Zdravo from Opatija! Croatia’s broadcaster HRT has just revealed the names of the 14 artists who will compete at Dora 2022, the country’s Eurovision selection show.
The list of names sees many returnees, including Mia Negovetić, Bernarda and ToMa. This will be both Mia’s and Bernarda’s third consecutive attempt to represent Croatia at Eurovision. But Dora will also be keeping things fresh with debuts from up and coming talents like Marko Bosnjak, Tia and Jessie.
Our Wednesday Wishlist pick Mia Dimsic will debut at Dora 2022. She will sing “Guilty Pleasure”, a country pop song in English written by Mia and some other prominent local songwriters. The singer from Osijek decided to send a song that’s been “standing in a drawer for some time and is very dear to her heart“. She’s looking for a new experience regardless of the outcome.
Despite previous rumours that suggested otherwise, Damir Kedzo will not be returning to the Opatija stage this February. His management dismissed the speculation was dismissed a few days before the reveal.
A jury made up of Zeljko Mesar, Robert Urlic and Zlatko Turkalj from HRT, Aljosa Seric from Hrvatsko drustvo skladatelja (the Croatian Society of Composers) and Antonela Doko from Hrvatska glazbena unija (the Croatian Music Union) whittled down a record 184 entries to just 14.
Croatia’s Dora 2022: competing acts
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- Mia Negovetic – „Forgive Me (Oprosti)“ (Mia Negovetic/Laurell Barker/Denniz Jamm/Andreas Stone Johansson)
- Mia Dimsic – „Guilty Pleasure“ (Mia Dimsic/Vjekoslav Dimter/Damir Bacic/Ante Gelo)
- Bernarda – „Here for Love“ (Bernarda Brunovic/Adriana Pupavac/Andreas Bjorkman/Karl Persson/Jonas Ekdahl/Aidan O’Connor)
- Tina Vukov – „Hideout“ (Rejhan Okanovic/Tomislav Gojanovic/Josipa Vujevic)
- Eric Vidovic – „I Found You“ (Eric Vidovic/Filip Vidovic/Gordan Dragic)
- Ella Oreskovic – „If You Go Away“ (Sinisa Reljic – Simba)
- ToMa – „In the Darkness“ (Adriana Pupavac/Andreas Bjorkman/Tomislav Maric/Aidan O’Connor/Samuel Runsteen)
- Mila Elegovic – „Ljubav“ (Bruno Krajcar)
- Roko Vuskovic – „Malo Kasnije“ (Predrag Martinjak/Roko Vuskovic/Jan Sinjor Cetkovic)
- Marko Bosnjak – „Moli za Nas“ (Vlaho Arbulic/Mihović Sostaric)
- Jessie – „My Next Mistake“ (Silvio Pasaric/Jessica Atlic – McColgan)
- Elis Lovric – „No War“ (Anthony Kukuljan/Elis Lovric/Sandi Bratonja)
- Zdenka Kovacicek – „Stay on the Bright Side“ (Adi Karas/Elvis Srsen NoA/Zvonimir Bajevic/Jurica Hotko)
- Tia – „Voli me do Neba“ (Vlaho Arbulic/Mihovil Sostaric)
As with every year since its 2019 return, there is a list of four reserve acts who will step in if any of the other acts are forced to quit the show. In the past this reserve list has been used twice — in 2019 and 2020.
Dora 2022 reserve acts
- Karlo Vudric – „3AM“ (Karlo Vudric/Hrvoje Domazet)
- Vyan – „Gladiator“ (Ronny Svendson/Anne Judith Stokke Wik/Nermin Harambasic)
- Totalni Optimizam – „What If“ (Marko Mihaljevic/Neil Patrick O’Hagan/Mario Mihaljevic)
- Stella Schollaja – „Ghost“ (Stella Schollaja)
HRT has not said when the songs will be revealed. In 2021, the broadcaster published the one-minute snippets of each song one week before the show. It is most likely that we won’t hear the songs in full before the live broadcast of the Dora grand final.
The grand final of Dora 2022 is set to take place on February 19 2022 live from Opatija.
Are you happy with the acts? Will you be watching Dora next year? Make sure to leave your comment down below!
I am just sad that Bernada included her song in other countries. I think when you want to compete – try just for one country…
I’m totally in love with Nina, Albina and Filip Rudan. I hope that Dora 2022 will bring me another favourite . I’ve been to Croatia countless times and I love the country
No Huljic song again in Dora. Last his song was in 2019 and his son song was in 2020.
I think it’s Mia negovetic turn to win
For some reason my responses below are awaiting moderation. I was saying that I read it in the Eurovisionworld calendar. They haven’t yet specified the date but they say that both song and artist will be announced during December.
Off topic: Montenegro will release both its song and artist during December! This could mean that we might have three songs before the Albanian entry is revealed, which is surely almost unprecedented lol. And we could have a grand total of 4 songs before the new year, which is rare as well!
That’s so cool! Considering how many NFs we have this season, early releases are a blessing. Montenegro has a really polarizing track record for me, which makes them interesting. Good luck! 🙂
Really? Where did you find out about this? Is there a date when Montenegro will reveal their Act and song?
we complain about melodifestivalen but it’s the same people every year at dora too haha hope they have something worthy there ! mia dimsic is a huge star so i think expectations from her are sky high.
No Nina ?
Wasn’t Bernarda put on some black list by HoD???
Yes, because she didn’t bribe her. Now that HoD is blacklisted herself. Everyday HRT life!
what happened?
Really pleased to see Ella Oreskovic in the list. She had my favourite song in Dora last year, she just needs to work on her stage performance, where hopefully a year’s experience has helped.
I always wondered… is Bernarda blind? Because she’s always looking at nothing and is so stale on stage
I think she is blind. That’s why she wears sunglasses
Yes, she’s blind
You could always ask google before writing rude and mean comments…
What’s so rude about asking?
If you really think that saying ”she’s always looking at nothing and is so stale on stage” isn’t rude while suspecting she might be blind…
The action of asking isn’t rude itself, but this kind of topics is delicate. You should’ve asked tactfully.
How could have they missed that typo in their press release?
My Nekt Mistake
Let’s just hope that’s the biggest mistake they make this ESC season…
I am afraid the songs and the artist are the bigger mistake.
I think it’s a pun, it’s an intentional “mistake”.
I thought about that but everyone has that song listed as My Next Mistake. Also what does nekt even mean?
I’m not gonna lie, my teeth clenched a bit when I saw one of the songs was called Pray For Us (Moli Za Nas). I’m really hoping it’s sarcastic XD
I hope they learned their lesson and don’t send something in English.
I’m not optimistic, as the majority of these song titles are in English. Ugh.
You have to understand the mindset of the HRT that works like this: Ok, this are the things that work, that do well, that have proven to be a guarantee for success. HRT interprets it like this: Ok, let’s do the opposite of that!
As a native speaker, I have to say that all depends on the song for me. My favorite two Croatian ESC songs from this decade are Lighthouse, which is in English, and Tick-Tock, which is mostly in English. Then again, we had some amazing entries in Croatian too – Neka mi ne svane, Vukovi umiru sami, Romanca, Lijepa Tena. Of course that I would like to hear our beautiful langauge represented more often, but I have to put the song quality first. The sad fact is that about 50% of modern festival music in Croatian has terrible lyrics about seduction,… Read more »
I really like Balkan ballads and Lijepa Tena is in my top 3 of 2009 (and 2009 is a strong year so that’s really something). Damir Kedzo’s entry, Lighthouse and Romanca are my three other favourite Croatian entries. All in all, I prefer songs in Croatian, but I am really in favor of language variety in the contest in general, so I am not surprised.
Lijepa Tena is my 5th from 2009. Croatian delegation really gave their A-game that year. 🙂
Lighthouse is also my 5th from 2016. Too bad that the dress was distracting, and that Nina had a cold.
Romanca is my 10th/11th from 2008. Such a beautiful and lyrically powerful song. Very underrated.
Croatia can really send some really amazing entries! Even The Dream that was not that well-received by the fanbase was a song I pretty much enjoyed. Let’s see what your country comes up with this year!
Oh dear God. That’s frightening.
Do you think Dora has the FiK issue in terms of not allowing more original songs to compete? I’ve noticed that even the most contemporary entries selected are more on the safe side. Nina was the one I felt was taking actual risks last year.
I’d say that the problem Dora has is somewhat different from the one FiK has. The Dream, Divlji vjetre and Tick Tock are not of the same genre, and the performers are in the various degrees of their careers, with Roko being a newcomer, Damir a veteran, and Albina an emerging star. There’s no *crowning achievement award* by the juries in the same way that it appears so in FiK. Still, there is a certain lack of understanding of what makes for an instant impact. A lot of the Dora songs are either very safe, albeit pleasant, or creative, but… Read more »
Let’s hope there are at least a few competitive entries like last year (besides Albina and Nina, I remember Bernarda’s song building a fanbase too). I agree that they should consider releasing the songs earlier. Being a one night only show and having 14 acts, the truth is that I barely remember most of last year’s entries.
Your last sentence speaks for the “quality” of Dora!
Which song had 75% dislikes???
I guess all of them.
Impossible to verify now (thanks, You Tube, sarcastically said I), but Brigita’s, Tony’s, and Sandi’s songs had over half of dislikes, and Bojan & Ashley’s had over 75%. Not that the number of dislikes is everything, but that’s certainly a hint that some tactics need to be rethinked.
Conditions a Dora song has to meet: BEING ABSOLUTELY FORGETTABLE. BEING UTTERLY DULL. That’s the path to victory at Dora.
Song titles can be English, but song can still be in another language. It happened before.
The only one i remember is the French masterpiece from 1990: White and black blues.
I hope Ella has learned something from her last performance, she looked like she didn’t want to be there at all last time
Probably her father payed so she can go to Dora every year until she wins. He was president of country or so.
Prime minister, not president.
Ex-prime minister, but he has very little influence now, as he was infamously fired after only a couple of months in office (now that was a drama worth of a Hollywood movie). That was a a few years back.
Ella is a newcomer to the business, and she was very shy. I think that she wanted to be there, but had to overcome her stage fright. Even so, she was rather good. I am looking forward to what she’ll do this year.
Another disaster in the offing! After 4 non English song finished in the top 5 in 2021, Dora (= Izbor pjesme za blamažu Hrvatske) has 99.9 % of the songs in English. The stupidity of the HRT is simply unprecedented.
And seeing how well Croatia has done with Croatian language since 2010 with exactly 0 songs in final it makes sense. Beside Croatia is a international country, if they want English let them have it.
Nothing against English, if it is incorporated in a good song. In the case of Croatia, it only makes everything worse. It’s simply embarrassing. If you a doomed to go under, go under with some pride!
You are absolutely right !
A lot of returning names from last time (Mia N., ToMa, Bernarda, Eric, Ella), as well as a few returning ones with a year or two pause (Zdenka, Elis). Tina Vukov is a really good singer who returns after awhile. Mia Dimsic is a quite familiar name, but I’m not that acquainted with her music. Mila Elegovic is primarily a famous actress, so I have no idea what to expect. I don’t think I recognize the rest. In any case, it’s a solid line-up, but it really depends on the songs too. I hope we hear them soon.
I don’t agree. It’s a solid road to another disaster for the HRT.
That’s also a possibility, of course. Actually, Dora 2019 was a total trainwreck, with the next two upping the standard little by little. With a change of HoD, IDK where this is going. By a solid line-up, I meant the artists – Mia, Zdenka, Bernarda, Tina, ToMa, ect. are capable of having good songs. The question remains on the songs themselves, as we haven’t heard them yet.
I guess we are not going to come to an agreement. I simply do not think such capabilities exist when it comes to Dora or better said HRT.
HRT has yet to catch-up with some of the other delegations, I agree. I still think that we have to hear the songs first, as some of these vocalists are quite good on their own.
I’m so excited for Bernarda and Mia. I really liked Colors, though the 2022 song is not written by Milanov. But was kinda disappointed with Mia last year, she did it much better with ‘When it comes to you’
Hope to see Mia Negovetic striking third time lucky, she’s such a talent!
I hope she “wins” Dora and “proves” her “talent” in Turin by becoming even worse than the wag with hear crime against humanity called “Crazy” back in 2018 and we once and for all will be let in peace by that “talent”!
What’s your problem? Did your song get rejected or something? Lol
I guess my problem is being too realistc.
“being too realistic” wow, what a narcissist, you really think you’re something else don’t you. Embarrassing
I miss Damir Kedzo so much…
We all do, but I think at this point, he’s just moving on. It is a real shame that he isn’t trying out for another chance to represent Croatia at Eurovision, but if that’s his choice, we have to respect it.
He said last year that he wanted to come back but could not find the right song for it yet
That didn’t keep him away from entering in 2020.
lol
Great line up with many young artist! I’m excited for Marko and Tia whose songs were written by Vlaho who makes great, modern and polished songs. Also, both Mia’s are great. Negovetic’s attempt with Laurell might be a gamble since she is a ‘hit or miss’ author and Dimsic is a successful artist in Croatia who has sweet songs which always remind me of something Denmark would send. In a good way. Bernarda, Ella, ToMa and Eric are people who I don’t mind returning, but I think they have to improve on their performances and/or songs from last year. I’m… Read more »
Don’t get too excited, otherwise you’ll have quite a fall in May.
Nobody cares about your trolling…
123 obviously does. 🙂
I hope Croatia can send a great song that will do well at Eurovision but given their poor track record at Eurovision and the chaos that occurred at the broadcaster with the HOD being fired I’m not so sure.
Hopefully there are some good songs in the selection so that creations have some options, but even a good song might not qualify if everything else is chaotic.
Good songs are sorted out in advance. They cannot enter the Dora “festival”.
Many returning competitors whom I found better than Albina last year, so that gives me hope. Bernarda, Mia Negovetic and ToMa. Would’ve liked to see Damir Kedzo again, given his 2020 victory kind of got swiped under his feet with 2020’s cancellation and all.
Kedzo and Eurovision: One of the very, very, very few really good things brought by the pandemic.
You have no taste lmao
Swedish songs even in Croatia – thank you, next….
Don’t see it like that. Sweden has really the highst standards when it comes to recycling of waste.
Laurell Barker in yet another country. So, here we go again!
Another lost year for Croatia, I´m sorry….
Who is that?
Laurell Barker is songwriter for Mia. She also wrote UK 2019, Switzerland 2019, Germany 2019 and many many more songs.
I see. UK 2019, Germany 2019? That speaks for itself!
I am disappointed with the list of only a few candidates they are a good choice in my opinion, most are unknown artists, I keep my fingers crossed for Mia Dimsic to go, I hope for her promotion in Turin during Eurovision
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPPIDAUUnUg I adore
Always here for Negovetic, such talent. Hopefully third time is the charm.
That said it is a pretty good line- up that looks to be as good as last year..
If you search with an ultra powerful magnifying glass, you may discover some teeny-weeny signs of talent.
You must be a very postive person in general by your comments..
Positivity in regards to Dora?! IMPOSSIBILE! With Dora I am just extremly realistic. Glad if proven wrong in May, but so far I was always right. Unfortunately.