Tonight Serbia finally kicked off its much anticipated selection process: Beovizija 2020. Twelve acts competed in the first of two semi-finals for six spots in the final on Sunday 1st March. They served drama, passion and soul…but only six acts ultimately advanced to the next round.
Which lucky six made the final cut?
Results were determined by both a jury of music professionals and a televote. In no particular order, the top six of the night that advanced to the final were:
- Igor Simić – “Ples za rastanak”
- Andrija Jo – “Oči meduze”
- Thea Devy – “Sudnji dan”
- Neda Ukraden – “Bomba”
- Marko Marković – “Kolači”
- EJO – “Trag”
Immediately after the results had been announced, the finalists drew the positions in which they would be performing this Sunday. Neda Ukraden will perform third, Andrija Jo fourth, Igor in fifth, followed by Thea Devy and EJO in sixth and seventh respectively. Marko Marković will perform later on than the aforementioned entrants, down in eleventh place.
Who was in the running?
In total, Beovizija 2020 has 24 entries — 12 in each semi. Hosted by Dragana Kosjerina and Jovan Radomir, with Kristina Radenković and Stefan Popović in the green room, the Serbian national selection showcased everything that the Balkan nation had to offer.
The contest kicked off with a touching performance from the traditional ethno-band EJO and was wrapped up with Igor Simić and his colourful number “Ples za rastanak”. Additionally, this semi-final saw performances from one of the front-runners in the competition, Andrija Jo, as well as veteran of the Serbian music industry – Neda Ukraden.
| 1. | EJO | “Trag” |
| 2. | Milica Mišić | “Kiša” |
| 3. | Ivan Kurtić & Mistik Cello | “Sabajle” |
| 4. | Thea Devy | “Sudnji dan” |
| 5. | Karizma | “Ona me zna” |
| 6. | Andrija Jo | “Oči Meduze” |
| 7. | Sanja Bogosavljević | “Ne puštam” |
| 8. | Marko Marković | “Kolači” |
| 9. | Srđan Lazić | “Duša i telo” |
| 10. | Neda Ukraden | “Bomba” |
| 11. | Bilja & Amvon duo | “Raj” |
| 12. | Igor Simić | “Ples za rastanak” |
On top of the 12 competing acts, in true Beovizija fashion, we were treated to a star-spangled list of opening and interval acts. Much like last year where we had a catalogue of former Balkan Eurovision entries, numerous Eurovision acts from previous years, such as Tijana Bogićević, Maya Sar, Snežana Berić, and Milan Stanković, took to the stage once more to entertain the crowd. Opening the show was Serbia’s act for the 2017 edition of Eurovision, Tijana Bogićević, who, alongside her husband, gave a heart-felt rendition of Duncan Laurence’s “Arcade”.
The broadcaster also paid tribute to the first Yugoslav artist in the Eurovision Song Contest, Ljiljana Petrović, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year. A touching rendition of her entry, “Neke Davne Zvede”, was given by the ultimate singer to represent Yugoslavia in Eurovision: Snežana Berić – Extra Nena.
Tonight’s six qualifiers will be joined in the final by six more acts who will qualify from tomorrow’s heat.
What do you make of the six who advanced to the final? Are you surprised by the results? Did your favourite make the final cut? Let us know your opinion in the comments down below!
Can anyone tell me why did Milica fail to qualify? Was she bad in live? I didn’t expect such a vibrant staging from Igor. The song doesn’t call for something outlandish, but I guess it worked anyway. On the other hand, I expected more drama from Andrija Jo. The song is really heavily dramatic with symbolism.
I am just watching Beovizija now (6 songs in) and Milica was excellent. I am as surprised as you.
Bomba!!! <3
Hopefully the irrelevant semi, although I wouldn’t mind EJO in Rotterdam.
Beovizija is getting worse and worse every year. And Serbia makes great songs, many hits! It’s like they send the worst ones to Beovizija. ? I miss older Beovizija when it was so good and you couldn’t decide which song is better.
Are there any links to the performances?
Not yet, RTS is always a bit late. But I believe the performances will be on YouTube tomorrow during the day.
Until then, you can watch this:
https://youtu.be/DA-b3dw1kxc
I hope the second semi to be better. Igor Simi?, Andrija Jo and Neda Ukraden were the ones i liked here.
I really don’t understand why people are saying that Andrija sounds bad live, he basically gave me the studio version with some flat notes here and there, oh well (or I’m watching the wrong video of course, please give me the correct link if that’s the case). Considering the song it is, he sang it better than I expected. Only thing I didn’t really like was that his voice was kinda put on the track without really any layering, I need more bass/beat etc. something. Anyway deserving qualifiers overall.
We can now safely rule out Andrija Jo cause with that vocals, he ain’t winning. 😉
Hurricane to the Rotterdam!
Marko markovic ftw! Love it!
Neda absolutely squashed everyone tonight- can’t believe I’m saying this! I even voted for her even though I’m not a fan of her music generally. She really should go to Eurovision. Song was a bop, she was graceful on stage and she didn’t look out of place at all as I initially thought. Wow. And let’s not forget she is the only true superstar of the Balkans in the whole line up, so that certainly won’t hurt the scoreboard!
She was really overdoing it when she invited people to vote for her, because “all the proceeds from the voting go to charity”. Of course that’s true regardless of whom you vote for! So, maybe a star, but not a lady.
Thea Devy and Neda was the best tonight! I’m waiting for Hurricane now.
First things first: Beovizija is getting better and better, the production was very good. Andrija Jo is a good looking guy but that cant hide the fact that he cant sing. Neda Ukraden although has a dated song, she killed it tonight! Cant wait tomorrow for Hurricane
The biggest threat to Hurricane has been overlooked, it’s not Andrija Jo it’s Neda!
Only 2 ballads out of 6 advanced which feels like a win in my books. But we all know after tonights Andrija Jo vocals shaped trainwreck that Hurricane will represent Serbia this year and I am HERE FOR IT
The only ballad to qualify is Thea’s Sudnji dan. Which song do you think is also a ballad, cause I’m pretty sure none of the others are.
Go Andrija! Loving the black and white theme. Great song, great performance!
To be honest with you, I didn’t think any of the vocals were particularly impressive. Maybe there were sound issues in the studio?
I still think Andrija’s is the best song – and it is the Eurovision Song Contest after all?
Also, to be fair to him, his is a performance where he has to dance as well as sing. Personally, if this was all about the best vocal, we’d have 40 “Voda” type songs, and no-one wants that, I don’t think?
Look, I’m not saying he’s the best singer in the competition, and maybe that will ultimately let him down. But I enjoyed his performance, the whole package, and let’s not forget the lady (apologies I’ve forgotten her name) who can sing. Overall, I thought it was a good performance, I think it would have a lot of fans across Europe who don’t typically enjoy what Serbia often sends.
I think they could salvage the song if they give him some back vocalists or co-singers whose voices harmonize with his – or if he gets better vocal control. You can hear he has some of the same tone in his voice as in the studio but he goes off-pitch.
You must be deaf
Excellent manners you have there, your mother would be proud.
To be honest, Neda was the best one tonight. All respect for her, 70 years old but still in the shape to compete with much younger singers.
My favorites tonight were Marko Markovic- Kolaci and Igor Simic- Ples za rastanak.
Andrija Jo can’t sing, that was horrible.
Fun fact: Neda Ukraden is 70 years old. Wooow.