Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Montenegro participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Adio", written by Željko Joksimović, Marina Tucaković and Dejan Ivanović. The song was performed by Knez, who was selected by Montenegrin broadcaster Radio i televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) in October 2014 to represent the nation at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. The song "Adio" was later presented to the public in March 2015. In the second of the Eurovision semi-finals "Adio" placed ninth out of the 17 participating countries, securing its place among the 27 other songs in the final. In Montenegro's seventh Eurovision appearance on 23 May, "Adio" finished in thirteenth place, receiving 44 points. This was Montenegro's best placing in the contest, to this point, since their debut in 2007.

Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Country Montenegro
National selection
Selection processInternal Selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 31 October 2014
Song: 17 March 2015
Selected entrantKnez
Selected song"Adio"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (9th, 57 points)
Final result13th, 44 points
Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2014 2015 2016►

Background

Prior to the 2015 Contest, Montenegro had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest as an independent nation six times since its first entry in its own right in 2007.[1] Its best placing in the contest was nineteenth, which it achieved in 2014 with the song "Moj svijet" performed by Sergej Ćetković. In 2014, Montenegro qualified to the final for the first time since they began participating. The nation briefly withdrew from the competition in 2010 and 2011 citing financial difficulties as the reason for their absence.[2][3]

The Montenegrin broadcaster for the 2015 Contest, who broadcasts the event in Montenegro and organises the selection process for its entry, was Radio i televizija Crne Gore (RTCG). Since 2009, the Montenegrin broadcaster has internally selected both the artists and song that would represent Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest. On 9 September 2014, RTCG confirmed that Montenegro would participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.[4] Later on 2 October 2014, the broadcaster revealed that the Montenegrin entry would be selected via an internal selection.[5]

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 31 October 2014, RTCG announced at a press conference at RTCG Headquarters in Podgorica that Knez would represent Montenegro in Vienna. Knez previously attempted to represent Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 where he placed third in the artist selection. Knez also attempted to represent Serbia and Montenegro in 2004 where he placed seventeenth in their national final with the song "Navika".[6][7] In regards to his selection at the Montenegrin artist, Knez stated: "I'll do my best and invest all my experience and knowledge. At the same time I'm hoping to have a perfect song which will represent Montenegro in the best possible way."[8]

On 18 February 2015, RTCG announced that the Montenegrin song would be composed by Serbian singer-songwriter Željko Joksimović. Joksimović had previously represented Serbia and Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 and Serbia in 2012 where he placed second and third at the contests with the songs "Lane moje" and "Nije ljubav stvar", respectively. Joksimović had also previously composed the Bosnian and Serbian songs in 2006 and 2008, respectively.[9][10] In response to preparations surrounding the song, Knez stated: "I am very pleased with the composition which will represent our country and I can say that the reactions of those who had the opportunity to hear it are positive on first listen, as we inspire optimism that we will achieve a good result in Vienna."[11] The song, "Adio", written by Joksimović, Marina Tucaković and Dejan Ivanović, was presented on 17 March 2015 via the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv with the official music video being released on 18 March 2015.[12][13]

Preparation

In the lead up to the contest, Knez released English and French language versions of "Adio" on 29 April 2015.[14] The English version had lyrics written by Nicole Rodriguez, Tami Rodriguez, Dunja Vujadinović and Milica Fajgelj while lyrics for the French version were written by Rob Wolfson.[15]

At Eurovision

Knez at a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation.[16] The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[17] On 26 January 2015, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Montenegro was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 21 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[18]

Once all the competing songs for the 2015 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Montenegro was set to perform in position 4, following the entry from San Marino and before the entry from Malta.[19]

All three shows were broadcast in Montenegro on TVCG 2, with commentary by Dražen Bauković and Tamara Ivanković.[20] The Montenegrin spokesperson, who announced the Montenegrin votes during the final, was 2009 Eurovision entrant Andrea Demirović.[21]

Semi-final

Knez at a dress rehearsal for the second semi-final

Knez took part in technical rehearsals on 13 and 16 May,[22][23] followed by dress rehearsals on 20 and 21 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.[24]

The stage show featured Knez in a black suit joined by five female backing vocalists dressed in black and green outfits. The clothing worn by all six performers was designed by Boško Jakovljević, while jewellery worn by the female backing vocalists was designed by Katarina Zlajić. In regards to the staging, the Montenegrin stage director, Marko Novaković, stated: "Considering that the song written by Željko Joksiković has some modern, but also some traditional, ethnic elements, the visual elements needs to follow the story of a song. What you will see during the performance on the LED floor and background is: the mountains, Adriatic sea, but also traditional Montenegrin dances".[22][23] The five female backing vocalists that joined Knez on stage were Dunja Vujadinović, Lena Kuzmanović, Ivana Vlahović, Jelena Pajić and his daughter, Ksenija Knežević.[25]

At the end of the show, Montenegro was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final.[26] It was later revealed that the Montenegro placed ninth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 57 points.[27]

Final

Shortly after the second semi-final, a winner's press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Montenegro was drawn to compete in the second half.[28] Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Montenegro was subsequently placed to perform in position 16, following the entry from Greece and before the entry from Germany.[29]

Knez once again took part in dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show.[30] Knez performed a repeat of his semi-final performance during the final on 23 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Montenegro placed thirteenth with 44 points.[31][32]

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.[33] In the second semi-final, Montenegro's vote was based on 100 percent jury voting, which was implemented due to either technical issues with the televoting or an insufficient number of votes.[34] In the final, Montenegro's vote was based on 100 percent televoting after the EBU announced that it had disqualified the Montenegrin jury results in the final due to irregularities. The exclusion of the votes was decided upon in consultation with the contest's independent voting observer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and based upon the decision of the Executive Supervisor and the Chairman of the Reference Group.[35]

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Montenegro had placed eighteenth with the public televote and twelfth with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Montenegro scored 34 points, while with the jury vote, Montenegro scored 44 points.[36] In the second semi-final, Montenegro placed ninth with the public televote with 58 points and eleventh with the jury vote, scoring 47 points.[37]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Montenegro and awarded by Montenegro in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:[27][32][34][38]

Points awarded to Montenegro

Points awarded to Montenegro (Semi-final 2)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to Montenegro (final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
  •  Macedonia

Points awarded by Montenegro

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Montenegrin jury:[33]

  • Ilija Dapčević – Chairperson – professor of music
  • Aleksandra Vojvodić – professor of music, singer
  • Darko Nikčević – musician
  • Renata Perazić – musician
  • Senad Drešević – composer
Split voting results from Montenegro (Semi-final 2)
Draw Country I. Dapčević A. Vojvodić D. Nikčević R. Perazić S. Drešević Average Jury Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Lithuania 13 12 13 11 11 11
02  Ireland 9 9 9 9 10 9 2
03  San Marino 6 7 6 6 8 6 5
04  Montenegro
05  Malta 2 1 2 2 3 2 10
06  Norway 5 5 5 4 5 5 6
07  Portugal 7 6 7 7 6 7 4
08  Czech Republic 10 10 10 10 16 10 1
09  Israel 8 8 8 8 7 8 3
10  Latvia 12 13 11 14 14 13
11  Azerbaijan 4 4 4 5 4 4 7
12  Iceland 16 16 15 16 9 15
13  Sweden 3 3 1 3 2 3 8
14   Switzerland 14 14 12 15 13 14
15  Cyprus 15 15 16 13 15 16
16  Slovenia 1 2 3 1 1 1 12
17  Poland 11 11 14 12 12 12
Split voting results from Montenegro (final)
Draw Country Televote Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Slovenia 7 4
02  France 25
03  Israel 8 3
04  Estonia 10 1
05  United Kingdom 22
06  Armenia 15
07  Lithuania 24
08  Serbia 1 12
09  Norway 17
10  Sweden 6 5
11  Cyprus 21
12  Australia 13
13  Belgium 12
14  Austria 26
15  Greece 16
16  Montenegro
17  Germany 18
18  Poland 23
19  Latvia 11
20  Romania 20
21  Spain 9 2
22  Hungary 19
23  Georgia 14
24  Azerbaijan 3 8
25  Russia 4 7
26  Albania 2 10
27  Italy 5 6

See also

References

  1. "Montenegro Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  2. Hondal, Victor (17 November 2009). "Montenegro withdraws from Eurovision 2010". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  3. Hondal, Victor (23 December 2010). "Montenegro officially out of Eurovision 2011". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  4. Jiandani, Sanjay (9 September 2014). "Montenegro: RTCG confirms participation in Eurovision 2015". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  5. Jiandani, Sanjay (2 October 2014). "Montenegro: Internal selection for Eurovision 2015". ESCToday. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  6. Leon, Jakov Isak (31 October 2014). "Knez sings for Montenegro". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  7. ""Daću sve od sebe na Eurosongu"" (in Montenegrin). RTCG. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  8. Leon, Jakov I. (31 October 2014). "Knez sings for Montenegro". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  9. Leon, Jakov I. (19 February 2015). "Željko Joksimović writes the Eurovision entry for Montenegro". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  10. Jiandani, Sanjay (18 February 2015). "Montenegro: Željko Joksimović will compose Knez's entry". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  11. Lewis, Pete (11 March 2015). "Montenegro: Knez to sing Adio, song reveal on 21 March". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  12. Brey, Marco (17 March 2015). "Listen to the entry from Montenegro!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
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  14. ""Adio" na engleskom i francuskom". rtcg.me. RTCG. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
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  16. Siim, Jarmo (10 February 2015). "Australia to compete in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  17. Brey, Marco (25 January 2015). "Tomorrow: The semi-final allocation draw". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  18. Escudero, Victor M. (26 January 2015). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  19. Siim, Jarmo (23 March 2015). "Running order of Semi-Finals revealed". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  20. "Eurosong". TVCG. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  21. Roxburgh, Gordon (23 May 2015). ""Good evening Vienna" - Voting order revealed". eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
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  23. Leon, Jakov I. (16 May 2015). "Knez (Montenegro): This is my vision of Balkan music!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
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  26. Roxburgh, Gordon (21 May 2015). "Line-up is now complete for the Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  27. "Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Second Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  28. Brey, Marco; Escudero, Victor M. (21 May 2015). "The second Semi-Final winners' press conference". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  29. Storvik-Green, Simon (22 May 2015). "Running order for Grand Final revealed!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  30. Roxburgh, Gordon (22 May 2015). "Decision night for the 40 juries around Europe...and beyond". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  31. Storvik-Green, Simon; Roxburgh, Gordon (24 May 2015). "Sweden wins 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  32. "Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  33. Bakker, Sietse (1 May 2015). "Exclusive: Here are this year's national juries!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  34. "Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Second Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  35. Galagher, Robyn (24 May 2015). "Voting Scandal: Jury votes for FYR Macedonia and Montenegro Excluded". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  36. Quinn, Angus (24 May 2015). "Eurovision 2015 Split Results: Who Did the Jury Hurt?". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  37. Adams, Willy Lee (25 May 2015). "Semi final split results: Who the jury hurt at Eurovision 2015". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  38. "Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
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