Montenegro Archives - Eurovision Universe

3 withdrawals in one day: what’s happening!?

Two more countries announced that they would not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest: North Macedonia and Bulgaria. The news came after the Eurovision community woke up this morning with the withdrawal of Montenegro. North Macedonia North Macedonia issued a statement this afternoon: “Such a decision is in the best interest of the citizens, taking into account the increased costs due to the energy crisis, which occupy a large part of the budget of the Public Service, as well as the increased registration fee for the participation in Eurovision 2023. This decision will enable the saving of funds that would have been set aside for the Macedonian delegation’s stay in Liverpool, where Eurovision 2023 is being held.” The North Macedonian broadcaster MRT has announced that they will broadcast the festival. North Macedonia has not been very successful in the past two years. They did not make the final. There was a riot around a flag in both 2021 and 2022. However, in 2019 North Macedonia still won the jury vote. “Proud”, the entry sung by Tamara Todevska, was the country’s most successful ever. Bulgaria The Bulgarian withdrawal was different. In a personal message from the Instagram account @bg_eurovision to OGAE Greece, it was announced that Bulgaria was no longer interested in the Eurovision Song Contest. BG Eurovision announces that no Bulgarian entry should be expected in the coming years. Bulgaria has been very successful in the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years. The country was almost the winner in 2017 with Kristian Kostov and his “Beautiful mess”. Conclusion? Twice (Montenegro and North Macedonia) it is a financial reason that is indicated. It is not clear what is really behind the Bulgarian withdrawal. We can only guess. Both Montenegro (2021) and Bulgaria (2019) have recently skipped a year. Immediately after the most recent Eurovision song contest, North Macedonia already expressed its doubts about participation.

No Montenegro in Liverpool

Montenegro will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool next year. That is what Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG announced. Financial problems are said to underlie this decision. The Montenegrin broadcaster has tried to find sponsors for the contest, but has not been successful. Montenegro took part in the Eurovision Song Contest twelve times. The country reached the final only twice. The best score so far for Montenegro was a 13th place for Knez, who sang the song “Adio” in 2015. This year, the country failed to reach the final. Montenegro would not have participated in 2020 and did not participate in 2021. The reason was also financial. People then made different budgetary choices.

Vladana

© EBU/Nathan Reinds About Quick Facts NameVladana Vučinić Born18 July 1986 Nationality???????? Montenegrin National SelectionMontevizija 2005Evropesma-Europjesma 2006Internal Selection 2022 In Eurovision2022 Turin SongBreathe (2022) Biography Vladana Vučinić, also known as Vladana, is a Montenegrin singer and songwriter. Vladana has a primary and secondary music education, focused on music theory and opera singing. She graduated in journalism from the State Faculty of Political Science of Montenegro. In 2003, Vladana made her television debut on a national karaoke show In the same year she released her debut single „Ostaćeš mi vječna ljubav”, which was performed at the Budva Mediterranean Festival in Budva, Montenegro. In 2005, she participated in Montevizija 2005 with the song “Samo moj nikad njena”. She took 18th place and thus failed to qualify for Evropesma – Europjesma 2005, the Serbian & Montenegrin national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. This time, she reached the Evropesma – Europjesma final and became 15th there. Later that year, Vladana performed her song “Kapije od zlata” in the section of newcomers to the Suncane Skala music festival. Vladana released her first video for the single “Kao miris kokosa”, directed by Montenegrin director Nikola Vukčević, which became the most-broadcast video in Montenegro at the time. In 2007, she continued her collaboration with Vukčević and released his second single “Poljubac kao doručak”. At the end of 2009, Vućinić recorded and released her first single in English, “Bad Girls Need Love Too”. A year later, in November 2010, an animated video for the song “Sinner City” was released as an introduction to her first album in English. In december 2010 Vučinić released her debut album “Sinner City”. Vladana is the first solo performer from Montenegro to be broadcast on the regional MTV station MTV Adria. She launched an online fashion magazine called Čiviluk, based on an editorial with fashion designers from Montenegro. As the founder and editor-in-chief, she contributed to the magazine through columns and fashion interviews with various personalities from music, culture and politics. On January 4, 2022, it was announced that she had been chosen by the Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG to represent Montenegro at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. A day later, on January 5, 2022, it was announced that her song at Eurovision would be called “Breathe”. Unfortunately, Vladana didn’t manage to reach the final with the song. Entries Breathe Country???????? Montenegro Year2022 LanguageEnglish LyricsVladana Vučinić MusicVladana VučinićDarko Dimitrov Backings– Results Semi Points: 33Position: 17Running order: 15 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/L-ViRVRiGl0

Did six countries make a mutual deal?

Six countries have mutually agreed on the voting in this years Eurovision Song Contest. That’s what Jean Philip De Tender of the EBU said to Belgian newspaper “Het Laatste Nieuws“. Earlier it was announced that the points of the aforementioned six countries were annulled. The EBU announced that there were irregularities during the broadcast. A new points list has been compiled for these countries. The EBU then looks at the voting behavior of comparable countries.This situation would concern Azerbaijan, San Marino, Romania, Montenegro, Georgia and Poland, but the EBU does not want to confirm that. It seems that the EBU had not informed the countries about the nullification of the points. Georgia and Romania were not amused. Georgia is said to have given the twelve to Ukraine and now saw them go to the United Kingdom. Romania had awarded twelve points to Moldova, which went to Ukraine.

Day 7: A crystal mask, a thunderstorm and Murphy’s Law

The penultimate day of rehearsal: it is becoming increasingly clear what the viewer can expect. Today we saw the last artists of the second semifinal. Let’s take a closer look at the rehearsals: AUSTRALIA: Whatever you think of Sheldon Riley, he sings like no other. During his emotional ballad he wears the white suit with the enormous drag of feathers. He wears his crystal mask for most of the act, but it goes off. It can’t be difficult for Australia to make it to the final. CYPRUS: For the first time in years, Cyprus is singing (partially) in Greek again. Andromache and her dancers stand in a kind of shell as they sing the song. We have to admit that we would describe Andromache’s vocals as ‘not bad’. If is that a recommendation….? IRELAND: Ireland falls into the ‘how nice’ category. Brooke’s vocals are certainly not bad, neither is the act. However, you may wonder if this is the song with which Ireland will finally reach the final again. We cannot rule out the possibility that it will not work. NORTH MACEDONIA: Perhaps Andrea had hoped for greater success. She was not happy with her first rehearsal. The song comes across as screaming; a hoarseness that suits Kaliopi (2012 and 2016) but not Andrea. ESTONIA: Unfortunately, Stefan can’t count on the 12 points from Armenia, because the country where his roots lie is performing in the other semifinal. The many movements he makes do have an effect on Stefan’s voice, but somehow it doesn’t seem to matter for the entry. It is a happy song that can easily go through to the final. ROMANIA: The Romanians made some minor changes to the act, making it even better and slicker. Furthermore, it seemed as if WRS had changed the melody of the chorus a little bit here and there. In any case, a spectacular show is in store for Romania. POLAND: The ballad of Polen starts very calmly with Ochman alone on stage. Halfway through, when the song becomes a little less quiet, the aforementioned dancers (forest nymphs?) come on stage. We see that a heavy thunderstorm erupts on the stage. Finally a strong contender for Poland agiain. MONTENEGRO: A ballad in which not much happens in 3 minutes. The advantage is that not much can go wrong. We had already mentioned the blue dress that Vladana is wearing. Behind her a circle that most resembles the fluff ball of a dandelion. It is not sure whether it stands out enough to go to the final. BELGIUM: The Belgians have a strong singer with a gospel-like power ballad in Jérémie Makiese. He will definitely get points for that. Fortunately, because the act he shows looks a bit stiff and doesn’t really do justice to the song and singer. SWEDEN: Murphy’s Law strikes. If one thing goes wrong, everything immediately goes wrong. Problems with the sound, problems with the technique and a falling cameraman meant that she was only able to do one whole runthrough. Cornelia did manage to show how professional she is, by showing a good rehearsal even with all that trouble. CZECH REPUBLIC: The act with lots of light and nice graphics fits very well with the Czech entry. In that respect it is a unity. The vocals, however, leave a lot to be desired. That could cost them their heads if it has to be clear who will go to the final.

Day 4: new sun troubles, a Swedish circle and many more

Today is the day of the stage again. Today the EBU has made an official statement about it: “During the technical tests in Turin, the production team has experienced challenges with how long it takes to adjust the “sun” to different positions in the time between the different performances. Together with the host station RAI it was therefore decided that the sun will remain in the same position during all 40 songs, to ensure a fair competition for all participating countries.”. What position that is, is still being discussed. So to be continued again. It is certain that a number of countries now have to make changes in their staging. Meanwhile, 9 countries rehearsed for their performance in the second semifinal. IRELAND: Brooke takes the stage in a bright blue suit. During her performance she is assisted by four dancers. They start the song lying on the floor! Ireland uses many floor projections. Brooke is also praised by Eurovision.tv for her strong voice. Pyrotechnics are used at the end of her performance. NORTH MACEDONIA: Andrea stands alone on the podium for North Macedonia. She sings her song completely wrapped in black leather. In her performance she uses the lifting bridges over the water. Shadows of hands are visible on the LED screens. The sun is not only orange but also white and blue. ESTONIA: Stefan starts his performance on the B stage. He is accompanied only by his guitar. Later in the song, he goes wild: then he uses the entire stage to present his performance. The two cowboys from the national final stayed home. ROMANIA: WRS from Romania wears glittering wetlook trousers. He also wears a red blouse, but according to Eurovision tradition, that goes off. He turns out to be wearing a sleeveless shirt with glitter underneath. There is a lot of dancing. As a result, the Romanian likely gets a lot of attention from the crowd. POLAND: The Polish competitor Ochman is also in black, he wears a black suit. He is assisted by four dancers, who seem to represent some kind of water spirits. Flashing light effects can be seen during the performance. The waterfall on the stage is also used… what else could we expect with a song about a river? MONTENEGRO: Vladana has her entire performance on the B stage. She wears a blue dress during her performance. The background is also blue, with splashes of white as graphics. Vladana mainly remains in one place. BELGIUM: The Belgian Jérémie Makiese impressed with his song. Jérémie is flanked by four dancers. He himself wears blue-grey trousers, a black shirt and a silver jacket, while the dancers wear black jackets. At the end of the act all the light falls on Jérémie, who is standing on a platform on which flames are projected. SWEDEN: Cornelia Jakobs ranks high among the bookmakers. As the Swedes always do, Cornelia Jakobs also puts on the same act as during the national final Melodifestivalen. The starry sky at the beginning, the large, first green and then red, circular plate right behind Cornelia, even the silver-black clothing and the bare feet are the same. CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czech group We Are Domi is the last to rehearse today. The group uses a lot of light, which makes you feel like you’re in a disco. Funny effect: the ‘sun’ on stage looks like a vinyl album here. Eurovision.tv mentions the cello-string guitar: the guitarist made it himself.

Vladana releases Breathe

All the way back on january 4th, Vladana Vučinić was announced as the representative for Montengro at the Eurovision Song contest 2022. Tonight at 10 P.M. CET she will release her song called Breathe, but we already heard it! The power ballad starts dark and calm. Right before the second chorus the song starts to build itself up and then stays like this trough out the rest of the song. Vladana is no stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest as she has composed six Eurovision songs already! We even saw some of her work in Rotterdam! Her latest entries were Loco Loco (Serbia 2021) and Proud (North Macedonia 2019).

Montenegro returns

According to Eurovision website esctoday, Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG confirmed its participation in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Turin. The country returns after one year of pause. In fact two, but due to COVID19 there was no contest at all in 2020. The first ever entry of Montenegro as an independent country was “‘Ajde, kroči” in 2007, sung by Stevan Faddy. The song did not reach the final. Best scoring entry was “Adio” by Knez in 2015. The song reached the 13th place in the final. It was one of only two Montenegrin entries so far reaching the final, but who knows we can add a third one in 2022…

Andrea Demirović

About Quick Facts NameAndrea Demirović Born17 May 1985 Nationality🇲🇪 Montenegrin National SelectionMontevizija 2019Internal selection 2009 In Eurovision2009 Moscow SongJust Get Out Of My Life (2009) Biography Andrea Demirović, also known simply as Andrea, is a distinguished Montenegrin singer born on June 17, 1985, in Podgorica, Montenegro, which was then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Her musical journey began at a young age, culminating in her enrollment at the Cetinje Music Academy, where she pursued studies in Music Pedagogy. This academic background laid a solid foundation for her career in music, allowing her to blend technical knowledge with her natural talent. Andrea’s breakthrough in the music scene came in 2002 at the Sunčane Skale festival, a prominent music event in the region. This performance garnered her significant attention and marked the beginning of her rise to fame. Following this initial success, Andrea continued to make waves in regional music festivals, including the Serbo-Montenegrin and Montenegrin national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest. These competitions further established her as a notable artist in the Balkans. In 2006, Andrea released her debut album titled “Andrea” under the City Records label. The success of her debut album paved the way for her subsequent projects. By 2009, she was preparing to release her follow-up album, with the lead single being “The Queen of the Night,” a cover of Mirela’s song from the Misión Eurovisión 2007. Andrea’s career took a significant turn in 2009 when it was announced on January 23 that she would represent Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia. She performed the song “Just Get Out of My Life,” which was the opening song in the first semi-final on May 12. Despite a captivating performance, the song did not advance to the final. However, her participation in Eurovision significantly raised her profile on the international stage. Andrea’s 2012 hit, released in June, was called “Odlazim”. This song and “All the best” were the songs with which she represented Montenegro at the Baltic Song Contest in 2013. In 2015, she had the honor of announcing the Montenegrin votes at the Eurovision Song Contest, further cementing her connection with the event. In 2016, she joined the Congress of OGAE Spain. At the same time, a new single and video were released: “Posveta”. Andrea teamed up with the Rock Band Akademija for performances in April 2017. In June of that year the single “Pamti” came out. In April 2018, Andrea started performing with a new band as Andrea & Bend. It was in 2019 when she took part in Montevizija, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. Her song, “Ja sam ti san”, reached a 3rd place in the competition. Andrea teamed up with Bojan Jovović for a duet called “Proljeće” in May 2021. It was released almost at the same moment as her song “Igra”. In 2022, Andrea became a politician, as a candidate councilor for the political party Prava stvar – zajedno bar. However, she kept on making music. “Poquito”, a song she wrote in 2020, was released with video in 2023. Andrea Demirović is also a teacher in music. Entries Just Get Out Of My Life Country🇲🇪 Montenegro Year2009 LanguageEnglish LyricsJosé Juan Santana RodriguezBernd Meinunger MusicRalph Siegel BackingsPeter BischofAriana RothKatrin Schild von Spannenberg DancersNikola Tomašević Results Semi Points: 44Position: 11Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/UaETVttl1P4?si=SuPO-zb3wWAZxmIg

Rambo Amadeus

About Quick Facts NameAntonije Pušić Born14 June 1963 Nationality🇲🇪 Montenegrin National SelectionBeovizija 2018Internal Selection 2012 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongEuro Neuro (2012) Biography Rambo Amadeus is a stage name adopted by Antonije Pušić, a Montenegrin musician, singer, and songwriter known for his eclectic musical style and irreverent, satirical lyrics. Born on June 14, 1963, in Herceg Novi, a coastal town in Montenegro, Pušić grew up during the time when the country was part of the former Yugoslavia. The nickname “Rambo Amadeus” cleverly combines the machismo of a popular movie character with the elegance of a classical composer, reflecting his unique blend of humor and cultural critique. In his early life, Pušić exhibited a keen interest in various forms of art. He was known to be quite adept at painting and sports, alongside his musical pursuits. He attended a nautical school and later studied philosophy for a brief period at the University of Belgrade. However, he decided to abandon formal education to fully dedicate himself to his burgeoning musical career. Rambo Amadeus began his career in the mid-1980s, quickly establishing himself as a figure who defied conventional genre categorizations. His music is a fusion of various styles, including jazz, rock, hip-hop, and electronic music, interspersed with elements of Balkan folk. Such an eclectic style has led to the coining of terms like “Balkan funk” and “turbo folk” to describe his music. Lyrically, Rambo Amadeus is known for his incisive wit and ability to satirize contemporary society, politics, and popular culture. His songs often mock authoritarian regimes, nationalism, and commercialization in the music industry, using humor and wordplay to convey complex messages. Some of his popular albums include “O tugo jesenja” (1988), “Hoćemo gusle” (1994), and “Don’t Happy, Be Worry” (2001). Each of these albums showcases his versatile musical style and his ability to infuse his work with insightful social commentary. Over the years, Rambo Amadeus has garnered a cult following in the Balkans and beyond. In 2012, Rambo Amadeus represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest with his song “Euro Neuro,” in which he humorously commented on the European financial crisis. While the song did not advance to the finals, it was praised for its originality and the satirical message behind it. In 2018, he did another attempt to go to the Eurovision Song Contest, but now in duet with Beti Đorđević. With the song “Nema Te” they participated in Beovizija, the Serbian national selection. Beyond music, Rambo Amadeus is also an advocate for environmental sustainability. He often speaks about the importance of environmental conservation, sustainable living, and responsible tourism, especially considering the pristine natural beauty of his home country, Montenegro. His stage performances are characterized by a chaotic and humorous style that is intentionally unpredictable and provocative. Rambo Amadeus’s approach to his live shows is emblematic of his overall artistic philosophy – a blend of mockery, commentary, and relentless creativity. Despite his seemingly unserious stage persona, Rambo Amadeus has earned respect as a thoughtful and innovative artist. He is considered a pioneer of the alternative music scene in the Balkans, and his influence can be seen in the work of many younger artists from the region. Entries Euro Neuro Country🇲🇪 Montenegro Year2012 LanguageEnglishGerman LyricsRambo Amadeus MusicRambo Amadeus BackingsNikola MijomanovićVladimir BožovićTodor KonjevićIgor MalesevićMiroslav Tovirac Results Semi Points: 20Position: 15Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/JHnqF5PLP2w?si=2jEJkmk6_t-JLJgb