MONTENEGRO

The Montenegrin entry was released on March 9th in the form of the official video. Back in December it was announced that Slavko Kalezić had been internally selected and that his song had already been chosen but would be unveiled in March. He will be singing the song “Space”.

The video is extremely ‘in your face’ (many might say overly aggressive) and a bit of an onslaught on the senses. For most of the song he is dressed in very little – mostly very tight trousers, boots and a headdress that mimics a VERY long ponytail. There are two settings in the video, one is a rocky outdoor scene which looks a bit other-worldly and the other is an industrial looking studio or club. At points, it looks like he has other similarly dressed dancers behind him but it is actually him backing up himself! There is a lot of suggestive dancing (which would go down well in the hall) and lots of disco-esque beams of light which would also make a good stage background.

The song in structure is similar to Hungary’s song in 2009 although this has a much harder edge. The tune of the verses is quite dark and minimal whilst the choruses have a more major feel and are more uplifting and danceworthy. His style of siging inbth parts is very different too andpart of me struggles to see if he will be able to keep up this styles change live without getting too breathy.  Going from verse to chorus is OK but getting back again is a bit jarring. However we only hear the chorus twice as the last 40 second is almost an instrumental ending with “In space we can be as one” which to my ears is the ONLY time you hear the word space in the song, which is very odd. The lyrics are slightly cringeworthy and are seemingly full of double entendre and double meanings whose effect wears off really quickly once you have heard it more than once.

So at least it is not a ballad…

I can imagine this possibly being the standout track in the first half of semi 1 and I kind of pity the acts that have to follow this one! From that perspective, I feel that the energy and possibly showmanship of Slavko will stand out a mile. This is going to appeal to a very particular catchment of Eurovision fans and viewership… and I am not sure who else. Montenegro are unlucky that only one other ex-Yugoslav nation is in semi 1 and this won’t benefit for neighbourly voting. That said I think it will get votes from some of the western countries who will appreciate the flamboyant nature of the song and singer. I personally think it is a little weak but have a sneaky suspicion this will just qualify (although I don’t think it should) but end up in the 20’s in the final.

ARTIST - Slavko Kalezić

SONG - Space

MUSIC - Momčila Zekovića

LYRICS - Momčila Zekovića