The National Folk Star is the first talent show in Romania dedicated exclusively to folklore – folk music and traditions. The folk singers are competing for the title of National Folk Star and a prize of 100,000 lei.
With talented contenders and an impressive setting, The National Folk Star is a show that promotes national identity and, above all, offers quality entertainment guaranteed to attract both conservative audiences and younger audiences. In the preliminary stages, five folk artists from all over the country fight for a place in the semi-finals. The Grand Finale sees only one winner, the artist who will take home the title of National Folk Star.
Iuliana Tudor hosts the show, whereas a panel of judges oversees the eliminations and decides the winner. The judges are beloved and respected folkore experts: Elise Stan, Cornelia Rednic, Niculina Stoican, Grigore Leșe and Bogdan Mihai Simion. In previous seasons, the jury also included Mircea Dinescu, Laura Lavric and Constantin Enceanu.
Co-hosts of the show, Lucian Ghimişi and Dan Clucinschi help the contestants to deal with their emotions.
A fan favourite, the show also won some of the most significant television awards in Romania: the TV Mania award for “Best Talent Show” and the Media Radar award in the “Best Entertainment Show” category.
The National Folk Star is an original television format developed by the public channel TVR together with Zucchero Media. The show premiered in the prime-time slot in October 2017 on TVR1 reaching the sixth season in 2021.