Dora 2021 is happening! On 13 February, the Croatian city of Opatija will be home to broadcaster HRT’s biggest event since the March 2020 lockdown.
But before Saturday’s main event, HRT has treated us to one-minute snippets of each of the 14-competing songs. That’s more than enough for you to listen, judge, replay and pick a favourite. The Croatian public (and the jury) will decide on Damir Kedžo’s successor at the weekend, but you can do it now.
You can listen to all 14 snippets in the playlist below and then vote for your favourite. You can pick as many acts as you like, but you can only vote once. So choose wisely!
Poll: Who should win Croatia’s Dora 2021?
[polldaddy poll=10738786]Dora 2021: What you need to know
fter much discussion, it has been decided that Dora 2021 will be held in its usual surroundings of the Marino Cvetković Hall in the coastal town of Opatija – just as in the past two editions. To ensure that epidemiological measures are satisfied, there will be no live audience or press. Every single Dora participant will also have to bring a negative COVID-19 test to Opatija. Four ladies will host the contest. These are Barbara Kolar, Daniel Trbović, Jelena Lešić and Doris Pinčić.
The Croatian national final also sees a change to Melodifestivalen style voting system this year in order to ensure there are no ties again. The regional jury will give their set of scores, with the public’s share to be split into percentages based on the total points the jury has. In case a tie occurs, the public vote will prevail.
What do you make of the snippets? Will you be watching Dora this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.
Ella Oreškovi?!! Already underrated!
Cambi is the best choice!
Nina, Albina or Bernarda!
If performance is good Mia to Rotterdam!
Nina´s song is good but will not do much in ESC if qualifies at all.
Albina is little too cheesy and regular for my taste. Mia has probably the best song and she definitely has the voice.
cambi !!!
Nina to Rotterdam ! No english song for Croatia, please.
nina’s song is sooo prettyy
“That’s more than enough for you to listen, judge, replay and pick a favourite.”
Honestly, I don’t think I can! I mean, obviously Nina’s is the most promising from what I’ve heard but I need to hear the entire songs to be able to rank or pick an actual favourite.
I like a lot of the songs but Nina is definitely the best by a lot I also really like Mia’s song at least we don’t have another Jacques Houdek song because other the his own entry in 2017 the ones that compete in Dora are quite boring
Well… This isn’t close.
This is payback for my bad review of “Lighthouse,” isn’t it. Typical.
Oh, I voted for Albina, by the way. “Tick-tock” sounds fun. 🙂
Yes, Tick-Tock does sound fun. If it was placed last year, it would likely be my winner. If the rest of the song is as fun as the snippet sounds, that is. My preliminary winner is Nina, but I’d be totally okay with Albina going to Rotterdam as well. 😉
I’m really enjoying Nina’s snippet, it is a real stand-out.
And I’m intrigued to hear Beta’s full song – something tells me it is going to be one hell of a bop!
I’m team Nina, but I can’t get Cambi’s melody out of my head. Would actually love Cambi to have a shot. Been missing power balkan ballads!
Can someone explain the hype around Tick Tock to me? This is a genuine question. Personally I think its pretty sub-par and her vocal tone really bothers me.
I only just heard it five minutes ago; it’s just a fun bop to be honest. I like it because it’s fun and I don’t have to think about it. 🙂
For my personal taste, Nina is in her own league. Her song feels authentic, immediate and beautiful. If she delivers in live (and I think she will), she certainly gets my vote. I also like songs from Mia, Albina, ToMa and Bernarda. With good stagings and performances, I can see them as contenders. I know that all of these feel more international and without a specifically Croatian feel, but I’d much rather have a good song with foreign production than a strictly domestically produced mess. Cambi get an honorable mention. It’s a good example of klapa harmonies, but I’m not… Read more »
If Tony Cetinski wins, what will you do? I’m curious. 🙂
Be ashamed of my country’s pick and have the song at the very bottom of my list, presumably at 41st place. I mean, I don’t have most other songs to compare it to, but based on the snippet, it would be placed below Freaky, Heaven and I Won’t Break, so it would be worse than any song in three years. Nothing against Tony, but this song is just horrible. 😉 So far, the betting odds have him as 6th most likely to win, behind Nina, Mia, Albina, Filip and Cambi. Surprisingly, Bernarda only at 7th. However, I am sure things… Read more »
Nina for me please – I’m here for Croatian Florence and the Machine! xD
Nina appears to be the big favorite among the Eurofans but I imagine that’s mostly due to her name recognition having previously competed at Eurovision five years ago.
I can’t speak for everyone, I for example don’t really care about the fact she participated before, I like her song just because it stands out the most for me
Nina Kraljic, Albina or Cambi.
Cambi!
the only ones that i liked were nina, albina, filip, and eric. nina is superior to all of them tho and could definitely bring croatia back to the final
I think Bernarda and Mia are the best. They are current, vibrant and represents the industry in a good way. And I do think they would be the entries Croatia need to show they can more than just dramatic etho ballads. I do like Nina but its the stuff Croatia always sends, where the risk?
I dont think 1min is enought to say who must go to Esc sorry … its like judging a restaurants quality only by the appetizer…
Nina, Albina and Bernarda are obvious choice! They can do very VERY well at Eurovision! But knowing how Croatians vote you never know what to expect. I think Bernarda will do well and win jury vote, and Nina or Albina will take televote. I just fear about Cetinski because he does have a big fan base and he’s friend with a lot of juries. But I’ll stay positive and excited!
Call me crazy, but I like “reci mi”.
Me too
Tony Cetinski is definitely winning the televoting, so don’t be too surprised when it happens, he’s a monumental star
Nah, people dislike him because of his antivax protests. He won’t get far.
Nina Kraljic Rijeka Croatia finally has the opportunity to show what their real Croatian music market is and finally bounce back from defeats and get the best result for Croatia, remembering the best results in the 90s, only HRT has to prove that they want to get back in shape and win and the head of the delegation Ursula will use all her strength to make it happen, to make the country proud of its representative
I was just gonna comment Rijeka is Hrvatska a.k.a. Horvatska lol x)
You do know Croatian music market is much more than dramatic ethno- pop right?
I think Cambi will win. Seems like something the Croatian jury will vote for on the note and it’s performing quite late on which the televote usually likes too.
I expect Filip rudan since his running order spot is quite good, the song is great jury bait and he can achieve decent results with the televote because of his amazing vocals + his voice performances went absolutely viral.
There are some good options here. My personal fav is She’s Like A Dream, but Colors and Rijeka both also could win and I would not be mad at all.
my faves: Colors, Rijeka, Blind, She’s like a Dream and Come This Way… any of them can win and they would be the strongest entry since “Lighthouse”. It is going to be interesting to see who will win since this is as with MGP and UMK very wide open!
I also have to praise Croatia for doing such a great selection, especially when their selection in the past 2 years has been one of the weakest.
Love, love, love Colors. It could be a really powerful moment given what the song is about and the fact BERNARDA is blind. ESC is such a good platform for those who are neurodivergent to show that they are just as able as their non-neurodivergent counterparts. I will be rooting for Colors!
I think it should be either
Nina kraljic,toma or Cambi.
I don’t think the ‘modern’ pop songs like tick tock and she’s like a dream are slick enough to really qualify or be at risk of qualifying. I agree that Cambi and toMA would also be a risk but atleast it would stand out more in May next to other entries. Nina really has the stand out entry and I hope her first place in the running order doesn’t affect her winning chances.
Rijeka needs to win Dora! It would be nice if Croatia send something that represents their country, like with Ukraine and France