They say to begin as you mean to go on, and if the Eurovision gods follow this mantra we are in for one heck of a national final season. Our first selection of the year, coming from returnees Montenegro, gave us drama and controversy before 2024 was even over.
Montesong's inaugural edition featured 16 entries, most of which were performed fully in Montenegro's national language. 2022 representative Vladana Vučinić hosted and organised the event alongside Marko Todorović. Notable contestants were:
Tamara Živković - "Poguban let" - originally on the reserve list, this pop song quickly became a fan favourite but failed to connect on stage
Đurđa - "To ljubav je" - shades of Elsie Bay in this jury-friendly entry, performed by a vocally solid if not slightly awkward singer
Kejt - "Obala raja" - returning from the 2018 NF in which she performed as Katarina Bogićević, Kejt's DnB-influenced song is the only one to feature a significant amount of English
Nina Žižić - "Dobrodošli" - the fan favourite going in was Who See's featured vocalist in 2013. The song is what I would call a karaoke screamer, others might call it a power ballad, but vocals in the first half let her down
Neonoen - "Clickbait" - this whimsical rock song, with sporadic English lyrics including "Nebitno gay ili straight", was well performed by the four-piece rock group - described as "fun", "fascinating" and "oddly familiar for attendees of a music festival in Zabjelo in June 2023".
Glumci Bend - "San" - I have never seen anything like this in an NF. Glumci Bend are a group of actors that teamed up for this musical-theatre-esque entry.
Baryak - "Dva srca" - an art rock song with a very competent performance, cementing its status as an option
Milena Vučić - "Škorpija" - my personal favourite, Milena performed this rock song well and clearly spent money on the staging (and Youtube views).
Also performing: Anastasija Koprolčec - "Kraj", Tina Džankić - "Nova", Nemanja Petrović - "Među zvijezdama", Bend 9 - "Stop War", Luka Radović - "Kada dođe maj", Isak Šabanović - "Ljeto, ljeto, ljeto", Dolce Hera - "Repeat", Verica Čuljković - "Čuješ li"
Results were decided by a jury including seven former Eurovision artists and a national televote. Nina Žižić won the jury vote ahead of Neonoen and Milena Vučić. Nina however was rewarded with only fourth in the televote, behind Baryak first, Neonoen second and Đurđa third, making Neonoen the inaugural Montesong winners with "Clickbait".
But remember that festival in Zabjelo? After a video surfaced of the band performing "Clickbait" there, Neonoen withdrew from Eurovision, and RTCG decided to send Nina to Basel with "Dobrodošli", making her the first artist to represent independent Montenegro twice. One day after the NF, Vladana resigned from her role, citing a "moral obligation" - it was a fun way to start the season, but Montenegro still has a long way to go.
Clickbait
Nina Zizic