Romania 2012 - Mandinga - Zaleilah

Romania were hanging on so long before they announced their finalists that I kind of hoped they'd be presenting us with something pretty special. Sadly though there few pop thrills in among the usual mawkish dead-eyed balladeer blokes, and those tiny shrieking girls wearing not quite enough shiny fabric they always seem to dig out.

So this song stands out like a sore thumb amongst the mediocrity that surrounds it. It's not particularly great, but it's been all over Romanian TV all year, and by the look of the official video - that sees the glamourous singer cavorting inappropriately in tiny garments the length and breadth of Dubai - they've got a bit of money behind them. So if the Romanian public isn't sick of the song by the time it comes to chose, they've surely got to be in with a decent shout.

Actually, I'm not sure that the girl is even a regular member of the band, as most of the videos of them on YouTube show them to be a cracking little six piece marching band. So which loyal member are they going to dump if they get to Baku? My bet's on the tiny trumpeter.

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