Previewing the Entrants of Eurovision 2019 – Part Twenty-Nine: North Macedonia

Hello everyone and welcome to another post on The Blogging DJ, where we will be continuing to look in-depth at each of the forty-one entrants competing in the Eurovision Song Contest. Today we are off to Skopje, to North Macedonia. Can the country end their torrid run at Eurovision with Tamara Todevska and “Proud”?

Selection Process

As they have done for the majority of the past few years, the North Macedonian broadcaster MRT internally selected their entry, announcing Tamara as the act on the 25th of January. She has actually represented her country before, as part of a group in 2008 that were replaced by another entry in the Grand Final due to the controversial wildcard rule. “Proud” was later released on the 8th of March. It has also been announced that North Macedonia will perform very late on in semi-final two, in slot number 17.

Music Video

The Blogging DJ’s Review

This was definitely a surprise I was not expecting. North Macedonia have had a torrid run, yet I never warmed to many of their recent songs, mostly because they felt overstuffed and overly thought out. This entry is the complete opposite; a simply packaged song containing a message of great strength to the women of the world. The vocals in the music video are stirring, powerful and clear, which should be the focus come the live performance in Tel Aviv. North Macedonia have a habit of overthinking their staging, so keep it simple and put the message and that amazing voice front and centre. I haven’t been this happy with an entry of theirs since Kaliopi in 2012, the last time they qualified. 8.5

Live Performance Video

This song has yet to be performed live. If it does prior to the contest, then that video will be placed here.

Odds

Aaccording to Oddschecker, you can currently get odds from 50/1 up to 125/1 on North Macedonia winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. This suggests that bookmakers believe that this country has a decent chance of reaching their first Grand Final since 2012.

Record at Eurovision

North Macedonia have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest on eighteen occasions since making their debut in 1998, not including their qualification entry in 1996. They have performed in the Grand Final in eight of those years, however have only qualified to the Final once in the last eleven contests. Their best finish came in 2006, where Elena Risteska finished in twelfth place with “Ninanajna”. Last year, Eye Cue sadly gave the country its worst ever placing, coming home in eighteenth place in their semi-final.

So what are your thoughts on the entry from North Macedonia? Can they finally break back into the Grand Final? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below and stay tuned for more Eurovision-themed articles in the coming weeks!