Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Serbia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 12 times since making its debut in 2007. Serbia previously participated as part of Yugoslavia (both the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1961 to 1991 and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992) and as Serbia and Montenegro (2004–2006). Serbia won the contest on its debut as an independent country in 2007, with "Molitva" performed by Marija Šerifović. The country's only other top five result is their third place in 2012, with "Nije ljubav stvar". Serbia's other top ten results are sixth place (2008) and tenth place (2015).

Serbia
◄ Serbia and Montenegro
Member stationRTS
National selection events
Participation summary
Appearances12 (9 finals)
First appearance2007
Best result1st: 2007
External links
http://escserbia.com/
Serbia's page at Eurovision.tv
For the most recent participation see
Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020

History

As Serbia was at one time part of Yugoslavia, it had the opportunity to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest after Yugoslavia's debut at the contest in 1961. It debuted the same year as Spain and Finland and became the first and, for three decades, only socialist country to participate in the competition. The best result of Yugoslavia occurred in 1989 when it won with "Rock Me", sung in Serbo-Croatian and English by Riva. Yugoslavia participated regularly until its breakup in 1991/1992.

After a period of absence from 1993 until 2003, Serbia and Montenegro returned to the contest in 2004. They finished in second place with song "Lane moje" performed by Željko Joksimović. By 2006, Serbia and Montenegro split, and with Serbia making its debut entry as an independent nation with the ballad "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. "Molitva" won the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, receiving 268 points, making Serbia the first country to win with debut entry after Switzerland's win at the first edition. Subsequently, Serbia was host of the 2008 contest in its capital Belgrade.

The second Serbian entry, performed in Belgrade was written by past entrant for Serbia as part of Serbia and Montenegro and contest host Željko Joksimović. The song "Oro", an ethnic ballad, performed by Jelena Tomašević came 6th and received 160 points in the overall rankings.

In 2009, Serbia selected Marko Kon and Milaan to represent them in the second semi-final on 14 May. The duo failed to qualify for the final, marking it the first time Serbia failed to qualify for the final since the introduction of semi-finals.

In 2010, Milan Stanković was selected to represent the country in the contest with Ovo je Balkan, an upbeat song with ethno elements, and is about a love story set in Belgrade. It qualified for the final and in the end achieved 13th place with 72 points.

In 2011, Nina was selected with her 1960s inspired song, Čaroban. She was accompanied with three other singers who would be dancing throughout the performance. In the semi-finals She performed 6th and qualified for the final. In the final, she performed 24th and achieved 14th place.

After finishing second in 2004 when representing Serbia and Montenegro, Željko Joksimović was back in 2012 in Azerbaijan, Baku with the song Nije ljubav stvar. On the second semi-finals he took second place, while he finished third in the final, below second-placed Russia and the winner, Sweden.

Moje 3 represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö with the song "Ljubav je svuda". They would finish 11th in the first semi-final, therefore not qualifying for the final (only 10 contestants were to continue to the final). This was the second time that Serbia did not qualify for the final.

On 22 November 2013, Serbian broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) announced that it would withdraw from the 2014 contest due to financial difficulties and a lack of available sponsorship for a potential Serbian entry.[1]

In April 2014, Serbia announced that they will broadcast all three shows. In addition, they said that it is likely to return at 2015 and that they will probably hold a national selection to find their representative. On 26 September 2014, it was reported that Serbia had decided to return to the 2015 contest to be held in Austrian capital, Vienna.[2]

On 15 February 2015 Serbia chose their own representative in emission "Odbrojavanje za Beč". Odbrojavanje za Beč (English: Countdown for Vienna) is the national final organised by RTS in order to select the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. The selection featured three songs composed by Vladimir Graić, the composer of Serbia's winning entry "Molitva" in 2007. Two of the songs were performed by established Serbian artists Bojana Stamenov and Aleksa Jelić, while one was performed by Danica Krstić, a new talent chosen by Graić through a scouting process.

Bojana Stamenov was selected as the Serbian representative for Vienna through a 50:50 voting system, where both the audience and the jury voted for her song "Ceo svet je moj" (The whole world is mine) to represent Serbia in Austria. It was later announced that she would perform her song in English (a first for a Serbian entry) titled "Beauty Never Lies". Despite being low with the odds and fan votings, Bojana surprised everyone in the first semifinal and became one of the big press and fan favourites. She qualified to the final as the 9th (10 qualified), but managed to achieve another top 10 result for Serbia in the Grand Final, scoring 53 points and the 10th place.

In 2016 RTS selected Sanja Vučić and her song "Goodbye (Shelter)" internally as well. She qualified for the final placing 10th out of 18 and came 18th of 26 in the final receiving. She fared clearly better with the televoters, coming 11th in the final respectively.

Tijana Bogićević was selected as the Serbian representative for Kiev. with the song "In Too Deep". She would finish 11th in the second semi-final, therefore not qualifying for the final (only 10 contestants were to continue to the final). This was the third time that Serbia did not qualify for the final.

In 2018 RTS went back to an national final, Beovizija (which had been used to select their first entrants). Sanja Ilić and Balkanika won with the song "Nova deca." They qualified for the final for the first time in a year, placing 9th out of 18 in their semi-final; they then came 19th of 26 in the final, receiving 113 points. They fared better with the televoters, finishing 12th. Following their success in making the final, RTS confirmed that Beovizija would be maintained as their selection method in 2019. In 2019, RTS decided to host the second edition of the national final. Nevena Božović won with her song Kruna. Placed 7th with 156 points, she qualified for the final, where she then performed 23rd and came 18th out of 26 acts, with 89 points in total.

Contestants
For contestants prior to 2007, see Serbia and Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest and Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Table key
1
 Winner
2
 Second place
3
 Third place
X
 Withdrew/disqualified
Year Artist Language Title Final Points Semi Points
2007
 Marija Šerifović Serbian "Molitva" (Молитва) 1 268 1 298
2008
 Jelena Tomašević feat. Bora Dugić Serbian "Oro" (Оро) 6 160 Host country[lower-alpha 1]
2009
 Marko Kon & Milaan Serbian "Cipela" (Ципела) Failed to qualify 10[lower-alpha 2] 60
2010
 Milan Stanković Serbian "Ovo je Balkan" (Ово је Балкан) 13 72 5 79
2011
 Nina Serbian "Čaroban" (Чаробан) 14 85 8 67
2012
 Željko Joksimović Serbian "Nije ljubav stvar" (Није љубав ствар) 3 214 2 159
2013
 Moje 3 Serbian "Ljubav je svuda" (Љубав је свуда) Failed to qualify 11 46
2015
 Bojana Stamenov English "Beauty Never Lies" 10 53 9 63
2016
 Sanja Vučić ZAA English "Goodbye (Shelter)" 18 115 10 105
2017
 Tijana Bogićević English "In Too Deep" Failed to qualify 11 98
2018
 Sanja Ilić & Balkanika Serbian[lower-alpha 3] "Nova deca" (Нова деца) 19 113 9 117
2019
 Nevena Božović Serbian[lower-alpha 4] "Kruna" (Круна) 18 89 7 156
2020
 Hurricane Serbian[lower-alpha 5] "Hasta la vista" Contest cancelled[lower-alpha 6] X

Hostings


Year Location Venue Presenters Image
2008 Belgrade Belgrade Arena Jovana Janković and Željko Joksimović

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards
Further information: Marcel Bezençon Awards
Year Category Performer Song Final Points Host city Ref.
2007 Artistic Award Marija Šerifović "Molitva" (Молитва) 1 268 Helsinki
[4]

Winner by OGAE members
Further information: OGAE
Year Song Performer Final Points Host city Ref.
2007 "Molitva" (Молитва) Marija Šerifović 1 268 Helsinki
[5]

Barbara Dex Award
Further information: Barbara Dex Award
Year Performer Host city Ref.
2010 Milan Stanković Oslo
[6]
2013 Moje 3 Malmö
[6]

Commentators and spokespersons

All the events were broadcast on RTS1, except the 2013 grand final, the 2015 second semi-final, which were broadcast on RTS2.

Year Commentator Spokesperson Ref.
2007 Duška Vučinić-LučićMaja Nikolić
2008 Dragan Ilić, Mladen PopovićDušica Spasić[7]
2009 Dragan Ilić (semi-final 1)
Duška Vučinić-Lučić (semi-final 2, final)		Jovana Janković
2010 Duška Vučinić-Lučić (semi-final 1, final)
Dragan Ilić (semi-final 2)		Maja Nikolić
2011 Marina Nikolić (semi-final 1)
Dragan Ilić (semi-final 2)
Duška Vučinić-Lučić (final)		Dušica Spasić[8]
2012 Dragan Ilić (semi-final 1)
Duška Vučinić-Lučić (semi-final 2, final)		Maja Nikolić[9]
2013 Duška Vučinić-Lučić (semi-final 1)
Marina Nikolić (semi-final 2)
Silvana Grujić (final)		[10][11]
2014 Silvana Grujić (all shows)
Dragan Ilić (final)		Did not participate[12][13]
2015 Duška Vučinić-Lučić (semi-final 1, final)
Silvana Grujić (semi-final 2)		Maja Nikolić[14][15][16]
2016 Dragan Ilić (semi-final 1)
Duška Vučinić-Lučić (semi-final 2, final)		Dragana Kosjerina[17][18][19]
2017 Silvana Grujić, Olga Kapor (semi-final 1)
Duška Vučinić-Lučić (semi-final 2, final)		Sanja Vučić[20][21][22]
2018 Silvana Grujić, Tamara Petković (semi-final 1)
Duška Vučinić-Lučić (semi-final 2, final)		Dragana Kosjerina[23][24][25]
2019 Duška Vučinić-Lučić (semi-final 1, final)
Tamara Petković, Katarina Epštajn (semi-final 2)		[26][27][28]

Kosovo entrants

After Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, its broadcaster RTK was applying for EBU membership, and wished to enter Kosovo independently into Eurovision Song Contest 2009.[29][30] Kosovo is partially recognised and not a member of the United Nations, and UN membership is required to obtain full EBU membership. As of 2013, RTK has observer status within the EBU and did participate in the Eurovision Young Dancers.[31][32] Before the declaration of independence, some Kosovo Albanians artists competed in the Festivali i Këngës, the national selection for Albania. The Kosovan singer, Rona Nishliu, placed 5th in the grand final in 2012 for Albania and Lindita represented Albania in 2017.

Serbia claims Kosovo as its own Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. Some singers from Kosovo, especially Kosovo Serbs, participate in the Serbian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by RTS. Nevena Božović represented Serbia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and twice in the Eurovision Song Contest, firstly as a member of Moje 3 in 2013 and as a solo act in 2019.

Photogallery

See also

Notes
  1. If a country had won the previous year, they did not have to compete in the semi-finals the following year.
  2. In 2009, Serbia failed to qualify to the final due to the results of the jury qualifier, which selected Croatia over Serbia.
  3. Contains some phrases in the Torlakian dialect.[3]
  4. Contains phrases in English.
  5. Contains some phrases in English and Spanish.
  6. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References
  1. Juhász, Ervin (22 November 2013). "Serbia: RTS not going to Copenhagen". escXtra.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  2. Jiandani, Sanjay (26 September 2014). "Serbia: RTS confirms participation- opts for a national final". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  3. "Everything you need to know about Eurovision—and its decades of glorious camp". Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  4. "Marcel Bezençon Awards". eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  5. Cobb, Ryan (21 April 2017). "Analysing ten years of OGAE voting: "Underneath the fan favourite bias is a worthwhile indicator"". escxtra.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  6. Adams, William Lee (9 July 2015). "Poll: Who was the worst dressed Barbara Dex Award winner?". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. "Eurosong finale". b92.net. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  8. "Pesma Evrovizije 2011". RTS. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  9. "Pesma Evrovizije 2012". RTS (in Serbian). 19 May 2012. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  10. Песма Евровизије 2013 – друго полуфинале, пренос [Eurovision Song Contest 2013 – first semi-final] (in Serbian). Radio Television of Serbia. 15 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  11. Финале Песме Евровизије 2013 [Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2013] (in Serbian). Radio Television of Serbia. 17 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  12. РТС преноси "Евросонг" 2014. [RTS transmissions "Eurovision Song Contest" in 2014.] (in Serbian). RTS. 7 April 2014. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  13. Песма Евровизије 2014. – Полуфинале 1 [Eurovision Song Contest in 2014. – Semifinal 1] (in Serbian). RTS. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  14. "Песма Евровизије 2015: Прво полуфинале, пренос" [Eurovision 2015: First semi-final transfer] (in Serbian). Radio Television of Serbia. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  15. "Песма Евровизије 2015: Друго полуфинале, пренос" [Eurovision 2015: Second semi-final transfer] (in Serbian). Radio Television of Serbia. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  16. "Песма Евровизије 2015: Финале, пренос" [Eurovision 2015: Grand Final transfer] (in Serbian). Radio Television of Serbia. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  17. "Pesma Evrovizije 2016, polufinale 1, prenos". rts.rs (in Serbian). RTS. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  18. "Pesma Evrovizije 2016, polufinale 2, prenos". rts.rs (in Serbian). RTS. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  19. "Pesma Evrovizije 2016, Finale, prenos". rts.rs (in Serbian). RTS. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  20. Serbia, RTS, Radio-televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Песма Евровизије 2017, полуфинале 1, пренос" (in Serbian). Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  21. Serbia, RTS, Radio-televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Песма Евровизије 2017, полуфинале 2, пренос" (in Serbian). Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  22. Serbia, RTS, Radio-televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Песма Евровизије 2017, финале, пренос" (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  23. Serbia, RTS, Radio-televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Песма Евровизије 2018, полуфинале 1, пренос" (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  24. Serbia, RTS, Radio-televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Песма Евровизије 2018, полуфинале 2, пренос" (in Serbian). Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  25. Serbia, RTS, Radio-televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Песма Евровизије 2018, финале, пренос" (in Serbian). Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  26. Serbia, RTS, Radio-televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Песма Евровизије 2019, полуфинале 1, пренос" (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  27. Serbia, RTS, Radio-televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Песма Евровизије 2019, полуфинале 2, пренос" (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  28. Serbia, RTS, Radio-televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Песма Евровизије 2019, финале, пренос" (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  29. "Kosovo: RTK wants to enter Eurovision in 2009". oikotimes.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
  30. "NDR on the Kosovo potential participation in Eurovision" Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine oikotimes.com 22 May 2008 Link accessed 27/05/08
  31. Albavision (2011-04-07). "Kosovo new steps in ebu agreement". albavision.tk. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  32. "Participant Profile - Kosovo". European Broadcasting Union. 2011. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
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