Road to Basel: Montenegro
Road to Basel: Montenegro! As the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel approaches, we continue our daily spotlight on this year’s contestants. Today, we focus on Montenegro.
photo: RTCG/Nada Vojinović
Nina Žižić
Nina Žižić is a Montenegrin singer who previously represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 alongside the hip-hop duo Who See with the song “Igranka.” In 2024, she participated in Montenegro’s national selection, Montesong 2024, with the song “Dobrodošli,” finishing second. Following the withdrawal of the original winners, NeonoeN, due to a rule violation, Žižić was selected to represent Montenegro in Eurovision 2025.
“Dobrodošli” (What does AI say?)
Žižić’s Eurovision entry, “Dobrodošli” (translated as “Welcome”), is a ballad written by Boris Subotić and Violeta Mihajlovska Milić, with production by Darko Dimitrov. The song conveys themes of strength and resilience. Žižić has described it as illustrating “how a woman can be strong at times of challenge.”
MonteSong 2007
Montenegro’s national broadcaster, RTCG, organized Montesong 2024 to select its Eurovision 2025 entry. The band NeonoeN initially won with their song “Clickbait.” However, it was later discovered that the song had been performed publicly in 2023, violating Eurovision rules that stipulate entries must not be released or performed before September 1 of the previous year. Consequently, NeonoeN withdrew, and RTCG selected runner-up Nina Žižić as the country’s representative.
- NeonoeN, “Clickbait“
- Nina Žižić, “Dobrodošli“
- Baryak, “Dva srca“
- Đurđa, “To ljubav je“
- Kejt, “Obala raja“
- Milena Vučić, “Škorpija“
- Tina Džankić, “Nova“
- Isak Šabanović, “Ljeto, ljeto, ljeto“
- Tamara Živković, “Poguban let“
- Glumci Bend, “San“
- Verica Čuljković, “Čuješ li“
- Nemanja Petrović, “Među zvijezdama“
- Luka Radović, “Kada dođe maj“
- Anastasija Koprolčec, “Kraj“
- Dolce Hera, “Repeat“
- Bend 9, “Stop War“
Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest
Montenegro has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2007. The country’s best result came in 2015 when Knez‘s “Adio” reached 13th place in the Grand Final. After a hiatus in 2023 and 2024, Montenegro returns to the contest in 2025 with hopes of achieving a strong result.
A Random Montenegrin Entry
Reflecting on Montenegro’s Eurovision history, random.org chose the 2014 entry. Sergej Ćetković was the first one to reach the final for Montenegro with his song “Moj svijet”.
Betting Odds
As of now, Nina Žižić’s “Dobrodošli” is positioned towards the lower end of the betting odds for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. The song is last in the odds for winning the contest, and 15th out of 16 to reach the final in semifinal 2. It’s not gonna be easy for Nina, but in the past more songs have surprised us.
We eagerly await the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel and look forward to witnessing Nina Žižić’s performance on the grand stage.
