Introduction

Country of the month is back. We decided to continue our series of articles “Country Of The Month” with Croatia. In a period of four weeks, we are going to remind you of the best Croatian entries. Note: we selected the entries not by their place in their final, but by their impact on the fans.

Danijela Martinović – Neka Mi Ne Svane

In 1998, Croatia selected Danijela Martinović and her song “Neka Mi Ne Svane”, which means “May the Sun Never Rise” to sent in Birmingham. The song is entirely in Croatian.

It was composed by Petar Grašo, Stjepan Kalogjera and Remi Kazinotti. Conductor of the live performance was Stipica Kalogjera. At the final, the artist placed 5th with 131 points, the most that a Croatian entry has ever got in any contest.

Danijela Martinović was born on 15 July 1971, in Split, Croatia. In in 1991, she joined the Croatian band Magazin. Along with opera singer Lindija they represented their country in the 1995 edition of the contest with the song “Nostalgia” placing 6th. In 1996, she left the band in order to pursue a solo career. In 1998 she won Dora, the Croatian national final and represented the country one more time in the contest this time placing 5th. She has released a total of 8 studio albums. Her most recent single came out in 2019 and reached the 13th place at the national charts.

Croatia in the Eurovision 🇭🇷

Croatia has been participating in Eurovision since 1961, as part of Yugoslavia. Ten out of the 27 times Yugoslavia took part in the contest, the artists were from Croatia. Croatia is also responsible for the only victory of Yugoslavia in 1989. As a result of that victory, the contest was held in the capital, Zagreb, in 1990.

Croatia debuted as an independent country at the contest in 1993. Since then, it has participated twenty-five times, missing the event two times – 2014 and 2015. The two times the country didn’t participate was due to financial difficulties of the public broadcaster. Is noteworthy that in 2015 was the first time since 1992 – and only the second time since 1961 – that the contest wasn’t broadcasted in the country.

Croatia has finished six times in the Top-10. The country has no victories in its history as an independent state. In 1999 the country placed 4th in a field of 23 with 118 points (under the old voting system), making it the best placing for the country. In contrast, its worst result came in 2018, when not only it was eliminated at the semis, but also finished 17th with 63 points. At the finals, Croatia’s worst result is the 2016’s 23rd place. The country has qualified to the final 18 times.

What do you think about the song? Do you like it? Do you think is it one of the most memorable entries from Croatia? Let us know in the comment box below.