Best of the Bunch: Montenegro

Previous to 2007, Montenegro participated in Eurovision as part of Serbia and Montenegro, so from 2007 onwards, Montenegro (and Serbia) were on their own, left to fend for themselves. Serbia set the bar pretty high, winning the contest on their debut independent year of 2007, however Montenegro hasn’t had the same luck over the years following. Today we’ll be going through the entries up until 2015, as we do with all our Best of the Bunch posts. Usually we would start in 2006, but again, we are starting from when Montenegro became an independent participant. After we recap, it will be your turn to vote for your Best of the Bunch!

We’re starting off with Stevan Faddy, who was the debut performer for the independent Montenegro. Their debut song was titled Ajde, kroči, which was composed by the composer who did No Name’s song for Serbia and Montenegro only 2 years previous. The nation had to participate in the semi-final, however unfortunately didn’t make it any further in the competition, finishing in 22^nd place with 33 points.

The following year, it was up to Stefan Filipović to try turn around the results, and bring Montenegro to the final for the first time. The song Stefan performed was titled Zauvijek Volim Te, which like the previous year, had been sung in Montenegrin. Unfortunately, once again, Montenegro was stuck in the semi-final, in 14^th place with 23 points.

In 2008, Montenegro changed strategy by picking a female performer for the first time with that being Andrea Demirović, singing a song in English once again for the first time. The song was called Just Get Out of My Life, and interestingly, it was performed 1^st in the running order in the first semi-final, just as the previous Montenegrin entry was! Turns out it’s not the luckiest place in the running order, with Andrea missing out on the final, although only by one place, with 44 points.

Montenegro then took two years break…

… So we’re at 2012, where Montenegro sent one of their most polarising entries, with that being Rambo Amadeus with the song Euro Neuro. It was a simple song which drew attention to the incredible rhyme created by Rambo, but that the same time, you couldn’t watch without having a bit of a giggle! Incredibly Montenegro was first up in the running order for the first semi-final, and as with the other two entries performed in the same spot, Montenegro failed to make the final, finishing in 15th place with 20 points.

The following year, Montenegro had one of the most hyped entries they’ve ever had, with Who See featuring Nina Žižić. The song they performed was called Igranka, which featured rap, plus a powerful chorus sung by Nina, but all in Montenegrin language. Despite the hype, Montenegro just couldn’t change their results, however this time around they were closer to the final, coming 12^th with 41 points.

In 2014, the luck changed for Montenegro, and it was all because of Sergej Ćetković with his song Moj Svijet. It took a while, but Montenegro finally realised that sometimes a simple, but beautiful Balkan ballad can bring results at Eurovision, and finally, the nation qualified to the final. It was an exciting moment for not only those involved for the entry, but all the fans who were excited for their success! In the final, the nation finished in at 19^th place with 37 points.

The following year, and our last in this Best of the Bunch journey, Montenegro opted for another Balkan Ballad, this time performed by Knez. It was arguably one of the best performances of the night, in terms of overall stage performance and vocals, and it didn’t come as a surprise that Montenegro would be performing in the final once again. In the final, Knez reached 13^th place with 60 points, which was their best result as an independent nation!

Now it’s your turn to vote for your Best of the Bunch!