He’s the hero, he’s the rainbow and he is singing “Say Na Na Na”. Serhat is representing San Marino at Eurovision 2019 in Tel Aviv. He is currently in Amsterdam for Eurovision in Concert and he caught up with our William to discuss his Eurovision entry.

Serhat interview — Eurovision in Concert 2019

Serhat feels that Eurovision producers made a good decision placing San Marino last in the first semi-final. As a former television producer, he believes that “Say Na Na Na” deserves to close the show. He believes that he can use that platform to qualify but concedes that “Eurovision is very unpredictable”. Serhat is focused on his own song and performance and will aim to qualify on its own merits.

Serhat is thrilled by the international response to “Say Na Na Na”. He has received a lot of positive feedback on social media. Some fans have reached out saying that “after listening to your song, I felt again that I started to live”. Serhat elaborates, “If I can touch people in that positive way and change something in their life, this is something very special and I am very proud of it.”

“Say Na Na Na” — Serhat

Interestingly, Serhat discussed writing the song, which took a matter of minutes. He received a call from his manager and agreed to return to Eurovision if they could find the right song for him. Deciding not to wait, Serhat hung up, channelled his inner feelings, wrote the song and called back five minutes later.

Without giving too much away, Serhat also gave us a taste of what to expect from his staging. He revealed that the staging will be “very modern” and “related to the music video” but there will be some surprises. He is, of course, limited by the rule of a maximum six people on stage, preventing the full concept of the music video being taken on stage. However, we can expect some of those elements to be featured.

Serhat also spoke about the success of “I Didn’t Know” in the aftermath of Eurovision 2016. Despite failing to qualify, the song went on to chart at number 25 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs. Serhat is proud of the reception and believes the international success justifies the song choice despite failing to qualify at Eurovision.

Serhat will perform last in the first semi-final, following Greece’s Katerine Duska.

What do you think of “Say Na Na Na”? Are you excited about Serhat’s staging concept being related to the music video? Let us know in the comments below.

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11 Comments
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Patti LaHelle
Patti LaHelle
4 years ago

I’ve grown to respect his Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent.

TurkishESCfollower
TurkishESCfollower
4 years ago

Oh, Serhat, As Turkish public we’re proud of you! Hope you’ll do better than your 2016 performance! I remember watching Serhat on TV when I was a child. (He was presenting a program in Turkey in 1990s). Well, although I know that Serhat’ll not see my comment, I want to add something: Thanks for making us proud! We’ll ALWAYS support you eventhough we’ll not vote for you! In May go and rock the stage and make San Marino proud! Love you Serhat and San Marino!

Deerlover
Deerlover
4 years ago

San Marino must qualify for the finals.

KuhKatz
KuhKatz
4 years ago

Serhat is, in my opinion, an amazing person. When I see this, I don‘t have the feeling, that he acts like this, I have the feeling that this is 100% Serhat himself. He has a strong presence on stage but also off stage, and he is able to just speak whats on his mind, that was maybe the first time, William just had to ask a question to get an answer and even more. If Serhat and his team can pull out a great staging, he might kick off Valentina of the Sammarinese throne and get the crown (or in… Read more »

NickC
NickC
4 years ago
Reply to  KuhKatz

Maybe was not too bad, but say na na na is miles ahead, don’t you think?

Joe
Joe
4 years ago

Hearing him talk about the song and what it means to him is honestly really touching. The message he’s trying to spread is one I believe in whole-heartedly. He’s a smart guy with really thoughtful answers, and I think this is one of my favorite Wiwi interviews yet.

Joe
Joe
4 years ago
Reply to  Joe

It’s hard to be cynical about it, y’know? I get that not everybody likes every Eurovision song, and of course not everybody is gonna enjoy this one, but I’d prefer if people didn’t yuck my yum on this one.

American ESC fan
American ESC fan
4 years ago

Is there a link to stream it?

Loin dici
Loin dici
4 years ago

Waiting for Vanilla to make another comment of the five minute inspiration…

But it’s bad, but again it’s Serhat, so it’s good.

Loin dici
Loin dici
4 years ago
Reply to  Loin dici

(Basically it means it’s good guys don’t get me wrong)

Safiya
Safiya
4 years ago

The song may be cheesy but Serhat makes it sound genuine. He’s very charismatic and when I listen to his song, I always think that I would really like to call him and hear that life is beautiful and fine.