The new editor of the Croatian Eurovision national selection, Maja Tokić, reveals in an interview the significant changes in the selection process, including a new judging panel and a possible upgrade to public voting!
Maja Tokić, recently appointed as the chief editor of the Croatian Eurovision national selection “Dora 2025”, shared her significant plans to improve the competition. The contest format will remain similar to previous years, with two semi-finals and a grand final, though official dates are yet to be announced. However, the interview emphasized the desire to add new and exciting content to fill the schedules before the national selection and on the evening before the final.
According to Tokić, enthusiasm for the national selection is at an all-time high, with 221 songs submitted for the competition. The announcement of the 24 songs chosen for the main stage took place this morning. The songs, she says, represent a variety of genres:
“from pop, rock, country, hip hop, and even cinematic music. The influences range from Irish melodies, tribal beats, to French chanson.”
This year, the judging panel will consist of seven entirely new judges. The judges’ voting method, which will be identical to last year’s, will combine an international panel of judges from four Eurovision participating countries, along with local judges from various cities across Croatia. The judges’ vote will join the public vote, which will continue to be held in an equal 50:50 ratio. Additionally, Tokić noted that the production is considering adding an online voting system for the first time, unlike in previous years.
Tokić stated that some of this year’s submitted songs are characterized by international production and catchy lyrics that may capture the hearts of Eurovision viewers. She added:
“We hope that the 24 lucky ones will justify the judges’ trust in their live performance. We’ll also see if they have memorable stage performances, as Let 3 and Baby Lasagna have shown in previous years. If all the cards fall into place, […] I believe Europe will recognize it too.”
As mentioned, the Croatian national broadcaster, HRT, revealed this morning the 24 contestants expected to participate in the Croatian Eurovision national selection “Dora 2025″ for Eurovision 2025. The broadcaster also revealed four backup songs chosen in case one of the participants withdraws. It’s worth noting that the song of Croatia’s representative for 2024, Baby Lasagna, was one of the backup songs and was eventually chosen, reaching second place at Eurovision.
List of Contestants
1. Ananda – “Lies Lay Cold”
2. EoT – “Bye, Bye, Bye”
3. Filomena – “Strong”
4. Irma – “Enigma”
5. IVXN – “Monopol”
6. Jelena Radan – “SALUT!”
7. Lara feat. LSQ – “MAMA”
8. laurakojapjeva – “NPC”
9. LELEK – “The Soul of my Soul”
10. Luka Nižetić – “Južina”
11. Magazin – “AaAaA”
12. Marin Jurić Čivro – “Gorjelo je”
13. Marko Bošnjak – “Poison Cake”
14. Marko Škugor – “Šta da Boga molim ja”
15. Marko Tolja – “Through the dark”
16. Marta May – “Running to the Light”
17. Matt Saft – “Welcome to the circus”
18. Natali Balmix – “ŽIVOT IDE DALJE”
19. Natally – “Dom si srcu mom”
20. NIPPLEPEOPLE – “ZNAK”
21. Ogenj – “Daj, daj”
22. Petar Brkljačić – “KRAJ”
23. Supersonic Trio – “Animal”
24. Teenah – “Aurora”
Backup Entries
1. SWINGERS FUL KUL – “Full cool”
2. Fenksta – “Ekstra”
3. Patricia Gasparini – “KARMA”
4. llyricum – “TANANAI (MOTHER)”
Familiar Faces in the National Selection
Among the contestants in the national selection are several familiar names:
- Magazin – Croatia’s representatives at Eurovision 1995 with their song “Nostalgija“, and participants in several “Dora” selections in the 90s and early 2000s. Since then, the band has undergone structural changes, and in the past year, the lead vocalist has been young singer Lorena Bućan, who competed in the Croatian national selection in 2019 with her song “Tower of Babylon” and in 2020 with “Drowning“.
- Jelena Radan – Competed in the Eurovision national selection in 2009 with her song “Voljet cu te sutra“.
- Marin Jurić Čivro – Competed in the Eurovision national selection in 2020 with his song “Naivno“.
- Marko Bošnjak – Competed in the Eurovision national selection in 2022 with his song “Moli za nas“.
- Marko Tolja – Competed in the Eurovision national selection in 2007 with his song “Deja Vu” and in 2009 with “Stranci“.
- Martha May – Competed in the Eurovision national selection in 2023 with her song “Distance“.
- Natalie Balmix – Competed in last year’s Eurovision national selection with her song “Dijamanti“.
Croatia in Eurovision 2024
“Rim Tim Tagi Dim” is the name of the song performed by the singer Baby Lasagna, which was chosen to represent Croatia after winning the national finals. Croatia advanced to the final after winning the first semi-final with 177 points, and in the grand final, it reached second place with 547 points.
Croatia won the public vote but finished in second place in the overall tally. This is Croatia’s best achievement in all its years of participation.
Source: Slobodnadalmacija.hr.
Eurovision 2025: This will be Croatia’s 30th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Croatia joined the competition in 1993 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2024 by finishing in second place with the song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” performed by the singer Baby Lasagna.
