Serbia‘s broadcaster RTS has announced the 36 acts who will compete in the country’s new national final for Eurovision 2022. The broadcaster will hold the new contest Song for Eurovision ‘22 to select Serbia’ representative for Turin. The lineup includes familiar names from Serbia’s music scene and a former Eurovision star.
Among the 36 competing acts are iconic Serbian performers Aleksandar Vuksanović (aka Aca Lukas) with “Oskar”, Ana Stanić with “Put bez povratka”, Goca Tražan with “Fitilj” and the DJ Gramophonedzie who has “Počinjem da ludim”.
The contest also includes “Molitva” backing singer Sanja Bogosavljević who will sing “Priđi mi” (Approach Me), and ex Moje 3 member Sara Jo. She will sing “Muškarčina/Zabranjeno voće”, which tantalisingly translates as “Manly Man/Forbidden Fruit”.
Like recent editions of Beovizija, Song for Eurovision ‘22 will involve two semi-finals and a grand final. The live shows will be held on consecutive nights from 3 March to 5 March. At this stage, RTS has not confirmed details of the new national final’s voting system.
Serbia: Song for Eurovision ‘22 – competing acts
Naiva – “Skidam” (I Take Off)
Music: Zoran Babović Babonja
Lyrics: Jelena Živanović” (Jelena Zana)
Biber – “Dve godine i šes’ dana” (Two Years and Six Days)
Music: Rastko Aksentijević
Lyrics: Momčilo Bajagić Bajaga
Marija Mirković – “Požuri, požuri” (Hurry, Hurry)
Music: Marija Mirković
Lyrics: Alka Vuica
Gift – “Haos” (Chaos)
Music: Gift
Lyrics: Jovan Matić
Boris Subotić – “Vrati mi” (Give Me Back)
Music: Boris Subotić
Lyrics: Boris Subotić
Marko Nikolić – “Dođi da te volim” (Come, So That I Can Love You)
Music: Marko Nikolić
Lyrics: Nada Bučević
Vasco – “Znaš li” (Do You Know)
Music: Vasilije Čolan Vasco, Ivan Franović, Marko Kon
Lyrics: Vasilije Čolan, Marko Kon, Anđela Vujović Angellina
Bane Lalić i MVP – “Tu gde je ljubav tu ne postoji mrak” (Where There Is Love, These Is No Darkness)
Music: Bane Lalić
Lyrics: Bane Lalić
Ivana Vladović i Jovana Stanimirović – “Prijaće ti” (It’ll Be Good For You)
Music: Ivan Ilić i Nikola Bulatović
Lyrics: Ivan Ilić i Nikola Bulatović
Marija Mikić – “Ljubav me inspiriše” (Love Inspires Me)
Music: Vuxa
Lyrics: Miladin Bogosavljević
Julija – “Brižna” (Caring)
Music: Nenad Ćeranić
Lyrics: Nenad Ćeranić
Angellina – “Origami
Music: Ognjen Jovanov, Marko Kon, Angellina
Lyrics: Ognjen Jovanov, Marko Kon, Angellina
Vis limunada – “Pesma ljubavi” (The Song of Love)
Music: Miodrag Ninić
Lyrics: Miodrag Ninić
Aleksandar Vuksanović Aca Lukas – “Oskar”
Music: Saša Nikolić
Lyrics: Mira Mijatović
Igor Simić – “Nisam ja” (It Wasn’t Me)
Music: Darko Dimitrov
Lyrics: Vladimir Danilović
Goca Tražan – “Fitilj” (Fuse)
Music: Dušan Bačić
Lyrics: Dušan Bačić
Sanja Bogosavljević – “Priđi mi” (Approach Me)
Music: Ilija Antović
Lyrics: Ilija Antović
Dušan Svilar – “Samo ne reci da voliš” (Just Don’t Say You Love)
Music: Rastko Aksentijević
Lyrics: Momčilo Bajagić Bajaga
Srđan Lazić – “Tražim te” (Searching For You)
Music: Srđan Lazić
Lyrics: Srđan Lazić
Julijana Vincan – “Istina i laži” (Truth and Lies)
Music: Linda Cristina Persson, Ylva Cristina Persson
Lyrics: Vildana Husibegović
Jelena Pajić – “Pogledi” (Looks)
Music: Marijo Pajić
Lyrics: Đorđe Miljenović
Bojana Mašković – “Dama” (Lady)
Music: Dušan Krsmanović i Alen Duš
Lyrics: Alen Duš
Zoe kida” (Ana Radonjić) – “Bejbi” (Baby)
Music: Zoe kida” ( Ana Radonjić)
Lyrics: Zoe kida” ( Ana Radonjić)
Orkestar Aleksandra Sofronijevića – “Anđele moj” (My Angel)
Music: Aleksandar Sofronijević, Nikola Labović, Mirna Kosanin
Lyrics: Mirna Kosanin
Sara Jo – “Muškarčina/Zabranjeno voće” (Manly Man/Forbidden Fruit)
Music: Slobodan Veljković Coby
Lyrics: Slobodan Veljković Coby
Mia – “Blanko” (Blank)
Music: Aleksandra Milutinović
Lyrics: Aleksandra Milutinović
Zejna Murkić – “Nema te” (You Are Gone)
Music: Vlado Maraš
Lyrics: Sanja Perić
Gramophonedzie – “Počinjem da ludim” (I’m Going Mad)
Music: Marko Milićević
Lyrics: Milana Popović
Stefan Zdravković” (Princ od Vranje) – “Ljubi svog čoveka” (Kiss Your Guy)
Music: Leontina Vukomanović
Lyrics: Leontina Vukomanović
Zorja Pajić – “Zorja”
Music: Zorja Pajić, Lazar Pajić
Lyrics: Zorja Pajić
Lift – “Drama”
Music: Milan SevdahBABY Stanković, LIFT
Lyrics: Milan SevdahBABY Stanković, LIFT
Konstrakta – “Corpore Sano”
Music: Ana Đurić i Milovan Bošković
Lyrics: Ana Đurić
Ivona Pantelić – “Znam” (I Know)
Music: Ivona Pantelić
Lyrics: Ivona Pantelić
Rocher Etno Band – “Hajde sad nek svak peva” (Let Everybody Sing)
Music: Miodrag Klisarić
Lyrics: Miodrag Klisarić
Ana Stanić – “Put bez povratka” (One Way Road)
Music: Vojislav Dragović
Lyrics: Ana Stanić
Euterpa – “Nedostaješ” (Missing)
Music: Boris Krstajić
Lyrics: Vladimir Danilović
RTS ends relationship with Beovizija
In October, Serbian media reported that Beovizija would not longer be used as Serbia’s national final for Eurovision. This was reportedly the result of a disagreement between Beovizija producer Saša Mirković and broadcaster RTS.
Beovizija debuted in 2003 and since 2007 it was used sporadically to select Serbia’s entry for Eurovision. The show was first used as a national final from 2007 to 2009. The show was revived in 2018 and used to select the Serbian Eurovision act for three years, with the last Eurovision edition of Beovizija held in 2020.
RTS internally selected Beovizija 2020 winners Hurricane as the country’s act for Eurovision 2021.
What do you think of the lineup of Serbia’s new national final? Who would you like to see represent Serbia at Eurovision 2022? Tell us your thoughts below!
I was kinda disappointed upon first seeing the list but I set aside a few hours to do some background check on all the participants and things are looking a lot brighter than I’ve previously thought. Still, I’m sure there was no need for more than 20 songs. Here are the ones I’m looking forward to: Naiva Great voice. Reached the second place in 2020. Biber An ethno group. Could go either way. Not holding my breath though… Boris Subotic An incredible vocalist, competed in I’ve Got A Talent as a child and hasn’t been performing since. I’m really curious.… Read more »
Zejna Murkic was active between 2009 and 2011 she was in a band called “Luna”, after that she went solo for couple years and then took a hiatus. Ana Stanic was popular in the 90s when she was a part of the band “Moby Dick”, as a soloist, she had some hits through late 90s and 2000s…
Sara Jo could be Serbia’s Elena Tsagrinou considering Coby wrote her song. I don’t see her reaching the top 10 though.
i could see sara jo bringing eurovision back to belgrade <3 😉 i love that woman, she will make serbia proud
I think the best choice should be Zorja. She really has something unique and vocally she is the strongest here. Serbia has problems with jury votes on Eurovision recently, so if Zorja’s song is vocally really challenging, I’m 100% sure she will slay and receive high points from jury. Now, I wouldn’t be mad if Sara Jo wins also, she has great music style, stage presence and experience and edge, but I’m scared she wouldn’t get much love from jury on actual ESC, just like Hurricane last year. I think it’s between Zorja and Sara Jo for sure. Let’s be… Read more »
Nevena had a vocally challenging song which she sang beautifully and the juries still ignored her. It’s not about the vocals. It’s about a clear message, good production and popularity.
We talk about Zorja here, she’s just on another level. Nevena did a great job, but that type of song was already seen many times on Eurovision. I expect from Zorja more challenging song than “Kruna”. Zorja’s vocal range is impressive and she is very stable in heights. Hope she’s changing octaves and goes super high, almost screaming. To start slow and then progress through song and give us BOOM at the end. Something like “My heart will go on” by Whitney Houston or “I surrender” by Celine Dion.
I will add Stefan Zdravkovic who is competing (competed) in X Factor Bulgaria i think and remember watching some of his clips…
He left a really good impression.. beautiful voice and he is also handsome which is a plus and I believe Leontia knows what she is doing with the song
I automatically get scared whenever I see these gargantuan lists of competing songs. C’mon! There’s no way all of them are suitable for Eurovision. Especially since there were only 150 applications. That’s way too big of a percentage for me to believe they just couldn’t narrow it down. It’s fine to have 20+ songs competing when it’s not just a national selection, like FiK, Santemo, Melfest… I’m hoping they only went with such a large number because of the negative publicity and that they plan on making it more exclusive with time if they manage to attract big names and… Read more »
Only 150? Remember that back in 2018 only 75 applications were submitted than for 2019 there were 76 and for 2020 90. So this with 150 applications is for Serbian standards impressive…
I’m not saying 150 is a low number for a country like Serbia, just that having a whopping 36 contenders is way too many compared to the number of applications. In that sense yes, it’s too little to grant such a ridiculously big selection.
Also keep in mind that this is not Beovizija, bit RTS’s own competition.
As I said, I’m not knocking down the number of applications, just stating that RTS still haven’t learned anything and think that having a gazillion of middling songs is better than 10 good ones.
There were more than 150 entries, that is just the number of entries that meet the requirements for Eurovision.
can’t wait for this. serbia’s selection never disappoints.
Surprised to see that Justin Biber is taking part though
?
Ah, Biber! It means black pepper.
#FreeNovak . Ban Australia from Eurovision !
Would be a nice touch if he turned out to be Isaiah’s duet partner
I wouldn’t ban Australia however I think the whole Novak thing has been handled badly. May have been different if he were from Russia or USA? My sister said Novak’s brother is “smoking hot”. I had to Google what that meant (and I agree!).
Here is Angelina – origami
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOYhazpn3RI
I was hoping RTS will come up with a more creative name for a selection but oh well.. I was shocked seeing Aca Lukas on this list,knowing his problematic doings and everything that happened few months ago.. Zorja said her song is very personal (now i know why lol jk),with a strong message,vocaly challenging and not on a one specific genre.. Angelina and Sara will probably have a more edgy songs (I am keeping myself from listening to any song before RTS publishes all of them even tho Angelina’s song is out even tho it may not be final version… Read more »
What happened?
well the manager of Megaton accused RTS of sabotaging Aca Lukas and that led to Beovizija being cancelled as nf
I predict that the entry from Serbia will be in national language again. That´s good.
What a lineup!! I expected more of a laid back selection, like in 2013, when it wasn’t Beovizija linked (budget cuts after the crisis, smaller RTS studio instead of the SavaCentar, etc.), but an ESC-like festival, with 18-song semis and a final the same week? And who knows how many finalists? 20 like Beovizija/FiK? Still unbelievable!! I’m just curious how the program will be like, and since it’s not entirely on a weekend, many fans will avoid the SuperSaturday stress 😀 I’m also curious about … if many artists are in the ESC selection, who’ll join Beovizija then? Will there… Read more »
Why doesnt the article mention Marko Kon (Serbia 2009) and Milan Stankovic (Serbia 2010) returning as well as songwriters for each their respective entries? I am excited for those ?
With Marko Kon you’re right, but Milan Stankovic (I also had to google it) is not the same Milan as 2010. Same name and surname, but the one taking part as a composer is called under his stage name “SEVDAHBaby” (who took part in Beovizija 2009, 2018). Watch a couple of his performance videos and you’ll realise he’s not the “Ovo je Balkan” blondie 😀
To be fair Milan Stankovic himself isn’t that blondie anymore lol
I am shocked that Aca Lukas is a candidate, he is one of the biggest names in the region and has a lot of negative publicity for many reasons, like homophobia. What is he doing here??!?!
Midlife crisis as I said.
I think three of the songs are available already. Marija Mirkovic, Goca Trzan and Rocher Etno Band.
And Angelina’s but idk if it’s a final version since it’s 4 months old
I’m definitely most excited for Zorja, Angelina, and Sara Jo! Go gurls!!
I haven’t listened to Angellina prior to today because I was afraid she was one of the countless singers who like to flirt with turbofolk. Pleasantly surprised. Let’s hope the version she performed live was an early demo because that was pretty bland. I pay no attention to either of the Zvezde competitions contestants but I got intrigued so I looked her up. I don’t understand the hype. She’s a good singer but lacks stage presence and has no clear direction. It’s ok to treat singing like a job because at the end if the day it is but I’ll… Read more »
Great comment! I listened to Angellina’s song today and it certainly lacks those “wow” moments that an impactful Eurovision song needs.. She’s definitely got that unique voice tho. When it comes to Zorja, I heard that she is a really down-to-earth person that has only recently become famous. Also, I think she would need to release more songs so that we can say with certainty that she keeps switching genres. I am pretty sure that her very first song did not turn out to be the way she might have secretly desired, but she didn’t have a say…) As for… Read more »
About Zorja and genres – I based my statement on her covers and the Q&A video in which she said that she didn’t have a direction she’d go in. She said she was gonna sing everything and let the audience decide for her. That’s a red flag for me. There’s way too big of a gap between (turbo)folk and pop diva ballads she likes to cover.
I’d be happy with either Sara or Zorja
I think Sara Is the clear front runner
My spotify and me only know Sara Jo the rest of the names are really not known for me they weren’t big on spotify playlists last year but I’m not serbian so I can’t talk too much. Oh and I remember Igor from 2020 I hope he surprise us with something fun like that year. He really can sing.
The best luck for everyone and I hope we get some good bops from this selection.
And the best part… Hurricane’s final performance I’m so eager to see that.
Many big names in the line up, not just in Serbia but the whole Ex Yu. Hurricane definitely had an influence in that, exited the most for Sara and Zorja! Expecting ethnic bops or beautiful Balkan Ballads!
Just not Aca Lukas. He is Serbian biggest nightmare; doesn’t know a word of English, drug addict and also a huge homophobe; he would have been extremely booed at the ESC.
Galasy Zmesta vibe?
No, he is not mocking any policital protests. He is just a turbo folk singer in midlife crisis (in mid 50s, he was born in 1968), who as I said is a drug addict that in his recent interviews even we Serbs don’t understand what is he even talking about. He also once called ESC a gay propaganda, proving himself that he is a huge homophobe.
Yikes
At least I hope he’s not involved in producing war-crime turbo-folk songs.
To be honest I’ll be happy with almost anyone but him
Same for me as a Serb. If he was selected (for which I really hope it won’t happen), I would boycott the contest.
This will bi interesting year! It’s promising!
You mean bi-curious, right?
I enjoy the fact that many artists here are involved in the conception of the songs or even wrote the tracks themselves.
It’s refreshing from same authors copy + paste practices some countries indulge in year after year. *cough* Sweden *cough*