Countries in Review: Croatia part 1

Back to my "Countries in Review" and back to the Balkans with Croatia.

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  "Celebrate" is a terrible song with staging ten years out of date and completely intimidated by the audience.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

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.

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.

21.   "Celebrate"   Daria    2011  

Countries in Review: Bosnia/Herzegovina (part 2)

The Stari Mostar is perhaps the most recognizable landmarks of Bosnia/Herzegovina.

When looking back at my top five choices of Bosnian songs, one thing connects them all--compelling performances by their lead singer.  Having had twelve years of musical training in choral groups, I have major respect for performers who have actual talent in being able to present a song effectively.

5.  Maja Tatić   "Na jastuku za dvoje"   2002

I have a confession to make.  I love female singers from the Balkans with husky, powerful voices and Maja Tatić fits very much in that mold.  The song may be subpar and her styling disappointing, but I could listen to her sing the phone book.  Anybody know if there's a recording of Maja Tatić singing the phone book?  I'll buy it from you.

4.  Hari Mata Hari   "Lejla"   2006

Hara Mata Hari took Bonsia to their best placement at Eurovision, a third place finish.  It's an good example of the "Balkan Ballad".  I only have one big problem, and that's because it is a Željko Joksimović song.    Joksimović is and extremely successful Serbian singer--coming in second and third at Eurovision.   Hari Varešanović, the lead singer of Hari Mata Hari, is a good singer, but he's no  Joksimović

3.  Davorin Popović   "Dvadaset prvi vijek"   1995

This song was never going to win Eurovision.  It feels weird and dated and probably felt that when it was performed on stage in Dublin.   But even with that criticism, it's easy to see how Popović is considered a musical legend back in his home country.  Popović's ability to interpret lyric is something that comes across even though he is singing in Serbo-Croatian.    It wasn't going to win, especially since it followed the eventual winner of the 1995 contest.  However, this song is a nice feather in the cap for Popović--a quality international moment to top off a very successful career.

2.  Regina   "Bistra Voda"   2009

Although this song came in a disappointing ninth in 2009, this is one of the Eurovision songs and performances that has aged quite well over time.  It's a great example of song style, performance, and staging that comes out of the region and how amazing and effective they can be when everything works well together.  I just wish that they had some better camera work--at times it's very static.

1.  Dino Merlin   "Love In Rewind"  2011

This song is an earworm and it's the rare earworm I don't mind having stuck in my head.  It's been that way ever since I first heard it back in 2011.  The sunny, upbeat feeling of the song isn't an obvious choice for a successful song at Eurovision, but came in sixth in Düsseldorf even from the dreaded place of second in the running order.  Had it drawn a better place in the second half of the contest, this could have been a contender to win in a rather weak year.  (And I would have been much happier.)

Finally, I'm through with Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Next up, Bulgaria.