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“Choke Me” is a song by Romanian singer Alexandra Căpitănescu. The song is set to represent Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 after winning the national final Selecția națională 2026.

History

Căpitănescu wrote the song with Călin Grajdan and Silitră Elvis Claudiu based on a beat Grajdan had on his laptop;[1] The song also credits Ștefan Condrea as co-writer[2] and was described by Louder as a nu-metal song.[3] On 13 February, the song was announced to be taking part in the Romanian national final Selecția națională[4] and released. On 2 March, the running order was made public, announcing that Căpitănescu would be performing eleventh out of twelve performers.[5] After Selecția națională occurred on 4 March, it was revealed that Căpitănescu won the contest.[2] She released a music video for the song later that month.[6]

The song drew controversy for its title and subject matter, with the phrase “choke me,” repeated thirty times in the song, being criticized for glamorising strangulation and sexual violence.[7] Campaigners against sexual violence have described the song as “reckless,” drawing specific focus on the lyrics “I want you to choke me” and “make my lungs explode”.[3] Clare McGlynn, a professor at Durham University, said that the song was “playing fast and loose with young women’s lives”; Căpitănescu defended her song by arguing that the song’s message was metaphorical and representative being overwhelmed by emotion and self-doubt.[8]

On 18 March, TVR released a statement further defending Căpitănescu and the song, stating that the song’s stage concept was intended to “highlight the metaphorical nature” and “exclude any literal interpretation of the lyrics.”[9]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and will consist of two semi-finals to be held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026.[10] During the allocation draw held on 12 January 2026, Romania was drawn to compete in the second semi-final, competing in the first half of the show.[11]

References

  1. ^ “Eurovision2026/ INTERVIEW Alexandra Capitanescu: We are aiming high, Romania deserves a moment of glory – AGERPRES”. agerpres.ro. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b “Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu wins Selecția Națională 2026 – to Eurovision with “Choke Me”“. Eurovisionworld. 4 March 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b Brannigan, Paul (13 March 2026). ““The song represents a reckless normalisation of a dangerous practice.” Romania’s nu metal-styled Eurovision Song Contest entry Choke Me under fire for allegedly promoting sexual strangulation”. Louder. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  4. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (12 February 2026). “Romania: TVR unveils the Selectia Nationala finalists”. Eurovision News, Polls and Information by ESCToday. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  5. ^ De-re, Julien (2 March 2026). “🇷🇴 Romania: Selecția Națională 2026 Running Order Revealed”. Eurovoix. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  6. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (13 March 2026). “Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu releases the official music video of ‘Choke Me’“. Eurovision News, Polls and Information by ESCToday. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  7. ^ Wilkes, Emma (13 March 2026). “Romania’s Eurovision entry criticised for allegedly “glamorising sexual strangulation”“. NME. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  8. ^ Vinter, Robyn (13 March 2026). “Romania’s Eurovision song criticised for ‘glamorising sexual strangulation’“. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  9. ^ Granger, Anthony (18 March 2026). “🇷🇴 Romania: TVR Responds to Criticism of “Choke Me”“. Eurovoix. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  10. ^ “Vienna announced as host city for Eurovision song contest 2026”. The Guardian. 20 August 2025. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  11. ^ “Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Draw results”. Eurovision Song Contest. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.