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| Croatia used the TV show "Dora" to select their entrant for a number of years. |
Croatia has entered Eurovision 21 times, starting in the first growth of the contest eastward in 1993. After a rough couple of years, Croatia did quite well in the contest. Croatians were perennially in the top ten in the early in the 1990s and early 2000s. But poor finishes in recent years (combined with the European financial crisis) have made them sit out for the past two years.
In this entry I'm going to be looking at the songs I ranked from 6 to 21. Watch for my next post for my favorite Croatian entries
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Croatia's sent two types of songs to Eurovision. The first is the Balkan ballad, a dramatic song usually about love. This type is exemplified by this interesting, technically difficult song from the 1996 contest.
"Sveta ljubav" Maja Blagadan 1996
This song didn't crack my top five for one reason only--the high note that really doesn't need to be there. I'm impressed Blagadan is able to hit B Flat 5, but the song doesn't need it. (It did work in the voting, though. Croatia came in fourth in 1996 garnering them one of their best results.)
The other type is the the female pop ballad.
Vesna Pisarović "Everything I Want" 2002
Every country sends these sort of songs, and Croatia's entries were no better or worse than other countries' offerings. Because of this, most of them fall in the middle of my list.
On occasion, Croatia would send something a little different--like this quirky little entry from 2008--
Kraljevi ulice & 75 Cents "Romanca" 2008
but you could really depend on Croatia to stick to those two types of songs.
That said, I have to highlight perhaps one of the worst songs ever presented at a Eurovision Song Contest.
Daria Kinzer "Celebrate" 2011
Unlike a lot of other songs that come across horribly, this one is special because I feel nothing but pity for the singer. "Celebrate" is a terrible song with staging ten years out of date and completely intimidated by the audience. It's like the Croatian broadcasted spent the bare minimum to get Kinzer to Düsseldorf and it's not suprising Croatia stepped away from the contest a couple of years later.
For those of you who are curious where the other Croatian entries fall, here's my full ranking of the songs from 6 to 21.
6. "Sveta ljubav" Maja Blagadan 1996
7. "Mižerja" Klapa s Mora 2013 Cool but not a Eurovision song.
8. "Romanca" Kraljevi ulice & 75 Cents 2008
6. "Sveta ljubav" Maja Blagadan 1996
7. "Mižerja" Klapa s Mora 2013 Cool but not a Eurovision song.
8. "Romanca" Kraljevi ulice & 75 Cents 2008
9. "Marija Magdalena" Doris Dragović 1999 It’s the most successful Croatian song in Eurovision, but the performance leaves me cold.
10. "Lako je sve" Feminem 2010 They are competent singers wearing bridesmaid dresses.
10. "Lako je sve" Feminem 2010 They are competent singers wearing bridesmaid dresses.
11. "Lijepa Tena" Igor Cukrov featuring Andrea 2009 He looks so smarmy and doesn’t have the charm to pull off the Balkan ballad the way other singers can.
12. "Vukovi umiru sami" Boris Novković feat. Lado 2005 A standard male Balkan ballad but, Novković does have a bit of charm. Too much crap on stage, though.
13. "Everything I Want" Vesna Pisarović 2002
14. "Vjerujem u ljubav" Dragonfly feat. Dado Topić 2007 I like his voice, but she’s off key and it pulls the song down in my ranking.
15. "Moja štikla" Severina 2006 Highly ethnic in the ethnic period. Lots of effort for no real result.
16. "Strings of My Heart" Vanna 2001 She has no stage presence. That’s what knocks this song, when this is my favorite song on the CD.
17. "Više nisam tvoja" Claudia Beni 2003 I am sleeping. The lack of enthusiasm and stage presence is making me cry.
18. "Don’t Ever Cry" Put 1993 I have no idea what they’re singing, but taken all together it feels like a Christmas song.
19. "Nek' ti bude ljubav sva" Tony Cetinski 1994 Did Chuck Mangione butt in for a trumpet solo?
20. "You Are The Only One" Ivan Mikulić 2004 Both dull and off key.
12. "Vukovi umiru sami" Boris Novković feat. Lado 2005 A standard male Balkan ballad but, Novković does have a bit of charm. Too much crap on stage, though.
13. "Everything I Want" Vesna Pisarović 2002
14. "Vjerujem u ljubav" Dragonfly feat. Dado Topić 2007 I like his voice, but she’s off key and it pulls the song down in my ranking.
15. "Moja štikla" Severina 2006 Highly ethnic in the ethnic period. Lots of effort for no real result.
16. "Strings of My Heart" Vanna 2001 She has no stage presence. That’s what knocks this song, when this is my favorite song on the CD.
17. "Više nisam tvoja" Claudia Beni 2003 I am sleeping. The lack of enthusiasm and stage presence is making me cry.
18. "Don’t Ever Cry" Put 1993 I have no idea what they’re singing, but taken all together it feels like a Christmas song.
19. "Nek' ti bude ljubav sva" Tony Cetinski 1994 Did Chuck Mangione butt in for a trumpet solo?
20. "You Are The Only One" Ivan Mikulić 2004 Both dull and off key.
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