| "On a Sunday" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover artwork for the original release. | ||||
| Single by Ester Peony | ||||
| Released | 17 January 2019 | |||
| Genre | Electropop | |||
| Length | 3:01 | |||
| Label | Independent | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ioana Victoria Badea | |||
| Ester Peony singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "On a Sunday" on YouTube | ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2019 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist(s) | ||||
| Language | English | |||
| Composer(s) |
| |||
| Lyricist(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 13th | |||
| Semi-final points | 71 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Goodbye" (2018) | ||||
| "Alcohol You" (2020) ► | ||||
"On a Sunday" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Ester Peony. It was independently released for digital download and streaming as a single on 17 January 2019. Ioana Victoria Badea wrote the lyrics, while Peony composed the music alongside Alexandru Șerbu. Musically, the track is a mid-tempo blues, R&B, soul and 2000s-influenced electropop ballad backed by percussion, guitar, synthesizers and trance beats. Its lyrics discuss a failed relationship and include Peony reflecting upon a former love interest and the futile idea that he might return. Observers likened the track to the American folk song "The Wayfaring Stranger".
"On a Sunday" represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel, after winning the pre-selection show Selecția Națională. The country failed to qualify for the final, marking their second and consecutive year to achieve this result. During a large portion of Peony's acclaimed goth-inspired performance, Peony was singing from a red armchair while accompanying dancers enacted a battle between good and evil visually amplified by various dark graphics showed on the LED screens. The show was the first one in Romania's Eurovision participation history to be significantly invested in by the Romanian Television (TVR), with costs amounting to a reported 100,000 euros.
The track was met with mixed reviews from music critics upon its release, with some praising its production, contemporary nature and Peony's vocal delivery. To promote "On a Sunday", Peony performed the song on multiple radio and television stations in Romania, as well as on Eurovision-related occasions in the Netherlands and Spain. A well-received accompanying music video was uploaded to Cat Music's YouTube channel on 10 March 2019. Directed by Petre Năstase at Casa Monteoru in Bucharest, the video shows Peony wearing multiple outfits while investigating a haunted house.