BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

The Bosnian song was presented on February 16th at City Hall in Sarajevo. Back in January, BHRT confirmed that Fuad Backović Deen, Dalal Midhat-Talakić and Ana Rucner had been internally selected. It was later announced that they would also be joined on stage by the rapper, Jala. The internally selected song is called “Ljubav je” (Love is)

There is a very dramatic and ethic opening to the song, with a long instrumental a la Željko Joksimović. Ana is sat alone in the hall while Deen and Dala enter on a balcony above her. The two singers work well with the cameras but not too much amongst themselves. The song is very much Balkan ballad in the verses but more rock ballad in the choruses although the distinction between the two is just slight enough to work. The song goes on merrily for about 2 minutes until Jala, the rapper, joins Ana on the hall floor. The rapping is not that bad, albeit in Bosnian, nor the chemistry unconvincing but it really jars the ebb and flow of the performance. But also the ending is very weak and nondescript – if they started like Željko they needed to have a finish like Željko too.

Deen represented Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2004 with “In the Disco”. He has had a long and varied career, firstly in a boy band, then as a solo artist and has also performed in an opera choir. Dalal is part of the RnB duo Erato who have been releasing music for over 15 years. Ana Rucner is a world renowned cellist who has played all over the world and has released not only classical music albums but children’s music and interpretations of rock classics. Finally, Jala is an up and coming rapper from Sarajevo. It seems that he was included to the team to add another style of music to the 3 minute mix.

First of all it must be explained that this was only a presentation, and everybody involved was miming. They also took good advantage of the stunning architecture of the city hall which really added to the songs atmosphere. I don’t doubt that Deen and Dalal can sing this song well however this snot the really problem. The rapping part sounds so incongruous to the rest of the song and came out of nowhere that it leaves you slightly astounded and confused. It’s almost like somebody reminded the trio that BHRT wanted to do well… but NOT WIN. This is the first Bosnian entry since 2012 and this is not a bad re-entry to Eurovision. It’s also nice to hear a song in the local tongue. With some nigh scores for its 2 neighbours in the semi, this should qualify for the final and possibly go top 10 in the final. Without the rapping I might have even put it up there as a real contender for the win.

ARTIST - Dalal & Deen featuring Ana Rucner & Jala

SONG – Ljubav je (Love is)

MUSIC - Almir Ajanović, Jasmin Fazlić Jala

LYRICS - Almir Ajanović, Jasmin Fazlić Jala