North Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

North Macedonia participated in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel with the song “Proud”, composed by Darko Dimitrov, Robert Bilbilov, Lazar Cvetkoski, and written by Kosta Petrov and Sanja Popovska. The song was performed by Tamara Todevska.[1] The song qualified from the semifinal, gained 305 points and placed 7th in the final, winning the jury vote. This was North Macedonia's first top ten placement and also the highest placement ever for North Macedonia in the history of the contest.[2]

Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Country North Macedonia
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 25 January 2019
Song: 8 March 2019
Selected entrantTamara Todevska
Selected song"Proud"
Selected songwriter(s)Darko Dimitrov
Robert Bilbilov
Lazar Cvetkoski
Kosta Petrov
Sanja Popovska
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (2nd, 239 Points)
Final result7th, 305 points
North Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2018 • 2019 • 2020►

Background
Main article: North Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2019 contest, North Macedonia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eighteen times since its first entry in 1998 as F.Y.R. Macedonia.[3] The nation's best result in the contest to this point was twelfth, which it achieved in 2006 with the song "Ninanajna" performed by Elena Risteska. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Macedonia had featured in only five finals. In 2018, Eye Cue failed to bring the country to the final with their song "Lost and Found", that marked the nation's sixth failure in a row.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 25 January 2019, MRT announced that Tamara Todevska would represent North Macedonia in the 2019 contest. She previously represented North Macedonia in 2008 along with Vrčak and Adrian with the song Let Me Love You where they failed to qualify for the final.[4]

Song release

North Macedonia's entry, "Proud", was initially planned for release on March 4, but it was delayed to March 8th to coincide with International Women's Day. The song was released on the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel.[5] "Proud" is an acoustic, piano and string-driven ballad, with the topic of empowerment, especially about women empowerment and Tamara's two children, Hana and Daren.

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2019, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. North Macedonia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 16 May 2019, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[6]

Once all the competing songs for the 2019 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. North Macedonia was set to perform in position 17, following the entry from Netherlands and preceding the entry from Azerbaijan.[7]

Stage direction and visual design
Todevska wearing the green dress on the 'dress rehearsal' of the second semi-final.

The stage direction was conceived by Mari Forsman Ryberger and Tine Matulessy.[8] The concept was simple and minimalistic, with Todevska singing alone with a microphone stand on the stage. The dress worn by Todevska was created by Aleksandar Noshpal,[9] who is also credited for making the dress for Karolina in 2002 and the suit for Toše Proeski in 2004. It is a full-length, false strapless, emerald green dress, made with a metallic shimmer material, with black tulle covering the upper top part of Todevska's body. The dress was also featured as a visual enhancer, mirroring the structure of the backside on the screens.

The performance starts with Todevska subtly lighted, as the dress' reflections starts to show. As the light hits Todevska's face, she started to choreograph hand gestures, which indicates confidence and power. When the first chorus hits, purple start to come out from the bottom spotlights. In the bridge, the stage darkens again, with images of women and girls being shown on monochrome in the back screens. Second verse was highlighted with purple rays coming out from the gaps of the screens. In the second chorus, rays of white lighting flourished on the stage, with the progression of giving an uplifting atmosphere towards the ending. In the second semi-final, the lighting bloom was enhanced with subtle blue lighting from the screen gaps, but it was omitted in the grand final. The ending note was executed with Todevska shone under a wide spotlight, with the picture of her holding her daughter, Hana, shown on the screen.[10]

Semi-final

North Macedonia performed seventeenth in the second semi-final, following the entry from Netherlands and preceding the entry from Azerbaijan. At the end of the show, North Macedonia was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that North Macedonia placed second in the semi-final, receiving a total of 239 points: 84 points from the televoting and 155 points from the juries.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results will be released shortly after the grand final.[11]

Points awarded to North Macedonia
Points awarded to North Macedonia (Semi-final 2)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to North Macedonia (final)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by North Macedonia

Split voting results

The following five members comprised North Macedonia's jury:[11]

  • Suzana Stefanovska – Chairperson – music editor, host
  • Fjola Ismaili – cellist, singer
  • Robert Vukelić – singer
  • Hristina Mickovska – radio DJ
  • Risto Apostolov
Split voting results from North Macedonia (Semi-final 2)
Draw Country Jury Televote
S. Stefanovska F. Ismaili R. Vukelić H. Mickovska R. Apostolov Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Armenia111098149256
02 Ireland1012171491314
03 Moldova12161113151615
04  Switzerland7556116592
05 Latvia17913968316
06 Romania13177101010113
07 Denmark1481615171511
08 Sweden5687774101
09 Austria15151417121717
10 Croatia91110121311210
11 Malta642424774
12 Lithuania1613121181212
13 Russia2215321047
14 Albania31321112112
15 Norway8141516161483
16 Netherlands176355638
17 North Macedonia
18 Azerbaijan434143865
Split voting results from North Macedonia (final)
Draw Country Jury Televote
S. Stefanovska F. Ismaili R. Vukelić H. Mickovska R. Apostolov Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Malta665556556
02 Albania5163438112
03 Czech Republic1411919101318
04 Germany17181624111822
05 Russia343765611
06 Denmark18152222172316
07 San Marino22192125222538
08 North Macedonia
09 Sweden1191413121214
10 Slovenia24171714182292
11 Cyprus15107111910117
12 Netherlands182484747
13 Greece10161010141120
14 Israel12201523212024
15 Norway9142318161565
16 United Kingdom16131821242125
17 Iceland2525251619215
18 Estonia19121317131619
19 Belarus2021820231721
20 Azerbaijan75128774101
21 France2124249251923
22 Italy2211311283
23 Serbia13222012914210
24  Switzerland87116158374
25 Australia4342221013
26 Spain23231915202412

References
  1. "Broadcaster MKRTV has chosen Tamara Todevska to represent Macedonia at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.
  2. "Eurowizja 2019: Znamy zwycięzcę! Holandia, Włochy czy Szwecja? Kto wygrał konkurs?". Jastrząb Post (in Polish). 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  3. "F.Y.R. Macedonia". EBU. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  4. Gligorov, Miki (25 January 2019). "Tamara Todevska is announced as North Macedonia's Eurovision 2019 representative". escxtra.com. ESCXtra. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  5. Eurovision Song Contest (8 March 2019), Tamara Todevska - Proud - North Macedonia 🇲🇰 - Official Music Video - Eurovision 2019, retrieved 10 April 2019
  6. Jordan, Paul (28 January 2019). "Eurovision 2019: Which country takes part in which Semi-Final?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  7. "Exclusive: This is the Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final running order!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  8. "Tamara Todevska reveals the stage directors for "Proud"and puts concerns to rest!". ESCXTRA.com. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  9. Herbert, Emily (18 March 2019). "North Macedonia: Eurovision 2019 Backing Vocalists Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  10. North Macedonia - LIVE - Tamara Todevska - Proud - Grand Final - Eurovision 2019, retrieved 26 May 2019
  11. Groot, Evert (30 April 2019). "Exclusive: They are the judges who will vote in Eurovision 2019!". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
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