ESC 2011, semi-final 2 - Moldova

Zdob şi Zdub is a Moldovan band, based in Chişinău, their music contains elements of hip-hop, hardcore punk and traditional Moldovan music and Roma music. Zdob şi Zdub represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 were they came 6th and the band will represent Moldova once more in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany.

At the moment the band consists of: Roman Iagupov - vocals, flute, ocarina, yorgaphone and other ethnic instruments - original member, Mihai Gîncu - usually bass guitar, drums 2003-2004 - original member, Sveatoslav Starus - guitar - in the band 1996-2004, returned in 2010, Andrei Cebotari - drums, 2000–2003 - returned in 2010, Victor Dandeş - trombone, accordion, ethnic instruments - in the band since 2001 and Valeriu Mazîlu - trumpet, bagpipe - in the band since 2001.

The band was formed in 1994. They have gone through various line-ups. Their initial sound was rather hardcore and the lyrics were mostly in Russian. They played at the 10 Years After Chernobyl Action in Chişinău, warmed up for Rage Against the Machine at the Learn to Swim II Festival in 1996. Around 1998, their sound began to change, embracing traditional Romanian/Moldovan music and with lyrics entirely in Romanian. On August 14, 1999, Zdob şi Zdub played as part of the Russian MTV-Party, held on Red Square in Moscow, along with Russian bands Gorky Park and IFK and U.S. band Red Hot Chili Peppers. The band has toured extensively, mostly in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania, but also in Germany (1998) and the Netherlands (2000), and more recently in Serbia, Hungary, and Italy. On January 31, 2001, in Moscow, Zdob şi Zdub performed with musician and film director Emir Kusturica and his No Smoking Orchestra. The video of their song Bună Dimineaţa!, a tongue-in-cheek evocation of the agro-romanticism of the Stalinist-era Soviet Union and its satellites was awarded Romanian video clip of the year (2001) at the Televest Festival in Timişoara, Romania. The following year they won the equivalent MTV Romania Video Music Award for Ţiganii şi OZN.
In 2003, the band's song Everybody in the Case Mare was featured over the opening and closing credits of the short film Călătorie la oraş Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu.

On February 26 2005, the band won the Moldovan national pre-selection contest to claim the right to represent Moldova in its first ever appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, with their song Boonika Bate Toba which came 6th. After the ESC of 2005 the band had a more quiet period but in 2011 they won the Moldovan pre-selection for the ESC again, so they will represent Moldova in Germany with the song So Lucky.