Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Romanian entry was selected through a national final, organised by the Romanian broadcaster Romanian Television (TVR). Mandinga represented Romania with the song "Zaleilah", which qualified 3rd from the first semi-final and went on to place 12th in the final, scoring 71 points.

In early January 2012, Romania's participation remained unconfirmed. The online portal of one of Romania's newspapers, Cotidianul, assumed that Romania was not going to enter the 2012 edition of the contest due the lack of foundation, but TVR officials did not confirm this claim. It was subsequently announced that Romania would take part in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. TVR pressured the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to lower the entry fee and stated that participation was only possible if 40% of all the costs that may occur could be funded by a sponsor.

It was announced that TVR had tried to convince worldwide-topping artist Inna to represent Romania in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest by internal selection, but she refused the offer as she was busy with her I Am the Club Rocker Tour, for promoting her album with the same name.

TVR has announced in February that prospective participant should submit their entry between February 6 and February 23 which then initiated the process of verification that the rules have been obeyed and this will then lead the songs to proceed to a short-listing process by a jury of mass-media professionals. The TVR had said officially the rules in the Romanian television on February 5, 2012: "If rules are found not to have been obeyed, the entries will be automatically disqualified. If the jury considers the artist as not appropriate for the song, they will recommend another artist from the list for the final. A participation fee of 150 RON (€34.50) is being perceived." The grand final was in Bucharest on March 10.

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Wikipedia