At last, it’s the very last former Yugoslav country, the seat of Yugoslavia’s old capital, and the most successful of the ex-Yugoslav countries at Eurovision since they began to enter as separate countries. Serbia is actually one of the newest Eurovision countries, only entering as separate country in 2007 (they entered as Serbia and Montenegro in 2004 and 2005).
So, while they have a relatively short history in Eurovision, they have generally performed well, and achieved a Eurovision win on their debut as an independent country.
5. Tijana Bogicevic “In Too Deep” (2017, 11th in semi-final, 98 points)
Narrowly missing out on qualifying for the grand final is the most recent Serbian entry. I think this is a very solid, modern entry, although perhaps too similar to other Eurovision songs of recent years (I’m thinking of Ira Losco’s “Walk on Water”) and it’s not distinctively Serbian/Balkan which would normally favour the song more.
4. Moje 3 “Ljubav je svuda” (2013, 11th in semi-final, 46 points)
Another narrow non-qualifier, this falls into classic uptempo cheesy Eurovision pop – with added bonus of being sung in native language rather than English.
3. Marija Šerifovic “Molitva” (2007, winner, 268 points)
Serbia’s debut entry as an independent country also saw them win the whole contest – not a bad start. Now, I will confess I would much rather have seen Verka Serduchka win that year, but there’s no denying it’s a powerful song. And, until Salvador won for Portugal, singing in Portuguese, this had been the most recent non-English song to win the contest.
2. Nina “Caroban” (2011, 14th place, 85 points)
This is draped in a 1960s vibe and a very upbeat, jolly song. Again, I think being sung in Serbian adds to this.
1. Bojana Stamenov “Beauty Never Lies” (2015, 10th place, 53 points)
Easily my favourite Serbian entry, this wasn’t fancied much before the contest but as soon as it took to the stage to rehearsals, it came to life. It’s such a strong anthem of embracing diversity and difference and of course, it’s hugely uptempo, camp and delivered with gusto by the lovely Bojana. An instant Eurovision and gay anthem, it deservedly did well. It also was Serbia’s first time singing in English, something they have continued with in their following years’ entries.
So did you agree with my Serbian top 5 – or would you have had a different order and/or different songs?