The band NeonoeN, chosen to represent Montenegro at Eurovision 2025, has withdrawn from the competition. What is the reason for the withdrawal and who will represent Montenegro in their place?
NeonoeN, the band chosen to represent Montenegro at Eurovision 2025 after winning the national selection “Montesong 2024” last week, has withdrawn from the competition. The withdrawal came in the wake of a scandal in which the band was involved, where it was found that they had performed a different version of their song “Clickbait” well before September 1, 2024, which contravenes contest regulations.
It should be noted that the band withdrew on their own initiative, without involvement from the Montenegrin national broadcaster or the European Broadcasting Union. In their withdrawal letter, the band expressed gratitude for the support they received during the national selection. They stated: “We are not interested in being part of gossip that does not involve music,” and that “Eurovision was never our goal, but rather our exposure to the Montenegrin audience.”Furthermore, the band emphasized in the letter that they still maintain their innocence in the scandal they were involved in, saying: “The performance would not have given us any competitive advantage, and the European Broadcasting Union routinely allows such songs to participate.”
In an Instagram post they uploaded even before the withdrawal, in the context of the affair they were involved in, they even mentioned Nina Žižić as a candidate to replace them, and announced that they would fully support her.
According to the regulations of the Montenegrin Eurovision national selection, in case the winner of the selection withdraws from Eurovision, the Montenegrin national broadcaster chooses the song that will represent Montenegro at Eurovision through an internal selection. It is likely that the broadcaster will choose the song that came second in the national selection, which is indeed Nina Žižić‘s “Dobrodošli” (in English: “Welcome”). An official decision will be made in the coming days.
Montenegro in Eurovision 2022
“Breathe” is the name of the song performed by singer Vladana, who represented Montenegro in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2022. The song was written by Vladana herself along with Darko Dimitrov, who has composed 11 songs for the competition over the years for Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro. Dimitrov’s most successful entry is “Proud,” which represented North Macedonia in Eurovision 2019 and reached seventh place. “Breathe” was performed in English and Italian and was dedicated to Vladana’s mother, who had passed away a year earlier from COVID-19. Vladana only reached 17th place (second to last) in the second semi-final with just 33 points. This is one of the most disappointing results Montenegro has experienced in the competition.
NeonoeN – Who Are You?
The band NeonoeN was formed in 2012 under the name Neon. The members are Marko Vukčević, the lead vocalist; Ilija Pejović, the songwriter and guitarist; Filip Vulanović, the bassist; and Milan Vujović, the drummer.
Despite years of activity, their first original single, “Ti i ja solo,” was only released in 2018. In 2023, a decade after their formation, the band decided to change their name to NeonoeN to avoid confusion with other bands sharing the same name.
Currently, the band is working on a new album, having already released two tracks from it: “Dok Ne Udahnem Te u” and “Dječak Sa Vjetrom U Kosi.”
Source: rtcg.me
Eurovision 2025: This will be Montenegro’s 13th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Montenegro joined the competition in 2007 and achieved its best result in Eurovision Song Contest 2015 when singer Knez reached 13th place with the song “Adio”.
