Pesma Za Evroviziju '22

'''22'' ( sr-Cyrl, Песма за Евровизију '22, ''PzE '22'') was the first edition of , Serbia's national final organised by Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) to select the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The selection consisted of two semi-finals held on 3 and 4 March 2022, respectively, and a final on 5 March 2022. All shows were hosted by Dragana Kosjerina and Jovan Radomir with backstage interviews conducted by Kristina Radenković and Stefan Popović. The three shows were broadcast on RTS1 and RTS Planeta as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's website ''rts.rs''.

Format and production

In 2022, RTS decided to organize Pesma za Evroviziju to decide its representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, replacing the previous national final, Beovizija. On 28 September 2022, the rulebook was published. The selection consisted of two semi-finals, held on 3 and 4 March, and a final on 5 March 2023.

Voting

In all 3 shows, the jury and the televoting award one set of 12, 10 & 8–1 points each to their 10 favourite entries. Nine entries that scored the most points in each semi-final progressed to the final. The act with the most points in the final is declared the winner.

Production

Pesma za Evroviziju '22 was produced by SkyMusic and RTS. RTS management stated that the budget for the contest was , and that were spent.

Hosts

All shows were hosted by Dragana Kosjerina and Jovan Radomir with greenroom interviews conducted by and Stefan Popović.

Competing entries

Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries between 28 September 2021 and 1 December 2021. Artists were required to be Serbian citizens and submit entries in one of the official languages of the Republic of Serbia, while songwriters of any nationality were allowed to submit songs. At the closing of the deadline, 150 submissions were received. A selection committee consisting of RTS music editors reviewed the submissions and selected thirty-six entries to proceed to the national final. The selected competing entries were announced on 14 January 2022 and among the competing artists was Sara Jo, who represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 as part of the group Moje 3.

On 19 January 2022, Stefan Zdravković (Princ od Vranje) announced his withdrawal from the national final due to conflicts with the songwriter of his song "". The song was instead performed by Tijana Dapčević, who represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, under an altered version titled "". On 14 February 2022, RTS announced that Goca Tržan had withdrawn from the national final due to health problems and was replaced with the song "" performed by Chegi and Braća Bluz Band.

Contest overview

Semi-finals

The semi-finals took place at the Studio 9 of RTS in Košutnjak, Belgrade on 3 and 4 March 2022. In each semi-final eighteen songs competed and the nine qualifiers for the final were decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of Željko Vasić (singer), Tijana Milošević (violinist), Vojislav Aralica (producer), Tijana Bogićević (represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017) and Biljana Krstić (singer), and the Serbian public via SMS voting.

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final was held on 3 March 2022. Zorja scored the most points in this semi-final, followed by Konstrakta, Aca Lukas, Biber, Lift, Marija Mikić, Angellina, Ana Stanić and Ivona. The artists that failed to qualify for the final were Boris Subotić, Jelena Pajić, Igor Simić, Sanja Bogosavljević, VIS Limunada, Bojana Mašković, Bane Lalić & MVP, Julija and Mia. In addition to the competing entries, former Eurovision contestants Hurricane (who represented Serbia in 2020 and 2021) were featured as the guest performers in the first semi-final.

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final was held on 4 March 2022. Sara Jo scored the most points in this semi-final, followed by Gift, Zoe Kida, Chegi & Braća Bluz Band, Gramophonedzie, Orkestar Aleksandra Sofronijevića, Zejna Murkić, Naiva and Tijana Dapčević. The artists that failed to qualify for the final were Dušan Svilar, Julijana Vincan, Srđan Lazić, Rocher Etno Band, Marija Mirković, Euterpa, Ivana Vladović and Jovana Stanimirović, Marko Nikolić and Vasco. In addition to the competing entries, former Eurovision contestants Daniel Popović (who represented Yugoslavia in 1983), Bojana Stamenov (who represented Serbia in 2015), Danica Krstić and Mladen Lukić (who represented Serbia in 2018 as part of Balkanika), and singers Đorđe David and Ivana Peters were featured as guest performers in the second semi-final

Final

The final took place at the Studio 9 of RTS in Košutnjak, Belgrade on 5 March 2022 and featured the eighteen qualifiers from the preceding two semi-finals. The winner, "" performed by Konstrakta, was decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of Dragoljub Ilić (composer), Slobodan Marković (composer), Una Senić (music journalist), Vladimir Nikolov (composer) and Neda Ukraden (singer), and the Serbian public via SMS voting. Former Eurovision contestants Jelena Tomašević (who represented Serbia in 2008), Sergej Ćetković (who represented Montenegro in 2014), Knez (who represented Montenegro in 2015), Tijana Bogićević (who represented Serbia in 2017), and singers Lena Kovačević, Kiki Lesendrić, Alen Ademović and Boris Režak were featured as guest performers during the show.

Broadcasts

The three shows were broadcast on RTS1 and RTS Planeta as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's website ''rts.rs''.

Other awards

OGAE awards

Following the event, the fan organisation OGAE Serbia voted on the best song at '''22'' as decided by association members. The award was won by the winning song "" with 256 points. Second place, with 233 points, came from the song "" by Sara Jo, while third place went to Zorja and her song "Zorja" with 143 points. Sara Jo was also the winner of the OGAE Second Chance, which was awarded after a round of voting with all entries, not including the winning song of the event.

Controversies

After the final, singer Aca Lukas, who placed 5th in the final with the song "", accused the Serbian public broadcaster RTS of irregularities in the voting of the selection, stating he would file a criminal complaint against the head of RTS, editor of entertainment program and general director for "stealing votes". RTS responded, stating that the SMS votes were counted automatically by software which did not allow interference. The Comtrade System Integration company, which set up the software to count the votes, said it was prepared to hand the votes to the authorities if requested to do so, adding that the same data is available from mobile phone operators. He also made comments about the winning performer Konstrakta, saying: "I could have gone on stage and washed my feet, but I chose instead to perform", also claiming she is working for opposition political parties. Konstrakta, laughing off his suggestion, jokingly offered "to wash his feet for him." After the controversy, RTS and Kovačević announced they would sue Lukas.

Notes

References

{{Pesma za Evroviziju
2022 in Serbia
2022 song contests
Eurovision Song Contest 2022
2022