'''23'' ( sr-Cyrl, Песма за Евровизију '23, ''PzE '23'') was the second edition of , Serbia's national final organised by Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) to select the Serbian entry for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as , the winner of the with the song "Stefania (song), Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to host the eve ...

. The selection consisted of two semi-finals held on 1 and 2 March 2023, respectively, and a final on 4 March 2023. All shows were hosted by Milan Marić and

Dragana Kosjerina Dragana Kosjerina Perduv (, , ; born August 22, 1987) is a Serbian journalist and TV anchor. She currently works at Radio Television of Serbia (RTS). Biography Dragana Kosjerina Perduv was born on August 22, 1987, in Sarajevo, from where sh ...

with backstage interviews conducted by and Stefan Popović. The three shows were broadcast on

RTS1 RTS 1 (), known as RTS Program One (), or Prvi (), is a Serbian television channel that is part of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS). It was established on August 23, 1958 as the first television station in Serbia. History RTS 1 was the first te ...

, and as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's website ''rts.rs'' and the broadcaster's Eurovision dedicated Youtube channel.

Format and production

In 2023, RTS decided to once again organize

Pesma za Evroviziju ''Pesma za Evroviziju'' () is a Serbian song contest organized by Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) in collaboration with SkyMusic. Since its inception in Pesma za Evroviziju '22, 2022, it has been used to select the for the Eurovision Song Cont ...

to decide its representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. On the same day as the submission window had opened, the rulebook was published. The selection consisted of two semi-finals, held on 1 and 2 March, and a final on 4 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. Eight 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

'''23'' was produced by RTS and SkyMusic. PzE '23 had a budget of around , whilst around were spent.

Hosts

All shows were hosted by Milan Marić and

with greenroom interviews conducted by and Stefan Popović.

Competing entries

The submission window for competing entries opened on the 1st of September 2022, and was due to close on the 15th of November the same year, but was later pushed back to the 1st of December. 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, around 185 submissions were received. A selection committee consisting of RTS music editors reviewed the submissions and selected 32 entries to proceed to the national final. The selected competing entries were announced on 9 January 2023 and among the competing artists are

Tijana Dapčević Tijana Dapčević (; , sr-cyr, Тијана Дапчевић, , ; born 3 February 1976) is a Macedonian and Serbian singer. Early life Todevska was born in Skopje, at the time part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia, ...

, who represented

Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Macedonia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "To the Sky" written by Darko Dimitrov, Lazar Cvetkoski and Elena Risteska. The song was performed by Tijana Dapčević, Tijana, who was internally selected by the Mace ...

, and

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

(albeit with a different line-up), which represented

Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Serbia was set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "" written by Nemanja Antonić, Kosana Stojić and Sanja Vučić. The song was performed by the group Hurricane, which among its members included Sanja Vučić who ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Contest overview

Semi-finals

The two semi-finals took place at the Studios 8 and 9 of RTS in

Košutnjak Košutnjak ( sr-Cyrl, Кошутњак, ) is a park-forest and urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is divided between in the municipalities of Čukarica (upper and central parts) and Rakovica (lower part). With the adjoin ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

on 1 and 2 March 2023. In each semi-final 16 songs competed and the eight qualifiers for the final were decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of (singer-songwriter),

Ana Stanić Ana Stanić ( sr-cyr, Ана Станић; born 8 December 1975) is a Serbian pop singer, songwriter, composer, and film producer. Career Music In 1994, she became the singer in dance-pop duo Moby Dick. They recorded three albums, which sold i ...

(singer-songwriter), Vojislav Aralica (producer), Filip Bulatović (conductor) and (musician), and the Serbian public via SMS voting.

Semi-final 1

In addition to the competing entries, former Eurovision contestant

Konstrakta Ana Đurić, . (;, . born 12 October 1978), known professionally as Konstrakta,, . is a Serbian singer and songwriter. She had risen to prominence as the lead vocalist of the indie pop band Zemlja gruva!, which was founded in 2007, before pursui ...

, who represented Serbia in 2022, was featured as the guest performer in the first semi-final.

Semi-final 2

In addition to the competing entries, former Eurovision contestant

Sanja Vučić Sanja Vučić ( sr-Cyrl, Сања Вучић, ; born 8 August 1993) is a Serbian singer and songwriter. Initially the lead vocalist of the Serbian crossover band ZAA, she represented Serbia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Goo ...

, who represented Serbia in 2016 and as part of

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

, singers Alen Ademović,

Ivana Peters Ivana Pavlović ( sr-cyr, Ивана Павловић; born August 22, 1974), better known as Ivana Peters ( sr-cyr, Ивана Петерс) or Ivana Negativ ( sr-cyr, Ивана Негатив), is a Serbian singer-songwriter. Initially recognis ...

, Stevan Anđelković and Zorja, the bands Zbogom Brus Li and , as well as the assemble Iskaz and the vocal chorus Luča were featured as guest performers in the second semi-final.

Final

The final took place at the Studios 8 and 9 of RTS in

on 4 March 2023 and featured the 16 qualifiers from the preceding two semi-finals. The winner, "" performed by

Luke Black Luka Ivanović ( sr-Cyrl, Лука Ивановић; born 18 May 1992), known professionally as Luke Black ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Лук Блек, separator=" / ", Luk Blek), is a Serbian singer and songwriter. Born in Čačak, he became the first Serb ...

, was decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of

Lena Kovačević Lena Kovačević ( sr-Cyrl, Лена Ковачевић, born on 25 February 1982) is a Serbian singer. Biography She graduated in jazz singing from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Kovačević debuted in her father's 2003 movie '' The Pro ...

(singer-songwriter), Dragan Đorđević (cellist),

Nevena Božović Nevena Ivanović ( sr-Cyrl, Невена Ивановић, ; [] ; born 15 June 1994) is a Serbian singer and songwriter. She made her singing debut by Serbia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007, representing Serbia at the Junior Eurovisio ...

(represented

Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 Serbia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Ljubav je svuda" written by Saša Milošević Mare and Marina Tucaković. The song was performed by Moje 3, which among its members included Nevena Božović who had prev ...

as part of

Moje 3 Moje 3 ( sr-cyr, Моје 3; English: ''My 3'') was a Serbian girl group consisting of Mirna Radulović, Nevena Božović and Sara Jovanović. They represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö with the song " Ljubav je svu ...

and in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

), Slobodan "Coby" Veljković (rapper, songwriter and producer) and (pianist), and the Serbian public via SMS voting. All funds collected from the viewer votes were donated to charity for the purchase of equipment for the Health Center in the municipality of

Bojnik Bojnik ( sr-cyr, Бојник) is a town and municipality located in the Jablanica District of southern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the population of the town is 3,087 and population of the municipality was 9,315. History Much of the popul ...

. The show was opened by a rendition of the British Eurovision Song Contest 1981 winning entry "

Making Your Mind Up "Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz with music composed by John Danter and lyrics written by Andy Hill. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut single, the group having been formed just two months earl ...

" by the four hosts, while the interval act featured a medley of songs by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

to honour the hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, performed by singers

Dejan Cukić Dejan Cukić ( sr-cyr, Дејан Цукић; born November 4, 1959) is a Serbian rock musician, journalist, writer and translator. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Cukić was the frontman of the new wave band Bulevar, releasing two al ...

Gordan Kičić Gordan Kičić ( sr-cyr, Гордан Кичић; born 5 August 1977) is a Serbian actor, comedian and director. Acclaimed for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is prominent for his starring role in the acclaimed television series '' Balka ...

, Iva Lorens, , Oliver Nektarijević and

Srđan Gojković Srđan ( sr-Cyrl, Срђан); ; ; ) is a Serbo-Croatian masculine given name, usually written as Srdjan when the letter đ is unavailable. It is usually considered to be a form of the name Sergius, honoring the Christian martyr and saint Serg ...

as well as the tribute band The Bestbeat. The arrangements of the songs were specifically done by The Bestbeat to compliment individual artists performing alongside them.

Other awards

OGAE Serbia Award

OGAE Serbia Award for the best song on ''Pesma za Evroviziju '23'' is voted on by the association members. The award was won by the winning song "" with 275 points. In second place, with 262 points, was "" by Filip Baloš, while the third place went to Zejna and her song "" with 174 points. Baloš was also the designated as the Serbian entrant to the OGAE Second Chance Contest.

Broadcasts and ratings

The three shows were broadcast on

RTS Svet RTS Svet (Serbian Cyrillic: РТС Свет, or RTS World (/); Satellite program of RTS (/)), formerly RTS Sat, is a Serbian satellite television channel. It is operated by Radio Television of Serbia (RTS). Audience The channel is aimed at Ser ...

and RTS Planeta as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's website ''rts.rs'', and the broadcaster's Eurovision dedicated Youtube channel.

Notes

References

{{Pesma za Evroviziju 2023 in Serbia 2023 song contests Eurovision Song Contest 2023

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...