Bojana Stamenov — the Serbian diva known for her powerful voice and unique styling — will sing Ceo Svet Je Moj (The Whole World is Mine) at Eurovision 2015.
During the final of “Odbrojavanje do Beca” — Serbia’s national selection — it really was a matter of saving the best for last. Performing third out of three contestants, Bojana wowed with her dance-pop number. It oozed soul and had the faintest hint of Turbo-folk. The powerful chorus has the anthemic feel of Marija Serifovic’s “Molitva”.
Bojana, a popular singer in Serbia who rose to fame after coming second on the Ja Imam Talenat show, is often compared with Aretha Franklin. Bojana was certainly working her inner diva during her performance, which included graphics being projected on to her dress and a further dress reveal to boot!
Ceo Svet Je Moj — Live performance
Bojana had to impress the public and televoters alike, and in doing so she swept aside wildcard qualifier Danica Krstic (Suze za kraj) and Aleksa Jelic (Vodi me). Bojana picked up top points from both the jury and the public, making it an easy victory. All three acts certainly brought it on stage, though, and proved why we’re so happy that Serbia are back in Eurovision!
As a special treat, Serbia’s 2013 entry Moje 3 returned to perform Serbia’s 2007 winnner, “Molitva”, as well as a performance from Marija Serifovic’s backing singers, Beauty Queens.
Are y’all feeling Bojana and “Ceo Svet Je Moj”? Let us know what your feelings are in the comments below!
Review of Serbia’s national final
Photo: Courtesy of RTS
And I think we have a winner, awesome song, voice and charisma.
@Alex: It means that I really did lose my hopes for whatever comes our way in Eurovision. And like you I also felt disappointed that Finland rejected Siru, which was my absolute favourite song. And now I have no favourite and no song to actually say I like or care for …Eurovision 2015 is proven to be musically horrendous and uninteresting. I don’t waste my time with judging looks and outfits, I don’t bother with how a song is presented in stage … my critical point is and will always be the music itself … nothing can save a bad… Read more »
Charles, I’m not sure how you meant “lost my hopes to be fair with you,” but I’ll take it to be the inoffensive meaning. If you’ve lost hope for 2015 I can’t totally blame you. You might want to wait on Latvia, Czech Republic and Estonia and check out Lithuania’s song, though… As far as this singer goes, yes, she could have a much better song. There will be other singers though, and she will have other songs outside of Eurovision in the future; that’s how I look at it. We can’t always get what we want, and I learned… Read more »
@Huh: Thanks! Someone with brains and two EARS to know how awful this whole serbian I will survive BS is … we know how gay Eurovision is, it was made crystal clear last year … now can we move on from that? Or do we need more gay club drag queen rubbish over and over again every year now? This is Eurovision not a bathhouse … let’s stop damaging it with more trash and make the effort to make it musically relevant … or we won’t have any more top 10 singles in the UK like it happened with the… Read more »
W-O-W!!!!! This is AMAZING!!! Definitely top 10 material!! It will 100% qualify and should do well!! The juries will love her vocal performance while the public should love her styling and performance!!! Great choice Serbia!!! Amazing!! GO SERBIA!!!! ??
Oh my god! The fact that some people like this song is SHOCKING! It’s hideous! Messy and cliche!!! Not to the final of course!
Yay! Good luck, Serbia!
(PS – Bojana’s like a Serbian Aretha Franklin! 🙂 )
dont like it, sorry Serbia!
I don’t like it, sorry.
Another comment: I am starting to get tired of such songs like this with similar elements from the previous years (San Marino 2013, Portugal 2008, and many more). Charles kinda has a point about this one. It kinda perpetuates that “stereotypical” idea that the majority of Europe were already thinking about (Just like what the people of UK are saying about this contest) and doing it for the sole purpose of winning the contest or making it to the top 5, 10 or what. Plus, it seems very hard for the majority of Eurovision fans to adapt, appreciate and accept… Read more »
I’m from Serbia. We had a decent national selection and I think we chose an okay song. The girl is a good singer and the song is growing – however I don’t think it will win. I think we make to the final though.
I don’t usually like Serbia, but this is amazing! She’s got such a strong voice, and I love that it’s in Serbian. It’s a great song! I look forward to her stage show in Vienna!
I even can not listen to it till the song ends. I’m so sorry but this is ten times horrible then Georgian 2014 entry.(BTW I’m Georgian)
@ “If Charles considers every song such a pain to listen to, why is he even paying attention to Eurovision in the first place?” Maybe the true question is: why do you even feel bothered about what I write? Shouldn’t you be focusing on what really matters to you which is being in love with this rubbish piece of music? Or are you childish enough to even believe we are all here loving everything and everybody? No one does that in real life … nor does it happen in Eurovision. You either take it or leave it … But I… Read more »
@Alex: You take issue with the idea that ESC 2015 is overall sounding similar to the 1998-2007 era… and I have taken issue for so long for that fact that such period in time actually existed for no reason beyond understanding. When I think of those years I tell myself “They just don’t care … any piece of crap is fine just to make this whole circus be as loud and dynamic as possible … the music can stay at home and sleep …”. You can stand for this serbian song and use all the arguments you want, that can… Read more »
@Zac: I find it cynical to ask anyone to think and see things under your light just to please you … nah! Show true Eurovision musical quality as we had witnessed during 2010-2014 and then maybe you’ll see mw happier … but with crap like the entry of Serbia? No honey … I’d rather see this lip sync by some drag queen in some random gay club show because that’s where it makes more sense. Eurovision should be far superior than that despite the huge gay following. Plus, Zac I don’ know what kind of Eurovision you started to follow… Read more »
It’s a pitty that she won’t sing in English because the lyrics are so beautiful.. But, it doesn’t have sence if someone translates directly from serbian to english. For Aleksa, he doesn’t know how to sing, but he’s a great performer and he loves the stage and the glam. The second girl (I forgot her name, but I think that she is Danica) has a sooo boring song, I can’t listen to it, tbh. Bojana doesn’t have also a good song, but, in my oppinion, the best of the 3 songs is her song. Good luck. Ceo svet je moj,… Read more »
I adore this song
After reading the comments I expected an awful song like that of Netherlands with its “aye-yay-yay-yay” trade mark. Or some kitschy dance with some folks dancing like they overdosed on Red Bull.
But the song is pleasant and the fact that it is not the common power ballad is a plus not a minus.
Probably won’t qualify.
what a pile of mess
My first thoughts are Crisalide + Cezar’s “It’s My Life.” I’m still processing this song. Not sure what to think yet.
I’m still waiting for better entries from Sweden, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and maybe Australia.
@Charles: I take issue with the idea that ESC 2015 is overall sounding similar to the 1998-2007 era. I agree that so far it’s mediocre, but really the only two songs that are evocative of that particular era are this one and Georgia’s Warrior (the latter of which I don’t care for at all, regardless of the quality of Nina’s voice). I think it’s unrealistic to expect that you won’t find a song or two like this in the selection, and some people genuinely like these songs, absent of the stereotype you’re perpetuating about “gay” music (and I doubt most… Read more »
THIS IS GLAM!
It’s like Esma singing Valentina’s “Crisalide” with Cristina Scarlat’s staging. Might qualify.
@Erin I don’t have a problem with disliking songs, not everybody is uniform in their opinions. I certainly don’t like all songs, but I try to maintain a balance. Charles rarely, if ever, posts positively and manages to literally trash everything. You don’t have to wear rose coloured glasses for everything but you certainly should try to find the good parts in every song. If Charles considers every song such a pain to listen to, why is he even paying attention to Eurovision in the first place?
Not my cup of tea…
good luck serbia, i usually like your songs.
Oh, I don’t think so…
There are some parts in this song that are too harsh to the listeners ears.
She has a strong voice, but the song is not for ESC at all
@Zac – We need a prophet of apocalypse, especially one that does it so bluntly with a wry sense of bitter humor. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The name calling is out of place. Eurovision is not rocket science – it’s a middle of the road music at best with a few exceptions. Some songs which were considered as flops or misunderstood about 30 or 40 years ago are now seen in a completely different light (Spain 1983, Austria 1977) and vice versa (UK 1969, Spain 1968) as just a few examples. People are allowed to have grievances… Read more »
@MTD while Eurovision does cycle through tried-and-true successful tropes, it has never been the ‘gay as all hell’ trope. Since 2006, it has been rock music thanks to Lordi, Euphoria-style dance music thanks to Loreen, and duets/country music this year thanks to The Common Linnets. You can’t just say Eurovision is a gayfest and promptly ignore hot females like Kalomoira, Eleftheria, Mariya (in her MV), Alyona Lanskaya, Lena v2.0, and obviously Cleo, who have used their sexuality to get straight people to vote for them.
We all know the staging screwed Moje 3 over and had it used the same staging that it did at Beosong it would have easily qualified over Estonia/Ireland. Don’t try and act like it was screwed from the outset.
Also Charles could you please turn the corners of your mouth upward for the first time in your life? You’ll find it will be a lot better than being a sad sack. Try it out.
Serbia did it well this time. First entry from them since “Oro” in 2008 that I actually like (tho “Oro” is still miles ahead that is a FACT). I just don’t like that electro vibe that every Balkan turbo-folk song has placed in the middle for no apparent reason, tho I believe that with some tweaks here and there this could potentially be a great comeback song for Serbia. Not a winner but a definite qualifier I would say. On a side note, even tho I find the arrangement to be a bit messy at places it is still more… Read more »
@Stephen, let me be Charles for one comment, as you may not “see” the obvious. Both, Dana & Conchita are coming from the LGBT demographic, both are men-to-women (latter to some extent), both were having massive support from the LGBT lobbies…both had songs that were 2nd to their presented image – being different, hence LGBT. If Conchita’s song was presented on stage by, lets say Tanja from Estonia, it wouldn’t be very hyped. Conchita image that went with that song only attributed to the general image of ESC as being a “gay-fest” (which isn’t far from the truth). Other countries,… Read more »
Charles, don’t ignore me. What is the comparison between Dana and Conchita?
I think the melody needs to be reworked to make it catch on better, and it needs more instrumental overlays/layers or extra touches off and on throughout the song. They need to get rid of the generic background dance music that comes in about a minute and 15 seconds before the end, and put in a better one with a more sophisticated rhythm. They also need stronger background singers to fill in the vocal sound.
@Martha: There are CHEAP ballads and there are CHEAP drag queen-gay-cliched songs … Eurovision has been made of all off these 2 together … I understand though you like the CHEAP drag queen-gay-cliched songs for some bizarre reason beyond understanding … but last time a drag queen-disco trash was at Eurovision it didn’t go to the final and stayed at the 11th place … in 2013 … What is sad here is that someone considered with a similar artistic potential as Aretha Franklin was given this banal and awful piece of music that DOES NOT mirror who she is as… Read more »
This is BY FAR the strongest entry so far! CHEAP BALLADS that sounds just like every other are killing ESC, we needed something different, something like this! Bojana’s vocal abilities are…OMG WOW! She should end up in top 10 for sure!
Great! Just great! My top 3!
I’ve finally found time to listen the three songs.
– Aleksa Jelic is my favorite among those presented
– Danica Krstic’s ballad was really boring, tbh
– Bojana Stamenov had the most unfinished song of them all, all over the place. She didn’t deserve a sh*tty song of that kind.
Sorry Serbia.
I don’t like it. I expected a lot from Serbia but this is just so cheap…it’s unbelievable to me that Molitva and this have the same author. Well,as Zeljko Joksimovic sang “Better luck next time” haha
You know it’s a laughably weak year when this song is tipped to win the whole thing… If Estonia and Romania choose wisely they’ll both easily make the top 5.
I had never heard it until now. My reaction went something like this…
????. ????. ????. ????. ????. Then this was the weird climax thing. ????????????????????????.
I love this song. 2015 has started to grow on me but still a bit disappointed with some. This how however is brilliant.
9/10. Her vocals and presentation need improving.
I prefered aleksa jelic. But on a high level i can live with bojana, too. Serbia should reach the final easily and will have good chances for top 10!
@Martin, totally agree! Hera Bjork qualities in Bojana which I think is good to have.
It is actually really good, I think this year is getting better. We had a rough start but it is getting better!
Saw this and immediately thought San Marino 2013 w/ Crisalide. Not that its a direct comparison.
Also, some folks here mentioned Moje 3 was expected to reach the final but didn’t, well, they had an interesting song (interesting in a positively way) but what put them down was staging, it definitely put me away).
Bojana could do away w/ the half-nude dancers and the song can still make it to the final.
Nice song and great vocals. One of my favorites so far.
Danica was better but I guess Bojana is OK.Will be hard to qualify in semi 1 though
Did you all looked at the bare-chested dancers and didn’t listened this so-called song? It is unfinished, at its best. This as a favorite for the win? I know that everyone is entitled to have a music taste but in light of this song – what the heck is wrong with your taste?
Sorry , no final for Serbia this year very dated