Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
participated in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Believe (Dima Bilan song), Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the Euro ...
with the song "Cipela" written by
Aleksandar Kobac,
Marko Kon
Marko "Mare" Kon ( sr-cyr, Марко Кон; born 20 April 1972) is a Serbian recording artist.
He was the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 alongside Milan Nikolić, where they did not manage to qualify for the finals.
Early ...
and
Milan Nikolić. The song was performed by Marko Kon and Milaan. The Serbian national broadcaster,
Radio Television of Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...
(RTS) organised the national final ''Beovizija 2009'' in order to select the Serbian entry for the 2009 contest in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. The national final consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final on 7 and 8 March 2009, respectively. Twenty entries competed in the semi-final where eleven qualified to the final following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote. The eleven qualifiers competed in the final which resulted in "Cipela" performed by Marko Kon and Milaan as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.
Serbia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2009. Performing during the show in position 4, "Cipela" was not announced among the 10 qualifying entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. This marked the first time that Serbia failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since its first entry in . It was later revealed that Serbia placed tenth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 60 points.
Background
Prior to the 2009 contest, Serbia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest two times since its first entry in , winning the contest with their debut entry "
Molitva
"Molitva" ( sr-Cyrl, Молитва; "Prayer") is a song with music by Vladimir Graić, lyrics by Saša Milošević Mare, and sung by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, performed for . ...
" performed by
Marija Šerifović
Marija Šerifović ( sr-cyr, Марија Шерифовић, ; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer. Born in Kragujevac as the daughter of Verica Šerifović, she rose to prominence in 2003 with her debut album ''Naj, Najbolja''. Šerifo ...
. Since 2007, all two of Serbia's entries have featured in the final. Serbia's
2008 entry "Oro" performed by
Jelena Tomašević
Jelena Tomašević ( sr-cyr, Јелена Томашевић, ; born November 1, 1983) is a Serbian pop singer of international career famed for her strong vocal performances. She has won numerous awards for her songs and represented Serbia at 20 ...
placed sixth in the final as the host country.
The Serbian national broadcaster,
Radio Television of Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Радио-телевизија Србије, sr-Lat, Radio-televizija Srbije, italics=yes; abbr. RTS/PTC) is Serbia's public broadcaster. It broadcasts and produces news, drama, and sports programming thro ...
(RTS), broadcasts the event within Serbia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. RTS confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest on 29 November 2008.
Since 2007, Serbia used the ''
Beovizija
''Beovizija'' ( sr, Беовизија) was a music festival established in 2003. Since 2007 it was the national selection for Serbia's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. ''Beovizija'' is organised and broadcast live each year by RTS1, ...
'' national final in order to select their entry and along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster announced the organization of ''Beovizija 2009'' in order to select the 2009 Serbian entry.
Before Eurovision
Beovizija 2009
''Beovizija 2009'' was the seventh edition of the ''
Beovizija
''Beovizija'' ( sr, Беовизија) was a music festival established in 2003. Since 2007 it was the national selection for Serbia's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. ''Beovizija'' is organised and broadcast live each year by RTS1, ...
'' national final organised by
RTS
RTS may refer to:
Medicine
* Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim
* Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma
* Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...
in order to select the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The selection consisted of a semi-final featuring twenty songs and a final featuring eleven songs to be held on 7 and 8 March 2009, respectively, at the
Sava Centar
Sava Centar ( sr, Сава центар) is an international congress, cultural and business centre of various multi-functional activities located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is the largest audience hall in the country and entire forme ...
in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
.
Both shows were hosted by
Jovana Janković Jovana is a Serbian feminine name. People with the name include:
*Jovana Brakočević, Serbian volleyball player
* Jovana Crnogorac, Serbian cyclist
* Jovana Damnjanović, Serbian football player
*Jovana Jakšić, Serbian tennis player
* Jovana Jan ...
, Milena Vasić and Srđan Timarov. The two shows were broadcast on
RTS1
RTS1 (Serbian Cyrillic: РТС1; First program of RTS ( sr, Први програм РТС-а/), First channel of RTS (/ ) or only First (/ )) is a Serbian public mainstream TV channel operated by RTS.
Previously on RTS1
Serbian TV series
*Ј ...
,
RTS Sat
RTS Svet (Serbian Cyrillic: РТС СBEТ, or RTS WORLD ( sr, РТС СBEТ/); Satellite program of RTS (/ )) is a Serbian satellite television channel. It is operated by RTS.
Audience
The channel is aimed at Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, ...
, in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
on
RTRS
Radio Television of Republika Srpska ( Serbian: ''Радио Телевизија Републике Српске'' / Radio Televizija Republike Srpske or RTRS) is the entity-level public broadcaster which operates radio and television services ...
, via radio on
Radio Belgrade
Radio Belgrade ( sr, Радио Београд, ) is a state-owned and operated radio station in Belgrade, Serbia. It has four different programs (Radio Belgrade 1, Radio Belgrade 2, Radio Belgrade 3, and Radio Belgrade 202), a precious archive o ...
as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's website ''rts.rs''.
Competing entries
Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries between 24 December 2008 and 24 January 2009. Both artists and songwriters were required to be Serb citizens, while songs were required to be submitted in
Serbian. At the closing of the deadline, 90 submissions were received. A selection committee reviewed the submissions and selected twenty entries to proceed to the national final. The selection committee consisted of RTS music editors Jelena Ilić, Ana Milićević and Jelena Vlahović. The selected competing entries were announced on 30 January 2009. On 11 February 2009,
Nataša Bekvalac
Nataša Bekvalac ( sr-cyr, Наташа Беквалац, , born 25 September 1980) is a Serbian singer from Novi Sad. She made her recording debut in 2001 and has since collectively released five studio albums.
Early life
Bekvalac was born on 25 ...
announced her withdrawal from the national final due to scheduled performances and private obligations. Her song "Bili smo najlepši" was performed by
Ana Nikolić
Ana Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Ана Николић; ; born 27 September 1978) is a Serbian singer. Born in Jagodina and raised in Paraćin, she rose to prominence at the Beovizija 2003 music festival with the song "Januar". Nikolić has released six ...
instead.
Semi-final
The semi-final took place on 7 March 2009 where twenty songs competed. The ten qualifiers for the final were decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of Jelena Jovičić (actress), Jovan Maljoković (musician and composer) and Ivan Ivačković (rock critic), and the Serbian public via SMS voting. Eurovision contestants
Regina,
Igor Cukrov
Igor Cukrov (born 6 June 1984) is a Croatian singer-songwriter, musician and television personality. He came to media attention as one of sixteen contestants of talents show '' Operacija trijumf'', Balkan version of Endemol's ''Star Academy''. Cuk ...
and
Andrea
Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew.
Origin of the name
The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...
,
Next Time
Next Time (sometimes rendered "Некст Тајм" in Macedonian Cyrillic) is a popular rock duo from Skopje, North Macedonia. The duo consists of twin brothers Martin and Stefan Filipovski. Stefan fronts the band as the lead singer, while Mar ...
,
Andrea Demirović
Andrea Demirović ( sr-cyrl, Андреа Демировић; born 17 June 1985), also known as simply Andrea, is a Montenegrins, Montenegrin singer and a student of the Cetinje Music Academy – ''Music Pedagogy''.
Demirović was born in Podgor ...
, and
Quartissimo
Quartissimo is a Slovenian string quartet featuring Žiga Cerar on first violin, Matjaž Bogataj on second violin, Luka Dukarić on viola, and Samo Dervišić on cello. The group's name is a portmanteau of quartet and the Italian suffix -issimo ...
and
Martina, which would represent
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
,
Macedonia,
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
and
Slovenia in 2009, respectively, were featured as guest performers during the show.
Following the semi-final, "Moje odbrane" performed by
Ivana Selakov
Ivana Selakov ( sr-cyr, Ивана Селаков, ; born 8 November 1978) is a Serbian singer. She was a member of the girlband Beauty Queens, which was formed by gathering backing vocalists of Marija Šerifović after victory in the Eurovisi ...
, which was initially announced as non-qualifiers during the show, was reinstated to the final due to technical errors in the public vote, where only votes cast during the first five minutes of the 10 minute voting period were counted. Originally, "Bili smo najlepši" performed by
Ana Nikolić
Ana Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Ана Николић; ; born 27 September 1978) is a Serbian singer. Born in Jagodina and raised in Paraćin, she rose to prominence at the Beovizija 2003 music festival with the song "Januar". Nikolić has released six ...
was also reinstated as a finalist, but Nikolić refused to participate in the final.
Final
The final took place on 8 March 2009.
The winner, "Cipela" performed by
Marko Kon
Marko "Mare" Kon ( sr-cyr, Марко Кон; born 20 April 1972) is a Serbian recording artist.
He was the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 alongside Milan Nikolić, where they did not manage to qualify for the finals.
Early ...
and
Milan Nikolić, was decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of
Željko Joksimović
Željko Joksimović ( sr-Cyrl, Жељко Јоксимовић, ; born 20 April 1972) is a Serbian vocalist, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He plays 12 different musical instruments including accordion, piano, guitar ...
(represented
Serbia and Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004
Serbia and Montenegro debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Lane moje" written by Leontina Vukomanović and Željko Joksimović. The song was performed by Željko Joksimović and the Ad-Hoc Orchestra. The union of public bro ...
),
Kornelije Kovač
Kornelije "Bata" Kovač ( sr-Cyrl, Корнелије "Бата" Ковач, ; hu, Kovács Kornél; 1 January 1942 – 13 September 2022) was a Serbian composer.
Early life
Born in Niš during World War II in the Nazi-occupied Serbia to a ...
(musician and composer) and
Biljana Krstić
Biljana () is a settlement east of Dobrovo in the Municipality of Brda in the Littoral region of Slovenia, very close to the border with Italy.
Name
Biljana was first mentioned in written sources in 1205 as ''Beliana'' (and as ''Villana'' in 1 ...
(musician), and the Serbian public via SMS voting. Former Eurovision contestants
Sirusho
Siranush Harutyunyan ( hy, Սիրանուշ Հարությունյան; born 7 January 1987), known professionally as Sirusho ( hy, Սիրուշո), is an Armenian singer and songwriter. She received her first award when she was nine years old fo ...
, who represented
Armenia in 2008,
Boaz Ma'uda
Boaz Ma'uda ( he, בועז מעודה, born April 23, 1987) is an Israeli singer and songwriter. He won the fifth season of ''Kokhav Nolad'', the Israeli version of ''Pop Idol'', and represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, finishin ...
, who represented
Israel in 2008, and
Jelena Tomašević
Jelena Tomašević ( sr-cyr, Јелена Томашевић, ; born November 1, 1983) is a Serbian pop singer of international career famed for her strong vocal performances. She has won numerous awards for her songs and represented Serbia at 20 ...
, who represented
Serbia in 2008, were featured as guest performers during the show, performing together "Time to Pray", composed by Israeli President and
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
winner
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
.
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries. The
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
(EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 30 January 2009, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals. Serbia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2009. The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 16 March 2009 and Serbia was set to perform in position 4, following the entry from
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
and before the entry from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Serbia on
RTS1
RTS1 (Serbian Cyrillic: РТС1; First program of RTS ( sr, Први програм РТС-а/), First channel of RTS (/ ) or only First (/ )) is a Serbian public mainstream TV channel operated by RTS.
Previously on RTS1
Serbian TV series
*Ј ...
and
RTS Sat
RTS Svet (Serbian Cyrillic: РТС СBEТ, or RTS WORLD ( sr, РТС СBEТ/); Satellite program of RTS (/ )) is a Serbian satellite television channel. It is operated by RTS.
Audience
The channel is aimed at Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, ...
with commentary for the first semi-final by Dragan Ilić and commentary for the second semi-final and final by
Duška Vučinić-Lučić
Duška Vučinić-Lučić is a Serbian television journalist, presenter, and director who is currently head of Press and Public Relations at RTS.
Since 2003 she has provided national television commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest
The ...
. The Serbian spokesperson, who announced the Serbian votes during the final, was co-Presenter of the
2008 Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. Organised by the European Broadcastin ...
Jovana Janković Jovana is a Serbian feminine name. People with the name include:
*Jovana Brakočević, Serbian volleyball player
* Jovana Crnogorac, Serbian cyclist
* Jovana Damnjanović, Serbian football player
*Jovana Jakšić, Serbian tennis player
* Jovana Jan ...
.
Semi-final
![ESC 2009 Serbia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/ESC_2009_Serbia.jpg)
Marko Kon and Milaan took part in technical rehearsals on 4 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. The Serbian performance featured Marko Kon in a yellow jacket and Milaan in a black leather costume performing together with three male pantomimes and a female dancer in a white tulle dress, who was lifted up in the air and dropped to the floor during the performance. The background LED screens displayed pixelated sketches of the performers' faces. The director of the Serbian performance was Mojca Horvat and the choreography was completed by Milan Gromilić. The three pantomimes that joined Marko Kon and Milaan on stage were: Ljubiša Dinčić, Igor Knežević and Jovan Sejnjanović. The female dancer was Katarina Gromilić.
At the end of the show, Serbia was not announced among the 10 qualifying entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. This marked the first time that Serbia failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since its first entry in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
. It was later revealed that Serbia placed tenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 60 points; and whilist it would have been enough to qualify in previous years, in 2008 and 2009 only the top nine places qualified automatically and the tenth place was decided based on the votes of the backup juries, and this time, juries chose
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
to qualify over Serbia.
Voting
Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Serbia and awarded by Serbia in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Points awarded to Serbia
Points awarded by Country
Detailed voting results
The following members comprised the Serbian jury:
*
Bilja Krstić
Biljana "Bilja" Krstić (Serbian Cyrillic: Биљана "Биља" Крстић, Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: ǐʎana bǐːʎa kř̩ːstitɕ born 9 November 1955) is a Serbian singer. She was born in 1955 in Niš and brought up on the folk t ...
– musician
*
Jelena Tomašević
Jelena Tomašević ( sr-cyr, Јелена Томашевић, ; born November 1, 1983) is a Serbian pop singer of international career famed for her strong vocal performances. She has won numerous awards for her songs and represented Serbia at 20 ...
– singer, represented
Serbia in the 2008 contest
* Aleksandar Sedlar – musician
* Marko Đorđević – musician
* Vlada Maričić – musician
References
External links
RTS
{{Beovizija
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...