Eurovision 2019 is the year of jury darlings. No less than 9 times this preselection season, a song won without the support of the televoters. ESCDaily introduces them all to you in the build-up to Tel Aviv, closing with Nevena Bozovic from Serbia.
Beovizija 2019 was the 9th edition of the Serbian national final Beovizija to select Serbia’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The contest consisted of two semi finals held on 27 and 28 February 2019, the final was held on 3 March 2019. The contest took place in the Studio 8 of RTS, in Belgrade.
Twelve songs competed during the final at the Studio 8 of RTS on 3 March 2019. The winner was decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel, consisting of Miša Aleksić, Bojana Stamenov, Dejan Ivanović, Goca Tržan and Aleksandar Milić Mili, and the Serbian public.
The song ‘Kruna’ by Nevena Bozovic got 12 points from that jury, making her the winner despite coming only in 3rd place with the televote.
Nevena Bozovic “Kruna” (Serbia, Eurovision 2019)
The song “Stay” is a classic 2000s to 2010s-style Eurovision Balkan ballad. One would assume it would appeal to televoters based on this fact however in recent times it is a risky strategy to replicate instead of originate. Odobescu, however, is an exceptional singer that vocally sells the song and proves she is a worthy representative for Moldova. Big question for Tel Aviv: will Moldova stand out in such a diverse line-up both visually and musically?
The Moldovan Eurovision entry returns to being composed by a plethora of foreign Eurovision songwriters including Georgios Kalpakidis who is a famed, veteran national final entry songwriter. In the past when Moldova took this strategy it had not been successful. However if “Stay” does well for Moldova it would open the doors further for foreign composers to have a platform to send the best in upcoming music that differentiates from the norm.
The alternative: Nataša & Una – Samo bez straha
Nataša & Una won the televote in Serbia, but got only 2 points from the jury. They finished in fourth place. The actual runner-up was Dženan Lončarević. Do you think Serbia should have gone for one of these acts instead of Anna Odobescu?