Martijn

Shkodra Elektronike represents Albania

The duo Shkodra Elektronike has won the Albanian national selection Festivali i Këngës. So, Shkodra Elektronike represents Albania. After two years of seperated selecions, the winner of this years contest is also the Eurovision participant. Beatriçe Gjergji and Lekë Gjeloshi, who form the duo, also wrote the song. It is not yet known whether the song will be sung in Albanian or in English. Shkodra Elektronike, “Zjerm”, 143 Elvana Gjata, “Karnaval”, 135 Alis, “Mjegull”, 57 Vesa Smolica, “Lutem”, 54 Djemtë e Detit, “Larg”, 37 Lorenc Hasrama, “Frymë”, 37 Ardit Çuni, “Amanë”, 26 Orgesa Zaimi, “I parë”, 21 Jet, “Gjälle”, 11 Gjergj Kaçinari, “Larg Jetës Pa Ty”, 11 Algert Sala, “Bosh”, 7 Kejsi Jazhxhi, “Kur Bota Hesht”, 5 Mal Retkoceri, “Antihero”, 5 Nita Latifi, “Zemrës”, 1 Stine, “E këshim Nis”, 0

🇦🇱 Albania selects: Festivali i Këngës final tonight

Albania selects: the Festivali i Këngës final will be held tonight. After two semifinals, the final with 15 songs will be held. The show will start at 21:00 CET and you can watch it on YouTube. There is a slight difference from the last two contests: this year, the winner of the contest will also represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest. These are the 15 songs: no. Title Artist 1 Gjallë Jet 2 Kur Bota Hesht Kejsi Jazhxhi 3 Lutem Vesa Smolica 4 E këshim Nis Stine 5 Larg Djemtë e Detit 6 Zemrës Nita Latifi 7 Larg Jetës Pa Ty Gjergj Kaçinari 8 I parë Orgesa Zaimi 9 Amanë Ardit Çuni 10 Bosh Algert Sala 11 Zjerm Shkoadra Elektronike 12 Frymë Lorenc Hasrama 13 Karnaval Elvana Gjata 14 Antihero Mal Retkoceri 15 Mjegull Alis Kallacej Gjergj Kaçinari took part in Festivali i Këngës 2020 (final) and 2021 (final).Orgesa Zaimi participated in 2015 (semifinal), 2017 (final), 2018 (final) and 2020 (final).Elvana Gjata took part in 2003 (semifinal) and 2019 (2nd).Mal Retkoceri was chosen as the winner of Festival i Këngës 2023, but not as the Eurovision participant. Note that every participation was in the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest a year later. If it says 2020 it was, for example, for the 2021 Eurovision final. Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest Albania has been part of the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004. Their first entry was “The Image of You” by Anjeza Shahini, which finished in 7th place. The country often chooses its songs through the Festivali i Këngës competition. Albania’s best result came in 2012 when Rona Nishliu sang “Suus” and finished 5th. The songs are usually performed in Albanian, but some are in English. Albania is known for powerful ballads and strong vocal performances.

🇨🇿 ADONXS will represent Czechia

ADONXS will represent Czechia. That is what ČT (Czech Television) confirmed today. Rumours about ADONXS were going on already a longer time. ADONXS, born Adam Pavlovčin, is a 29-year-old singer from Czechia. He became famous after winning SuperStar Czech-Slovakia in 2021. In 2022, he released his debut album, Age of ADONXS. The same year, he won “Singer of the Year” and “Musical Discovery” awards from Evropa 2 radio. ADONXS lives in Prague and continues to make music. ADONXS will represent Czechia in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. It’s a new challenge in his career. About participating, ADONXS says: “First of all, I am really happy; participating in Eurovision has always been my big dream. At the same time, I feel a great responsibility to represent a country that has a great recent history in the competition, and which is my home.” About the song, he tells us: “I have visualised this moment to a large extent and for the last year I have mainly focused on creating new songs, also with the ambition of Eurovision. I applied with several songs, and I am happy that one of them was ultimately successful. I can’t wait to be able to share the song with you.“ “Moving on”, a hit for ADONXS in 2022. Czechia in the Eurovision Song Contest Czechia has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2007. Although the country struggled in its early years, failing to qualify for the finals in its first three attempts, Czechia made a remarkable comeback in 2015 after a five-year break. Since then, the country has steadily improved its Eurovision record. Czechia achieved its best result in 2018 when Mikolas Josef performed “Lie to Me,” finishing in 6th place. His energetic performance and catchy song brought Czechia international recognition and marked a turning point for the nation in the contest. The country is known for sending diverse acts, showcasing a mix of pop, ballads, and experimental music.

🇲🇪 Montenegro: Nina Žižić returns to Eurovision

Nina Žižić returns to Eurovision. She will represent Montenegro after the band NeonoeN withdrew. They decided not to participate with their song “Clickbait”. The song was already performed before September 1st of this year. That was reason for the EBU to investigate the case. Nina Žižić was the runner up of the Montenegrin national final Montesong. Her song “Dobrodošli” was the favourite of the jury. Due to a lower score at the televote, Nina didn’t win. However, today Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG announced that she will represent Montenegro in the 2025 contest. It’s not the first time Nina Žižić represents Montenegro. In 2013, she was on stage accompanying hip hop band Who See. They performed the song “Igranka”, but unfortunately did not reach the final. And now Nina Žižić returns to Eurovision. The song “Dobrodošli” is written and composed by Violeta Mihajlovska, Boris Subotić and Darko Dimitrov. Due to the early stage of selection, we don’t know whether the song will be in the first or second semifinal. Montenegro’s Eurovision history Montenegro first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest as an independent nation in 2007, following its split from Serbia and Montenegro. Despite its small size, the country brought diverse entries ranging from Balkan ballads to modern pop. Montenegro achieved its best result in 2015 with Knez‘s “Adio,” a traditional ballad composed by Željko Joksimović, which finished 13th in the final. However, financial constraints and challenges in qualifying for the final often hindered its success. After withdrawing in 2020 and after due to funding issues, Montenegro will now return to the contest.

🇮🇪 Ireland: Dickie Rock passed away

Ireland: Dickie Rock passed away aged 88. That is what his family have announced. His death was confirmed in a statement issued by his family this evening: “His children, Jason, John, Richard, Sarah Jane and Peter will miss him very much. Dickie lost his beloved Judy in 2022 and they are now together again, and that is of some comfort to the family.” Dickie Rock was born on October 10, 1936, in Dublin, Ireland. He became very popular in the 1960s as the lead singer of The Miami Showband. That was one of Ireland’s top bands at the time. With his great voice and lively performances, Dickie won many fans and had several hit songs in Ireland. His song “Every Step of the Way“ was one of his biggest successes. In 1966, Dickie represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Come Back to Stay”. He finished in fourth place. Fans loved his singing so much that he became a national favorite, and the phrase “spit on me, Dickie” showed how much people adored him. Even today, Dickie Rock is remembered as one of Ireland’s best-loved entertainers, inspiring many with his music. Dickie Rock participated in the Irish national Song Contest several times. In 1965, he made his debut there. A year later, he even had three songs, and won! Also in 1969 and 1977, he did attempts. However, he did not win anymore. Dickie Rock passed away at age 88.

🇲🇪 Montenegro: NeonoeN withdraws

Withdrawal One week after winning Montesong 2024, the band NeonoeN decided to leave the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. A video showed part of their song “Clickbait” being performed at the Festival Kulture Zabjelo in 2023. The Eurovision rules say that songs must be new and original. Any song performed or released before 1 September 2024 cannot be in the contest. That is the reason EBU was investigating. No decision has been made yet, until now: not from EBU but from NeonoeN itself. statement Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG made a statement: Dear, In the best public interest, with the desire to end the uncertainty and once again contribute to the music that we are here for, we inform you that we are voluntarily withdrawing from participating in Eurovision. RTCG, in accordance with the regulations, will choose another representative, and we will be the first to wish him luck and provide full support. The victory at Montesong brought us publicity whose type and scope we did not choose, nor could we control. We would like to point out, and the facts confirm this, that performing the working version of the song live neither jeopardized the process of the Montesong festival itself, nor could it have influenced its final outcome and our placement. The fact is that there have been many similar examples and that the EBU has always decided that these songs can participate (one even won at Eurovision), because they did not have a competitive advantage over the others, which is clear to everyone. However, we simply do not want to be part of any stories outside of music, nor to promote our author’s work in this way. Eurovision has never been a goal in itself for us. Expanding the field of our musical activity – it certainly is! The Montesong Festival organized by the Association of Entertainers brought 16 new songs and that is its greatest value. We would like to thank the management of RTCG for their good will and intention to give us space for other options. We believe that they will understand our decision to give up on Eurovision and we also thank them for that. Special and immense gratitude for the support of fellow musicians, lovers of good music, friends, acquaintances, journalists and the general public from Montenegro and abroad, which gave us strength in the last days. Our families, together with us, have experienced all the splendor and despair of this process and now it is time to repay them and dedicate ourselves to them in the right way. CLICKBAIT continues to live as a musical single, but we are also afraid of it as a contemporary social phenomenon. Once again, thank you all. Now let’s all support Montenegro at Eurovision!

🇲🇪 Montenegro: NeonoeN wins national final

The band NeonoeN wins the Montenegrin national final. Montenegro is the first country to select a song for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. The band NeonoeN will now represent Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. The song they will present is called “Clickbait”. The song is written and composed by Ilija Pejović. As there has been no draw so far, we don’t yet know whether will perform in the first or second semifinal. Nina ŽiŽić was the number 1 among the jury, Baryak won with the televotes. NeonoeN became the winner by receiving 10 points from both jury and televoters. Here are the full results of the contest: NeonoeN, “Clickbait”, 20 pts Nina ŽiŽić, “Dobrodošli”, 19 pts Baryak, “Dva srca”, 15 pts Đurđa, “To ljubav je”, 12 pts Kejt, “Obala raja”, 9 pts Milena Vučić, “Škorpija”, 8 pts Tina Džankić, “Nova, 8 pts Isak Šabanović, “Ljeto, ljeto, ljeto”, 7 pts Tamara Živković, “Poguban let”, 6 pts Glumci Bend, “San”, 6 pts Verica Čuljković, “Čuješ li”, 4 pts Nemanja Petrović, “Među zvijezdama”, 1 pts Luka Radović, “Kada dođe maj”, 1 pts Anastasija Koprolčec, “Kraj”, 0 pts Bend 9, “Stop war”, 0 pts Dolce Hera, “Repeat”, 0 pts

🇲🇪 Montenegro: first national final of 2025

Yes it’s true: today, Montesong will be held. Montenegro will have the first national final for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. That makes Montenegro true early birds! The show starts at 20:00 CET and you can watch it here or on Youtube. The contest will be held in the Voco Sports Hall in Podgorica. 16 songs will compete. The winner will be chosen through a 50/50 jury and televote. These are the competing songs: nr. Artist Song 1 Anastasija Koprolčec Kraj 2 Tina Džankić Nova 3 Nemanja Petrović Među zvijezdama 4 Bend 9 Stop War 5 Tamara Živković Poguban let 6 Luka Radović Kada dođe maj 7 Đurđa To ljubav je 8 Kejt Obala raja 9 Nina ŽiŽić Dobrodošli 10 Neonoen Clickbait 11 Isak Šabanović Ljeto, ljeto, ljeto 12 Glumci Bend San 13 Dolce Hera Repeat 14 Baryak Dva srca 15 Verica Čuljković Čuješ li 16 Milena Vučić Škorpija Milena Vučić is the only returning artist. In 2006 she took part in the national selection of Serbia & Montenegro. She reached a 19th place. Montenegro’s Eurovision history Montenegro first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest as an independent nation in 2007, following its split from Serbia and Montenegro. Despite its small size, the country brought diverse entries ranging from Balkan ballads to modern pop. Montenegro achieved its best result in 2015 with Knez‘s “Adio,” a traditional ballad composed by Željko Joksimović, which finished 13th in the final. However, financial constraints and challenges in qualifying for the final often hindered its success. After withdrawing in 2020 and after due to funding issues, Montenegro will now return to the contest.

Blast from the past: Yugoslavia 1991

We know a lot about Eurovision and we want to share this knowledge with you! Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today, we go back to 1991, when Baby Doll represented Yugoslavia with her song “Brazil”. Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest Yugoslavia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961. Already in their 2nd year, Yugoslavia reached a high score (4th) with Lola Novaković and her “Ne pali svetlo u sumrak”. Unfortunately, it was hard for the country to break that record. In 1983, the country reached the 4th place again with Danijel Popović and his “Džuli”. The English version of that song “Julie” became a worldwide hit. But Yugoslavia had to await their first and only victory until 1989. Riva won the contest with “Rock me”. Only three more Yugoslav entries followed, but the country fell apart. In 1992 they had their very last entry. Riva Jugovizija 1991 The Yugoslav national final was called Jugovizija. Eight regional television stations all had their contributions and their jury. In 1991, the contest was held on 9 March in Sarajevo. 16 songs participated: Tedi Spalato sang “Gospode moj”, 29 pts, 5th (HTV, Zagreb) Zorana Pavić sang “Ritam ljubavi“, 26 pts, 6th (TVBg, Belgrade) Milica Milisavljević-Dugalić sang “Sta će nebo reći“, 20 pts, 10th (TVPr, Pristina) Baby Doll sang “Brazil“, 68 pts, 1st (TVBg, Belgrade) Miran Rudan sang “Ne reci goodbye“, 5 pts, 15th (TVSl, Ljubljana) Jelena Džoja sang “Čuvaj se ljubavi“, 9 pts, 13th (TVSa, Sarajevo) Margarita Hristova sang “Daj mi krilja“, 3 pts, 16th (TVSk, Skopje) Vesna Ivić sang “Ime“, 11 pts, 11th (TVNS, Novi Sad) Ivana Banfić sang “Daj, povedi me“, 57 pts, 3rd (HTV, Zagreb) Helena Blagne sang “Navaden majski dan“, 25 pts, 7th (TVSl, Ljubljana) Šeri sang “Da li već spavaš“, 6 pts, 14th (TVBg, Belgrade) Ponoćni express sang “Pjesma o tebi“, 22 pts, 8th (TVCg, Titograd) Tony Cetinski sang “Marina“, 22 pts, 8th (TVNS, Novi Sad) Danijel Popović sang “Ma daj obuci levisice“, 66 pts, 2nd (HTV, Zagreb) Anastasija Nizamova-Muhić sang “Molitva“, 11 pts, 11th (TVSk, Skopje) Zerina Cokoja, “Bez tebe“, 52 pts, 4th, 52 pts, 4th (TVSa, Sarajevo) Danijel was the hot favourite to win the competition. However, Yugoslavia was about to fall apart. In June 1991, Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence. Four months before that, the political tension was very high. The result was that the jury of TVSl, TVSa and TVSk did not vote for any of the Serbian songs. TVBg and TVPr did not vote for Danijel, the latter did not vote for the other Croatian entry either. However, both juries gave “Brazil” their maximum number of points. That is what brought Baby Doll her victory. Danijel Popović Baby Doll Bebi Dol or Baby Doll, born Dragana Šarić on October 2, 1962, in Belgrade, is a prominent Serbian and former Yugoslav pop-rock singer. Raised by her jazz musician father, Milisav Šarić, she began her career in the late 1970s with the band Tarkus before co-founding Anoda Ruž with Goran Vejvoda in 1981. Following the band’s short run, she embarked on a solo career and gained fame with the 1981 single Mustafa, which won Song of the Year. In 1983, her debut album Ruže i krv earned her acclaim and established her popularity across Yugoslavia. Bebi Dol’s style evolved with each release, from the oriental-inspired Inš-Alah in 1986 to the dance-influenced tracks on her 1995 album Ritam srca. Her 1991 Eurovision entry, Brazil, remains iconic despite placing low, a result often attributed to Yugoslavia’s political turmoil. Her 2002 album Ljuta sam received mixed reviews, but she continued performing, venturing into cover albums like Čovek rado izvan sebe živi in 2006. In 2009, she participated as a finalist in the reality show Farma, appearing again in 2013 and 2015. Eight years later, she competed in the fourth season of Tvoje lice zvuči poznato, though she did not make it to the finals. In 2018, she entered the reality show Zadruga, but was quickly eliminated. In 2020, she appeared as a special guest in the series Tajkun. Brazil “Brazil” was written by Dragana Šarić herself, with music composed by Saša Habić and Zoran Vračević, the song blends Latin-inspired rhythms with Balkan pop, creating a vibrant, energetic piece. Known for its catchy melody and exotic flair, Brazil highlighted Bebi Dol’s theatrical style and ambitious staging, featuring elaborate costumes and dynamic choreography. Despite its popularity at home, the song faced challenges on the European stage, likely influenced by the tense political climate in Yugoslavia at the time. Ultimately, Brazil scored only one point at the contest, finishing in last place. However, the song later gained recognition as a unique Eurovision entry, maintaining a dedicated following among fans for its creativity and Bebi Dol’s distinct performance.

🇳🇱 Netherlands are in, Joost isn’t

Netherlands are in, Joost isn’t. The Netherlands will take part in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland. Dutch broadcaster Avrotros announced it today. The EBU has given the Netherlands an extension until November 1st. By then, it must be clear whether the country will participate. A little more than a week before that day, Avrotros made a statement. After months of talks, the broadcaster received enough assurances from the EBU that important changes will be made to the music festival. Joost Klein was given the chance to participate again, but he decided to turn down the offer. Song submissions for 2025 are now open. Netherlands are in, Joost isn’t. Until the very last moment, Joost was the contestant to be. However, he decided not to do it. In a statement Joost says: “My team and I had everything ready, but it just doesn’t feel good. I am very thankfull for all the love around the world, however I am still affected by this year. I need to give myself more time to heal”. Dutch broadcaster Avrotros was in doubt about participation, due to the things happening last year. Joost was disqualified because of an incident between him and a camera woman. Joost was not convicted by Swedish police. Avrotros only wanted to participate if the EBU would make significant changes to the festival.