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Choke Me

"Choke Me"
Single by Alexandra Căpitănescu
LanguageEnglish
Released13 February 2026 (2026-02-13)
GenreNu metal
Length2:58
LabelUniversal Music Romania
Songwriters
  • Alexandra Căpitănescu
  • Călin Grajdan
  • Silitră Elvis Claudiu
  • Ștefan Condrea
Producers
  • Călin Grajdan
  • Silitră Elvis Claudiu
Music video
"Choke Me" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2026 entry
Country
Artist
Alexandra Căpitănescu
Composers
  • Alexandra Căpitănescu
  • Călin Grajdan
  • Ștefan Condrea
  • Silitră Elvis Claudiu
Lyricists
  • Alexandra Căpitănescu
  • Silitră Elvis Claudiu
Finals performance
Semi-final result
2nd
Semi-final points
234
Final result
3rd
Final points
296
Entry chronology
◄ "D.G.T. (Off and On)" (2023)

"Choke Me" (Romanian: Sufocă-mă) is a song by Romanian singer Alexandra Căpitănescu. The song represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 and finished in third place, becoming their highest scoring entry with 296 points.[1][2]

History

On 13 February, the song was announced to be taking part in the Romanian national final Selecția națională 2026[3] and was also released. On 2 March, the running order was made public, announcing that Căpitănescu would be performing eleventh out of twelve performers.[4] After Selecția națională occurred on 4 March, it was revealed that Căpitănescu won the contest.[5] She released a music video for the song later that month.[6]

The song drew controversy for its title and subject matter, with the phrase "choke me," repeated thirty times in the song, being criticized for glamorising erotic asphyxiation, strangulation and sexual violence.[7] Campaigners against sexual violence have described the song as "reckless," drawing specific focus on the lyrics "I want you to choke me" and "make my lungs explode".[8] Clare McGlynn, a professor at Durham University, said that the song was “playing fast and loose with young women’s lives”; Căpitănescu defended her song by arguing that the song's message was metaphorical and representative of being overwhelmed by emotion and self-doubt.[9]

After it was confirmed that the song had reached the final of Selecția națională,[10] Căpitănescu was asked "...what message did she want to convey through her song?"[10] and she responded "Choke me" is a call of desperation, because you're reaching your limit and all you want is to "suffocate" yourself with self-love and gentleness towards yourself. When we don't put obstacles in our way, we can reach our full potential. Let's speak our minds and free ourselves from the fears of the past."[10] as well as commenting that Romanian pop musician Majii had contributed to writing the lyrics for the song.[10][11][12] Căpitănescu further commented that "'The song is not about a man or romantic love, it's only about us and about the feeling of any human being and about the power [to] go beyond your limits and be the best versions of yourself,'...”.[13]

On the 18 March, TVR released a statement further defending Căpitănescu and the song, stating that the song's stage concept was intended to "highlight the metaphorical nature" and "exclude any literal interpretation of the lyrics."[14]

Composition

Căpitănescu wrote the song with Călin Grajdan and Silitră Elvis Claudiu based on a beat Grajdan had on his laptop[15] and the song also credits Ștefan Condrea as co-writer.[5]

It was described by Louder as a nu-metal song[8] and it includes elements of metal, rock, pop and includes a vocal phrase that is reminiscent of operatic vocals and Căpitănescu has commented that "It's a mix of several musical genres, but that's my madness because I like music in all its forms."[10]

Eurovision Song Contest 2026

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 took place at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consisted of two semi-finals held on 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026.[16] During the allocation draw held on 12 January 2026, Romania was drawn to compete in the second semi-final, competing in the first half of the show.[17] It qualified for the final and received 3rd place.[18]

Charts

Chart performance for "Choke Me"
Chart (2026) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[19] 13
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[20] 14
Greece International (IFPI)[21] 4
Lithuania (AGATA)[22] 7
Romania (Billboard)[23] 3
Romania Airplay (TopHit)[24] 73
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 48
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 89
UK Singles Sales (OCC)[27] 27
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[28] 14

See also

References

  1. ^ "Alexandra Căpitănescu to represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026". romania-insider.com. romania-insider. 5 March 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026. Romanians chose their representative for the 2026 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest on March 4, during the national final... ...Alexandra, originally from Galați, is a student at the Faculty of Physics in Bucharest. In 2023, when she was just 19, she won the Romanian version of "The Voice." [Vocea României]. Alexandra, who told judges of the show that she aims to be a medical physicist, always had a passion for music... ...At 15, she went on the stage of "Românii au talent" (Romania's Got Talent). At that time, popstar and presenter Smiley noticed her talent and encouraged her to try for The Voice.
  2. ^ "Romania: Who Is Alexandra Căpitănescu?". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. 8 April 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026. The 23rd artist in our Who Is series for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is Alexandra Căpitănescu from Romania. Alexandra Căpitănescu was born on July 31, 2003 in Galați in eastern Romania. She started studying singing and piano at the age of 10. She graduated from the Faculty of Physics in Bucharest. In 2023, Căpitănescu participated in the eleventh season of Vocea României and won. The following year, she released her debut EP "Căpitanu'". Since January of this year, she has been a temporary member of the folk-metal band E-an-na.
  3. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (12 February 2026). "Romania: TVR unveils the Selectia Nationala finalists". Eurovision News, Polls and Information by ESCToday. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  4. ^ De-re, Julien (2 March 2026). "🇷🇴 Romania: Selecția Națională 2026 Running Order Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu wins Selecția Națională 2026 – to Eurovision with "Choke Me"". Eurovisionworld. 4 March 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  6. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (13 March 2026). "Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu releases the official music video of 'Choke Me'". Eurovision News, Polls and Information by ESCToday. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  7. ^ Wilkes, Emma (13 March 2026). "Romania's Eurovision entry criticised for allegedly "glamorising sexual strangulation"". NME. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  8. ^ a b Brannigan, Paul (13 March 2026). ""The song represents a reckless normalisation of a dangerous practice." Romania's nu metal-styled Eurovision Song Contest entry Choke Me under fire for allegedly promoting sexual strangulation". Louder. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  9. ^ Vinter, Robyn (13 March 2026). "Romania's Eurovision song criticised for 'glamorising sexual strangulation'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Alexandra Căpitănescu, about her song in the Eurovision Romania 2026 final: "Everyone is excited"". libertatea.ro. Libertatea. 16 December 2023. Archived from the original on 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026. Libertatea:What does the title of the song "Choke Me" actually mean and what message do you want to convey through this song? Căpitănescu: "Choke me" is a call of desperation, because you're reaching your limit and all you want is to "suffocate" yourself with self-love and gentleness towards yourself. When we don't put obstacles in our way, we can reach our full potential. Let's speak our minds and free ourselves from the fears of the past. Libertatea: What was the creative process like and how did the piece come about from idea to final version? Căpitănescu: Everything happened naturally... ...I worked on it until I brought it to the final version. Together with Majii, I wrote the lyrics and that's how the story took shape. It's a mix of several musical genres, but that's my madness because I like music in all its forms.
  11. ^ "Majii". viberate.com. Viberate. Retrieved 2 May 2026. A native of Bucharest, Majii is a pop musician from Romania.
  12. ^ "Majii". globalrecords.com. Global Records. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  13. ^ "Romania performer defends 'Choke Me' song that has stirred Eurovision contest controversy". Associated Press. 5 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026. Alexandra Căpitănescu, replied to a question asked by The AP before her band's departure for Vienna for the contest final on how she feels about the stir the song caused... ..."The song is not about a man or romantic love, it's only about us and about the feeling of any human being and about the power [to] go beyond your limits and be the best versions of yourself," said Căpitănescu.
  14. ^ Granger, Anthony (18 March 2026). "🇷🇴 Romania: TVR Responds to Criticism of "Choke Me"". Eurovoix. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Eurovision2026/ Interview Alexandra Capitanescu: We are aiming high, Romania deserves a moment of glory - AGERPRES". agerpres.ro. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Vienna announced as host city for Eurovision song contest 2026". The Guardian. 20 August 2025. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  17. ^ "Vienna 2026: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision Song Contest. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Bangaranga! Bulgaria wins Eurovision – but UK comes last". BBC. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  19. ^ "Alexandra+C%26%23259%3Bpit%26%23259%3Bnescu – Choke Me" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  20. ^ "Alexandra Căpitănescu: Choke Me" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  21. ^ "Official IFPI Charts − Digital Singles Chart (International) − Εβδομάδα: 20/2026" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 27 May 2026. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  22. ^ "2026 21-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" [Most-Streamed Songs of Week 21 (Top 100)] (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  23. ^ "Romania Songs: Week of May 30, 2026". Billboard. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  24. ^ "Top Radio Hits Romania Weekly Chart: May 28, 2026". TopHit. 29 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  25. ^ "Alexandra+C%26%23259%3Bpit%26%23259%3Bnescu – Choke Me". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  26. ^ "Alexandra+C%26%23259%3Bpit%26%23259%3Bnescu – Choke Me". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  27. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart on 22/5/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  28. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart on 22/5/2026 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 May 2026.

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