ESC Etc.

Country: Montenegro
Artist: Nina Žižić
Title: Dobrodošli
Songwriter(s): Boris Subotić, Violeta Mihajlovska
Tempo: 163 BPM Mode: Minor Key: D Duration: 3:01

I already hinted at the fact that, while I’m absolutely overjoyed to have Montenegro back in the mix at ESC after a 2-year hiatus, I couldn’t quite get into any of the entries in Montesong – the newly established Montenegrin national final – and, beyond my own personal taste, I struggled to identify any competitive tracks for ESC (or to differentiate between a number of them, to be honest). What really grabbed me, however, was the drama that ensued from NeonoeN‘s victory and ultimately, their withdrawal. The winning song in question, titled Clickbait, more or less sounds like an uninspired retread of Hella Good by No Doubt mashed with the chorus from Let’s Dance by David Bowie, but it secured the win by coming in 2nd with both juries and televote. In the following days, a video surfaced showing the band performing a demo of that same song at Festival Kulture Zabjelo in 2023, possibly in breach of the rules of both the national final and ESC itself. After a week, the band decided to back out and withdrew from ESC, a decision that sparked the disgruntled resignation of Vladana, the festival’s artistic director, as well as a flurry of speculation and conspiracy theories on social media, with some fans debating whether the song even met the disqualification criteria, some suggesting that the band was “asked” to tap out by the broadcaster in light of the poor reception of their song in the ESC fandom, and others arguing over who should step in to represent Montenegro between Nina Žižić, who came in second place but won juries, and the rock band Baryak, who came in third place but won the televote. Eurovision season has just started and it’s already so messy?!

If you’re reading this, you know the answer: Nina will be representing her country at ESC in 2025, a decision that seems to abide by the rules of the contest but does raise some concerns regarding the viability of an entry that came fourth in the final’s public vote and might perform similarly poorly in Basel next May. To be clear, Dobrodošli (which translates to “Welcome”) is a perfectly fine ballad about resilience in the face of adversity, well perfomed and staged by a confident artist. That’s also unfortunately the issue – it’s just fine. The melody is mainly carried by the vocal, but the track itself, which is going for a cinematic/Bond theme vibe, doesn’t quite resolve or pick up in terms of production, never quite achieving the emotional or sonic heights is it so clearly striving for. There is obviously time to take it back to the studio for a revamp, and more mature audiences might appreciate the understated vibes and the performance value of the act – Nina looks amazing and she does command the stage – but this is really a jury song, and not a particularly strong one at that. As a reminder, semifinals are televote-only.

Jury Potential: I could see this landing middle of the pack/Top 15 with juries…if it makes it to the final.
Televote Potential: This will be the biggest hurdle to clear. Dons broke Latvia’s NQ streak last year with a similarly understated (if more pop-friendly) ballad, but he had to leave his heart on the stage and show tits and arms. There’s nothing to compare this track to as of yet, but will people even be remembering a mid ballad in five months?