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Before we move on to Serbia let’s take a quick look at what #YOU had to say about Lithuania’s entry, “When We’re Old”…
Alexandre G. (Facebook) – “Only song that made me cry this year. But I’m too sensitive anyway. Love it. 10/10”
Jére-Eric K. (Facebook) – “It´s my favourite… It´s my favourite Eurovision song of all the time. So beautiful and touching.”
BernadetteCydonia (Forum) – “Seems like a breath of fresh air from us after several years of relying on fast musical tempo, and now we decided to send a sweet ballad about sticking with your loved one until the end of time. Unfortunately it comes across as just too harmless to stand out, especially with the draw its got, but maybe that’s its charm? I don’t know. It’s pleasant and lovely but it kinda lacks something to possibly leave any impact on millions of others.”
Mandy N. (Facebook) – “I think this is a sweet and simple song. Ieva comes across as a lovely and genuine person too. As it’s in the first semi and she’s sandwiched between two of the hot favourites (Czech Republic and Israel), not sure it will qualify, but it would be a happy surprise if it does.”
So some people really touched by the Lithuanian entry, but how did this translate to points? Well, the Baltic nation ends up with 51 points on the ‘televote’, so we will see how this compares to the rest of the field later on. On to Serbia!
20. SERBIA – Sanja Ilić & Balkanika – Nova deca
10 points
Christian – “All other countries watch and learn. I am once more impressed. Beautiful harmonies over a well composed song in a language that sounds so good when being sung. This is how you do it. A mix of your own musical culture and history blend together with a more modern sound. This is a classic Eurovision song as we know it and love it. Well done. I loved the entry last year a lot and could only have wished for it to have been performed in the native tongue. IF this does not win or does end up in the final who cares because this is of such high standard and quality that it is almost a category of it’s own. No gimmicks here just a performance that should blow everyone away and if the voters/judges do not agree this was still an outstanding performance.”
Robert – “Ooooo I do like folk-ish element when they are done well and it’s undeniably done well here! The first minute or so of this entry is just stellar, unashamedly setting out its stall. I also have a thing for amazing vocalists and we have an undoubted star here in Sanja. The song is a wonderful and gorgeous piece with a lovely flowing feel to it. If I were to criticise somewhat, I would say that the first minute is easily the best and the rest of the song does drop a little below the exceptionally high bar it sets. Having said that, the soft ending is a masterstroke as it contrasts so well with the rest of the piece.”
8 points
David – “I remember watching the Serbian final, being very exhausted as well, but when this song began on the evening, it was the only song to capture my attention. This song has that feel to it, which you’d expect from only Serbia, and I adore that. In Serbian, very modern yet traditional and it’s outstanding. However, the intro can be a bit heavy going through, it’s a long build up, but to me, it’s worth it when I feel for it.”
7 points
Sean – “Serbia are back to their forté in a fantastic way in Lisbon! This is the kind of song the new modern and commercially viable Eurovision has been missing the last few years. A wonderfully constructed song with a mysterious Balkan atmosphere and some spine-tingling vocal moments. Serbia have pulled it out of the bag with this one while staying true to their culture, I just hope for a more deserving result than for 2017’s equally great song.”
Stefan – “Intro does gives me some chills, but the rest is just making me wonder why did they mix so many styles in one song. I feel like its gonna qualify, but I still have doubts. I hope the best for them, but it is far from my top 10.”
6 points
Calvin – “I do like the intro to the song, and the chorus is also quite catchy. It’s also a creative idea to put them together, and I appreciate the risk Serbia went for in doing so. But once the first chorus is over, there’s just a lot of meandering without a build on the energy that comes from the genre change. The song gets a bit boring once the cool, jarring impact of the genre change fades. Still, there’s a lot to appreciate, even if I won’t be reaching for the replay button.”
Connor- “While I dig the combination of traditional folk with pop/upbeat orchestration, I’m not sure this song will fare in the semis. I have hopes that Serbia will come back to the final, but that’s going to be highly dependent on a better staging and their competition forgetting to show up.”
4 points
Efe – “Actually, last year I was quite surprised that they couldn’t make it to the grand finale. This year I certainly won’t be surprised if they are eliminated. “Nova Deca” is a really confusing song. To me, they won’t make it through sadly.”
3 points
Matt – “I want to thank Serbia for sending something different and a song that to me feels authentic. It adds to the diversity of this year’s songs. That being said, this song is NOT for me at all. The song takes too long to really get into gear, it takes basically a full minute. 60 seconds of wailing really just takes all joy out of me so I’m turned off early on and the song fails to recapture my interest or excitement. Just not my kinda song, sorry…”
2 points
Zack – “Inside this three minute composition, there is a song. Where that song is and what kind of song it is…I’m not sure. I honestly feel like the song is sung off-key and off-tune. Something just does not rub me the right way about it. And for a song that seems to want to highlight the music and culture of its country, that’s a shame.”
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With a mixed bag of points awarded, Serbia winds up with a jury score of 63 points. Now how will that prepare them for the ‘televote’ result? We shall see!
Here are the latest standings…
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- 🇮🇱 Israel – Netta – Toy (157)
- 🇫🇷 France – Madame Monsieur – Mercy (153)
- 🇧🇬 Bulgaria – Equinox – Bones (153)
- 🇲🇰 (FYR) Macedonia – Eye Cue – Lost and Found (153)
- 🇵🇹 Portugal – Cláudia Pascoal – O jardim (144)
- 🇫🇮 Finland – Saara Aalto – Monsters (142)
- 🇨🇾 Cyprus – Eleni Foureira – Fuego (130)
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland – Zibbz – Stones (129)
- 🇷🇴 Romania – The Humans – Goodbye (127)
- 🇨🇿 Czech Republic – Mikolas Josef – Lie to Me (120)
- 🇩🇪 Germany – Michael Schulte – You Let Me Walk Alone (120)
- 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan – Aisel – X My Heart (116)
- 🇦🇱 Albania – Eugent Bushpepa – Mall (115)
- 🇭🇷 Croatia – Franka – Crazy (113)
- 🇪🇸 Spain – Alfred & Amaia – Tu canción (112)
- 🇲🇹 Malta – Christabelle – Taboo (107)
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom – SuRie – Storm (104)
- 🇱🇹 Lithuania – Ieva Zasimauskaite – When We’re Old (102)
- 🇲🇩 Moldova – DoReDos – My Lucky Day (96)
- 🇷🇸 Serbia – Sanja Ilić & Balkanika – Nova deca (63)
Lithuania move into a lowly 18th with an average score from both parties, as Israel hold on to the lead.
Now it’s your turn, what do #YOU think of Serbia’s entry for Lisbon? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a short review in the comments, on social media using @escunited or on our forum HERE and we will share the best ones with #YOU tomorrow! Don’t forget to also vote in the poll below to affect the final Serbian result!
Tomorrow we will be tackling the Netherlands, but should the song be outlawed or are we on board to rock this year?
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