SERBIA

The Serbian Final was held on February 26th at the RTS TV Studios in Belgrade. The winner was chosen by SMS voting. This ear three songs have been written especially for the contest, written by the three members of the Kovac Family - Kornelije, Aleksandra and Kristina. All three have written each song individually and chosen the act to sing their song.

The show starts with a recap of last years winning song by Lena, then a review of previous Serbian entries as well as a look back to when the contest was held in Belgrade. Then Maria Serifovic sings the disco version of her winning song “Motlitva”

First up are The Breeze singing Kornelije’s song “Ring Ring Ring” This is a very 60’s song with a lot of influence from the Beatles- but in Serbian XD They areal wearing retro clothing including matching Beatles style wigs and hippy glasses. The song is not bad, the ring repetition is a little boring. Not exactly a memorable or singable song although the visuals are very memorable. However I feel that the 60s gimmick may make people think they are being a joke. It is a fine line.

Next Aleksandra sings her own composition “Idemo dalje” (We’re moving on) This is a very typical slow Balkan dramatic ballad. She stands on her own on the stage and is sporting some tattoo type jewellery on the shoulder of her dress – very nice ! She is singing the song very passionately, verses remind me slightly of “Hello” by Lionel Richie, but in a Eurovision way XD Not a bad effort but I feel the backing track need to be much bigger and fuller to give it much more impact. A better song than the first, but really not memorable or singable.

Finally, Nina sings “Čaroban” (Magical) written by Kristina. This another 60’s inspired number. Nina and her 3 female backing singers are all dressed in mini dresses and have very Mary Quant-esque haircuts and make-up . She also has 2 very active male trumpeters. This feels like a much more put together and professional performance visually. This song does have some kick to it in the fact that it is danceable and clapable to and have a structure that your ear can pick up, even if you don’t speak Serbian. The ending however is a little weak

The SMS lines open up straight away and are open for a whole hour.

During the voting process we go behind the scenes from the past few weeks seeing how the acts and their ‘mentors’ made the songs and the performances to what they are today.
Dado Topić (Croatia 2007) takes the stage followed by a number of female singers taking on some of Aleksadra’s songs. Karolina Gočeva (FYROM 2007/2002) as well as a boy band sing some of Kristina’s songs. Boris Novković (Croatia 2005) sings a Aleksandra song. Jelena Tomašević (Serbia 2008) sings with Kornelije on piano

The lines are now closed !

The votes are revealed – and with well over half the vote is Nina!

SINGER – Nina
SONG – Čaroban (Magical)
MUSIC – Kristina Kovač
WORDS – Kristina Kovač