The second stop on our preview journey is the land of tennis stars, turbo-folk and hand washing. It’s Serbia!
History
Serbia first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest as an independent nation in 2007. They previously participated as part of Yugoslavia (where Serbian artists participated on six occasions) and as part of Serbia and Montenegro. They will make their 16th appearance in the contest this year. Their first participation was also their first win, with Marija Šerifović singing “Molitva”. This made Serbia one of only two countries to win the contest on their first attempt (the other being Switzerland, who won the first contest in 1956). They also reached the top 10 in 2008 (6th), 2012 (3rd), 2015 (10th) and 2022 (5th). At the 2023 contest, Luke Black finished 24th in the final with “Samo mi se spava”.
Selection
The Serbian broadcaster, Radio-televizija Srbije (Радио-телевизија Србије -RTS), organised Pesma za Evroviziju ’24 (Песма за Евровизију ’24 – A Song for Eurovision ’24) to select their 2024 entry. 32 songs competed over two semi-finals. Eight songs were selected from each semi-final to move on to the final. In all three shows, the results were decided by a jury (50%) and public voting (50%). After winning the jury vote and coming second in the public vote, Teya Dora was awarded the Serbian ticket to Malmö.
Artist
Teodora Pavlovska (Теодора Павловска), known professionally as Teya Dora (Теја Дора) was born on May 1 1992 in Bor in eastern Serbia. After receiving a scholarship, she studied music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Teya Dora released her debut single, “Da na meni je” (Да на мени је – Yes, it’s up to me), in July 2019. In 2023 she released the single “Džanum” (Џанум – My darling), which went viral in the Balkans.
Teya Dora previously participated as a songwriter in Pesma za Evroviziju ’23. She was one of the writers for “Posle mene” (После мене – After me) by Filarri, which came 13th in the final.
The song that Teya Dora will perform in Malmö is called “Ramonda” (Рамонда). It was written by Andrijano Kadović and Teya Dora herself and composed by Luka Jovanović and Teya Dora herself.
Song Review
First of all, we need some context. Natalie’s ramonda is a type of flower native to the mountainous regions of Serbia. The flower can survive harsh environments and has the ability to revive itself after being completely dehydrated. For this reason, it is one of the national symbols of Serbia and is associated with the Serbian struggle and victory during World War I, during which 28% of the total population of Serbia died. It is commonly worn on Armistice Day in Serbia.
Now let’s move on to the song itself. This is a beautiful song that combines soft instrumentation with powerful emotions. We haven’t had a ballad from Serbia in a few years as they have been showing off other styles but when we get a ballad, it’s well done. Of the songs in the first half of semi-final 1, this is probably the quietest song of them all. However, I think this fact could work to its advantage. It might not be challenging for the win but I think we should be seeing this in the final.
The One That Got Away
Ballads are something we mostly expect from Serbia when it comes to Eurovision and Pesma za Evroviziju ’24 was not short on them. Enter Zorja.
Zorja previously tried to represent Serbia in 2022 and finished third in the final. This year, she tried again with “Lik u ogledalu” (Figure in the mirror). The Bond-style instrumentation was matched with a story-led staging and flawless vocals. While it may not have been her time this year either, I think we will see Zorja at Eurovision some day.
Срећно у Србији!
Are you admiring the beauty of the Ramonda or are you letting it wilt? Leave you comments below. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Eurovision preview!
(Sources: eurovision.tv, RTS, YouTube)
Thinking About It 