“Just let me reach the final – please”: Marko Bošnjak, Croatia’s Eurovision 2025 representative, puts homophobia and criticism behind him. Who would he give a poison cake to?
Following Croatia’s historic achievement at the last Eurovision with Baby Lasagna, expectations are higher than ever. The young singer Marko Bošnjak, Croatia’s representative for Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, is taking on the challenge with his song “Poison Cake”. In a revealing interview, Marko shares his personal journey – from being Croatia’s first openly gay Eurovision representative, through media storms, to his preparations for a major Eurovision performance.
“There’s the pressure of Baby Lasagna – but I don’t take it personally”
In his candid interview with Eurovisionworld, Bošnjak acknowledges the high standard set by Baby Lasagna, who secured a prestigious second place for Croatia last year. However, he strives to separate himself from direct comparisons:
“There’s the pressure of Baby Lasagna and every journalist in Croatia asks me about it, but I feel that even if people try to project that onto me – I don’t do it to myself. In my opinion, no one will surpass his achievement in the coming years. Things like that only happen in Croatia once in a while”.
With a playful yet determined attitude, Bošnjak makes it clear he has no intention of imitating his predecessor’s style:
“I’m a crazy bitch – so get used to it. There’s really no comparison. We have different concepts, different energies, and different personalities. Our stories are completely different as well”.
“Poison Cake”: A Charged Musical Act of Revenge
The song Bošnjak will perform at Eurovision, “Poison Cake”, is a dark electro-pop ballad that explores anger, revenge, and inner strength:
“It’s an honest song about standing your ground and proving someone wrong. If you take a darker interpretation – it’s about the feeling of revenge, frustration, and anger. You want those who hurt you to suffer – but not by your own hand”.
Bošnjak addresses the difficult emotions rarely discussed publicly:
“In my view, revenge is a taboo emotion. We all feel it, but we never talk about it. There’s a narrative that you always have to be positive and nice – and sometimes that’s just too much”.
And who would he give the poison cake to from the song?
“To homophobic people”.
The First Openly Gay Croatian Representative and the Public Backlash
21 year-old Bošnjak is Croatia’s first openly gay musician to represent the country at Eurovision. His victory at the Croatian national selection, “Dora 2025,” sparked controversy:
“At some point, it was no longer about the song or my performance. The fact that I’m the first openly gay person here made me a target for attacks. People weren’t offering constructive criticism. They just wanted to hate – without any regard for what I did. I experienced a lot of homophobia”.
Despite the challenges, Marko sees himself as a symbol:
“It’s 2025. It’s crazy that I’m the first to come out publicly. This should have happened a long time ago”.
The Televote Scandal and Victory Thanks to the Jury
Beyond his sexual orientation, there was another reason for dissatisfaction with his selection: the public vote. When the votes were tallied, Marko’s “Poison Cake” finished fourth in the public vote. If not for the jury’s top ranking, he would not have won.
“The situation with the public vote didn’t help, but the rules were clear – and the combined score determined I was the winner”.
This is Marko’s second attempt to represent Croatia. In 2022, he finished second with the song “Moli za nas“:
“It was a good experience to start believing in myself. It also taught me patience – and that you can’t always win”.
A Complete Stage Transformation: “A Totally Different Performance”
For his performance in Basel, he does not intend to replicate his national final act. According to him, it will be an entirely new production:
“We’re changing everything – the lighting, the atmosphere, the costumes, the story, the choreography – everything. It will be an upgraded version of the national final, and I think it will work well”.
He notes that the music video will not serve as inspiration for the stage, but there will be references to it. The stage will be “darker than the video”.
Marko also shares that backstage at this year’s national selection was far from easy:
“There were about five or six contestants who were completely sick – including me. We couldn’t function properly – but we had to perform in front of a huge audience. I got steroid injections before the show, my voice just wasn’t there. I know how much I can improve – and I’m working on it”.
Childhood Dream: “This Is My Olympics”
Marko shares that he dreamed of participating in Eurovision since he was a child. His musical journey began at age five in a church choir:
“One day, a nun approached me and said: ‘God gave you a gift, you’ll be a singer. You have to sing.’ She forcibly signed me up for a children’s song contest in my city – prayer songs for Jesus. I was a very religious child”.
Marko’s dream does not end with Eurovision itself. He hopes to reach a broader audience:
“On a superficial level – I just want to reach the final. But on a deeper level – I want to reach more people with my music. My dream is to go on tour, release an album, and share it with as many people as possible. But just let me reach the final – please!”
Bošnjak also emphasizes his desire to be seen as a fearless, authentic artist with unique energy. He jokes:
“I hope they remember me as a cool artist… but we’ll see what happens. Maybe I’ll be remembered as the flop of the century”.
Ahead of Basel, he is aware that scandals may arise again this year:
“I’ll try to avoid that – and I hope others do the same. But in my view, Eurovision without drama – it’s not really Eurovision. I can’t remember a year without scandals. Something always happens… I just hope it won’t be as extreme as last year”.
Croatia at Eurovision 2025
“Poison Cake” is the song that will be performed by Marko Bošnjak, who will represent Croatia in the second half of the first semifinal of Eurovision 2025, taking place on May 13th in Basel, Switzerland. The song was written by the singer along with Bas Wissink, who also wrote “Juno” for the Maltese national selection, Ben Pyne, and Emma Gale, who wrote “Monster” for the Latvian national selection and “Sulale” for the Norwegian national selection. This is the first Eurovision song for these writers. The song is performed in English.
The song describes a story of sweet and dangerous revenge. The lyrics tell of a character who was likely oppressed or exploited and decided to take revenge on those who hurt them by baking a poisoned cake.
Marko Bošnjak – Who is he?
Marko Bošnjak, born on January 11th, 2004, is a Bosnian-Croatian pop singer who rose to fame after winning the second season of the Serbian talent show “Pinkove Zvezdice”. Bošnjak began his performances on the show on September 4th, 2015, where he performed Jennifer Hudson‘s “One Night Only” in his first appearance. All five judges turned their chairs and gave him a pass to the next stage. Throughout the show, Bošnjak continued to impress with surprising performances and eventually won the competition.
Bošnjak’s success continued in subsequent years, with a nomination to participate in the Croatian national selection for Eurovision in 2022 with the song “Moli za nas“, which came in second place. Bošnjak continues to release singles such as “Spokojan” and “Nema”, and in February 2025, he was announced as a contestant in the ninth season of “Tvoje lice zvuči poznato”, the Croatian version of “Your Face Sounds Familiar”.
Source: eurovisionworld.
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.
