Eurovision 2019 spotlight: Serbia's Nevena Božović with "Kruna"...

Hey guys and gals! I'm rolling on with my spotlight on the countries, artists, and songs taking part in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel next month. I've been going in order of the semi-finals, but since my first post about Belarus was before the running order was set, I'll skip them now and move on. You can check out all the posts on the series by clicking here. Next up, please...

When I talked about Hungary's entry yesterday, I mentioned there are five singers that previously appeared as lead solo act or as a part of a group. Here's another one, as Nevena Božović gets a second shot. Last year, the former Yugoslav republic of Serbia sent the neo-traditional collaboration between producer/musician Sanja Ilić and the vocal group Balkanaika with the Balkan folk ballad "Nova Deca". The song made the finals, and ended up in 19th place, but had many praises from fans of the ethno-pop contingent in the contest. This year, we have Nevena Božović, who previously was a member of the vocal group Moje 3, with two other girls from that country's version of The Voice. Their song, "Ljubav de svuda" ("Love Is Everywhere") failed to qualify for the finals in 2013, but by a hair, coming in 11th. This time out, instead of the Hi-NRG/EDM loudness that Moje brought, Božović, who was born in the city of Mitrovica in the Kosovo region of Serbia (which has been fighting for their own independence for decades now), brings a power-ballad sung mostly in Serbian with a touch of English that she wrote herself. "Kruna" ("Crown"), won the country's national final Beovizija 2019, and give Nevena a chance to redeem herself...

Well, Nevena doesn't go for any gimmicks, just her voice and her song, which the juries will definitely reward her for. Her delivery is flawless live, and the emotion in the song overshadows the need to know exactly the lyrics (though it would help). Nevertheless, I believe that if she can pull the same range of power and vulnerability in this song that she did in the nationals, she should (and deserve to) quality for the finals. Not flashy or different enough to win perhaps, but well-done enough to be in the finals (well over such drivel like Denmark's). (Rating: 7/10)

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As part of Yugoslavia, Serbians have been taking part in Eurovision since 1961 until 1992. In fact, the country's first two entries were Serbian singers, with the second year, "Ne pali svetlo u sumrak" ("Don't Turn The Lights On At Twilight") by Lola Novaković, the best Yugoslav finisher from Serbia at fourth place...

For two years between 2004 and 2005, the country competed as "Serbia and Montenegro", with the 2004 entry, "Lane Moje" ("My Darling"), from Serbian singer Željko Joksimović, and came in runner-up position in the final only behind Ukraine's "Wild Dances"...

Since 2007, Serbia has been in Eurovision all alone (well, with Kosovo and all), and their very first year, they won the contest with the dramatic "Molitva" ("Prayer") from Marija Šerifović...

Marija's song is iconic, but my personal favorite from the country came in 2015, when Bojana Stamenov brought her big pipes to Eurovision with "Beauty Never Lies", ending up in tenth place 13 years before "This Is Me"...