Photo: HRT

Croatia’s HRT has released the 24 songs in the running to sing at Eurovision 2025. And one very big hurdle stands in front of all of them: Dora 2025, the country’s national selection contest.

Two among these 24 were not in the original mix. That’s because in recent weeks Lara feat. LSQ withdrew from the contest (paving the way for the group Swingers to replace them).

And Natalie Balmix – a veteran of last year’s contest – was disqualified after delivering the final version of her entry “Život Ide Dalje.” Apparently it was “more than 50 percent musically and lyrically” different from the song she originally submitted, so basically a different song. That was a step too far for the judging panel. Her blunder means that Fenksta come off the reserve list and jump into the competition.

The 24 Dora 2025 songs in Croatia

You can listen to all of the Dora 2025 entries in the playlist below. Then vote for your favourites. You can vote for as many songs as you’d like, but you can only vote one time.

Be sure to check the box next to each act you want to support before hitting submit. Let Croatia know who YOU think would do the best as the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel.

 

Poll: Who should win Dora 2025 in Croatia?

So who is winning this thing? Let us know your favourites in the comments section.

 

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Retkoceri
Retkoceri
9 days ago

Znak 100%

Whisker
Whisker
9 days ago

I’d pick “Aurora”, it’s a vocal feat for sure and a very nice fusion. And superveryselfishly I’d love to see how they’d stage it, Kate was somewhere very up, and Elina too was somewhere very up.

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
9 days ago

Magazin for the win!

Vjera Brdar
Vjera Brdar
6 days ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

HEAR, HEAR!
MAGAZIN FOR THE WIN INDEED!
I heard it on the radio the other day, and it was such a great listen among all the usual radio fodder.
It’s catchy, it’s over the top, grandiose in style…and Lorena ia such an amazing vocalist. It’s all rather irresistible.
Amd quite frankly, the only song that I see reaching a wide audience…

esc_fl
esc_fl
9 days ago

Lelek could be a very strong contender if the song was in Croatian.

Mr X
Mr X
9 days ago

I don´t like “Poison cake”. My favourites are “Monopol”, “Juzina”, “Daj Daj” and “Welcome”.

Cracatoa
Cracatoa
10 days ago

Aaaaaaaa! It’s so powerful !!

Ruu
Ruu
10 days ago

Monopol is copied from Mariette’s A Million Years a bit too much.

Luku
Luku
10 days ago

Eh, nothing that good. I guess Poison Cake will win.

Whisker
Whisker
10 days ago

What’s the point of “Judah’s kiss” in the AaAaA lyrics?

Vjera Brdar
Vjera Brdar
10 days ago
Reply to  Whisker

The point? Rhyme, for one hehe. But it seems Ivan, Tonci and Vjekoslava’s son, also likes to play around with biblical motifs.

Whisker
Whisker
10 days ago
Reply to  Vjera Brdar

Hectic lyrics. And they are also drawing a line.

Vjera Brdar
Vjera Brdar
9 days ago
Reply to  Whisker

At worst, some of it is clumsy, but I assume it’s on purpose… It NEEDS to be over the top. ?
It indeed follows the pattern of Tonci’s previous Dora/ESC contenders such as Marija Magdalena, Noah, Nazaret, Tower Of Babylon… and also Ne Zovi Me Marija, maybe to a lesser extent.

Iv***
Iv***
10 days ago
Reply to  Whisker

You call that “lyrics”?! “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”. Could be that the lyricist is one of his grandchildren. One is, I believe, 2 years or something and the other a couple of months old.

That’s generally a thing of the Huljics. They wrote Croatia’s 1999 entry “Maria Magdalena” (also had a lot of “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”), then in the Horror Festival of Dora in the early 2000s they had a song called “Nazareth”, sung by Jelena Bezmozga.

Whisker
Whisker
10 days ago
Reply to  Iv***

It’s AaAaAa *different* song, for sure. LOL.

Vjera Brdar
Vjera Brdar
9 days ago
Reply to  Iv***

Yeah, well, they like their vowels for sure.
I will never, EVER get over the fact that Nazaret didn’t go to ESC.

Alanis
Alanis
8 days ago
Reply to  Whisker

The story behind the lyrics in AaAaA points to the threat of modern technology and the fact that humanity always creates things and systems that destroy us (“Is that how it’s always been, the enemy lurks within”) and in that process we are selling ourselves (our souls), our humanness, our future and future of the generations to come for material wealth and “prosperity” the and that’s why we are our own betrayers (“We were touched by Judas’ kiss”). That’s why there are these creepy AI generated “children” in the video.  (possible pointer at the JESC controversy with AI) https://pledgetimes.com/criticism-of-junior-eurovision-2024-for-using-ai-in-their-countries-presentations-children-with-four-fingers-no-pupil/ But Lorena… Read more »

Whisker
Whisker
7 days ago
Reply to  Alanis

The topic is relevant but “Judas’ kiss” is totally unnecessary #changethelyric

Vjera Brdar
Vjera Brdar
3 days ago
Reply to  Whisker

BETRAYAL doesn’t sound as dramatic, come on now…

zelenovi
zelenovi
10 days ago

Nipplepeople nipplepeople nipplepeople!! Finally, after years of listening to them, a chance to see them in Eurovision 😀

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
11 days ago

Magazin has the best song, but I think Ogenj will win because it is most similar to Rim Tim Tagi Dim, the catchy upbeat song with rural vibe and ethnic elements in music video.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
11 days ago
Reply to  Eurovision fan

Which could risk it being unfavorably compared to Baby Lasagna. I like countries to send songs that are different to the previous entries to keep things fresh.

PhrygesStan
PhrygesStan
11 days ago

I really like Monopol and AAAAA.

PhrygesStan
PhrygesStan
11 days ago
Reply to  PhrygesStan

Bye, Bye, Bye and Welcome to the circus too!
Croatia serves imo.
Also shout out to Jelena for singing in French, the lyrics are very cliché but her voice is amazing.

Tino
Tino
11 days ago
Reply to  PhrygesStan

Not cliché, these lyrics in French don’t make any sense to me.

PhrygesStan
PhrygesStan
10 days ago
Reply to  Tino

Lol you’re well known to be allergic to everything that is French though…

PhrygesStan
PhrygesStan
10 days ago
Reply to  PhrygesStan

It’s cliché cause she mentions the Eiffel Tower etc…and she uses French expressions that are cliché.

Itchymonkey
Itchymonkey
11 days ago

Lelek will be the biggest Eurovision stage hit of them all. It has presence. The rest are just pop songs with no chance of charming a jury at Eurovision

Mike
Mike
10 days ago
Reply to  Itchymonkey

They are just a poor version of Czech 2023’s Vesna

Sjelos
Sjelos
8 days ago
Reply to  Itchymonkey

Fully agreed. Lelek are incredible, with the right staging this would be incredible to see

Teddi
Teddi
11 days ago

MAGAZIN!

habahaba
habahaba
11 days ago

EOT BYE BYE BYE The only one that stands out

Iv***
Iv***
11 days ago

Time to learn the most important Croatian word when it comes to Dora – UŽAS!

duxx
duxx
11 days ago

Greek soungs are out wiwbloggs!

Vjera Brdar
Vjera Brdar
11 days ago

As expected, two of the names I was most excited about delivered two of the best songs. Magazin! Tonci ain’t screwing around. He knows how to masterfully create/compose a fabulously kitchy and highly addictive crowd pleasers, and this is no exception. Hopefully, there will be a Croatian version as well. Nipplepeople! A slick portion of electro pop that wouldn’t embarrass at the ESC stage. They always perform masked, so that is a plus. Unfortunately, they don’t stand a chance. This mysterious duo has been churning out f****** amazing music for such a long time now and you can find their… Read more »

Jonas
Jonas
11 days ago

I’d like Magazin for Croatia, and Justyna for Poland. A 1995 reunion.

Rom
Rom
11 days ago
Reply to  Jonas

No

Jonas
Jonas
10 days ago
Reply to  Rom

Yes

Robert
Robert
11 days ago

Please stop eating up Marko Bosnjak just cuz he is queen with a good voice. The song sounds like it’s written by chatgpt

Robert
Robert
11 days ago
Reply to  Robert

Queer*, not queen lol

Rom
Rom
11 days ago
Reply to  Robert

Written by cats

GojoSatoru
GojoSatoru
11 days ago
Reply to  Rom

Or written by manatees, like the jokes from Family Guy.

Iv***
Iv***
11 days ago

Back to reality, I guess… Baby Lasagna was just a very lucky and fortunate coincidence. The “experts” from HRT are preparing another Festival of Horror, called “Dora”. It’s really time to get the International Court of Justice involved – Dora is a crime against humanity!

Eurovision fan
Eurovision fan
9 days ago
Reply to  Iv***

I disagree, I think this year is much better than it usually is.

Robert
Robert
11 days ago

Everyone saying how this year’s Dora is strong. I agree, compared to last years. But for me it still a completely miss. Our artist unfortunately don’t know what eurovision is and are making songs for eurovision 2007 not 2025. We won’t have another Baby lasagna for 20 more years.

Lauren MIA
Lauren MIA
11 days ago

In alphabetical order my top 5 would be: Fenksta, IVXN, Matt Shaft, Ogenj and Petar Brkljacic

Baby
Baby
11 days ago

Luka mi je najbolji, zarazna je pjesma, na hrvatskom je, a sigurna sam da ?e mu nastup biti odli?an uz to dobro izgleda što je još jedan plus. Ima još ok pjesama, ali ne nemaju ono nešto.

Vjera Brdar
Vjera Brdar
9 days ago
Reply to  Baby

Zajebajes…

Amigo
Amigo
11 days ago

I honestly don’t know! I can’t decide when none od the songs stand out. I probably don’t see or hear anything in at least 16 songs. And then 8 other songs that have potential are on the same level (and not in a good way). I can see that people put Marko, Lelek, Monopol and Magazin as favorites. But I just don’t have a clear Winner. I just hope someone brings it and does something WOW on stage and makes my decision easier. Hope to see Croatia in the finals this year too. They were so close to winning last… Read more »

Iv***
Iv***
11 days ago
Reply to  Amigo

I think you are wrong. It is definitely Top 5 material – bottom 5 in the semis!

Tino
Tino
11 days ago

I’m 1000% with Lelek here. It’s possible that the live will be a complete fail like for Harmonija Disonance 2 years ago but The Soul of My Soul remains by far the best song in this selection!

Tino
Tino
11 days ago
Reply to  Tino

Monopol is interesting too but it doesn’t catch my attention as much as Lelek’s song.

Estostan
Estostan
11 days ago

Who the hell is voting for Poison Cake lmao, it’s like a reddit weeb wrote a song. So cringe.

LaurenMIA
LaurenMIA
11 days ago
Reply to  Estostan

Well actually there is a song by a redditor – just not this one. 😉

Jofty
Jofty
11 days ago
Reply to  Estostan

Perhaps the people who like Kant for Malta

Iv***
Iv***
11 days ago
Reply to  Estostan

Just a wild guess. Maybe those are idiots?

Anonymous91
Anonymous91
11 days ago

Filomena or Lelek or Marko Tolja for me

stick with english entries from now on please

GojoSatoru
GojoSatoru
11 days ago

Magazin, Matt Shaft and Ananda are my favorites. Also like Luka Nizetic and Lelek. IVXN and Marko Bosnjak are overhyped in my opinion.

Alanis
Alanis
8 days ago
Reply to  GojoSatoru

Ananda <3
The only song that still intrigues me and gives me chills is Lies lay cold…and I’m not even a ballad type of person.

Alex
Alex
11 days ago

Quite a good selection from Croatia. I really like Luka’s and IVXN’ songs.

RAFAL
RAFAL
11 days ago

Only Luka Nizetic, the rest is cringe. Poison Cake is horrible, 3 minutes of noise:)

Benji
Benji
11 days ago
Reply to  RAFAL

I guess you don’t understand Croatian. Otherwise, you would see how cringe the lyrics of Luka’s song are.

Sasha
Sasha
10 days ago
Reply to  Benji

What is cringe about them?

Denis
Denis
11 days ago

As expected,Croatia has learned nothing from last year. What kind of jury chooses snoozefest songs like Strong? Or have a field where half are boring clean ballads?
Only Bye Bye Bye, Extra and Poisonous Cake stands out and any of these should win..
Next year I hope the entire ESC delegation gets fired and replaced with people with more knowledge

eurofan78
eurofan78
11 days ago
Reply to  Denis

In order for the jury to choose good, creative and worthy songs, songwriters and artists need to submit them first.

GojoSatoru
GojoSatoru
11 days ago
Reply to  Denis

Bruh. This is literally by far the best selection of Dora songs ever.

If I keep my biases out of it, then we have 10 great entries which could win Dora: Magazin, Lelek, Luka Nizetic, IVXN, Marko Bosnjak, Matt Shaft, Ananda, EoT, Ogenj and Petar Brkljacic.

Denis
Denis
11 days ago
Reply to  GojoSatoru

Only to end up non qualifying…
2021 was the best Dora. I thought after last year they would continue on that rather than returning to nothing. Who in Europe gets excited over another generic ballad from Balkans?

GojoSatoru
GojoSatoru
11 days ago
Reply to  Denis

90% of the 2021 fan favorites were the so called snoozefest generic ballad songs you’re talking about.. Majority of the songs this year aren’t even ballads..

sav001
sav001
9 days ago
Reply to  GojoSatoru

No they weren’t, the fan favourites of 2021 were Italy, Ukraine, Malta, Finland, Switzerland, Iceland and France. Only 2 of those were ballads.

GojoSatoru
GojoSatoru
9 days ago
Reply to  sav001

Read. I meant fan favorites of Dora 2021..

Sjelos
Sjelos
8 days ago
Reply to  Denis

2021 was awful, absolutely generic and awful. This is by far the best year we’ve had. You have 2 or 3 generic ballads and a nice selection of various genres and songs that have potential for killer staging and performance.

Alanis
Alanis
8 days ago
Reply to  Denis

GenZ’s are not the only audience of the ESC, nor is your “taste” the one that decides anything.