The most pure Balkan song at this years Eurovision Song Contest is arguably the one from Montenegro. Vanja Radovanović sings the ballad ‘Inje’, which appears to be inspired by previous entries that were composed by the great Željko Joksimović. However, Vanja does not see the comparison.
In the staging of the act, you can read a full description here, we can see the same harmonic group feeling that Balkan entries have shown in the past before. The orchestration and compostion can also be compared to songs that Željko Joksimović penned down. But for someone from the Balkan-area, it is not the same.
Watch the full interview with Vanja Radovanović below:
“I admire him very much, but if you look at the details it is very different,” Vanja explains. “My idea was not inspired by any previous performance. I am not representing myself, but my country. I had to do something that looks like a Monetegrin song. The variety of the country should be shown in the performance.”