#bh eurosong 1993

[eurovision-revisited]

1993 Millstreet - Number 4 - Edo & Adi Mulahalilović - "Bosna će još pjevati"

Staying in Bosnia! This is Bosna će još pjevati (Bosnia Will Still Sing) and I'm fairly certain that if this had won, the EBU would have had to step in to enforce its rules on political songs. It directly references the war and the death of his friend in Stari Grad. It says that Bosnia sings not out of pain or because of war, but sings out of spite. The chorus goes:

"Bosnia will still sing because they can't kill my song. Bosnia will still sing and so I will stay here"

Wow. It's powerful, cathartic and it's pretty damn great.

It's by Edo and Adi Mulahalilović, joined on stage for the second verse by Davorin Popović. This is something of a meeting of the generations of Bosnian rock. Edo and Adi had been members of Hari Mata Hari until recently, a band with it's own Eurovision history. They were going it alone, starting with fiery entry into BH Eurosong 1993. The next year, their song Ostani kraj mene was written for Alma Čardžić and Dejan Lazarević, and went to be chosen as Bosnia's song for Eurovision 1994.

Davorin Popović was a fixture of the Bosnia music establishment. Not only was he singing in three of the songs in this competition (solo and with the band Grupa Izvodjaca), but he was the singer in Indexi, formed in 1962 and who were basically the Bosnian Beatles. He went on to represent Bosnia at Eurovision in 1995. Right here in this song you have the heart of the Bosnian music industry saying what they really think about what's going on.

The rumoured finishing order of BH Eurosong 1993 has this placed fifth out of the eleven songs, but boy is it from the heart.

#Youtube #esc #esc 1993 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #millstreet #millstreet 1993 #bosnia & herzegovina #bh eurosong 1993 #Edo & Adi Mulahalilović #Davorin Popović #national finals

[eurovision-revisited]

1993 Millstreet - Number 21 - Fazla - "Sva Bol Svijeta"

Another Bosnian entry - this time the winner of BH Eurosong 1993 and representing their country at Eurovision. Sva Bol Svijeta went on to finished second in the pre-qualifying competition Kvalifikacija za Millstreet (though only two points clear of fourth place and non-qualification), then finished 16th in the main Eurovision final itelf.

Sva Bol Svijeta (All the Pain in the World) is self-explanatory for 1993. This is Bosnia and Herzegovina's first ever Eurovision entry and is perhaps one of the songs to skirt closest to breaching the EBUs no politics rule. It explicitly mentions the war in a patriotic song about loss. It begins with a wistful flute, mourning strings swirl underneath the verses, while Fazla intones nation's hurt with defiance. He poses with arms aloft, back to the audience crucified as his backing singers wail.

Fazla is the stage name of Muhamed Fazlagić, leader of the Fazla band and producer of the Sva Bol Svijeta album produced in 1993 featuring many of the biggest names in Bosnian music. His contribution to Bosnia and Herzegovina doesn't end there. He was also a professional footballer, playing for the Sarajevo team Bosna.

16th in the final seems a little harsh given all of the above. It's a good song even if it's not a typical happy Eurovision bop. It's a ballad with teeth. Perhaps a bit too real for a Europe that wasn't ready for (and maybe even a bit stunned by) a war going on in the middle of it.

Fazla's career went into other directions after this, but he will always be a star in Bosnia.

#Youtube #esc #esc 1993 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #bh eurosong 1993 #bosnia and herzegovina #millstreet #millstreet 1993 #fazla

[eurovision-revisited]

1993 Millstreet - Number 5 - Alma Čardžić - "Svi na ulice"

Back to Bosnia. This is Alma Čardžić who I'm sure we'll be hearing from again in future years. Svi na ulice (Everyone to the Streets) is an uptempo pop number about getting outdoors after spending a winter indoors. Specifically in the cellar...

Yes, of course it's about the war. And from a time when the snipers were picking off citizens during the siege of Sarajevo - which at the time of this contest the siege was about a year old. It would last another about another three. The song is a dream of the future - when everyone could enjoy the sun and just be outdoors together. It has absolutely no business being this fun and catchy.

Although no final order of the songs in BH Eurosong in 1993 was published, this is supposed to have finished second to the winner. It's understandably why. Not only does it make you smile, it's just a tremendously good pop song. This would have done well if it had made it to Millstreet.

Alma had her first Eurovision qualification experience in 1992 as one of the three Bosnian acts in Jugovizija 1992, finishing tenth of twenty songs. In 1994 she was selected along with Dejan Lazarević to represent Bosnia at Eurovision, she also went back to Ireland in 1997 to represent Bosnia again.

#Youtube #esc #esc 1993 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #millstreet #millstreet 1993 #bosnia and herzegovina #BH eurosong 1993 #Alma Čardžić

[eurovision-revisited]

1993 Millstreet - Number 24 - Dražen Žerić - "Monroe"

This is Dražen Žerić, a man who's been through a crap decade and a bit. Formerly the keyboardist of the band Crvena Jabuka, one of the better known bands in the former Yugoslava. Tragically he lost two band mates in a road traffic accident in 1986 on the way to a gig in Mostar, his hometown. Once the band decided to carry on, he became the lead singer, and although in 1993, the band is on hiatus, they reformed after the war.

He's also spending most of 1993 working in a humanitarian capacity in the siege of Sarajevo and performing charity concerts. As part of this work he's here, on the very first Bosnian national final, called in this case BH Eurosong 1993.

Monroe is a simple pop song but with a catchy and slightly spikily insistent chorus that worms its way into you memory rapidly. He finished 4th of the 11 songs in BH Eurosong, a creditable performance.

This was the only attempt either Dražen or his band made to try to enter Eurovision, but he his musical career went on to further heights, when the band released a reunion album in Croatia in 1996 that was a great success.

#Youtube #esc #esc 1993 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #millstreet 1993 #bh eurosong 1993 #national finals #drazen zeric #crvena jabuka #bosnia and herzegovina

[eurovision-revisited]

The Best National Final of 1993

BH Eurosong '93 aka BiH za Evrovizija 1993 (Bosnia & Herzegovina)

It may be studio-bound and audience-less with production values befitting of a country under siege and at war, but it more than makes up for that with the quality of the songs. This is the cream of the Bosnian pop and rock industry declaring their independence firmly and with enthusiasm.

Also recommended:

Ireland Eurosong '93 - A vast improvement on the previous year in terms of songs and performances even if the orchestra still takes up 7/8ths of the stage leaving the acts with precious little room.

Romania Selecția Națională 1993 - Romania's first attempt at Eurovision is actually all the acts miming for a phone-in vote like no other. The television company selected about 100 households, then phoned them to find out who the liked the most! This is good because a lot of the acts are just fun, and all of them are new at it.

Croatia Dora 1993 - A curate's egg of a show on a stage in front of a theatre audience with great variety if extremely variable quality.

Netherlands Nationaal Songfestival 1993 - It's a song selection final and thus rubbish, nevertheless the songs themselves are varied, Ruth Jacott has an amazingly fun personality as well as good chemistry with the host.

Would recommend but for one thing:

Belgium Eurosong '93 - It's not available on the Internet. There's a load of clips from the channels pop show TOTZ, but nothing I can find that is actually from the show itself. There were a number of good songs although none of them got chosen.

Avoid at all costs:

Finland National Final '93 - From one of the best to one of the worst. The 1992 final had more than a touch of anarchy about it with some wild performances and big variety. In 1993 every act is a blonde, slightly older Finnish lady exercising her vocal chords. Perhaps not as bad as some song selections, but still.

#esc #esc 1993 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #national finals #bosnia & herzegovina #croatia #ireland #romania #netherlands #belgium #finland #eurosong 93 #selectia nationala 1993 #BH Eurosong 93 #dora 1993 #nationaal songfestival 1993

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2002 - Number 27 - Željka - "Ponoćno sunce"

A high concept staging for one of Bosnia's perennial singing talents who is making my list for the first time, with her last national final performance. Željka Katavić Pilj has been there for Bosnia. During the war, she was the only performer in the traditional Sarajevo Schlager festival from the TV studios. She's performed backing vocals at Eurovision in 1996 and 1997 for Amila Glamocak and Alma Čardžić. In 1999 and 2001, she entered the BH Eurosong final but without success.

2002 was her last shot at entering Eurovision and she's here with a terrific low-key banger. Ponoćno sunce (The Midnight Sun) is by her husband Miroslav Pilj and one of the Bosnian 1993 Eurosong alumni Alen Mustafić. It's a builder. It's starts of low and dark, but the beat draws it on into an insistent and understated chorus. Željka's voice is restrained, and you can tell that she's dying to unleash it. Unfortunately the lack of destination for this pumping and unresolved mysterious twistiness of a song is one of the two issues.

The other is the staging which overshadows the song. You spend the three minutes trying to work out if there are three women in one dress until it turns out there are only two. I don't have the lyrics to this one and I can see that there might be a link between the song and the performance, but I don't know for certain that's the case. It's certainly distracting.

It finished 11th of the 16 songs in a 100% jury voted first round, failing to make it through to the final. This could have been something much bigger but never made it. Željka's performance certainly deserved more. This was definitely not the end of her singing career. She moved on from pop and Eurovision into the world of choirs and is now a member of the Sarajevo Opera choir. That voice is still being put to good use.

#Youtube #esc #esc 2002 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #tallinn #tallinn 2002 #national finals #Bosnia & Herzegovina #BH Eurosong 2002 #Željka Katavić Pilj

[eurovision-revisited]

1997 Dublin - Number 23 - Alma Čardžić - "Ostani"

I am in love with Alma Čardžić. It's time to say it. This is her third appearance in my top 26 lists, and this will not be her last appearance this year. Once again she is Bosnia & Herzegovina's star as they emerge from the years of war as they rebuild and establish themselves on the Eurovision scene. Given they've managed to send songs to Eurovision every year from 1993 onwards and have also managed to organise a national final even when under siege they deserve a reward. That will come, but here it's time for Bosnia to honour Alma who's been there nearly every year for them. She's the selected artist singing eight songs in their song selection final.

Ostani (Stay) is one of them. It's a melancholy, heart-broken song by Milić Vukašinović who wrote four of the songs in BH Eurosong 1997 for Alma and who was the drummer for Indexi, Davor Popović's band. The song is hopeless plea for a lover to stay - a plea doomed to fall on deaf ears. The verses pass gently almost meditatively, ruminating then the chorus soars in anguish before slowly descending back to the darker realities, knowing that even if she says 'just stay' it ain't gonna happen.

This wasn't selected by the anonymous expert panel, and the non-successful songs weren't ranked so I don't know how close this came to getting to Dublin, but I do love a good bruise of a song so it has made it to my selection.

More Alma to come..!

#Youtube #esc #esc 1997 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #dublin #dublin 1997 #national finals #BH Eurosong 1997 #Bosnia & Herzagovina #Alma Čardžić #Milić Vukašinović

[eurovision-revisited]

1995 Dublin - Number 19 - Davor Popovic - "Dvadeset I Prvi Vijek"

This is Davor Popovic's second appearance in my top 26s. He featured as a guest artist on Bosna će još pjevati in BH Eurosong in 1993. He's possibly one of the most famous singers in the former Yugoslavia and he's finally made it to the Eurovision stage.

For 1995, RTVBiH had decided to stick to the song selection format they'd used the previous year. The production was bigger this time, with each song being performed in a studio set although again, only the winning song selected by the jury was announced. In this case, a song about the forthcoming millennium and just how unhappy Davor is in 1995. He can't be blamed. The war is grinding on and he's missing his love while having his breakfast in bed. Quite why his lover isn't there is left entirely open-ended.

It's a low-slung song of light jazzy verses with a more anthemic chorus allowing Dublin to display it's most up-to-date laser display technology as part of the staging. Like most of the all of the previous Bosnian entries it can't help but wear it's sadness somewhat openly even as the melody shifts to a major key.

Davor was the lead singer of Indexi, one of the most famous bands in the former Yugoslavia in the 1970s, having numerous hit songs and albums. Indexi produced a mix of prog rock and pop rock and they were still sort of producing music at this point although like many bands there were lots of solo and side projects. The band only finally split up in 2001 when Davor unfortunately passed away.

Davor's solo efforts were generally easier, less rocky fare of which Dvadeset I Prvi Vijek is a good example. He finished 19th at Eurovision which would probably have relegated Bosnia & Herzegovina if the rules hadn't changed again the following year. Davor and Bosnia deserved much better for this.

#Youtube #esc #esc 1995 #eurovision #eurovision song contest #dublin #dublin 1995 #BH Eurosong 1995 #bosnia & herzegovina #national finals #Davor Popovic #Indexi