Previewing the Entrants of Eurovision 2019 – Part Thirty-Six: Serbia

Hello everyone and Happy Easter to you all! Today, we will be continuing to look in-depth in each of the forty-one entrants competing in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest by moving on to Serbia. The 2007 winners will be hoping to reach the Grand Final once again with returning artist Nevena Božović and her song “Kruna” (“Crown”).

Selection Process

For the second year running, the Serbian broadcaster RTS used the music festival Beovizija to select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. Between August and November 2018, the broadcaster called on songwriters and artists to submit their entries. Out of these, twenty-four songs were chosen for the National Final, comprising of two semi-finals and a final. Nevena Božović topped the leaderboard in her semi-final, before a third place finish in the televote and a win in the jury vote in the final won her the ticket to Tel Aviv. She has previously participated in Eurovision, as part of the girl group Moje 3 in 2013, as well as taking third place in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007. It has also been announced that Serbia will be performing right in the middle of the running order in semi-final one, in position number nine.

Music Video

The Blogging DJ’s Review

This feels like a song that is confused about what it wants to be. On the one hand you have the native Serbian language and hints of ethnic music that come out in the softer moments of the song. On the other hand you have the English bridge and influences of rock music building into the chorus. The two can go together but there has to be more of one than the other in my view (“Crno i belo” for Macedonia in 2012 was a good example of how to do it). With this, it feels like there was a necessity to have some English lyrics and a sharper edge so it doesn’t become a sleepy ballad, but the mixture doesn’t quite work. This isn’t a bad song by any means; it builds decently and contains a fair amount of emotion. Plus Nevena has a great voice, which she can replicate in a live performance (as you can see below). It is ultimately not that memorable and in this competition you need more than a subtle rock mix to stand out. 6.5

Live Performance Video

Odds

According to Oddschecker, you can currently get odds ranging from 100/1 to 250/1 on Serbia winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, as well as odds of up to 7/1 on Serbia making the top ten. This suggests that bookmakers see this entry as being on the cusp between qualifying and not and, if the former, it will finish in a similar position to last year.

Record at Eurovision

Serbia have competed in the Eurovision Song Contest on eleven occasions since making their debut in the 2007 contest. Before that, they formed part of Serbia & Montenegro (who competed in 2004 & 05) and also Yugoslavia, who competed from 1961 to 1992. They won the contest on their debut, with Marija Šerifović and the emotional ballad “Molitva”, which to date is their only victory, though they also placed third in 2012. Last year, Sanja Ilić & Balkanika returned Serbia to the Grand Final with their ethnic entry “Nova deca”, giving them a nineteenth place finish overall.

So what do you make of Serbia’s entry for Eurovision 2019? Can it snatch the “Crown” in Tel Aviv? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below and stay tuned for more Eurovision preview articles released in the weeks leading up to the contest.