| "It's My Life" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byCezar | ||||
| Released | 2013 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | TVR | |||
| Songwriter | Cristian Faur | |||
| Producer | Faur | |||
| Cezar singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "It's My Life" onYouTube | ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2013 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist | ||||
| As | Cezar | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Composer | Cristian Faur | |||
| Lyricist | Faur | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 5th | |||
| Semi-final points | 83 | |||
| Final result | 13th | |||
| Final points | 65 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Zaleilah" (2012) | ||||
| "Miracle" (2014) ► | ||||
"It's My Life" is a song recorded by Romanian singerCezar, released as part of aCD single in 2013 through theRomanian Television (TVR). It was solely written and produced by Cristian Faur. Musically, the track has been described as anoperatic pop anddubstep song, with the latter genre being predominantly present in the track'sbridge. A love song, its instrumentation consists ofelectronic beats, while Cezar prominently uses his "feminine"falsetto register.Reviewers likened his vocal delivery to the works of Scottish singerJimmy Somerville and Australian musicianNick Cave.
"It's My Life"represented Romania in the2013 Eurovision Song Contest inMalmö, Sweden after winning the pre-selection showSelecția Națională. The country reached 13th place in a field of 26, scoring a total of 65 points. Cezar's show featured him dressed in a blacksequin cloak standing betweenfluorescent lighting tubes, while dancers who emerged from a red material placed under him performedinterpretive dance. The performance was met with mixed reactions and often featured in publications' lists of Eurovision's most outstanding and peculiar performances. The track itself received similar reviews, with critics arguing over its catchiness, originality, composition and dance nature, as well as over Cezar's vocals.
In order to promote and support "It's My Life", Cezar embarked on a tour in Belgium, Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 2013. An accompanying music video was filmed by Faur in several Romanian locations including theMamaia resort,Cliceni aerodrome andA2 motorway, and was uploaded to the singer's officialYouTube channel on 1 May 2013. TVR also broadcast the visual for the first time on the same date. It portrays Cezarparasailing, driving aMercedes car andparachuting, as well as residing with model Sarah Ioana Mircea. The track was covered by Macedonian singerTijana Dapčević and Romanian recording artist Florin Ristei during theSerbian andRomanian versions of interactivereality television franchise seriesYour Face Sounds Familiar respectively.
"It's My Life" was solely written and produced by Cristian Faur. It was released as aCD single through theRomanian Television (TVR) in 2013, containing a karaoke version alongside the original track. The accompanying cover artwork was photographed by Paula Buciuta, while the package was designed by Bristena de Satmaari.[1] Musically, "It's My Life" has been described as anoperatic pop anddubstep song,[2][3] with the latter genre being pronounced during the track'sbridge which uses asample bought from service Vengeance Audio.[4][5] Faur referred to the song as an "electro pop opera" number, while Eduard Fernández fromEl Mundo regarded its genre as "unclassifiable".[6][7] "It's My Life" is a love song and its instrumentation consists of "angy"electronic[8] beats taken from a "working men's club", as noted byThe Times.[9] An editor of the aforementioned publication compared Cezar's prominent use of hisfalsetto register during the song to Scottish singerJimmy Somerville and Australian musicianNick Cave;[9] another critic thought he sounded "feminine".[4]
Upon its release, "It's My Life" was met with mixed reactions from music critics. An editor ofTribune Business News wrote that the song had one of the best refrains amongRomania's Eurovision entries,[2] whileThe Daily Edge ranked it fourth in their list of "14 best Eurovision songs in recent years".[10] Fans of the recording include Welsh singerBonnie Tyler.[11] Reviewers fromWiwibloggs had both positive and negative opinions of "It's My Life", praising Cezar's vocal delivery, as well as the song's catchiness, originality and dance nature, but criticizing its "generic" lyrics, genre crossover, and naming it "excruciating to listen to". Overall, the reviewers on the website gave the song 5.71 out of 10 points.[12] In a 2016 Wiwibloggs poll called "What is your favourite Eurovision song from Romania?", "It's My Life" finished in eighth place with over 300 votes.[13] In a more negative review, Adam Postans ofThe People satirically called it a "potentialsanitary towel advert anthem".[14] Ryan Barrell ofHuffington Post criticized the track's use of dubstep elements as "utterly ridiculous".[15]
An accompanying music video for "It's My Life" was uploaded to Cezar's officialYouTube channel on 1 May 2013,[17] and was also exclusively premiered on the same date on TVR'sTelejurnal segment.[16] It was filmed by Cristian Faur in Romania at theMamaia resort,Cliceni aerodrome, cityPloiești and on theA2 motorway. Production was handled by Artside,Cat Music and Radu Hantig, whiledirector of photography Alexandru Prepeliţă and make-up artist Ruxandra Mihaia Caranfil were also hired. Magdalena Ciubotariu and Vlad Tofan were credited forscreenplay and direction. The clip's "full of adrenaline" plot presents Cezarparasailing, driving aMercedes SL350 andparachuting, as well as showing up with model Sarah Ioana Mircea.[17][16] Regarding the music video, he explained that it was "designed as a 'statement' video, it implies a clear message: 'It's My Life – it's my life, I live it the way I feel!'"[16]
To further promote the song, Cezar embarked on a tour in Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Belgium.[18] In 2017, Macedonian singerTijana Dapčević sang "It's My Life" and impersonated Cezar onTvoje lice zvuči poznato, the Serbian version of interactivereality televisionfranchise seriesYour Face Sounds Familiar.[19] On the Romanian version of the aforementioned series,Te cunosc de undeva!, Romanian recording artist Florin Ristei performed the song in 2014.[20]
TheRomanian Television (TVR) organized theSelecția Națională in order to select Romania's entrant for the2013 Eurovision Song Contest and opened the submission period for artists' and composers' entries between 14 January and 6 February 2013. The event consisted of two semi-finals on 23 and 24 February respectively, and the final on 9 March 2013. Cezar qualified in second place from the first semi-final behind "Unique" byLuminița Anghel, after the votes of an expert jury panel (ten points) and the televoting (eight points) were combined, resulting in 18 points. Subsequently, "It's My Life" was chosen to represent in Romania in the contest by the same voting system, gathering 20 points in the final, which were composed of eight jury and 12 public points.[21][22][23]
.jpg)
The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 took place at theMalmö Arena inMalmö, Sweden and consisted of two semi-finals on 14 and 16 May, and the final on 18 May 2013. According to the Eurovision rules, all participating countries, except the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), were required to qualify from one semi-final to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the respective semi-final progressed to the final.[25] Cezar sang 17th in the second semi-final followingSwitzerland, while he performed 14th in the Grand Final followingNetherlands and preceding theUnited Kingdom.[25]
Cezar's performance begins with him standing between red and bluefluorescent lighting tubes that are lowered to the stage by arigging mechanism. He wears a long blacksequin cloak and is placed on red material. Behind the singer, theLED screen displays lightning bolts, "emphasising the extreme passion within the song". The color red becomes more pronounced onstage as the show continues, and three semi-naked dancers emerge from the aforementioned material. They performinterpretive dance and wave pieces of the material in front of Cezar. Towards the end of the performance, the singer and the lighting tubes rise 15 ft above the stage, with Cezar singing to a female background dancer wrapped in red material that is now at the same height as him.Pyrotechnics are also used, including flames, fireworks and confetti "lighting up the arena in a big finale".[4][7][9][24][26]
The performance was received with mixed reviews from critics. An editor ofThe Times thought it was of a "hystericallycamp nature" and likened Cezar's appearance toFlash Gordon characterMing the Merciless (1934).[9] While comparing Cezar toDracula, Geoff Tibballs, in his bookThe Good, the Bad andthe Wurst: The 100 Craziest Moments from the Eurovision Song Contest, labelled the performance as "gloriously over-the-top".[27] Several publications included Cezar's show in their lists of Eurovision's most outstanding and peculiar performances, includingThe Calvert Journal,[3]The Irish Post,[28]Cosmopolitan,[29]SheKnows,[30]The Reykjavík Grapevine,[4]MTV UK,[31] and theHuffington Post.[15]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Romania in the second semi-final and Grand Final of the contest. On the first occasion, the country finished in fifth place with a total of 83 points, including ten fromMalta,Iceland,Israel andGreece, eight fromAzerbaijan, and seven fromGermany.[32] In the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, Romania finished in 13th position, gathering a total of 65 points, including ten awarded byMoldova and Greece, seven by Malta and six byNorway, Iceland and Azerbaijan.[33]
| Points awarded to Romania (Semi-Final 2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| Points awarded to Romania (Final) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| Country | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 2013 | CD single | TVR |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)