Playing with Fire (Paula Seling and Ovi song)

"Playing with Fire"
"Playing with Fire"
	One of the various cover artworks used to commercialize "Playing with Fire"
Single by Paula Seling and Ovi
from the album Playing with Fire
Released	2010
Length	3:00
Label	TVR; TMC; AXR;
Songwriter(s)	Ovidiu Cernăuțeanu
Producer(s)	Simen M. Eriksrud
Paula Seling singles chronology
Ovi singles chronology
Eurovision Song Contest 2010 entry
Country	Romania
Artist(s)	Paula Seling and Ovidiu Cernăuțeanu
As	Paula Seling and Ovi
Languages	English
Composer(s)	Simen M. Eriksrud
Lyricist(s)	Ovidiu Cernăuțeanu
Finals performance
Semi-final result	4th
Semi-final points	104
Final result	3rd
Final points	162
Entry chronology
	◄ "The Balkan Girls" (2009)
	"Change" (2011) ►

"Playing with Fire" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Paula Seling and Romanian-Norwegian performer Ovidiu Cernăuțeanu for their 2010 collaborative album of the same name. It was released as a CD single in 2010 by TVR, TMC and AXR labels. Partly influenced by opera music, the track was written by Ovi and produced by Simen M. Eriksrud. The lyrics of "Playing with Fire" portray a fight between a male and a female, with a reviewer speculating that it revolved around arson, a crime of intentionally, deliberately and maliciously setting fire to buildings or other properties with the intent to cause damage.

The track represented Romania in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Norway after winning the pre-selection show Selecția Națională. Seling and Ovi's win sparked controversy after it was speculated that Eriksrud was one of the writers of "Playing with Fire", which was not permitted by the rules of the national selection as he is not of Romanian origin. The accusations were denied and it was later confirmed that Eriksrud only produced the track. In Oslo, the singers qualified for the Grand Final, where they finished third with 162 points. This remains Romania's best result in the contest alongside 2005's "Let Me Try" by Luminița Anghel and Sistem. Onstage, Seling and Ovi played a double piano wearing a black catsuit and black clothing, respectively, accompanied by four background vocalists.

Music critics gave positive reviews of the song, and it was named one of the contest's highlights. "Playing with Fire" also won an award in the Pop Song of the Year category at the 2011 Radio România Actualități Awards. Commercially, the track charted within the top 30 in Norway and Sweden after the contest. Its promotion consisted of various live performances and endeavours,^[1] as well as the release of an accompanying music video on 6 April 2010 on YouTube. Filmed in Romania and Austria, it was shot by Mihnea De Vries and executive produced by Eduard Schneider. The visual portrays Seling and Ovi fighting in a video game theme, embodying several characters, and is the first usage of the motion capture technique in Romania. Over the years, "Playing with Fire" was covered by singers such as Ilinca Băcilă and Alex Florea.^[2]

^
Citations regarding the live performances of "Playing with Fire":
- Brădeanu, Lia (22 March 2010). "Paula Seling si Ovi, in turneu de promovare a piesei "Playing with Fire"" [Paula Seling and Ovi in a promotion tour for "Playing with Fire"] (in Romanian). Informația Zilei. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- "Moş Crăciun şi Mary Christmas cântă "Playing with Fire" la TVR 1" [Santa Claus and Mary Christmas sing "Playing with Fire" at TVR 1]. Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). 22 December 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- "Paula Seling si Ovi – Playing with fire" [Paula Seling and Ovi – "Playing with Fire"] (in Romanian). Antena 1. 23 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- "Paula Seling si Ovi i-au cucerit pe turci. Urmeaza Marea Britanie si Norvegia" [Pala Seling and Ovi impressed the Turks. United Kingdom and Norway will follow] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 29 April 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- Țimonea, Dorin (19 March 2010). "Paula şi Ovi, în era "Avatar"" [Paula and Ovi, in the "Avatar" era]. Adevărul (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
^ "Sunstroke Project au aniversat 10 ani de succes intr-un super show alaturi de o parte din participantii la Eurovision 2017" [Substroke Project celebrate 10 years of success with a show with a part of the Eurovision 2017 contestants] (in Romanian). Star Gossip Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.

[1] Citations regarding the live performances of "Playing with Fire":
Brădeanu, Lia (22 March 2010). "Paula Seling si Ovi, in turneu de promovare a piesei "Playing with Fire"" [Paula Seling and Ovi in a promotion tour for "Playing with Fire"] (in Romanian). Informația Zilei. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

"Moş Crăciun şi Mary Christmas cântă "Playing with Fire" la TVR 1" [Santa Claus and Mary Christmas sing "Playing with Fire" at TVR 1]. Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). 22 December 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

"Paula Seling si Ovi – Playing with fire" [Paula Seling and Ovi – "Playing with Fire"] (in Romanian). Antena 1. 23 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

"Paula Seling si Ovi i-au cucerit pe turci. Urmeaza Marea Britanie si Norvegia" [Pala Seling and Ovi impressed the Turks. United Kingdom and Norway will follow] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 29 April 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

Țimonea, Dorin (19 March 2010). "Paula şi Ovi, în era "Avatar"" [Paula and Ovi, in the "Avatar" era]. Adevărul (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

[2] Brădeanu, Lia (22 March 2010). "Paula Seling si Ovi, in turneu de promovare a piesei "Playing with Fire"" [Paula Seling and Ovi in a promotion tour for "Playing with Fire"] (in Romanian). Informația Zilei. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

[3] "Moş Crăciun şi Mary Christmas cântă "Playing with Fire" la TVR 1" [Santa Claus and Mary Christmas sing "Playing with Fire" at TVR 1]. Evenimentul Zilei (in Romanian). 22 December 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

[4] "Paula Seling si Ovi – Playing with fire" [Paula Seling and Ovi – "Playing with Fire"] (in Romanian). Antena 1. 23 February 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

[5] "Paula Seling si Ovi i-au cucerit pe turci. Urmeaza Marea Britanie si Norvegia" [Pala Seling and Ovi impressed the Turks. United Kingdom and Norway will follow] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 29 April 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

[6] Țimonea, Dorin (19 March 2010). "Paula şi Ovi, în era "Avatar"" [Paula and Ovi, in the "Avatar" era]. Adevărul (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.

[2] "Sunstroke Project au aniversat 10 ani de succes intr-un super show alaturi de o parte din participantii la Eurovision 2017" [Substroke Project celebrate 10 years of success with a show with a part of the Eurovision 2017 contestants] (in Romanian). Star Gossip Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.

[1]

[2]