It's My Life (Cezar song)

"It's My Life" was solely written and produced by Cristian Faur. It was released as a CD single through the Romanian 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. Musically, "It's My Life" has been described as an operatic pop and dubstep song,{{Cite news |date=1 March 2014 |title=Romania's participations in Eurovision – from "Beyond the Clouds" to "It's My Life" |publisher=Tribune Business News |id={{ProQuest|1503228878}}}} {{subscription required}}{{Cite news |date=11 May 2018 |title=Eurovision's greatest hits: 9 unforgettable New East entries that will make you cringe and cheer |publisher=The Calvert Journal |url=https://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/9956/eurovision-greatest-hits-new-east |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511125103/http://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/9956/eurovision-greatest-hits-new-east |archive-date=11 May 2018 |df=dmy-all}} with the latter genre being pronounced during the track's bridge which uses a sample bought from service Vengeance Audio.{{Cite news |last=Lee Adams, William |date=31 May 2013 |title=Romania: "It's My Life" Is Not Plagiarism |publisher=Wiwibloggs |url=http://wiwibloggs.com/2013/05/31/romania-cezars-its-my-life-is-not-plagiarism/27909/ |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726002128/http://wiwibloggs.com/2013/05/31/romania-cezars-its-my-life-is-not-plagiarism/27909/ |archive-date=26 July 2017 |df=dmy-all}} Faur referred to the song as an "electro pop opera" number, while Eduard Fernández from El Mundo regarded its genre as "unclassifiable".{{Cite news |date=9 May 2013 |title=Romanian electro-pop "love opera" |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/romanian-electro-pop-love-opera |url-status=live |access-date=11 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513200527/https://eurovision.tv/story/romanian-electro-pop-love-opera |archive-date=13 May 2018 |df=dmy-all}}{{Cite news |last=Fernández, Eduardo |date=19 May 2013 |title=Resbalón antológico de España en Malmö: Raquel del Rosario, la cantante de El sueño de Morfeo, actuó de amarillo y descalza, y su actuación sólo mereció el penúltimo puesto |language=es |trans-title=Spanish memorable slip in Malmö: Raquel del Rosario, the singer of Morfeo's Dream, performed in yellow and barefoot, and her performance only earned the second to last place |work=El Mundo |id={{ProQuest|1352872393}}}} {{subscription required}} "It's My Life" is a love song and its instrumentation consists of "angy" electronic{{Cite news |last=Chebu, Anne |date=19 May 2013 |title=Cezar: Gefeierter Opernstar aus Rumänien |language=de |trans-title=Cezar: Famous opera star from Romania |publisher=Eurovision.de. ARD |url=https://www.eurovision.de/teilnehmer/Cezar-Biografie-des-rumaenischen-ESC-Teilnehmers,cezar105.html |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721022831/http://www.eurovision.de/teilnehmer/Cezar-Biografie-des-rumaenischen-ESC-Teilnehmers,cezar105.html |archive-date=21 July 2017 |df=dmy-all}} beats taken from a "working men's club", as noted by The Times. An editor of the aforementioned publication compared Cezar's prominent use of his falsetto register during the song to Scottish singer Jimmy Somerville and Australian musician Nick Cave;{{Cite news |date=25 May 2013 |title=We may mock, but Eurovision is actually a big gay Trojan horse: Caitlin Moran on TV |work=The Times |id={{ProQuest|1355255466}}}} {{subscription required}} another critic thought he sounded "feminine".

Upon its release, "It's My Life" was met with mixed reactions from music critics. An editor of Tribune Business News wrote that the song had one of the best refrains among Romania's Eurovision entries, while The Daily Edge ranked it fourth in their list of "14 best Eurovision songs in recent years".{{Cite news |date=12 May 2018 |title=Just 14 of the best Eurovision songs in recent years |work=The Daily Edge |url=http://www.dailyedge.ie/best-eurovision-entries-3963878-May2018/ |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513060314/http://www.dailyedge.ie/best-eurovision-entries-3963878-May2018/ |archive-date=13 May 2018 |df=dmy-all}} Fans of the recording include Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler.{{Cite news |date=12 May 2013 |title=Eurovision 2013: Bonnie Tyler voteaza cu Cezar, reprezentantul Romaniei |language=ro |trans-title=Eurovision 2013: Bonnie Tyler votes for Cezar, Romania's entrant |publisher=Ziare.de |url=http://www.ziare.com/eurovision/melodii/eurovision-2013-bonnie-tyler-voteaza-cu-cezar-reprezentantul-romaniei-1234927 |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711152258/http://www.ziare.com/eurovision/melodii/eurovision-2013-bonnie-tyler-voteaza-cu-cezar-reprezentantul-romaniei-1234927 |archive-date=11 July 2015 |df=dmy-all}} Reviewers from Wiwibloggs 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.{{Cite news |last=Lee Adams, William |date=4 May 2013 |title=Wiwi Jury: Romania's Cezar Ouatu with "It's My Life" |publisher=Wiwibloggs |url=http://wiwibloggs.com/2013/05/04/wiwi-jury-romanias-cezar-ouatu-with-its-my-life/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716220909/http://wiwibloggs.com/2013/05/04/wiwi-jury-romanias-cezar-ouatu-with-its-my-life/ |archive-date=16 July 2018 |df=dmy-all}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Honciuc, Bogdan |date=24 April 2016 |title=Poll: What is your favourite Eurovision song from Romania? |publisher=Wiwibloggs |url=http://wiwibloggs.com/2016/04/24/poll-your-favourite-romanian-song-eurovision/138714/ |url-status=live |access-date=3 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704070837/http://wiwibloggs.com/2016/04/24/poll-your-favourite-romanian-song-eurovision/138714/ |archive-date=4 July 2017}} In a more negative review, Adam Postans of The People satirically called it a "potential sanitary towel advert anthem".{{Cite news |last=Postans, Adam |date=19 May 2013 |title=Nul points to No1 |publisher=The People |id={{ProQuest|1352890382}}}} {{subscription required}} Ryan Barrell of Huffington Post criticized the track's use of dubstep elements as "utterly ridiculous".

File:A2-A4-02.jpg, on which a part of the song's music video was filmed portraying Cezar driving a Mercedes SL350 car.|alt=Photograph of a motorway at sunset.]]

An accompanying music video for "It's My Life" was uploaded to Cezar's official YouTube channel on 1 May 2013,{{Cite news |date=1 May 2013 |title=Cezar – It's My Life – Official HD Video |publisher=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQV0TSsY2L4 |url-status=live |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206223909/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQV0TSsY2L4 |archive-date=6 December 2014 |df=dmy-all}} and was also exclusively premiered on the same date on TVR's Telejurnal segment.{{Cite news |last=Cerban, Mădălina |date=29 April 2013 |title=Cezar lansează videoclipul piesei "It's My Life" pe 1 mai |language=ro |trans-title=Cezar releases the music video for "It's My Life" on 1 May |publisher=Mediafax |url=http://www.mediafax.ro/life-inedit/eurovision-2013-cezar-lanseaza-videoclipul-piesei-it-s-my-life-pe-1-mai-foto-video-10818467 |url-status=live |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617195258/http://www.mediafax.ro/life-inedit/eurovision-2013-cezar-lanseaza-videoclipul-piesei-it-s-my-life-pe-1-mai-foto-video-10818467 |archive-date=17 June 2013 |df=dmy-all}} It was filmed by Cristian Faur in Romania at the Mamaia resort, Cliceni aerodrome, city Ploiești and on the A2 motorway. Production was handled by Artside, Cat Music and Radu Hantig, while director of photography Alexandru Prepeliţă and make-up artist Ruxandra Mihaia Caranfil were also hired. Magdalena Ciubotariu and Vlad Tofan were credited for screenplay and direction. The clip's "full of adrenaline" plot presents Cezar parasailing, driving a Mercedes SL350 and parachuting, as well as showing up with model Sarah Ioana Mircea. 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!'"

To further promote the song, Cezar embarked on a tour in Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Belgium.{{Cite news |date=20 April 2013 |title=Cezar lucrează la videoclipul piesei "It's My Life", care va reprezenta România la Eurovision |language=ro |trans-title=Cezar is working on the music video for "It's My Life", which will represent Romania at Eurovision |work=Adevărul |url=https://adevarul.ro/entertainment/muzica/cezar-lucreaza-videoclipul-piesei-its-my-life-reprezenta-romania-eurovision-1_517264df053c7dd83f2a1c5a/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=11 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703101023/http://adevarul.ro/entertainment/muzica/cezar-lucreaza-videoclipul-piesei-its-my-life-reprezenta-romania-eurovision-1_517264df053c7dd83f2a1c5a/index.html |archive-date=3 July 2013 |df=dmy-all}} In 2017, Macedonian singer Tijana Dapčević sang "It's My Life" and impersonated Cezar on Tvoje lice zvuči poznato, the Serbian version of interactive reality television franchise series Your Face Sounds Familiar.{{Cite news |last=Knoops, Roy |date=21 November 2017 |title=Serbia: Your Face Sounds Familiar celebrates Eurovision |publisher=EscToday |url=http://esctoday.com/153072/serbia-face-sounds-familiar-celebrates-eurovision/ |url-status=live |access-date=11 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124192334/http://esctoday.com/153072/serbia-face-sounds-familiar-celebrates-eurovision/ |archive-date=24 November 2017 |df=dmy-all}} On the Romanian version of the aforementioned series, Te cunosc de undeva!, Romanian recording artist Florin Ristei performed the song in 2014.{{Cite news |date=15 November 2014 |title=Cezar Ouatu – "It's My Life". Vezi transformarea lui Florin Ristei la "Te cunosc de undeva!" |language=ro |trans-title=Cezar Oatu – "It's My Life". See the transformation of Florin Ristei at "Te cunosc de undeva!" |publisher=TV Happy |url=http://tvhappy.ro/video/antena-1/te-cunosc-de-undeva/cezar-ouatu-its-my-life-vezi-transformarea-lui-florin-ristei-la-te-cunosc-de-undeva-id194107.html |access-date=11 July 2018}}

{{Main|Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013}}

The Romanian Television (TVR) organized the Selecția Națională in order to select Romania's entrant for the 2013 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" by Luminița 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.{{Cite AV media |title=Selecția Națională 2013}} 23 February 2013 – 9 March 2013.{{Cite news |last=Busa, Alexandru |date=13 January 2013 |title=Romanian national final on 9 March |publisher=EscToday |url=http://www.esctoday.com/41850/romania-national-final-on-9-march/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619063514/http://esctoday.com/41850/romania-national-final-on-9-march/ |archive-date=19 June 2018 |df=dmy-all}}{{Cite news |last=Storvik-Green, Simon |date=13 January 2013 |title=Romanian selection details announced |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |url=https://eurovision.tv/page/news?id=71373&_t=romanian_selection_details_announced |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231938/https://eurovision.tv/page/news?id=71373&_t=romanian_selection_details_announced |archive-date=3 March 2016}}

File:ESC2013_-_Romania_02_(crop).jpg. He is placed on red material and stands between fluorescent lighting tubes, wearing a black sequin cloak.|alt=A man performing onstage, wearing a black sequin cloak.]]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 took place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, 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.{{Cite AV media |title=Eurovision Song Contest 2013 |date=14–16 May 2013 |place=Malmö, Sweden}} Cezar sang 17th in the second semi-final following Switzerland, while he performed 14th in the Grand Final following Netherlands and preceding the United Kingdom.

Cezar's performance begins with him standing between red and blue fluorescent lighting tubes that are lowered to the stage by a rigging mechanism. He wears a long black sequin cloak and is placed on red material. Behind the singer, the LED 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 perform interpretive 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".{{Cite news |date=18 May 2013 |title=Cezar – It's My Life (Romania) – Live – 2013 Grand Final |publisher=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgHWFiavqjA |url-status=live |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516195021/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgHWFiavqjA |archive-date=16 May 2018 |df=dmy-all}}{{Cite news |date=11 May 2013 |title=Cezar reaches for the skies with his voice |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |url=https://eurovision.tv/story/cezar-reaches-for-the-skies-with-his-voice |url-status=live |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513230019/https://eurovision.tv/story/cezar-reaches-for-the-skies-with-his-voice |archive-date=13 May 2018 |df=dmy-all}}

The performance was received with mixed reviews from critics. An editor of The Times thought it was of a "hysterically camp nature" and likened Cezar's appearance to Flash Gordon character Ming the Merciless (1934). While comparing Cezar to Dracula, Geoff Tibballs, in his book The Good, the Bad and the Wurst: The 100 Craziest Moments from the Eurovision Song Contest, labelled the performance as "gloriously over-the-top".{{Cite news |last=Tibballs, Geoff |date=2016 |title=The Good, the Bad and the Wurst: The 100 Craziest Moments from the Eurovision Song Contest |publisher=Little, Brown Book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUU9CgAAQBAJ&q=cezar+it%27s+my+life+eurovision&pg=PT156 |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716220911/https://books.google.de/books?id=TUU9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT156&dq=cezar+it%27s+my+life+eurovision&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXrbOnsZDcAhVGD5oKHX_oCGIQ6AEIOzAD#v=onepage&q=cezar%20it's%20my%20life%20eurovision&f=false |archive-date=16 July 2018 |isbn=9781472137074 |df=dmy-all}} Several publications included Cezar's show in their lists of Eurovision's most outstanding and peculiar performances, including The Calvert Journal, The Irish Post,{{Cite news |last=Beresford, Jack |date=8 May 2018 |title=16 of the most wonderfully weird Eurovision entries ever witnessed |publisher=The Irish Post |url=https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/16-weird-eurovision-entries-154441 |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716220913/https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/16-weird-eurovision-entries-154441 |archive-date=16 July 2018 |df=dmy-all}} Cosmopolitan,{{Cite magazine |last=Hodgson, Claire |date=11 May 2018 |title=9 of Eurovision's most surreal and ridiculous performances ever |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/news/a35906/eurovision-weirdest-funniest-performances/ |url-status=live |magazine=Cosmopolitan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511183511/https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/news/a35906/eurovision-weirdest-funniest-performances/ |archive-date=11 May 2018 |access-date=9 July 2018 |df=dmy-all}} SheKnows,{{Cite news |last=Gillespie, Claire |date=22 May 2015 |title=8 Craziest Eurovision Song Contest performances of all time |publisher=SheKnows |url=https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1084622/8-craziest-eurovision-song-contest-performances-of-all-time |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119170918/http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1084622/8-craziest-eurovision-song-contest-performances-of-all-time |archive-date=19 January 2017 |df=dmy-all}} The Reykjavík Grapevine,{{Cite news |last=Friðriksdóttir, Maria |date=23 May 2015 |title=8 Eurovision Performances That Really Stood Out |publisher=The Reykjavík Grapevine |url=https://grapevine.is/culture/2015/05/23/8-eurovision-performances-that-really-stood-out/ |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318054621/http://grapevine.is/culture/2015/05/23/8-eurovision-performances-that-really-stood-out/ |archive-date=18 March 2016 |df=dmy-all}} MTV UK,{{Cite news |date=22 May 2015 |title=The most WTF Eurovision moments ever (which is really all of them, isn't it) |publisher=MTV UK |url=https://www.mtv.co.uk/news/irjpv6/the-most-wtf-eurovision-moments-ever-which-is-really-all-of-them-isnt-it |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525000029/http://www.mtv.co.uk/tv/news/the-most-wtf-eurovision-moments-ever-which-is-really-all-of-them-isnt-it |archive-date=25 May 2015 |df=dmy-all}} and the Huffington Post.{{Cite news |last=Barrell, Ryan |date=13 May 2016 |title=The Most Ridiculous Moments From The Eurovision Song Contest |work=Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/eurovision-song-contest-2016_uk_5735d318e4b0f0f53e361ecd |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608025527/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/eurovision-song-contest-2016_uk_5735d318e4b0f0f53e361ecd |archive-date=8 June 2017 |df=dmy-all}}

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 from Malta, Iceland, Israel and Greece, eight from Azerbaijan, and seven from Germany.{{Cite news |title=Eurovision 2013 Semi-final 3 Results |publisher=Eurovision World |url=https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/2013/semi-final-2#romania |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401005243/https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/2013/semi-final-2#romania |archive-date=1 April 2018 |df=dmy-all}} In the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, Romania finished in 13th position, gathering a total of 65 points, including ten awarded by Moldova and Greece, seven by Malta and six by Norway, Iceland and Azerbaijan.{{Cite news |title=Eurovision 2013 Results: Voting & Points |publisher=Eurovision World |url=https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/2013#romania |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716220911/https://eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/2013#romania |archive-date=16 July 2018 |df=dmy-all}}

• Romanian CD single

1. "It's My Life" – 3:00
2. "It's My Life (Karaoke Version)" – 3:00

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest}}

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2013}}

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Category:2013 singles

Category:2013 songs

Category:English-language Romanian songs

Category:Eurovision songs of 2013

Category:Eurovision songs of Romania