Serbia SERBIA 2023 - Luke Black - Samo mi se spava

[ESC United Mod Team]

 

[megzypegz]

Yeah his vocals were pretty bad I really like the song and will carry on listening to it. With better vocals and delivery it could have done better.

 

[PlasticToad]

2nd year in a row where I'm just happy to see my fave qualify. (Iceland was my favourite last year.) I adore this genre of music but it's not very accessible at all. A little sad about how lowly he scored in the GF but also not surprised about it at all. It's also not a very good genre for live performance. The whispery vocals can easily be interpreted as bad/unconfident singing.

I'm pleased I got to see it twice, though! And that I have a new artist to follow! Hopefully he does some gigs in London since he lives there, I'd be able to go to them!

 

[lolita]

Though I really like the song, the non-existent vocals definitely tanked this even though the staging is pretty alright.

True, but I don't think only vocals were problem here, I think the whole vibe of the song was just too dark for average people watching it from home to understand it or like it. It is not televote grabber, even though I really like our song this year, I think it is good and unique overall. But I DO understand problems it had to face and therefore bad result. I am sad because of it a bit, too, because this is our worst result in final ever (and we were never before in bottom 5, from our debut until now), we were even better when we were sending basic and average Balkan ballads.

 

[Veronika]

Ooh... the result definitely could've been better.
But yeah, unfortunately things like this can happen. Despite loving the song and the performance a big time, deep inside I feared that it might be too experimental and innovative for the general audience.

But I'm super proud of my favorite nonetheless. And Luke should be proud of himself, because he was amazing and he did his best.
Even my mom was impressed by his performance. xD

I really wanted to vote, but unfortunately the site didn't accept our cards. But I asked a friend, so he voted. It didn't help, but anyway I was happy that I managed to support Serbia at least this way.

And I love the song still, and will always love it no matter what. For me it will always stay super special and unique.

 

[ag89]

Well, different circumstances affected the final outcome for Serbia this year. Firstly, Serbia (completely) gave up on promoting Eurovision due to the events last weeks and everything that followed afterward with huge anti-government protests happening right now. Semi final show was moved to chanel 3 that gets very limited coverage and the final was moved back to chanel 1, but with no intention to promote it or to invite diaspora to vote. Serbia got zeros from Austria, Switzerland, Germany etc... where diaspora from Serbia is very present. So, the mood was not very Eurovisionish this year for Serbia.

And secondly, the song was obviously hard to digest. I liked it and I think Serbia had a nice stage show, but the competition was rough. Anyway, I hope Serbia will continue with experimenting, but also with sending something that is easier to understand.

 

[midnightsun]

I think the whole vibe of the song was just too dark for average people watching it from home to understand it or like it.

Well, that’s why we have juries. It was a superb staging, very artful music and the lyrics/subject was also very well put together. Unfortunately juries don’t do their job anymore.

I have to apologize to our jury. When I saw the names I thought I knew exactly what they were voting for. Boring ballads, lame pop. I wrote "what a bad jury we have".
Well, I‘m not afraid to admit when I was wrong. Our jury was one of the few who gave points to Luke. The second most of all points he got. I‘m so proud of them! They knew what real art is. Other juries just voted for the same kinds of ballads again or for simply betting odds top 3.

And I‘m happy he made it to the final. It was my #1 this year. Congratulation for sending such a bold song! We need more of this!

 

[ixic]

Well, different circumstances affected the final outcome for Serbia this year. Firstly, Serbia (completely) gave up on promoting Eurovision due to the events last weeks and everything that followed afterward with huge anti-government protests happening right now. Semi final show was moved to chanel 3 that gets very limited coverage and the final was moved back to chanel 1, but with no intention to promote it or to invite diaspora to vote. Serbia got zeros from Austria, Switzerland, Germany etc... where diaspora from Serbia is very present. So, the mood was not very Eurovisionish this year for Serbia.

And secondly, the song was obviously hard to digest. I liked it and I think Serbia had a nice stage show, but the competition was rough. Anyway, I hope Serbia will continue with experimenting, but also with sending something that is easier to understand.

Well thank God that diaspora is not having influence anymore. Tbh, this mumbling and sorrowing was just too bad, he completely got lost in performance.

 

[lolita]

Well, that’s why we have juries. It was a superb staging, very artful music and the lyrics/subject was also very well put together. Unfortunately juries don’t do their job anymore.

I have to apologize to our jury. When I saw the names I thought I knew exactly what they were voting for. Boring ballads, lame pop. I wrote "what a bad jury we have".
Well, I‘m not afraid to admit when I was wrong. Our jury was one of the few who gave points to Luke. The second most of all points he got. I‘m so proud of them! They knew what real art is. Other juries just voted for the same kinds of ballads again or for simply betting odds top 3.

And I‘m happy he made it to the final. It was my #1 this year. Congratulation for sending such a bold song! We need more of this!

Oh, yes, I was so grateful to German jury during evening , as I am always happy with every jury point we get, because they are so rare, and same situation repeats almost each year somehow, even though we really send good songs overall, we even had some very powerful vocals in past years, but they got only like 20 points by jury overall. I noticed that jury always vote for similar concepts and songs each year, for so called "safe entries", just like you said, too. It is sad, but not much we can do, unless they decide to make jury vote in smaller percent (30-40% maybe).
Thank you for kind words and all support for Luke, he is great, kind and talented guy, he really deserved better, but Eurovision is such a "game" - something works sometimes, other times it doesn't, but I am glad we took the risk with this entry, instead of sending always some power Balkan ballad.

 

[SpiritofKeiino]

Loved the song but was bored by the performance. I don't find Luke to be a very engaging performer and the vocals were not that great. Song could have made more impact with stronger vocals and less whispering.

 

[PollyWantsACracker]

Firstly, I don't think that Serbia deserved what it happened yesterday because the song, SONG, was a very good attempt of an original approach and it is actually great studio recording.

I think that Serbia was mostly deluded by The Bubble's fanwanking for the song, which knowing Konstrakta, pulled the parallels and thought this would be Top 10.

Those YT reviewers who created the deceiptful atmosphere around the song being Top 10 are also to blame.

All of the above made RTS and Luke Black's label to assume they don't have to push for promotion of the song and it's enough.

The truth is that the song as such was quite dark, and Luke's mumbling performance didn't make it any clearer for a casual viewer.

For the casual viewer to understand and fully appreciate the song, the staging should have been less dark and intimidating and more into your face straight, and his singing or at least diction much clearer.

Konstrakta was quite smart. She had lyrics subtitled and she added bit parts of the song that could engage the audience in the hall and at home, such as clapping, or memorable simple repetitive chorus bi-ti zdra-va.

Luke had neither of the elements that would have made his song or performance accessible.

I had problems with lyrics of the song as I wrote early on, but I voted for it in both Semi and the GF because I think creativity and being brave to send something out of the box should be awarded.

But that's me, who spends 3 months a year following ESC related info and who's passionate for different music genres. That's not a casual viewer though who watches ESC Grand Final on Saturday night.

But the juries were quite unfair. This just proves that ESC juries aren't diverse enough and that they are mostly Swedish type pop clan, not fully developed versatile music professionals.

 

[Ajeje Brazorf]

I didn't thought this could have flopped so hard to be honest with you. The fact it only received 16, sixteen, points by the televoters is unbelievable considering we are talking about a country which before this year seemed to be very succesful with televoters. This year something didn't click, I think because the entry was maybe too dark and progressive for the common audience to really appreciate it. I don't dislike the song per se, but maybe the staging was too chaotic too...

But I have no doubt Serbia will come back with something stronger next year and I love them for always sending unique and risky entries...

 

[midnightsun]

The truth is that the song as such was quite dark, and Luke's mumbling performance didn't make it any clearer for a casual viewer.

I don’t know how it went in other countries but our commentator summarized the lyrics in a few words. Plus the English part which already hints at what to expect. So I would think it was clear even for the casual viewers.

But yeah, the mumbling probably put people off, I read people complaining they didn’t like it. I thought it was bold and got mesmerized by it. I feel kind of uncomfortable listening to it which is GOOD actually because that’s what the song is about. It’s creepy in a good way. I wouldn’t change a thing!

The sound and the dark sci-fi end time theme are epic. His other songs are pretty good too, I checked them out after he was chosen.

 

[Yazy]

Better this outcome than risk getting yourself in a situation where you flop with a safe song.

If you flopped with a safe song, you would have what if conversations.

"Why were we too chickenshit to continue down the alternative route and took two steps back"?

And while Luke was not my favorite in the NF, I immediately thought: "Why pass up on taking a creative endeavor?

Serbia should have no regrets here.

 

[PollyWantsACracker]

Better this outcome than risk getting yourself in a situation where you flop with a safe song.

If you flopped with a safe song, you would have what if conversations.

"Why were we too chickenshit to continue down the alternative route and took two steps back"?

And while Luke was not my favorite in the NF, I immediately thought: "Why pass up on taking a creative endeavor?

Serbia should have no regrets here.

Yazy, what a great perspective and a lesson for all people!

 

[Fluke]

I had this as my 4th or 5th favorite before the contest started, and also thought he was a top 5 contender. But then.... something about the ESC performance just didn't work out, first off he basically wasn't singing anything, which isn't really different from the NF version, but for some reason in the context of the ESC it became much more apparent. Maybe i was just wowed by the originality and strengths of it to see the obvious flaws. The visuals just didn't seem as impressive as i hoped and the song just felt unfinished and anticlimactic.

Still, making the final and 30 points isn't that bad, i think he's among the artists most will want to hear more music by after seeing them in the contest, just thinking he could have done even better with a song that had more singing and an actual chorus.

 

[Ezio]

So, this televote result is very surprising. Not for the song itself, but for Serbia. I know Serbia lost 20 to 30 televotes due to the absence of and but 14 is unfathomably low regardless.

It's one of their better entries anyways, 2018 was awful and they got 78 points.
This is basically nul points for a country like

 

[empo21]

This wasn't really accessible to the older diaspora, though. I think they lost a few diaspora points simply from the fact that this was something 'too weird' for the older viewers who'd vote for Serbia for being Serbia.

Having to wonder if his whisper singing is intentional or not also didn't help.

If the semis were 50/50, this would've NQd.

 

[Sammy]

There was one instant in the choreo (when Luke advances with the dancers in a somewhat crouched position) that always rang a bell with me. It always made me think of something and I couldn‘t figure out the association. Today I stumbled over a painting by one of Austrias most important artist of the 20th century, Albin Egger Lienz, and I knew instantly: that was the association I was looking for. The painting is called „To those without names“ and is a reaction on the atrocities of WW 1.
Here it is:

 

[nudiecrudi]

I have a big problem with the concept "out of the box". Does this means automatically being a quality song? No I don't think so.
Every year the ESC Fandom is so eager about those "out of box" entries without caring that much if there is a real quality. It's just different and that is the most important quality. No it doesn't function like this.
But the history is full of examples of "out of box" songs flopping or having success. It is simple: some of them have success because the audience like them and recognize a quality in them, even being an out of box song, others flop because aren't good songs or the overall product does not have the quality.
Serbia 22 and Serbia 23 are clear examples.
Konstrakta had a very qualitative song, a ferocious critics about the public health care ( keep in mind that this problem touches the real life of millions) The staging was so artistic, Marina Abramovic style. Simple but so effective. The audience understood and got in touch with that song because she was able to connect with a real life problem which mostly have had to do with.
Luke Black writes a song about how difficult is life nowadays for a young man. And the style he used to stage and transmit his message was similar to a Videogame. Completely disconnected from the real life. To me, as a 43 years old man, it seemed a song written by an annoyed wealthy guy (believe me I listen a lot of this kind of music and it is not so out of box as mostly think). Evidentement, as La Zarre sings, I wasn't the only one, since the song got so little televote points. And not because I'm a boomer or didn't understand it but simply because this song didn't have the quality to be pleased as other out of the box songs had.

 

[Realest]