39 entries competed to represent Moldova in Moscow, with 20 being shortlisted to participate in the televised national final which took place on 14 February 2009.

"Hora din Moldova" performed by Nelly Ciobanu emerged as the winner after gaining the most points following the combination of votes from a jury panel, a committee and a public televote.

[1] The nation's best placing in the contest was sixth, which it achieved in 2005 with the song "Boonika bate doba" performed by Zdob și Zdub.

In the 2008 contest, "A Century of Love" performed by Geta Burlacu failed to qualify Moldova to compete in the final.

[2] O melodie pentru Europa 2009 was the national final format developed by TRM in order to select Moldova's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.

The event took place at the Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Chişinău, hosted by Rusalina Rusu and Serj Kuzenkoff, and included a final to be held on 14 February 2009.

[6][7] A nine-member jury consisting of composers, lyricists, producers and singers selected 20 finalists out of the 39 received entries, which were announced on 9 January 2009.

[14][15][16] Following the national final, it was revealed that "Hora din Moldova" would be performed bilingually in Romanian and English at the contest, the latter of which was written by Aristotelis Kalimeris.

[18] Nelly Ciobanu made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Hora din Moldova" as the Moldovan Eurovision entry.

[21] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries.

The stage featured LED screen projections of embroidery patterns and a stylized dancing couple in front of a black background.

[27] At the end of the show, Moldova was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final.

This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.