Country Romania Composer(s) Ionel Tudor Final result 9th | Language English Lyricist(s) Mirela Fugaru | |
Artist(s) Monica Anghel and Marcel Pavel | ||
"Tell Me Why" was the Romanian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002, performed in English by Monica Anghel and Marcel Pavel. This was the first Romanian entry not to be recorded in Romanian.
The song is a ballad, with the singers mourning the end of their relationship. They ask each other why it needs to end and wonder if the love was "only a foolish lie".
With her appearance at the Contest, Anghel achieved an unusual distinction. She had previously attempted to represent Romania at the 1996 Contest with "Rugă pentru pacea lumii", but had been unable to enter the main Contest due to the rules in place at the time. She thus became the first artist to have failed to appear at the main Contest in 1996 to make an appearance later. The second was Kaliopi who represented Macedonia in 2012 Contest after also failing in 1996.
The song was performed twenty-first on the night (following Malta's Ira Losco with "7th Wonder" and preceding Slovenia's Sestre with "Samo Ljubezen"). At the close of voting, it had received 71 points, placing 9th in a field of 24.
It was succeeded as Romanian representative at the 2003 Contest (the first time that Romania was not forced to skip a year's participation) by Nicola with "Don't Break My Heart".