The second semifinal of Dora 2025, Croatia’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, served as the penultimate showcase of what acts would be in the running to replace the successful Baby Lasagna as the country’s ESC representative ahead of the final. Held in Opatija, the second semifinal managed to showcase a diverse array of musical artists and genres, all of which would be competing for Croatia’s Eurovision ticket.
A total of twelve acts performed with a musical diversity that isn’t always seen in Dora. While only eight could advance to the final, the lineup included a mix of established artists and newcomers, including rapping Eurovision superfan turned Dora contestant Fenksta with the catchy “Extra.” Fenksta entered the contest with the hopes of adding some diversity to the Dora lineup which had grown quite stale over the years. His contribution along with many others helped make that goal of his a reality.
The show opened with the goofy 8-bit inspired “NPC” by Laurakojapjeva which not only eventually qualified but was also the first indication that this isn’t the Dora of old anymore. Among the standout acts were the aforementioned Fenksta, fan-favorite Luka Nizetic with “Juzina,” and the creepy yet poppy “Poison Cake” from the eccentric Marko Bosnjak. The diversity of genres, from pop to folk to electronica, highlighted the rich musical landscape of Croatia which had been sorely lacking in recent editions of Dora.
Other qualifiers to the final included Marko Skugor with “Sta da Boga molim ja”, Filomena’s “Strong”, Petar Brkljacic’s “Kraj” and Eurovision ticket contender “Daj, daj” from Ogenj. The one major shock of the night was the loss of Ananda’s “Love Lies Cold” to elimination. The song was perhaps too much of the same old thing for Croatian voters leaving their hearts ice cold for the song. There were no juries to save Ananda as the semifinals for Dora used 100% televoting to determine the songs advancing to the final.
While the Croatian contestants were the stars of the evening, they were nearly outshined by Norway’s 2023 representative Alessandra who served as the second semifinal’s interval act. Alessandra performed her televote hit “Queen of Kings” followed up by a memorable performance of Croatia’s 2023 Eurovision song “Mama SC!” by legendary Croation punk rockers Let 3. The in-house crowd loved the cover performance of Let 3’s song and eurofans across all social media platforms were thrilled as well. This was no doubt a highlight of the Dora festivities for many.
Upon its completion, the second semifinal showed that Dora is perhaps turning the corner towards becoming a solid national final that can help propel Croatia to sustained Eurovision success in the coming years.
