brück Inge Brück, born on 12 October 1936 in Mannheim, Germany, passed away on 8 September 2025 in Meschede, at the age of 88. She began her career in the 1950s as a singer with the Erwin Lehn dance orchestra, where pianist Horst Jankowski discovered her talent. After a television appearance with Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff she was offered a record contract. In 1957, she scored her first hit with “Peter, komm heut’ abend zum Hafen”, the German version of Green Door, which reached number seven in the German charts. Her international breakthrough came in 1966 when she won the International Song Festival in Brazil with the song Frag den Wind. A year later, in 1967, German broadcaster NDR internally selected her to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with the song Anouschka. She finished in shared eighth place with 7 points. After Eurovision, Brück increasingly turned to acting. In 1970 she starred in the ZDF television series Miss Molly Mill, playing the lead role of a cleaning lady turned amateur detective. The show was a huge success, often attracting more than 20 million viewers per episode. From the 1970s onwards, she shifted her focus to religious music and joined the group Künstler für Christus (“Artists for Christ”), together with other well-known German performers such as Katja Ebstein and Peter Horton. Inge Brück leaves behind a rich legacy: as a popular singer of the radio and television era, as an actress on screen, and later as a performer of religious music. Her voice and versatility made her a beloved figure in German culture. Anouschka Anouschka was the German entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967 in Vienna, performed by Inge Brück. The song was written and composed by Hans Blum. It finished in eighth place, scoring seven points. Musically, Anouschka followed the classic schlager style that was popular in Germany during the 1960s. The arrangement featured a melodic, light orchestral backing, with a clear emphasis on Brück’s warm and emotional vocals. The song had a gentle rhythm and a traditional structure, making it easy to follow and appealing to a broad audience of the time. The lyrics told a story of longing and heartbreak. The singer addresses Anouschka, a woman who left, and asks why she had to go, leaving behind sadness and emptiness. The combination of its melodic charm and emotional theme gave the song a nostalgic quality, typical of many Eurovision ballads of the era.  

Read More »
Blast from the past
Martijn

Blast from the past: Germany 1967

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we go back to 1967 when Inge Brück represented Germany with the song “Anouschka”. Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest Germany has a long Eurovision history, having competed since 1956 and won twice: in 1982 with Ein bißchen Frieden (Nicole) and in 2010 with Satellite (Lena). Being part of the “Big Five”, Germany is always in the final. Recent entries have had mixed success. In 2022, Malik Harris sang Rockstars and ended up 25th with 6 points. In 2023, Lord of the Lost performed Blood & Glitter, finishing 26th (last) with 18 points. The year after, Isaak represented Germany with Always on the Run, placing 12th with 117 points, a much stronger showing. For 2025, Germany was represented by Abor & Tynna with Baller. They were selected through the national competition Chefsache ESC 2025 – Wer singt für Deutschland? and finished 15th in the final, scoring 151 points. Internal selection for Germany Germany selected their song internally. 145 songs were submitted to the Hessischer Rundfunk (HR), the broadcaster responsible for the German entry. The winning song was sung by Inge Brück. The titles of the top-3 are known: Anouschka (lyrics and music by Hans Blum) Die Nacht hat viele Gesichter (lyrics and music by Fred Strittmatter) Das Glück dieser Welt (lyrics and music by Hubert Wolf) Inge Brück Inge Brück, born on 12 October 1936 in Mannheim, Germany, passed away on 8 September 2025 in Meschede, at the age of 88. She began her career in the 1950s as a singer with the Erwin Lehn dance orchestra, where pianist Horst Jankowski discovered her talent. After a television appearance with Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff she was offered a record contract. In 1957, she scored her first hit with “Peter, komm heut’ abend zum Hafen”, the German version of Green Door, which reached number seven in the German charts. Her international breakthrough came in 1966 when she won the International Song Festival in Brazil with the song Frag den Wind. A year later, in 1967, German broadcaster NDR internally selected her to represent Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with the song Anouschka. She finished in shared eighth place with 7 points. After Eurovision, Brück increasingly turned to acting. In 1970 she starred in the ZDF television series Miss Molly Mill, playing the lead role of a cleaning lady turned amateur detective. The show was a huge success, often attracting more than 20 million viewers per episode. From the 1970s onwards, she shifted her focus to religious music and joined the group Künstler für Christus (“Artists for Christ”), together with other well-known German performers such as Katja Ebstein and Peter Horton. Inge Brück leaves behind a rich legacy: as a popular singer of the radio and television era, as an actress on screen, and later as a performer of religious music. Her voice and versatility made her a beloved figure in German culture. Anouschka Anouschka was the German entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967 in Vienna, performed by Inge Brück. The song was written and composed by Hans Blum. It finished in eighth place, scoring seven points. Musically, Anouschka followed the classic schlager style that was popular in Germany during the 1960s. The arrangement featured a melodic, light orchestral backing, with a clear emphasis on Brück’s warm and emotional vocals. The song had a gentle rhythm and a traditional structure, making it easy to follow and appealing to a broad audience of the time. The lyrics told a story of longing and heartbreak. The singer addresses Anouschka, a woman who left, and asks why she had to go, leaving behind sadness and emptiness. The combination of its melodic charm and emotional theme gave the song a nostalgic quality, typical of many Eurovision ballads of the era.  

Read More »
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