TRM, the Moldovan national broadcaster, have announced a withdrawal from the long-list for Selecția Națională 2026 – their national selection for the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, in Vienna.

TRM have confirmed that Dana Marchitan has withdrawn from Selecția Națională 2026, ahead of the live auditions that began earlier today. Dana withdrew due to Katy Rain auditioning with the same song, although under a slightly different title. Dana was due to compete with “Cry”, while Katy remains in the selection with “Dance & Cry”. Dana had the following to say:

“Sometimes, the strongest gesture in a competition is to choose not to enter a forced competition. In the context of the Moldovan Eurovision preselection, the same song was offered, from the outside, to two performers. I accepted this song without being informed that it was simultaneously proposed to another artist, based on the trust that things are done with honesty and respect for the artists. Later, I was offered to enter a direct competition with the same artistic material, a situation that I do not consider fair to art, to the audience, or to myself. I chose to take a step back, giving my colleague, Katy, the opportunity to move forward. I sincerely wish her success. The song ‘Cry’ is very dear to me. I invested my soul, work, training and trust in it. That is why I considered artistic dignity to be more important than any stage or competition.
I strongly believe that music should unite, not create duels of interpretation. Games with double standards do not represent me. I also believe that in a delicate situation, unique and unprecedented for Moldova, direct communication between the organisers and the artists, before the songs were made public, could have led to a more elegant solution than the simple question: ‘Who will sing it better?’. My path continues with other songs, other choices and the same sincerity.”

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Author: Richard Taylor

Source: Eurovoix