| "Playing with Fire" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of the various cover artworks used to commercialize "Playing with Fire" | ||||
| Single byPaula Seling andOvi | ||||
| from the album Playing with Fire | ||||
| Released | 2010 | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter | Ovidiu Cernăuțeanu | |||
| Producer | Simen M. Eriksrud | |||
| Paula Seling singles chronology | ||||
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| Ovi singles chronology | ||||
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| Eurovision Song Contest 2010 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artists | ||||
| As | Paula Seling and Ovi | |||
| Languages | English | |||
| Composer | Simen M. Eriksrud | |||
| Lyricist | Ovidiu Cernăuțeanu | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 4th | |||
| Semi-final points | 104 | |||
| Final result | 3rd | |||
| Final points | 162 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "The Balkan Girls" (2009) | ||||
| "Change" (2011) ► | ||||
"Playing with Fire" is a song recorded by Romanian singerPaula Seling and Romanian-Norwegian performerOvidiu Cernăuțeanu for their 2010 collaborative album of the same name. It was released as aCD single in 2010 byTVR, TMC and AXR labels. Partly influenced byopera music, the track was written by Ovi and produced bySimen M. Eriksrud. The lyrics of "Playing with Fire" portray a fight between a male and a female, with areviewer speculating that it revolved aroundarson.[citation needed]
The trackrepresented Romania in the2010 Eurovision Song Contest inOslo, Norway after winning the pre-selection showSelecția Națională. Seling and Ovi's win sparked controversy after it was speculated that Eriksrud was one of the writers of "Playing with Fire", which was not permitted by the rules of the national selection as he is not of Romanian origin. The accusations were denied and it was later confirmed that Eriksrud only produced the track. In Oslo, the singers qualified for the Grand Final, where they finished third with 162 points. This remains Romania's best result in the contest alongside2005's "Let Me Try" byLuminița Anghel and Sistem. Onstage, Seling and Ovi played a double piano wearing a black catsuit and black clothing, respectively, accompanied by four background vocalists.
Music critics gave positive reviews of the song, and it was named one of the contest's highlights. "Playing with Fire" also won an award in the Pop Song of the Year category at the 2011Radio România Actualități Awards. Commercially, the track charted within the top 30 in Norway and Sweden after the contest. Its promotion consisted of various live performances and endeavours,[1] as well as the release of an accompanying music video on 6 April 2010 onYouTube. Filmed in Romania and Austria, it was shot by Mihnea De Vries and executive produced by Eduard Schneider. The visual portrays Seling and Ovi fighting in avideo game theme, embodying several characters, and is the first usage of themotion capture technique in Romania. Over the years, "Playing with Fire" was covered by singers such asIlinca Băcilă andAlex Florea.[2]
"Playing with Fire" was produced by Norwegian record producerSimen M. Eriksrud, while lyrics were written by Romanian singer and songwriterOvidiu Cernăuțeanu.[4] The latter met singerPaula Seling at a native song festival, where they decided to team up and create a song to submit for theEurovision Song Contest. This resulted in "Playing with Fire", whose lyrics revolve around a fight between a male and a female, which was also used as the concept for the song's accompanying music video.
The partlyopera-influenced track contains a rhyme between the words 'fire' and 'desire', with an editor ofThe Guardian speculating that "Playing with Fire" discussed onarson, a crime of intentionally, deliberately and maliciously setting fire to buildings or other properties with the intent to cause damage.[3][5] The recording was solely released as anenhanced CD and CD single throughout 2010 byTVR, TMC and AXR labels.[4][6][7] In February 2010, a contest was launched to find the best remix of "Playing with Fire", with the winner's work to be promoted by Da Works Records andWarner Music Group in Europe.[8] The stems of the song were also made available through theiTunes Store under the title "Playing With Fire (Make Your Own Remix Kit)".[9]
"Playing with Fire" received positive reviews frommusic critics. WhileDaily Mirror's Carl Greenwood called the song "frankly brilliant",[10] Frances Robinson fromInternational Business Times included it in her all-time Eurovision favorites.[11] Journalists brought together by Spanish websiteLa Información mentioned "Playing with Fire" in their list of the best entries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Editor Carlos Otero called the song "an ideal blend between innovation and Eurovision-ish rhythm", and compared Seling's image to that of American television sitcomSaved by the Bell characterKelly Kapowski. Another critic, Popy Blasco, likened the artists to a "pop and shiny version" of Argentine duoPimpinela.[12] In a 2016 poll onWiwibloggs called "What is your favourite Eurovision song from Romania?", "Playing with Fire" finished in first place with over 1,000 votes.[13] The song won an award in the Pop Song of the Year section at the 2011Radio România Actualități Awards.[14]
Prior to Seling and Ovi being selected as Romania's entrants for the contest, a promotional music video was filmed and released online.[15] The song's official music video was subsequently uploaded onto Eurovision Song Contest's officialYouTube channel on 6 April 2010.[16] Beginning on 18 March 2010, it was filmed by Mihnea De Vries and executive produced by Eduard Schneider from Schneider Productions România, alongside further co-production by the Romanian Television (TVR) and Romanian newspaperAdevărul.[17][18] Special effects were edited by specialists from multiple European countries, who were assisted by Cristian "Freespace" Ciocotisan.[18] The lyrics of "Playing with Fire" were used as the visual's concept[3] — which is set in the future[19] — with Schneider stating that he wanted to showcase anantithesis between classic and futuristic elements.[18]
Odiviu "Uwe" and Darius Macinic were hired asstunts, with their scenes filmed inAlba Iulia andSebeș, Romania with the assistance of ten people.[18] The background dancers for the music video were Bianca Racolţa and Andrei Ionuţi, whose parts were shot at theSchloss Grafenegg nearVienna, Austria in two days. Both woresensor costumes similar to those presented inAvatar (2009). Multiple fight scenes were filmed in the same location, although some of them were scrapped to not give the music video a negative fight character. The scrapped scenes were to be published in the form of pictures after the release of the music video.[20] Scenes focusing mainly on Seling and Ovi were shot in the span of one day at a café in a mall in Alba Iulia, which was arranged to look futuristic. The two were also required to learn a few dance moves from a Ukrainian instructor. Filmed and edited in ten hours, other locations for the clip's shooting were a building of a factory in ruins and Schneider's studio in Alba Iulia.[19] The music video was the first use of themotion capture technique in Romania, as confirmed byAdevărul.[20]
The clip starts with Seling sitting on a couch, reading anAdevărul issue on what appears to be atablet. Ovi, appearing in the room, throws himself "bored"[19] on a couch while Seling takes a cup of coffee in her hands. The way Ovi falls on the couch makes the latter spill her coffee on her dress, followed by both fighting bylip synching to the lyrics of the track.[19] The rest of the music video is set in avideo game theme, with Seling and Ovi fighting against each other and embodying several characters such as pilots, urban guerrillas, dancers and robots.[18] The clip ends with Seling staring at the camera, having redirises. Interspersed scenes during the music video's main plot show the artists playing a glass piano, which Seling eventually breaks when hitting a high note. In another scene, both wear a glove withLED lights, created specifically for the clip.[16][19] The music video was positively received by fans, gathering over 72,000 views in three days of its release and various positive comments.[20]
On 6 March 2010, theSelecția Națională was held in order to select the Romanian entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest. Subsequently, "Playing with Fire" was chosen to represent Romania at the contest after the votes of regional jury panels (12 points) and public televoting (12 points) were combined, resulting in 24 points.[21] Seling accidentally broke the trophy after falling off her hands, which was the subject of irony of an article written by an editor of Ele.ro.[22] Seling and Ovi's win was contested by Romanian singerLuminița Anghel — who had already represented Romania in theEurovision Song Contest 2005 — although she was in turn criticized for causing the death of severalbutterflies during the show for her entry "Save Their Lives" with Tony Tomas and Adrian Piper.[23] Later in March, it was speculated that Eriksrud – who is not of Romanian origin or citizenship – was one of the writers of "Playing with Fire" along with Ovi, which was not permitted by the rules of theSelecția Națională and would have led to the song's disqualification from the contest. However, the latter soon after denied the accusations, confirming that Eriksrud only produced the track and was given half of its copyrights by him after it was registered at Norwegian copyright corporationTONO.[24][25]
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TheEurovision Song Contest 2010 took place at theTelenor Arena inOslo, Norway and consisted of two semi-finals on 25 and 27 May, respectively, and the final on 29 May 2010. According to the Eurovision rules, all participating countries, except the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, 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.[26] Seling and Ovi performed tenth in the second semi-final, preceded by theNetherlands and followed bySlovenia, while they sang 19th in the Grand Final, preceded byFrance and followed byRussia.[26]
The artists' show begins with them performing the song sitting on both sides of a "shine-through" double piano made by Seling's husband, enhanced by "white-glimmering" LED lights. Following this, Seling and Ovi – dressed in a black catsuit and black clothes, respectively – leave the piano and move to the front part of the stage, aided by four background vocalists (Andreea Moldovan,Larisa Borza, Andrada Janette Suliman and Elena Bianca Purcărea[27]) placed on the left half of the stage. Further technical enhancements include the lights on the backdrop changing from blue to orange with the words 'boy' and 'girl', as well as fire being displayed on the background and piano.[3][28] Claire-Marie Allègre of French website L'Express Styles positively called Seling's catsuit extravagant.[29] In his bookWaltz of the Asparagus People: The Further Adventures of Piano Girl, Robin Meloy Goldsby praised the artists' show and their vocal delivery, and called the pianoLas Vegas-inspired. He further wrote: "Seling looked nasty, in a good way. Ovi did his best to keep up with her, but he could have used a few macho lessons [...]".[30]
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 fourth place with a total of 104 points, including 12 from theUnited Kingdom, ten fromNorway, and eight fromCyprus,Denmark,Israel andTurkey.[31] In the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, Romania finished in third position, gathering a total of 162 points, including 12 awarded byMoldova, ten by Norway,Portugal,Spain andSweden, and eight by Cyprus, Denmark, Israel and the United Kingdom.[32] This remains the country's best result in the contest, alongside 2005's "Let Me Try" by Luminița Anghel and Sistem.[23]
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| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[35] | 26 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[36] | 12 |
| Romania (Romanian Top 100)[37] | 96 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38] | 29 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] | 51 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)[40] | 200 |
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania[4] | N/A 2010 | Enhanced CD | TVR |
| Sweden[6] | CD single | TMC | |
| Finland[7] | AXR |
