Meet Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers, Moldova representatives in Eurovision 2022

This year Moldova has chosen Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers as its representatives on Eurovision 2022 that will take place in Turin next May with the song “Trenulețul”. But who are Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers? In this article you will have the opportunity to know more about Moldova’s band for Eurovision 2022.

About Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers

Zdob și Zdub is a Moldovan band formed in 1994 in Straseni outside Chisinau. The band’s name originates from the onomatopoeia of the drum. It has a style that combines styles such as hip hop and punk with more traditional music. Although the music they originally composed was in Russian, over the years they have softened their songs and introduced traditional Moldovan music, changing the language to Romanian.

They began their success in 1996, when they took part in the protests against the nuclear disaster ten years earlier in Chernobyl. Today, they are a successful group in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania, and have also toured in more than 20 European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia, Hungary and Italy.

With “Trenulețul” it will be the third time that they will represent Moldova at Eurovision, the first time was in 2005, when Moldova made its debut at the contest. On that occasion Zdob și Zdub convinced the public in the Moldovan pre-selection, and won their ticket to Kiev with the song “Bunica bate doba”. Six years later, the second time they tried to win the crystal microphone, this time in Düsseldorf, after getting on the Moldovan pre-selection where they got the second best position for the televote and for the panel of experts, but in the final count they managed to win. They also made it to the grand final, where they finished in twelfth place with the song “So Lucky”.

Frații Advahov, is formed by brothers Vitalie and Vasile Advahov, from Cahul in southwest Moldova, this group is known for their folk music, they play the violin and accordion respectively. The fraternal group was formed in 2005, and although initially intended as a small project, their national fame soon began to grow. They are notable for receiving the 2007 “Maeștri în Artă” award from Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and in 2016 “Ștefan cel Mare” in the category of People’s Artist from Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti.

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Moldova in Eurovision

Moldova made its debut at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005, placing sixth with its first ever entry, ‘Bunica Bate Toba’ performed by Zdob și Zdub.

In total, Moldova has appeared in the Grand Final on 9 occasions and, in 2017, SunStroke Project took the country to the top 3 in the Grand Final for the first time ever.

In 2010, Sergey Stepanov, also from the band SunStroke Project, became an internet phenomenon when his solo saxophone performance went viral. He became known as the ‘Epic Sax Guy’.