Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013

On 13 January 2013, TVR released details regarding the national selection. A submission period between 14 January 2013 and 3 February 2013 was made available for all interested singers and songwriters to apply.[3][4] At the close of the submission period, artists were required to attend one of five auditions held in cities across the country: Iaşi (6 February 2013), Cluj-Napoca (8 February 2013), Timișoara (10 February 2013), Craiova (12 February 2013) and Bucharest (14 February 2013).

148 songs were submitted at the close of the deadline with entries being received from the United Kingdom, Turkey, Israel, Sweden and France in addition to Romania.[5] All entrants were then required to attend one of five auditions held in cities across the country: Iaşi (6 February 2013), Cluj-Napoca (8 February 2013), Timișoara (10 February 2013), Craiova (12 February 2013) and Bucharest (14 February 2013), where an expert committee made up of five music industry professionals were to select 24-28 entries for the national final, which were to be announced on 18 February 2013.[3][4] Instead, on 14 February 2013, 32 entries were selected due to the high quality of the acts presented at the auditions, as cited by the selection manager Dan Manoliu.[6]

The semifinalists were subsequently drawn into two semi-finals held on 23 and 24 February 2013 with the qualifying entries proceeding to the final on 9 March 2013.[3][4][7] The three shows were hosted by Eurovision Song Contest 2010 participants Paula Seling and Ovi with singer Andreea Bănică and actor/comedian Marius Rizea joining them to present the program in the role of the members of ABBA.[5]

The jury panel for the semifinals and final consisted of composers George Natsis, Eduard Cârcotă, Andrei Tudor, Mihai Ogăşanu, Crina Mardare and musical director Sanda Cepraga.[8][9] Music critic Dana Dorian was a member of the jury in both of the semifinals, while radio presenter Ştefan Naftanailă was a member of the jury in the final.[10]

The first semi-final took place on 23 February 2013. Of the sixteen entries competing, six proceeded to the final: "Un Refren" performed by Casa Presei, "Criminal Mind" performed by FreeStay, "Unique" performed by Luminița Anghel, "It's My Life" performed by Cezar, "Emilia" performed by Electric Fence and "Hello" performed by Tudor Turcu.[11] The result was decided through the 50/50 combination of a jury vote and a public televote.

The second semi-final took place on 24 February 2013. Of the sixteen entries competing, six proceeded to the final: "Seven" performed by Narcis Iustin Ianău, "Spinning" performed by Elena Cârstea Muttart, "Run away with me" performed by Ovidiu Anton, "The Best Thing In Life Is To Love" performed by Cristian Prăjescu, "What Is Love" performed by Al Mike featuring Renee Santana and "Paralysed" performed by Andrei Leonte.[12] The result was decided through the 50/50 combination of a jury vote and a public televote.

The final took place on 9 March 2013. Six songs from each semi-final, all together 12 songs, competed with the 50/50 combination of a jury vote and a public televote determining the winner. Cezar was the winner with the song "It's My Life".[2]

The winning song inspired the creation of a protest group on Facebook that sought to boycott the results of the national selection and call into question jury member Ştefan Naftanailă's votes, who gave zero points to Luminița Anghel.[13][14] Dan Manoliu, manager of the selection, was also surprised with Ştefan Naftanailă's votes, however, he stated that the results meet the criteria for the competition.[10]