It’s been one year since Luke Black announced himself to Serbia at Pesma za Evroviziju 2023. His iconic ‘Hello’ could rival Adele or Lionel Richie but it wasn’t always plain sailing for the artist. After winning Serbia’s national selection Luke faced huge backlash from Serbian celebrities who branded him everything from the devil incarnate to not being “Serbian enough.”
“I think there was like a lot of misconception about the visual, actually. That was the first thing. And I think, you know, like a male artist having a pop choreo and being kind of dramatic” Luke told us.
The greatest challenge, however, came in Liverpool where he had to perform following a national tragedy that took place in Belgrade.
In the latest episode of “What Really Happened at Eurovision?” we’ll delve into the behind-the-scenes drama for the Serbian delegation in 2023. From the applause that abruptly turned to criticism to navigating the complexities of national identity, Luke Black’s Eurovision experience is a rollercoaster of emotions.
Luke Black on Serbian tragedy and PZE backlash
The turnaround for Luke happened after tragedy stuck in the Serbian capital Belgrade. As he representative for his country on an international stage, Luke was forced to comment on the situation “Serbia, they keep kind of putting everything on your shoulders as though I’m a politician”. It made what was supposed to be a joyous entry onto the global pop scene for Luke difficult “I felt really weird to perform, I was crying so much in the hotel room. We’d go out to get food and I’d run in to the toilet to cry” he said.
As we gear up for a new season of Pesma za Evroviziju, this episode looks at Luke’s avant-garde take on industrial electro-pop and the uncertainty surrounding his success. Discover the untold story that unfolded before the eyes of a nation, as we pay homage to the man who became a European cult favorite. This is What Really Happened at Eurovision.
What do you think of Luke’s journey and recollection? Do you want to see him back in PZE? Let us know down below!
One of my favourite songs from last year, if not my favourite. And one of the most original/experimental entries to ever be on the ESC stage. He should have been tremendously higher in the final ranking.
We All Know He Would Flop . It Was Shocking For Me When Serbia Is Qualfied , It Was Just Cringe
Well, his 2023 Eurovision entry was awful and the performance on the stage was weird… Princ should have represented Serbia last year, he could have end up in the top 10, just like Konstrakta
My condolences for him. It sounds like he had a terrible time! But the song could have been improved at Eurovision if the red colour was scrapped and the delegation had helped him in a better way with vocals and emotional support and whatnot.
It had nothing to do with the staging, he simply has quite a weak voice – that was equally obvious at the national final (before the tragedy) and after. He was never a big thing – not before and not after Eurovision. I found the song itself quite good, actually, and I don’t usually go for that kind of thing.
It’s not a song designed to showcase his vocals, the whispery singing goes with the whole theme. And the sound issues in Liverpool were obvious with many of the other entries at well.
Check out the rest of his discography or some of the covers he has done on his youtube channel (“Habibi” by Tamino or the Sinatra cover, for example) if you have the chance, they give a much better of impression of his singing than you would get just from Samo Mi Se Spava.
Oh, thanks for the recommendations, I’ll look them up – I did check on his work at the time and I wasn’t particularly impressed, I thought “Samo mi se spava” was by far the best of the bunch. Of course, it needs a whispery voice, but my point was that if a good singer delivers a song in a whispery voice, usually you can tell that (s)he’s a good singer otherwise.