Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 explained

Year:2022
Country:Montenegro
Preselection:Internal selection
Preselection Date:Artist: 4 January 2022
Song: 4 March 2022
Entrant:Vladana
Song:Breathe
Sf Result:Failed to qualify (17th)
Prev:2019

Montenegro participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy with the song "Breathe" written by Vladana Vučinić and Darko Dimitrov. The song was performed by Vučinić, who was internally selected by the Montenegrin broadcaster [[RTCG|Radio i televizija Crne Gore]]|i=no (RTCG) to represent the nation at the 2022 contest. Vučinić was announced as the Montenegrin representative on 4 January 2022, while her song was presented to the public on 4 March 2022.

Montenegro was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 12 May 2022. Performing during the show in position 15, "Breathe" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Montenegro placed 17th out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 33 points.

Background

See main article: Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the 2022 contest, Montenegro has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest as an independent nation eleven times since its first entry in its own right in .[1] The nation's best placing in the contest was thirteenth, which they achieved in with the song "[[Adio (song)|Adio]]|i=no" performed by Knez. In, Montenegro qualified to the final for the first time since they began participating and have since featured in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest two times up to this point. The nation briefly withdrew from the competition between 2010 and 2011 as well as between 2020 and 2021 citing "modest results" and/or financial difficulties as the reason for their absences.[2] [3] In, Montenegro failed to qualify for the final with the song "Heaven" performed by D mol.

The Montenegrin national broadcaster, [[RTCG|Radio i televizija Crne Gore]]|i=no (RTCG), broadcasts the event within Montenegro and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. After a two-year absence, on 12 October 2021, RTCG confirmed that Montenegro would participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.[4] Montenegro had used various methods to select the Montenegrin entry in the past, such as internal selections and televised national finals to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. In 2018 and 2019, the Montenegrin entry was selected via the national final Montevizija. However, for 2022, the broadcaster opted to internally select both the artist and song that would represent Montenegro.[5]

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 28 October 2021, RTCG opened a submission period where artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries until 10 December 2021.[6] At the closing of the deadline, RTCG received 30 entries, of which 24 were valid for consideration.[7] [8] A selection jury evaluated and marked the received submissions against a number of criteria: up to 50 points for composition, up to 30 points for lyrics and up to 20 points for the production potential of the composition.[9] The jury consisted of Radio Montenegro music editor Stana Šalgo, TVCG music editor Branka Banović, President of the Association of Pop Artists and Performers of Montenegro and member of 2005 Serbian and Montenegrin entrant No Name Danijel Alibabić, music advisor at the Bureau for Educational Services of Montenegro Bojana Nenezić, professor at the Music School "Vasa Pavić" Zoja Đurović, TVCG entertainment editor Dražen Bauković, singer and 2013 Montenegrin Eurovision entrant Nina Žižić, RTCG director and producer Gojko Berkuljan, TV Teuta editor and director Ilmira Lika and RTCG Marketing Manager Đorđije Kustudić.[10]

On 4 January 2022, RTCG announced during the TVCG 1 morning show Dobro jutro Crna Goro|i=yes that Vladana Vučinić would represent Montenegro in Turin. Vladana previously attempted to represent Serbia and Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest in with the song "Samo moj nikad njen|i=no" which failed to qualify from the Montenegrin semi-final, and in with the song "Željna|i=no" which she performed in a duet with Bojana Nenezić and placed fifteenth.[11] In regards to her selection as the Montenegrin representative, Vladana stated: "I know that life is in both black and white keys, and everyday is a brand new song. That's why it's interesting. We only realise what it means to fight for a life when it begins to hurt, and when the cure is the only mission. This is my song, my cure for Europe, and for the world."[12]

The Montenegrin song, "Breathe", was presented during a television special titled Italian: Montenegro, dodici punti on 4 March 2022.[13] [14] [15] The show was televised on TVCG 1 and TVCG SAT as well as broadcast online via the broadcaster's website rtcg.me.[16] [17] In addition to the presentation of the song, the show featured guest appearances by 2022 Macedonian Eurovision entrant Andrea, members of 2005 Serbian and Montenegrin entrant No Name and 2016 Montenegrin Eurovision entrant Highway Luka Vojvodić, Nina Žižić, 2015 Montenegrin Eurovision entrant Knez, and member of 2019 Montenegrin Eurovision entrant D mol Tamara Vujačić.[18] "Breathe" was written by Vučinić herself together with Darko Dimitrov who also carried out the production and mixing.[19] [20] Vučinić recorded the music video for the song in early February 2022, which was filmed in Cetinje and directed by Gojko Berkuljan who described his involvement as an opportunity to "communicate the message of the song through strong visual and metaphorical elements that accentuate the deep connotations the lyrics convey [...] The whole ambience of the video acts as if it is frozen in time, with people and things slowly levitating in that airless and weightless space". The video was released via the official Eurovision Song Contest's YouTube channel on the same day.[21] [22]

Preparation and promotion

Prior to the contest, Vladana made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Breathe" as the Montenegrin Eurovision entry. On 5 March, Vladana performed "Breathe" during the final of the . On 11 March, Vladana performed during the Melfest WKND event, which was held at the Nalen venue in Stockholm, Sweden and hosted by Reine, Brenda Mandlar and Miss Tobi.[23] [24] Vladana also performed during the Barcelona Eurovision Party event on 26 March, which was held at the Sala Apolo venue in Barcelona, Spain and hosted by Sharonne and Giuseppe Di Bella.[25] [26] Having made several appearances in television talk shows in Serbia and Slovenia, Vladana performed at the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Hard Rock Hotel venue on 3 April 2022 in London, United Kingdom and hosted by SuRie and Paddy O'Connell.[27] [28] On 7 April 2022, Vladana performed "Breathe" once again at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv for the Israeli pre-party.[29] [30] She also performed in the Eurovision in Concert 2022 at AFAS Live in Amsterdam on 9 April 2022 hosted by Edsilia Rombley and Cornald Maas.[31] Vladana then travelled to Madrid for PrePartyES, which was held on 16 April 2022.[32] Vladana completed her promotional activities on 18 April after appearing on the Official Eurovision Song Contest podcast to discuss "Breathe" and Montenegro's plans for the contest in Turin.

In addition to participating in promotional activities across Europe to promote the Montenegrin entry, on 6 March 2022, Vladana recorded her 'live-on-tape' backup performance in Belgrade, Serbia alongside the entrants from Serbia and North Macedonia. This can be used if Vladana is unable to travel to Turin, or subjected to quarantine on arrival.[33]

On 29 March 2022, it was revealed that Vladana would release a symphonic version of "Breathe" sung in Italian as "Italian: Respira|i=no", which was written by Natasa Latković. The filming for the symphonic version began on 29 March and was released on 6 April 2022.[34] [35] Vladana then released a Finnish version of "Breathe" on 22 April 2022.[36] [37]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2022, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Montenegro has been placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2022, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[38]

Once all the competing songs for the 2022 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Montenegro was set to perform in position 15, following the entry from and before the entry from .[39]

In Montenegro, all shows were broadcast on RTCG 1, with commentary by Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković.[40] The Montenegrin spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Montenegrin jury during the final, was Andrijana Vešović under the pseudonym Zombijana Bones.[41]

Semi-final

Vladana took part in technical rehearsals on 3 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. This included the jury show on 11 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Montenegrin performance featured Vladana alone on stage dressed in a blue LED dress that lit up during parts of the song, along with a luminous disc on her costume that lit up her breath. Vladana performed entirely on the secondary stage rather than the main stage.[42] The design for the stage costume was a collaboration with French designer Clara Daguin and was programmed by a Google engineer from the company’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group to achieve the illumination effects. The Montenegrin creative team for Vladana's performance consisted of Gojko Berkuljan and Vesna Popadić, with Berkuljan previously directing the video for the song. It was revealed before the second semi-final that the Montenegrin delegation had not been able to achieve what they wanted to on stage due to technical issues during rehearsals.[43]

At the end of the show, Montenegro was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. This was the fifth consecutive absence of Montenegro from the final. It was later revealed that Vladana placed 17th out of the 18 entries in the second semi-final. Montenegro received a total of 33 points: 11 points from the juries and 22 points from the public televote.

Voting

See also: Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Montenegro in the second semi-final. Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting.[44] The exact composition of the professional jury, and the results of each country's jury and televoting were released after the final; the individual results from each jury member were also released in an anonymised form.[45] [46] In the second semi-final, Montenegro placed 17th with 33 points. This marked Montenegro's fifth consecutive non-qualification to the final since its last appearance in 2015. Over the course of the contest, Montenegro awarded its 12 points to (jury) and (televote) in the second semi-final, and to Serbia (in both the jury and the televote) in the final.

Jury vote issues

In a statement released during the broadcast of the grand final, the EBU revealed that six countries, including Montenegro, were found to have irregular jury voting patterns during the second semi-final. Consequently, these countries were given substitute aggregated jury scores for both the second semi-final and the grand final (shown above), calculated from the corresponding jury scores of countries with historically similar voting patterns as determined by the pots for the semi-final allocation draw held in January.[49] [50] Their televoting scores were unaffected. The Flemish broadcaster VRT later reported that the juries involved had made agreements to vote for each others' entries to secure qualification to the grand final.[51]

On 19 May, the EBU released a further statement clarifying the irregularities in voting patterns. This confirmed that the six countries involved had consistently scored each others' entries disproportionately highly in the second semi-final. This prompted the suspension of Montenegro's intended jury scores (shown below) in favour of the EBU's calculated aggregate scores, presented above.[52] The Montenegrin broadcaster commented on the situation, strongly rejecting the accusations of vote manipulation and criticising the EBU's method of calculating the aggregate jury scores. The statement went on to request further transparency from the EBU over the issue.[53] [54]

+
DrawCountryJuror 1Juror 2Juror 3Juror 4Juror 5RankPoints
0112 10 15 10 2 9 2
0214 16 16 14 11 17
035 6 3 2 1 2 10
043 2 2 3 7 3 8
052 1 1 4 3 1 12
0617 8 17 16 13 15
074 3 14 6 5 5 6
0810 15 9 11 10 13
098 11 13 12 9 11
1016 12 10 17 16 16
117 7 7 7 8 8 3
1213 9 8 15 4 10 1
131 4 6 9 12 4 7
146 5 4 5 14 6 5
15
1611 17 11 13 6 12
1715 13 5 1 17 7 4
189 14 12 8 15 14

Detailed final results

+
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
RankPointsRankPoints
017 4 16
0211 12
034 7 1 12
046 5 11
0517 14
0612 10 1
0716 15
082 10 8 3
0914 3 8
1013 17
1110 1 2 10
125 6 4 7
1315 13
148 3 9 2
15
163 8 6 5
171 12 5 6
189 2 7 4
+
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
RankPointsRankPoints
0121 21
0222 14
037 4 6 5
0416 17
0514 25
0625 12
0720 9 2
0817 19
092 10 5 6
103 8 3 8
118 3 15
125 6 2 10
1318 16
149 2 11
1510 1 20
1611 22
1712 24
1823 23
1924 4 7
204 7 10 1
2115 18
226 5 13
2319 7 4
241 12 1 12
2513 8 3

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Montenegro Country Profile. 30 October 2014. EBU.
  2. Web site: Hondal. Victor. 17 November 2009. Montenegro withdraws from Eurovision 2010. 3 October 2015. ESCToday.
  3. Web site: Hondal. Victor. 23 December 2010. Montenegro officially out of Eurovision 2011. 3 October 2015. ESCToday.
  4. Web site: Jiandani. Sanjay. 2021-10-12. Montenegro: RTCG confirms participation at Eurovision 2022. 2021-10-30. ESCToday.
  5. Web site: Gallagher. Robyn. 2021-10-23. Montenegro: RTCG will reveal selection method this week… but they won't be returning to Montevizija. 2021-10-30. Wiwibloggs.
  6. Web site: Gallagher. Robyn. 2021-10-29. Montenegro: RTCG opens applications period for new Eurovision 2022 selection process. 2021-10-30. Wiwibloggs.
  7. Web site: 16 December 2021. Latest Eurovision News: Winter 2021 - Montenegro receives record number of entries!. 2021-12-17. Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 16 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211216183511/https://eurovision.tv/eurovision-news-summer-2021/snippet/montenegro-entries. dead.
  8. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 4 January 2022. Today: Montenegro Reveals Their Eurovision 2022 Participant & Una voce per San Marino Continues. 4 January 2022. Eurovoix.
  9. RTCG objavila konkurs za izbor kompozicije za Evroviziju. cnr. 2021-10-28. RTCG. 2021-10-30.
  10. Web site: 22 December 2021 . Održan prvi sastanak selekcione komisije . 22 December 2021 . rtcg.me . RTCG . Montenegrin.
  11. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 31 December 2021. Montenegro: Eurovision 2022 Representative to be Revealed on January 4. 2021-12-31. Eurovoix.
  12. Web site: Avelino . Gerry . 4 January 2022 . Montenegro: Vladana Vučinić to Eurovision 2022 . 2022-01-04 . Eurovoix.
  13. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 2022-02-20 . Montenegro: "Breathe" to be Revealed on March 4 . 2022-02-20 . Eurovoix . en-GB.
  14. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 26 February 2022 . Montenegro: "Breathe" to be Revealed During "Montenegro, dodici punti" . 26 February 2022 . Eurovoix.
  15. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 2022-02-06 . Montenegro: "Breathe" To Be Released in March as Music Video Filming Commences Tomorrow . 2022-02-06 . Eurovoix.
  16. Web site: 4 March 2022 . Montenegro, dodici punti . 12 March 2022 . RTCG . cnr.
  17. 1499839965240377351. Montevizija. "Montenegro, dodici punti" starting very shortly! Live broadcast: https://rtcg.me/tv/gledaj-tvcg-sat.html. RTCG. 4 March 2022.
  18. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 28 February 2022 . Montenegro: 'Montenegro, dodici punti' Guests Revealed . 28 February 2022 . Eurovoix.
  19. Web site: Rossini . Federico . 4 January 2022 . Eurovision 2022: il Montenegro sceglie Vladana Vucinic . 4 January 2022 . Eurofestival News . it.
  20. Vučinić. Vladana. Vladana Vučinić. vladanavucinic. CYTTTgXlBPz. 2022-01-04. Poštovani svi, […]. cnr. 2022-01-04.
  21. Web site: Granger . Anthony . 8 February 2022 . Montenegro: "Breathe" Music Video Filming Underway in Cetinje . 8 February 2022 . Eurovoix.
  22. Web site: 6 February 2022 . Počinje snimanje spota "Breathe" na "tajnoj lokaciji" . 6 February 2022 . rtcg.me . RTCG . cnr.
  23. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 10 March 2022. Sweden: Stefan & Vladana Among Performers at Melfest WKND. 10 March 2022. Eurovoix.
  24. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 28 February 2022. Romania: Seven Selected Eurovision 2022 Artists to Guest Perform in Selecţia Naţională. 28 February 2022. Eurovoix.
  25. Montevizija. escmontenegro. CaFE7lHNIMj. 23 February 2022. Barcelona, we are coming! Vladana is going to perform her #Eurovision song "#Breathe" at the first ever Barcelona Eurovision Party. […]. 23 February 2022.
  26. Web site: Folch . Gerard Escaich . 21 January 2022 . Barcelona to host first 2022 Eurovision Party ahead of song contest . 12 March 2022 . Catalan News.
  27. Web site: 11 March 2022 . Vladana večeras u gostima kod Ivana Ivanovića . 12 March 2022 . RTCG . cnr.
  28. Web site: Adams. Oliver . 17 March 2022. Sing your heart out boy! Estonia's Stefan will perform at London Eurovision Party 2022. 17 March 2022. Wiwibloggs.
  29. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 24 March 2022. Israel: Over 20 Acts to Perform at Israel Calling 2022. 24 March 2022. Eurovoix.
  30. Web site: Lee Adams. William. 24 March 2022. Israel Calling 2022: More than 20 artists will perform on 7 April. 24 March 2022. Wiwibloggs.
  31. Web site: Luukela . Sami . 18 March 2022 . Montenegro's Vladana added to the line-up of Eurovision in Concert 2022 . 18 March 2022 . ESCXTRA.
  32. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 14 April 2022. Cyprus: Andromache To Appear At PrePartyES Via Video. 14 April 2022. Eurovoix.
  33. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 6 March 2022. Eurovision 2022: Three Countries Record Backup Performances in Belgrade. 20 March 2022. Eurovoix.
  34. Web site: Washak. James. 29 March 2022. Montenegro: Vladana Filming the Video Clip For the Italian Symphonic Version of "Breathe". 29 March 2022. Eurovoix.
  35. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 6 April 2022. Montenegro: Italian Version of "Breathe" Released. 6 April 2022. Eurovoix.
  36. Web site: VLADANA - Jää (Finnish Version) - Montenegro Official Music Video. .
  37. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 25 April 2022. Montenegro: Vladana Releases Finnish Version of "Breathe". 25 April 2022. Eurovoix.
  38. Web site: Eurovision.tv. EBU. Eurovision 2022: Which Semi-Final is your country performing in? . 2022-01-25. 2022-01-25.
  39. Web site: 29 March 2022. Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Semi-Final running orders revealed!. 29 March 2022. Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
  40. Web site: Zabavni: Eurosong 2022 . 10 May 2022 . rtcg.me . RTCG.
  41. Web site: van Waarden. Franciska. 23 April 2022. Montenegro: Zombijana Bones Confirmed as Spokesperson for the Grand Final. 23 April 2022. Eurovoix. en-GB.
  42. Web site: Grace. Emily. 3 May 2022. Montenegro: All The Details About Vladana's Rehearsal. 16 May 2022. Eurovoix. en-GB.
  43. Web site: McCaig. Ewan. 9 May 2022. Montenegro: Vladana's Eurovision Performance Not As Originally Planned By Delegation. 16 May 2022. Eurovoix. en-GB.
  44. Web site: Voting–Eurovision Song Contest. 16 May 2019 . European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 15 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20210526162423/https://eurovision.tv/about/voting. 26 May 2021. live.
  45. Web site: Juries in the Second Semi-Final of Turin 2022. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 15 May 2022.
  46. Web site: Juries in the Grand Final of Turin 2022. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 15 May 2022.
  47. Web site: Results of the Second Semi-Final of Turin 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220713082856/https://eurovision.tv/event/turin-2022/second-semi-final/results/montenegro. European Broadcasting Union. 13 July 2022. 13 July 2022. deviated.
  48. Web site: Results of the Grand Final of Turin 2022. European Broadcasting Union. 15 May 2022.
  49. Web site: 2022-05-14 . EBU statement regarding voting patterns during 2022 shows . 2022-05-15 . Eurovision.tv . EBU . en-gb.
  50. Web site: Cobb . Ryan . 2022-05-15 . EBU reveals six national juries were removed from Eurovision 2022 . 2022-05-15 . ESCXTRA.com . en-GB.
  51. Web site: Bruggeman . Floor . Grommen . Stefan . Arnoudt . Rik . 2022-05-15 . Verdachte jurystemmen in 6 landen op Songfestival: organisator EBU moest uitslag laten herberekenen . 2022-05-15 . vrtnws.be . . nl.
  52. Web site: 19 May 2022 . EBU Statement: Irregular voting patterns during Second Semi-Final 2022 . 19 May 2022 . European Broadcasting Union.
  53. Web site: Tražimo pojašnjenje od EBU, glasanje proteklo u redovnoj proceduri . 2022-05-15 . rtcg.me . RTCG.
  54. Web site: 2022-05-19 . Navodno neregularno glasanje nema veze sa Crnom Gorom . 2022-05-20 . rtcg.me . RTCG.