Eurovision 2014: Montenegro: Moj svijet (Мој свијет)

Montenegro: Sergej Ćetković

As an independent nation, Montenegro has been sending songs to Eurovision since 2007, but has yet to progress to the final stages. So, will Sergej Ćetković singing Moj svijet bring the country any more luck?

I hope so. Although there is an English version (My Love), the track is one of very few this year that will be sung in a native language at the competition. In my opinion, Sergej deserves massive props for making this decision.

It's a very different affair to last year's contemporary rap-influenced dance track from Montenegro. Sergej has been around the block a few times in his career and knows how to deliver this kind of a ballad. It's a plea from the heart, a love song of loss and the need for reconciliation.

It fits nicely into a style that Sergej has made his own since his solo career began in 1998. Over the intervening sixteen years, he has become very popular across the Balkans, releasing five successful CDs since the turn of the century.

Obviously, Eurovision presents him with an opportunity to widen his appeal and this song should accomplish that. With great production values, reminders of Josh Groban's You Raise Me Up and ethnic orchestration,  the song soars which, if there is any justice, it should do in the competition.

But will people vote for it? Native language songs tend to fare less well, unless they have a strong melodic hook. Along with its Celtic flavourings, Moj svijet has that in abundance, so I am very confident that we will see Montenegro in the final on May 10.

What do you think?


Image by Al3k5aNd4R (Promotion of new CD) [CC-BY-3.0, GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons