Olivera Kovacevic , the editor-in-chief of entertainment programmes at RTS, is taking Eurovision 2022 very seriously. And it seems her hard work is paying off. She’s revealed that by last week the broadcaster had already received 100 submissions for Beovizija 2022. That’s already more than any other Serbian national final since 2008.

Speaking on the Dnevik tv show, she said: “We want as many applications as possible so that we can choose the best songs.”

As part of the selection process, artists are required to send in audio of them actually singing the composition.

“The most important thing is to have a good song and a representative who can actually sing it well. You already know how strict the jury is, since the jury is always our biggest problem. They don’t just judge the interpretation but also the vocal abilities of the performers.”

Serbia: Beovizija 2022 song submissions

Serbia opened its submissions process last month and will keep it open until December 1. Given that there’s frequently a huge rush to submit song at the last minute, it’s very likely the number will grow significantly.

The broadcaster says that performers must be citizens of Serbia and that songs have to be sung in languages used in Serbia. Authors should enclose a finished recording of the composition master with backing track, a mix without backing vocals and a mix with backing vocals. They also want to hear the interpretation of the performer who will perform the composition at the competition (so not a demo featuring someone else). RTS can suggest certain changes and additions to the composition.

Given the ongoing uncertainty brought about by the pandemic, the broadcaster reserves the right to cancel the festival and choose its act independently. The rules state:

“In case of epidemiological measures and recommendations made by the authorities of the Republic of Serbia….[that] make it impossible to hold the Festival, RTS will independently choose a composition that will represent the Republic of Serbia and RTS at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.”

Music editors from the broadcaster will decide which songs will advance to the national final “guided exclusively by the artistic quality of those compositions.”

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James
James
2 years ago

So RTS’s socials have announced that they’ll discontinue using Beovizija as their primary national selection, and will stand as its own songfest independent of its Eurovision roots. They’ll organize a separate selection and have already received submissions from their earlier calls.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago
Reply to  James

Let’s hope it turns out to be a good national final, not a terrible one. I shudder at the thought of Serbia failing to qualify.

Azaad
Azaad
2 years ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

Well, from 2009 they do so every four years (2009, 2013 and 2017). If you consider that 2021 replaced 2020 in terms of ESC (especially for Serbia because they chose Hurricane to represent them again) then 2022 would replace 2021…which could be bad for Serbia and that 4 year NQ pattern.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago
Reply to  Azaad

Yes, the non-qualifying curse
Serbia faces every four years. I hope that doesn’t come true for Serbia in 2022 if RTS is able to create a good national final in spite of it not being Beovizja, but if it doesn’t turn out good, Serbia could hypothetically be in trouble

1998
1998
2 years ago
Reply to  Azaad

That curse is broken this year. Full stop.

DonutLover
DonutLover
2 years ago

Even tho I am happy more then 100 entries came in already,I am also for quality over quantity so it’s important for songs to actually be high quality..
My idea would be.. 36 entries, 3 semi finals and 18 songs in the gf but we will see…

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
2 years ago
Reply to  DonutLover

Tbh I only like such format in countries like Norway or Sweden

sam
sam
2 years ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

serbia has a comparable population and an (arguably) more interesting music scene… i think it could be really cool and it’s not like melfest doesn’t have some flop years

Azaad
Azaad
2 years ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

Not going to lie, the format isn’t that great in Norway either. They have the songs to make a great 10 song, 1 night selection, but not enough for a full tournament with semis.

Bird Lover
Bird Lover
2 years ago

they need to bring back the Lane Moje type entries and not these flop “diva pop” wannabes

Last edited 2 years ago by Bird Lover
Heartbeater
Heartbeater
2 years ago
Reply to  Bird Lover

As much as Iove those ballads like Molitva, oro or Lane Moje it is nice to see some of the diva pop

Bird Lover
Bird Lover
2 years ago
Reply to  Heartbeater

well entries like lane moje paved the way for molitva to win, while their latest entries are doing nothing except following a trend that was done better. Hurricane is literally following the trend of the tens of millions of songs with a summer vibe and spanish title lol. fuego bailando despacito blabla. They’re a poor man’s eleni and that says a lot since she’s a poor man’s beyonce. and the results show that: follow trends and you’ll end up around 16th, do something that is your own lane and you will do well: serbia 2004, serbia 2007, serbia 2008, serbia… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Bird Lover
Roo
Roo
2 years ago
Reply to  Bird Lover

Exactly

willchrisiam
willchrisiam
2 years ago

I find it really interesting that no one is actually calling it Beovizija. There’s an article claiming Olivera Kovacevic confirmed that Beovizija is a thing of the past and that there’s gonna be a different festival. What is sure (based on what she has said on one of RTS’s shows) is that it’s definitely gonna be different and that they haven’t yet decided on the exact format. It will depend on the number of songs RTS’s music editors (about 30 of them) deem quality enough to compete. They are hoping for about 30 songs but are open to both fewer… Read more »

Alo
Alo
2 years ago

I really wish for their success! It’s definitely time for them to get back to the top.

In my opinion they need to find some
song that is a bit out of the box in order to get attention from all of Europe. That was the problem this year as loco loco was good but nothing people didn’t see before.

Badwoolfgirl
Badwoolfgirl
2 years ago
Reply to  Alo

And there were just too many diva dance bops fighting for attention in the 2021 grand final. I think that’s why so many of them flopped, or very few ended up in the top ten. I hope we don’t get another genre overload next year (I bet you we’re gonna get a flood of rock bands)

Bird Lover
Bird Lover
2 years ago
Reply to  Badwoolfgirl

buckle up lol we’re getting nothing but rock songs next year

Nobody Important
Nobody Important
2 years ago

It’s all thanks to Hurricane. Hurricane brought massive interest for Eurovision back to not just in Serbia but all of Former Yugoslavia countries.I’m not lying when I say that they were a massive talking point everywhere back in May, you literally couldn’t escape them. They might even be a reason why Montenegro is returning.There was even a rumor about another big Ex Yu Star Aca Lukas applied to Beovizija. I’m so happy to hear this! I’m glad Serbs are taking more interest in Eurovision! Can’t wait to see what they bring us!

Steven
Steven
2 years ago

I think Serbia will be better off without Aca Lukas at the Eurovision haha

Bird Lover
Bird Lover
2 years ago

nah theyre just a diva pop wananbe group

Apollo
Apollo
2 years ago

MORE! BALKAN! DIVAS!

Nils
Nils
2 years ago
Reply to  Apollo

Not necessarily: Milan Stankovic, Nina and the unforgettable Zeljko Joksimovic also were pretty darn good. In general, I’d say Serbia is one of the very best countries in terms of song quality.

So, don’t necessarily listen to Apollo, dear Serbs … just keep on doing what you’re doing. You know your game. 😉

Last edited 2 years ago by Nils
Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
2 years ago

One of the strong potential candidates is Teodora Dzehverovic. She is right now very popular in Serbia like Hurricane and she mentioned many times how she wants to represent Serbia in Eurovision and before several days below her IG photo someone invited everyone to like their comment if they want to see her in ESC 2022 and she liked that comment too.

PS: She has >1M of followers.

Last edited 2 years ago by Eurovision fan
euroboy
euroboy
2 years ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

Are you serious? She released only one album and her songs are intended for domestic use only. I can’t imagine her having a modern and internationally recognized and praised song. Even in Balkan region she is the most famous for being a contestant of a reality TV show.

Last edited 2 years ago by euroboy
Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
2 years ago
Reply to  euroboy

She’s something like Serbian Elvana Gjata and all her songs have latino vibes, so I can definetly see her having good song for ESC, even better than Hurricane had.

Steven
Steven
2 years ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

Her live vocals are really weak. She would need to have a mind-blowing song that is accompanied by a mind-blowing performance (I guess she is capable of making both the song and the performance quite impactful and elegant but we are yet to see if she even applied for the national competition…

Pedro
Pedro
2 years ago
Reply to  Steven

That’s why they intend to select entries that not only appeal to the public, like Hurricane did. So, no matter how many followers a “singer” might have, RTS looks in their first phase for something as similar to a final version as possible. So, no dramas, no demos, no revamps for Serbia.
That shows they want to win again, without needing to fit into any Eurovision cliches. For once, that’s the hype I’m expecting by these months!!

1998
1998
2 years ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

Oh please, she sings only the songs for little kids. Also her vocals are really weak.

Steven
Steven
2 years ago

I personally hope there will be some quality songs, because in the past few editions, there were only three or four songs each year that were average or slightly above the average.

Alvaro
Alvaro
2 years ago

Can’t wait for Beovizija. It seems they’re going to do well next year too. But too early to tell.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
2 years ago

they’ve been nailing it every year since they stopped with the basic pop songs after the 2017 fiasco. i hope they keep contributing to the contest with flavorful songs like they’ve been doing lately, i wanna see them doing well !

Yudhistira Mahasena
2 years ago

Serbia must win Eurovision 2022! …And it better with a song that’s either fun or has Balkan influences if they really want to win.

sam
sam
2 years ago

i have a really good feeling about serbia, i dunno why but i feel like they’re going to end up with a really strong act

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago
Reply to  sam

Serbia rarely fails to qualify, so I think they will be fine.

sam
sam
2 years ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

i’m talking about a top 15+ placement, hopefully higher

Nobody Important
Nobody Important
2 years ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

Even when they failed to qualify, they were always 11th and missed out only by few points.