Since his Dora victory back in February, Croatia’s Roko has been very busy preparing for Eurovision. He filmed the music video for “The Dream”, which he released today. He has also revealed more details about his performance in Tel Aviv, revealing who will join him on stage.
“The Dream” — Roko
The music video is theatrical and dramatic, with Roko seemingly trapped in a distorted reality. There are images of war, explosions and natural disasters interspersed throughout the video. Roko explores his surroundings — which consist of hundreds of stairs going up and down — bringing the journey of his song to life.
Fans have been wondering whether Roko would perform in English or Croatian at Eurovision. The official video contains both languages, with Roko shifting gears to deliver the final minute of the song in his native tongue.
The song is penned by Croatia’s 2017 representative Jacques Houdek and his theatricality is certainly evident in the music video.
Fans and bookmakers alike have doubted Croatia’s qualification chances since Roko’s Dora victory. Broadcaster HRT seems to have taken note and amped up the mystery and intrigue in an attempt to boost their chances.
Roko’s backing dancers
Dream team? – guys that make dreams come true (?Roko Blaževi?, ?Endi Schrotter, ?Diego Siquera, ?Jacques Houdek,…
Posted by Eurosong HRT on Wednesday, April 10, 2019
As we reported earlier, Endi Schrotter was confirmed this week as a backing dancer for Roko. Endi lives in Zagreb and started his career on Croatia’s Got Talent back in 2011 where he finished fourth. He worked with Eurovision 2017 star Jacques Houdek on his music video for the “My Friend” remix. Considering Endi’s vocal abilities, it is possible we’ll even hear him sing on stage in Israel.
But Endi will not be the only dancer. Brazilian-born Diego Siqueira will also join Roko on stage in Tel Aviv. He has lived in Croatia for nine years and is a dance teacher at four different schools in Zagreb. This man is passionate, that’s for sure. Diego is no stranger to Eurovision artists, having already performed together with our crazy girl Franka at the Dora final this year.
Diego is very excited about his Eurovision experience. “I promise I will do my best to interpret this wonderful music story through dance movement the best that I can. We’re a great team, I’m glad that Croatia is sending youth, courage, honesty and great talent to Eurovision – I’m sure it won’t be unnoticed.”
The trio have already started working on the performance. Whether Endi and Diego will borrow Roko’s (in)famous angel wings for the performance remains to be seen.
Croatia’s changes seem to be big strides forward. Considering the odds, giving Roko some popular and talented young dancers for his performance could definitely be a step in the right direction. Additionally, we can trust Jacques Houdek to create an amazing stage show.
What do you think of “The Dream” music video? Will Endi and Diego help push “The Dream” into the grand final? Will they all wear wings on stage in Tel Aviv? Let us know in the comments below.
WOOOW I like this very much, what a voice !! This song deserve to be in top 5
Maybe the two dancers will be having a romantic dance like Ireland last year…
Loved the song from the beginning but this music video made me love it even more! I cried on it. Roko’s acting is absolutely great! Those emotions he portrais are soooo real, I can feel them all.
Hope now people understand the lyrics are not nonsense, they have a great meaning.
This will do much better than people here think. The juries will love it because he has a great voice.
It’s too serious now, becomes too heavy and dark, and that, my friend, is not a really good move.
They look like cool people. I feel like they’re forced to perform this… song just because who wrote it. I mean, it’s the reason why Roko won I bet (this and memes). It feels like all these kids in TV shows who sing songs older than themselfs because their parents/coaches like it. I could say same thing about Montenegro. I feel bad for them. Maybe he’ll be back some year with decent song.
What the hell r u talking about? You claim that a 17 y.o. can’t care about world problems and feel desperate about it?
The video confuses me. I thought it was supposed to be a love ballad. But, we see war images first. So, it’s an anti-war song, but, then, we see floods and natural disasters. Um,…huh??
Nope, is not a love, neither anti-war song. Its meaning is the same as in Denmark’s song. World has too much evil, bad things happening, and lacks love, but adult people tend to say to those young people who feel the world’s pain dare to call for more kindness that their dreams are too naive and unrealistic (“extreme”, in the lyrics). So, the young people are often feel trapped in their mind because of it, like in a labyrinth (the labyrinth of stairs in the mv are simbolizing Roko’s mind), trapped between their emotions and emphaty and the need to… Read more »
Btw that war, flood and natural disasters scenes are the real scenes happened in Croatia.
The video is really pretentious and cringey with all these fake tears and ‘suffering’. I couldn’t stop laughing halfway through.
I wish they had spent their effort on revamping the instrumental which still sounds like it was produced on an 80s PC.
Omg that Franka performance is iconic
Roko is a talented singer, charismatic performer, handsome man. But his song is just so dated. I feel bad for him. He deserves better.
Jacques shouldn‘t do anything for eurovision anymore lmao
We all think of that but he wants to #DareToDream again and again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luvWqCr1Xos
MY REACTION VIDEO
Ah, today everyone has an opinion… well, its good, but although ESC is not science still you need to know something about visual communications…
First questions: why he has always wears the same clothes?
Maybe beacuae it call costum! Taking the same narration troughs…
Further… oh I dont have energy to remain myself… grrrr
2nd worst entry of the year for me. I want to support a stunning country like Croatia at Eurovision but every year they always send the most annoying and irritating songs/performers. If the song and the singer isn’t annoying and irritating, then the staging just definitely will be (Croatia 2016). HRT need to stop getting under my skin.
Jacques Houdek also needs to stay away from Eurovision. Croatia’s answer to Louis Walsh.
Yeah, lets all go generic… thats better idea. Not.
Didn’t even say that.
The Dream is the definition of generic though so I guess they already are? :/
Meaning generic is irritating…
What is irritating about Franka or Nina for an example compering to any other performer from the other countries?!
Nina’s staging and dress was irritating. Franka, was the song.
Nina’s dress maybe was afwul, but irritating no way… Franka was fab!
You obvoiusly have a issue with great performer with fantastic voices…
No, I do have an issue with an entry throwing too much unnecessary things into a performance and thus ruining it.
I do have an issue with boring songs, such as the song that killed Franka’s chances.
I do have an issue with Jacques Houdek! The guy is annoying as hell.
Couldn’t agree more with you Darren. I am from Cro and this stuff that HRT and Jacques are pulling off is really annoying. “The dream” is by far my least favorite entry this year. 1/3 of the song is just screaming – literally… I know it’s nasty to say but I really hope this team fails HARD this year so that they can learn a lesson and stay the ____ away from Eurovision…
Like Russia, a really good singer with a subpar outdated song. I dream of love, you dream of love, we dream of love… come on, put some effort into those lyrics.
what are they gonna dance to ? i can’t imagine any type of dance goin with this song….
your joke attempts are ridiculously bad tbh
Maybe some Vanilla dance. You know all the steps, right?!
I actually do…that’s why I’m not frustrated and I’m not constantly releasing that frustration on people like Roko who actually have talent and are doing something with their life…yeah, the song is not that good, but still better than anything you are doing…
I thin they’re either doing a random interpretive number, either doing a drama play, being devil or angel, or interacting with Roko.
They probably are gonna to come down to him from a height like angels of God, and lift him up to heaven/give him a sing of hope. Or to portray soldiers, fighting along with him for love. Or to portray two people fighting with each other. There can be many ideas.
I don’t get it. The video has a dark, dramatic atmosphere which is the total opposite of what Jacques was talking about Roko’s song. Namely, he was saying that Roko is young and inexperienced and that it doesn’t make sense for him to have a heavy song with great pains of life…and then we get this video!? Additionally, dark elements seem to be randomly put in the video. There is no clear story, no beginning nor end. Jacques keeps saying “we know what we are doing, trust us”, but this shows to me that they have no clear vision of… Read more »
Exactly, everything you said is true. They just randomly put war scenes in video…. Were they hopping for more votes if they do that I don’t get it..
They are not put “randomly” there! Re-watch the video one more time! Roko enters every door in the labyrinth and sees one of the scenes of world’s problems behind it! He feels the pain, cries, enters another door and sees another awful scene. There IS a story! The video is supposed to portray a despair of a teenager who has got too much empathy and feels too much of world’s pain. He dreams of a hero that will come and save the world, but adults are saying to him that this is too extreme and crazy, naive, unrealistic, as you… Read more »
This is a masterpiece! What a vocal! Bravo Roko !!!
Yeah, the most logical thing to do with the song where you can hardly hear the piano – have guy playing the piano the whole time. And yeah, good luck with stopping tornadoes from happening with love, Roko.
Roko is amazing young artist with outstanding vocal abilities! Absolutely love it!
The video is simple, but have that dark and dramatic effects!
I have a strong feeling the staging will be amazing and Roko will slay, no doubt! Including the dancers!
Definitely Q in Semi II…even in top 5 of the same semi!
I have a feeling that the wings will be projected on led screens at the end of the song/last chorus. That roko will be shown as a angel. I really like video and the dramatic ! Iam really curios about the staging! If Croatia qualify I can see roko top 5
In semi two, I feel like I at least have a decent idea of who might get 12’s from the televote.
Albania – Italy, North Macedonia, Switzerland
Armenia – Russia
Latvia – Lithuania
Lithuania – Ireland, Norway, United Kingdom
Moldova – Romania
Netherlands – Austria, Germany, Sweden
North Macedonia – Albania
Romania – Moldova (maybe Italy?)
Russia – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Latvia
Sweden – Denmark
Switzerland – Malta, Netherlands
But a lot is up to chance. Just my generalized assumptions.
Lithuanian will give their 12 to Russian not Latvia.
i think italy’s 12 will go to albania since ethnic italians are going to prefer that type of song over on a sunday, we tend to prefer ‘ethnic’ stuff. also albania doesn’t vote for macedonia that heavily, their 12 is up for grabs
In 2016 Lithuania voted for Justs over Sergey
Why on earth would Ireland, Norway and UK give their 12 points to Lithuania? That is not going to happen.
Yeah Salem that might happen, because Norway, Sweden, UK and Ireland have given their 12 to lithuania several times in the past. MANY lithuanians live in the mentioned countries, that’s why.
It happens every year pal
Just last year saw Lithuania finish top ten in the televote thanks to those three and the other Baltics
They are either going to do a Russia 2008 staging or a Coratia 2017 or Ireland 2018 staging. Jacques Houdek is researching how to make a ‘successful’ staging so this cannot be underestimated easily. I mean, look how his song got qualified in 2017. I am not a fan of their entry but this might really happen in May.
he needs to understand that a ‘successful’ staging means nothing without a half-decent song. my friend was freaky and weird and that’s why people voted for it, the dream is juss….basic and uninteresting
I think that he won’t have the wings in Tel Aviv. But they will probably make the dancers have the wings and they will be like angel and devil.
What an original idea
https://youtu.be/6OGVL_9P5fw
I really like the concept of this video, but again, it feels kind of vague and detached to fully engage. The images of disasters are obvious archive footage with little connection in tone to the narrative it has. That said, Roko has astounding vocals and I believe his voice control is even better here. The instrumental flow is very good. The color scale and design of his ‘fortress’ is also to my liking. I don’t know, I still think this tries to hard to be majestic and sacrifices some of the feel with it, but I like that my country… Read more »
Nature disasters reflect global warming duuhhhh
I have a horrible feeling it’ll be like My Friend all over again and take the spot of a much worthier song in the final. (And I LIKED My Friend! That one at least had enough goofy stuff going on with wonderfully earnest sincerity to make me smile. This one’s just cringey and takes itself far too seriously.)
Hope it won’t qualify, and luckily Croatia doesn’t have Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Hungary in the semi
They’ve got North Macedonia, Switzerland, and Austria, maybe Albania too.
True, but Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia give more points to them than these countries
Which is not enough, not even if they get 24 points from each of these countries. And the Swiss tele vote will probably go to Albania.
And no way the Austrian and Swiss juries will support this.
Same deal with Lithuania
Tele vote support from Ireland, UK, Latvia (did I miss anyone), but will the UK or Irish jury back up Jurij? Somehow I doubt that. Which is again not enough to qualify in semi 2. Not with that competition. Unless some of these countries screw up the staging, vocals, etc.
Norway also votes for Lithuania a lot, but yeah, that’s what I’m thinking – televote support from those countries, but a lack of jury support.
Oh yes, it will be really horrible if Roko takes the spot to a much worthier song, for example to that child song from Denmark.
It’s a semi where I know who I want to qualify, but very little idea of who will qualify. (Save for Russia and the Netherlands).
Denmark… oh… alreday forget its in competition…
As long as my favorites on this SF are through – and I have only 3 or 4 – I don’t mind Croatia qualifies.