"Eu cred" (English: "I believe") is a song recorded by Romanian singer

Mălina Olinescu Mălina Olinescu (; 29 January 1974 – 12 December 2011) was a Romanian singer who represented her country at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song " Eu cred" ("I Believe") and placed 22nd with six points, with all of her points com ...

. It was recorded at the TVR Music Studio in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, and was released as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

in 1998 by Mega Music in Romania. The release also contained "You Live", the English-language version of the song. "Eu cred" was written by Liliana Ștefan, while production was handled by . The track represented in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1998 The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, United Kingdom after winning the pre-selection show ''

Selecția Națională Romania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since its debut in , and has placed in the top ten six times. Its best results were achieved by Luminița Anghel and Sistem in , and by Paula Seling and Ovi in , who both finished ...

''. In Birmingham, Romania automatically qualified to the final due to their relegation in the previous year and finished in 22nd place with six points. This remains one of Romania's worst results ever in the contest. Commercially, "Eu cred" failed to impact any national chart.

Background and release

"Eu cred" was written by Liliana Ștefan, while production was handled by Adrian Romcescu. It was recorded by Mălina Olinescu at the TVR Music Studio in Bucharest, Romania, and

engineered Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more specializ ...

by Dani Constantin. Olinescu had previously risen to significant fame in Romania after competing in native TV music show ' in 1996. A

of "Eu cred" was released in 1998 by Mega Music in Romania, containing "You Live", the English-language version of the track, on its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. The CD came with a booklet featuring lyrics to both versions. Adrian Ștefănescu was credited for

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...

(A&R) services.

At Eurovision

On 14 March 1998, the ''Selecția Națională'' was held in order to select the Romanian entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. Subsequently, "Eu cred" was chosen after the votes of four regional jury panels, an expert jury panel and televoting results were combined; Olinescu had come second with the televotes. The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 took place at the

Arena Birmingham Arena Birmingham (known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Arena Birmingham, and previously as The Barclaycard Arena and originally as the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. It ...

in Birmingham, United Kingdom and consisted of the final on 9 May 1998. According to the then-Eurovision rules, selected countries were picked to participate in the final, including the host country. In 1998, Romania automatically qualified to the final due to their relegation in the previous year; Olinescu performed in 15th place, preceded by and followed by the . Her show used orchestral accompaniment

conducted Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties ...

by maestro Romcescu. Romania eventually came in 22nd position with six points awarded by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, which remains one of the country's lowest placements ever in the contest. The Romanian jury awarded its 12 points to the .

Track listing

*Romanian CD single #"Eu cred" – 3:03 #"You Live" – 3:00

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the CD single. ;Management *Published by Mega Music *Recorded at Studioul muzical al TVR (

, Romania) ;Personnel *Mălina Olinescu –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

*Dani Constantin –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

*Adrian Romcescu –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

*Liliana Ștefan –

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

*Adrian Ștefănescu –

(A&R)

Release history

References

{{authority control 1998 songs Eurovision songs of 1998 Eurovision songs of Romania Romanian songs