It’s time to return to Opatija, Croatia for another edition of Dora. Let’s take a quick look at what happened on the big night!
If you’re interested in seeing the whole show, it’s available here: https://www.youtube.com/live/K2PI55nmdZM?feature=share
The show started off with a bizarre performance of some ladies wearing white hats and showgirl outfits. Not sure what was going on here – it felt like a combination of cirque du soleil with opera and electronic music. I wasn’t really a fan of anything but the hats. After whatever that was, Mia came out and sang “Guilty Pleasure” (which really was robbed at Eurovision). This time she had an orchestra and she looked fantastic in her little black dress!
The hosts were two old guys and one middle-aged guy – not sure who picked them. They weren’t really particularly charismatic.
Now let’s get on to the entries.
Top of the Pops ft. Mario 5reković – “Putovanje” (Journey)
(placed 10 of 18)
Definitely not top of the pops, unfortunately. I don’t mind the woman’s voice, but the guy wasn’t really anything special. There is an abysmal spoken part in the middle that made my molars hurt, though. On the whole the staging and song feel like they belong on a cruise ship.
Yogi – “Love at First Sight”
(placed 16 of 18)
This was abysmal. Yogi’s voice felt a bit off, and the song never went anywhere. It sounds like something you would hear in the entrance of a subway station, not something you would ever want to seek out. Definitely not love at first listen.
Boris Štok – “Grijeh” (Sin)
(placed 14 of 18)
This started a bit more upbeat, though Boris lost me with the bad dancing in the opening beats – he kind of looked like he was going for zombie choreography. Sadly, the song went nowhere and stayed in lounge act mode the entire time. .
Tajana Belina – “Dom” (Home)
(placed 17 of 18)
I didn’t hate this, although it was pretty boring. I loved her dress, though.
Krešo and Kisele Kiše – “Kme kme”
(placed 7 of 18)
Okay the show has finally started. This was a lot of fun. It was upbeat, lively, and unexpected. It’s definitely not my style of music, though the sound reminiscent of the early days of legendary Croatian band Prljavo Kazalište. And anytime a trombone features on stage I am a fan.
Maja Grgić – “I Still Live”
(placed 15 of 18)
This made me laugh out loud. The opening lines “I died, I’m no longer alive” combined with that outfit – I lost it. Sadly, I don’t think Maja intended her performance to be funny. But if you want to see a dryad surrounded by two women dressed as Eve, look no further. Sadly, despite its comically bad lyrics and amazing outfits, the song itself is a total snoozer..
Barbara Munjas – “Putem snova” (Through dreams)
(placed 8 of 18)
This took me back to some of the Belgian entries from 2015 and 2016. It felt fun, and I loved Barbara’s performance – there is a moment at about 1:12 on the video where she puts her hair down the middle of her face and makes crazy eyes – highlight of the night for me! She is there to entertain and while she can’t spin straw into gold, she’s at least giving it a shot! doing her best to sell it!
Đana – “Free Fallin’”
(placed 8 of 18)
It felt like Đana spent the whole three minutes searching for her note. The vocals are pretty bad, other than some parts of the chorus. The outfit is ugly (a saggy bra and hammer pants?), and although I like her hair, there isn’t much else to like about this.
Patricia Gasparini – “I Will Wait”
(placed 18 of 18)
What is this? “I will wait in the cabin by the lake” – who wrote this crap? The lyrics are awful, the outfit is bad, the hair (probably a wig) is awful, the vocals feel off, the backup is terrible, and the performance is dull. Patricia should have waited for a better song.
The Splitters – “Lost and Found”
(placed 4 of 18)
It seems Måns Zelmerlöw’s line drawing friend went on vacation in Croatia. I actually don’t hate the song (though the singer could stand to work on his English pronunciation). The sound is catchy, though and I enjoyed it overall.
Hana Mašić – “Nesreća” (Accident)
(placed 11 of 18)
Poor Hana looked super nervous. The hair gimmick feels like a low energy version of Sertab Erener The song itself is inoffensive but not particularly memorable.
Damir Kedžo – “Angels and Demons”
(placed 5 of 18)
I enjoyed this much more than “Divlji vjetre” but on the whole it feels somewhat derivative. Damir’s voice is good though, and even though that outfit needs to be burned, the song wasn’t terrible.
Martha May – “Distance”
(placed 12 of 18)
This one is fantastic! I love the lyrics, I love the outfit, I love the way Martha performs it. It does sound a lot like “Guilty Pleasure” so I am glad Croatia isn’t sending the same thing back-to-back, but I definitely need more of this song and this singer!
Detour – “Master Blaster”
(placed 3 of 18)
I enjoyed this – the song is definitely quirky and the staging is definitely a choice. I love the woman in the background with the three Staples Easy Buttons for no apparent reason. I do wish the song went somewhere – it starts to feel repetitive, and some parts sound like the soundtrack from Zombies Ate My Neighbors, but on the whole I didn’t hate this.
Meri Andraković – “Bye Bye Blonde”
(placed 9 of 18)
Okay so that happened. This was soulless and feels like an attempt to copy the sense of Serbian groups like Moje 3 and Hurricane without actually possessing any of the charm that those groups had. The lyrics sound like they were borrowed from Shock Treatment.
Let 3 – “Mama šč!”
(placed 1 of 18)
And then this happened…Let 3 is definitely heavily inspired by Little Big, but since we never actually got to see them at Eurovision, I guess this is a chance to do so. The outfits are a shoe-in for Barbara Dex (yes, I will still use that term and you can’t stop me). And while the song feels like a gimmick (and the lyrics are pretty inane), it’s the kind of train wreck I can’t look away from. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I quite like the second half of the song, which is a total departure from the first half. While this is definitely the most political song we have had since probably 1944 (especially if you can understand the lyrics), this one skirts the rules by never actually saying anything against Russian aggression (while very heavily implying it). However, whether you want to revel in the thinly veiled message or whether you just want to answer the age old question “What if Hitler had done drag?” this is definitely something that will capture attention. Mama, idem u rat!
Eni Jurišić – “Kreni dalje” (Move on)
(placed 6 of 18)
This one is trying too hard to be artistic and meaningful. The performance takes itself way too seriously, and the song is pretty boring. Eni herself has fantastic makeup though.
Harmonija Disonance – “Nevera (Lei, lei)”
(placed 2 of 18)
I love this! I tend to love these kinds of harmonies. I do wish the singers looked like they were having fun, though – they looked bored out of their minds. Also, I wish they had coordinated their outfits a bit better, but the song and the staging are pretty fantastic!
The intermission was awful. The performer, Toni Cetinski (Croatia’s representative at Eurovision 1994) and honestly, I had to set an alarm to wake me up when it was over.
Scores were tallied in a Eurovision-like manner, and Let 3 handily won both the juries and the televote. I have mixed feelings about it, but the more I listen to the song, the more it grows on me. I probably would have picked Harmonija Disonance, but Let 3 may be interesting enough to break the Croatian Curse and make it into the final, at least. It’s as quirky as Konstrakta, so who knows. Croatia is riding its tractor into war this year – let’s wait and see!
Overall, this year’s Dora was a bit of a letdown. Croatia has some amazing musical talent, but none of it really seemed present this year – it all felt kind of phoned in. But at least we have something memorable in the end!