On Saturday, it was the turn of Croatia to select their representative for Eurovision 2021 with their national selection show Dora 2021. Held in the resort town of Opatija, fourteen acts took to the stage, offering everything from tradition to dance to rap. Ultimately only one could prevail though – and that was Albina with “Tick-Tock”.
Written by Branimir Mihaljević, Max Cinnamon and Tihana Bukljaš Bakić, “Tick-Tock” presents upbeat rhythms and a racy pop feel. Best of all, it’s not just radio-ready — it’s also nearly ready for the Eurovision stage. It came with plenty of choreo — including a group lift that saw Albina singing on her back.
Albina will perform “Tick-Tock” in the second half of the first semi-final of Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam.
Albina – “Tick-Tock”
Albina wins Dora 2021
The fourteenth edition of Dora saw fourteen songs battle it out. The winner was determined by a 50/50 combination of points awarded by regional juries (from ten different major cities of Croatia) and from the public televote.
The jury votes came first, with each major Croatian city represented. The jury vote winner was Albina and the song “Tick-Tock”. Bernarda with “Colors” was second in the jury vote, while Nina Kraljić finished third with “Rijeka”.
Finally the public vote was announced. Albina won the televote with Nina Kraljić coming second and Cambi third.
Overall, Nina Kraljić was second and Mia Negovetić with the song, “She’s Like a Dream” was third.
Dora 2021: The Show
This year, Dora was hosted by an all-female team of Doris Pinčić Rogoznica, Daniela Trbović, Barbara Kolar and Jelena Lešić.
Singing the interval act was Vesna Pisarović. Pisarović won Dora in 2002 with the song “Sasvim Sigurna”. However, she represented Croatia at Eurovision 2002 with the English version of that song called, “Everything I Want”. She finished in eleventh place. At Dora, she sang a medley of her songs including “Sasvim Sigurna”.
Are you happy with the winner of Dora 2021? Do you think Croatia will do well in Eurovision this year? Let us know in the comment section down below!
OMG the TEA is hot! It looks like Nina might be onto something with the voting conspiracy and the competition allegedly being rigged. The family of Bernarda (Colors) said they knew Bernarda couldn’t win because the head of Croatian delegation apparently told them in advance that Bernarda’s voting number was going to be blacklisted…
https://www.index.hr/magazin/clanak/obitelj-jedne-od-natjecateljica-dore-ursula-tolj-nam-je-rekla-da-smo-na-crnoj-listi/2254883.aspx
I-LOVE-IT. It’s the chorus, it’s the croatian verse, it’s the sound, it’s those hot dancers (I fell in love with the one with the 90s hair but after doing my investigation in Instagram and find him, he’s sadly straight). I know it’s not winner material but it’s my guilty pleasure of the season for sure.
Has Nina been cancelled by the haters? It looks like she deactivated her social media…:-O
She’s been spreading fake rumours and hate, why can’t she accept the 2nd place and congratulate the winner? She’s already been given the chance to go to ESC recently and she messed it up.
They were doing her dirty. Croatian media called her a Satanist among other things.
This simply is not true.
After the year we have had, this is the song we need now, congrats Croatia
After the year we have had, this is the song we need now, congrats Croatia
Just watched an interview, she will keep that last part of the song in Croatian.
I’ve been repeating listen to Tick-Tock in full Croatian on Spotify and wish they would sing it this way in Eurovision, it’s so much better. But even if it stays like this, it’s still going to be a guilty pleasure of mine this season.
Generic and boring, sorry Croatia.
n o
I remember William or Deban once saying they had heard Apollo (Timebelle from Switzerland 2017) being in an Azeri song selection a few years earlier but with a different arrangement. It’d be interesting to hear some of these previous versions just out of curiosity.
I think Albina was the best choice after seeing the performances. I wouldn’t call it disco throwback like others are, to me it feels more like something cool I could hear at like a beach club, it’s fun but also cool, I am a huge fan! I’d easily put Mia as my #2, I liked her as well. I think Nina’s song had a nice, mystical chorus, but it really felt like they came up with that powerful, mystical chorus, and then struggled to fill the rest of the song and defaulted to filling it with vocal gymnastics of “ohhhhs”… Read more »
I’m surprised but I like it. I could imagine this in final around a 20th place (based on previous years standards).
For people complaining about it being outdated, I don’t know if you noticed it but since 2 years 80’s and 90’s vibes are back in a lot of music. Of course Albina’s song isn’t the best but it’s quite enjoyable imo.
Croatia will either be 11th or 10th (or maybe 9th) in semifinal 1, I think.
Good luck, though!
Shame about the vocals – they’re poor!
Well Foureira vocals was the same but still manage to get second
Some good songs in Dora 2021. I was rooting for Mia but i am happy with the outcome.
The live performance is good and gives that little extra the song needs and it works just fine. I would like to hear a full croation of this song.
Nina would’ve been a better option as this will not measure up to what will likely be better songs in the same style during its semi. However, Nina really did herself a disservice with that staging. She really needed a more subdued outfit, lost the dancers, invited the chorus instead of them appear on video and filled the stage with fog and lights to create a mood of epic proportions.
She definitely made some questionable staging choices.
Agree. I was very disappointed to see the old Eurovision trick of “let’s invite some gymnasts doing something completely unrelated to the song”. It felt like they were trying to distract us from the song which I don’t understand because the song is amazing????
So cheap and poor.
Not a bad song in studio, I’ll watch the live later
Not bad, but I don’t like the chorus, while the intro is great
They didnt even bring Damir as a guest!????
Oh yeah, that is another controversy. Apparently, Damir wanted to sing another song besides Divlji vjetre and HRT rejected. He withdrew altogether instead of budging. What is confusing, though, is that they had Vesna Pisarovic sing several songs in a row…
HRT should have respected Damir’s wishes (especially in compensation of him not going to Rotterdam) and also, Nina’s argument with them has some valid points. The running order indicates them favoring certain songs (but so does any running order in any NF), however, it only shifts statistics by a nudge. I’m only emphasizing how staging the entire process would’ve been extremely complicated for all the hoops they would have to go through (30 jury members in 10 different towns and tens of thousands of phone calls, which sometimes crashed when calling for any participant, Albina included). That’s why I think… Read more »
I don’t know enough to have an opinion on her other complaints, but Nina has all the reasons to be unsatisfied about the running order. Not just because she was one of the most famous participating, but also because that was not the kind of song anyone would normally chose for an opener. It’s a song that requires attention and being the first one usually means that the audience is still getting in the mood. And that’s why Eurovision usually goes with an uplifting dance song.
That is true. I’d probably choose ToMa or Mia to open the evening, purely based on tempo. I do think the two of them deserved their good results. Or maybe Beta, then. A guilty pleasure song to lighten the mood. Statistically, Eric and Ella had the worst slots. The opening position isn’t usually meant for the biggest favorite (except in Melfest semis, but it’s only 7 songs), but it’s still far better than ”death spot” 2 and perhaps even more forgettable third place. Ella was additionally sabotaged (probably accidentally) when they announced her as ”the daughter of the ex prime… Read more »
This totally explains why I felt Ella preferred to be anywhere else but on that stage… Running orders are always tricky, because someone has to be “sacrificed”. I would probably open with ToMa, but I’m biased because I didn’t like his song very much. So, between sacrificing him or Mia, I would preserve her. Beta could be an alternative, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to open with something that over the top, it may lead the audience to a bad idea about what kind of contest has just started. By the way, having Mia and Albina performing… Read more »
I don’t think that Ella necessarily heard the announcement beforehand (I am sorry if she did come with that impression on stage). I think that she is a newcomer and she’s still learning how to be comfortable on stage. But I do think the announcers accidentally disadvantaged her chances. I personally really liked both Ocean of Love and She’s Like a Dream. I think that my top 5 are quite above the rest, but I think that my 6-8 are still solid. Yeah… about running orders… It does play a part, but if the song is really a favorite, it… Read more »
My personal preference wasn’t that distant from the final result or your ranking. I was between Albina and Nina with Mia as 3rd place. And after them, I would probably place Filip, Cambi and Bernarda, but none of them had the right song to win. Filip seems perfect for Eurovision, I hope he finds the entry for that soon.
I agree. Filip is an outstanding performer, but the song just didn’t have an immediate impact on me. I listened to it again today and it does become better in time, but it still needs that something to stand out at all. I would really want to see Mia, Filip and Bernarda representing us at some point. BTW, Mia also spoke about the voting crashing and all the allegations and I can tell you that this girl is golden! She said that Albina deserved to win, but that Nina would deserve it as well and so would other performers, because… Read more »
Good to know that Mia is not just very talented, but also mature to her age. She’s building her path and the truth is that it will be much better for her to get in Eurovision when she’s ready for that, which may be even sooner than we’re expecting. I hope Dora sorts these problems, because a good relationship with their artists is fundamental for the growth of the contest.
I agree but i would say Nina is not that famous in Croatia. She was on The Voice Croatia more than 6 years ago and went on Eurosong 2016 with not so good result. From that point on she was nowhere to be seen or heard.
The vocals need some work and the song a revamp. But it has potential, it is catchy in my opininion
PART 2 – ABOUT VOTING AND BACKGROUND SITUATION I want to congratulate our delegation for *finally* offering some promotion, like clips (which brought top lists with them), odds, advertising on TV, online quizzes and similar. The songs are on average somewhat better than in the last two years (even though I’d say that both top and bottom are more extreme than last year), which is also a step in the right direction. Now, the less nice part is that there are some accusations of staged victory for Albina. Considering that there were ten different juries and Albina won the televote… Read more »
I love Nina as a musician and will be supporting her music regardless. She has a rare talent. I just don’t feel like I have enough info to prove or disprove any behind the scenes stuff that happens. If it happened, it took *a lot* of effort from a lot of people. Not impossible, just unlikely. Still, I see that Nina was treated badly by some people there and I do find it unfair. I do believe that there were some disputes and that the running order was done so it wouldn’t favor her. However, unfavorable running order is one… Read more »
Croatia haven’t sent a good song since 2016 and this year doesn’t change that.
As Arianna Grande sang Thank u, next.
Did ‘share the love’ give anyone else proper Katie Price and Peter Andre ‘a whole new world’ vibes. Horrendous singing, so bad that you cant stop watching haha!
How did it even get that many televotes, lol
God knows haha! He didn’t sing to badly, but she was so out of tune lol!
For me the voices were the best part of the song. No need to dive deeper into my feelings about this performance.
The best song and perfo won!
Bravo Croatia, you got all my support from Buenos Aires Argentina!
Tick – Tock! Dance Europe 😀 She will be a spectacle in Rotterdam. I can’t wait!
She can’t sing , bless her …
She can sing very well believe me!!!
Why do some people cry over Nina’s 2nd place? She was super kitsch with that horrible outfit, would’ve looked ridiculous in ESC and we all know how she destroyed a great song in 2016.
Give the chance to another artist like Albina who is a fresh entry from Croatia.
It is REALLY weird. Eurovision fans readers wanted NIna Kralji? to win this by over 50%, but now that Albina won they aren’t pissed at all for some reason…
Unfortunately that’s how a lot of countries work now: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Armenia, to name a few. I’m not saying they do this every year, but it’s pretty common. I prefer the usual NF with different acts or one artists with different proposals. But bidding for an specific song is very artificial.
People sayin “oh, nooo, iv expected balkan-ballad… so sad”…. Well, how many times did you vote for that type in last few, lets say 5 yrs?
The best performance won last night, just like it will be in Rotterdam. Staging in crutial! Albina was on fire!
I just hope that some people will understand that that it is EuroVISION… vision.. Nina clearly did not learn anything since 2016…
Preach sister??
1.Lithuania
2.France
3.Croatia
4.Ukraine
5.Israel
6.Albania
Other than flipping Albania and Israel , this is basically my ranking too.
Your ranking is exactly mine.
I love it! One competitor less for my country (that always struggles to qualify) in this bloodbath of a semi
Okay, I have *a lot to say*, so I’ll break it down in two parts: SONGS AND MY LIST As expected, full songs and live performances changed by opinion on things: 14… Noci pijane – As a song, it’s probably my lowest rated one of the season thus far. Feels cheap and barely listenable. Brigita’s vocals were fine, but the song is just atrocious. 13… Share the Love – They are cute. The message is cute. The song is awful. It’s cheesy and too childish. Ashley being off-key the entire song didn’t help either. 12… Kriv – This would be… Read more »
Ha ha ha … I just had a good time translating Ma zamisli for Kosey. It’s SO campy and tacky that I kinda like it… perhaps I should put it above decent, but sleepy Bernarda and Filip? 🙂
I was waiting for you to wake up!
I’ve ranked these already but I’m very happy with your top two and your comments about them are right on point. I feel Mia’s song is aimed at the same demographic as Albina’s though so don’t know if I’d differentiate them based on that. I think they’re very close in quality.
I think our main difference is probably on Eric. You picked out the repetition as something that could be overlooked but I just couldn’t. The song felt long.
I saw your video just this morning (a like from me). I’ll be posting my rating there as well. Yeah, there are some differences, but overall it’s not *that* dissimilar. I actually find my top 5 all kinda close in quality, except that Nina is probably a class up from the rest. I was thinking recently (thanks to me liking Terence James in France, I guess) why I really dislike some repetitive songs, but not others. I guess it’s because in most cases repetitive = flat, but in some cases it manages not to. That’s my best explanation. For instance,… Read more »
OMG THIS IS A BOP I LOVE THIS?? best Croatian entry EVER, seriously can’t remember Croatia ever sending a proper bop before, colour me excited ?
oh my…
I don’t think Nina would have done much better. Finally Croatia released that sending ethno ballads isn’t a top 10 thing, it’s not 2005 any more
2014 is still better than 2005:)
Yup, Croatian is notorious for it’s difficult cases.
Nominative: ”Who” – Albina
Gentive: ”Of whom” – Albine
Instrumental: ”With whom” – Albinom 😉
This is good, a bouncy, catchy little number, presented well and Albina’s hair is impressive. It runs out of steam well before the end so perhaps they could do something to maintain interest a bit more, but I enjoyed it overall.
Extremely outdated. But since people are so mesmerized by the fact that Croatia picked a up-tempo song, they can’t see past that.
Music = timeless. Everyone with a brain knows that.
It does not have a wow! factor, but is easy to listen and get used to dance with it. I think it will be memorable or forgettable depending on the songs before/after it. For now, it is a borderline qualifier for me.
I do not hate it, by i think this will struggle, as it is neither a jury bait, nor a televote hit. Especially in the more competitive semi 1, odds will be against it. It will get few votes from Ex Yu countries though, lets see if this will be enough to make it to the final. I still prefer it to Albania.
Rijeka was the typical outdated Balkan t-rash that Eurofans deserve… •__•
And I’m here for it.
I don’t like it all. Quite poor entry as for Croatia.
The winner song is OK, there were better choices imo, but still it’s good and fun and doesnt take itself too serious, which is a good thing for a pop song.
But DORA this year was GREAT!!! Realy good songs and the show was awesome comparing to previous editions !!!
I love how croatians try to select a trendy pop song to impress us, but for me this is so outdated and overdone. The Swedish national selection Melfest showed once again how advanced we are with music. Good luck to Albina, she needs it more than we!
I wouldn’t call “Carpool Karaoke” the most advanced piece of today’s Swedish music.
That long haired backing dancer is gorgeous
All 3 songs were good, but I take bop over ballad, just my preference. So I’m quite glad it won.
They better throw in a human-sized hamster wheel if they want any shot at qualifying.
It’s a solid bop and puts Croatia in line to be a likely borderline qualifier at Rotterdam (even if Albina doesn’t qualify her result will be better than Franka’s or Roko’s) and HRT just have to refine staging rather than completely overhauling it. However, with Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina not competing and Hurricane being chosen for Serbia, I’m sad that we won’t have a Yugoslav Balkan ballad as Croatia was the only country it could’ve hypothetically come from and such a song would stand out in the first semi.
I mean, technically, in terms of style, a Balkan-type ballad would suit Ana Soklic down to the ground. Slovenia did send Verjamem so it’s not impossible to hope!
But Ana Soklic is going to send a song in English this year, so that possibility went down the gutter :/
I honestly think Balkan ballads are so outdated now, no one gets excited over it any more.Nina would still have struggled. Finally Croatia released it’s not 2005 any more..