Serbia: Željko Joksimović is open to the possibility of returning to the Eurovision!

The final of the Pesma za Evroviziju 2024 , where Serbia chose its representative for Eurovision in Malmo, took place on Saturday, with Teya Dora winning and eventually representing the Balkan country in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

Rehearsals before the final were underway in the studio in Košutnjak, attended by Željko Joksimović, who represented Serbia in Istanbul 20 years ago with the song “Lane moje” and almost won. Whether and how much has changed about Eurovision in these twenty years, Duska Vucinic, head of Corporate Image and Public Relations at RTS, talked with Joksimović.

In an interview with Belgrade Chronicles, Duska Vucinic highlights that as far as they are concerned, Željko Joksimović won in 2004. When he saw the footage from Istanbul in the news a few days ago, Željko Joksimović says he was overcome by strange emotions, as if 20 years had not passed.

“Half a century, which is not at all small. And many things have happened in the meantime. So it’s nice to remember, and that’s perhaps a reminder with a duty,” says Joksimović.

The song “Lane moje” still lives today, and Joksimović has tried his luck at Eurovision several times as a performer and songwriter. But would this song be equally successful in these Eurovision circumstances?

“I think so. Like the song ‘Yesterday’ is always Yesterday, so is ‘Lane moje.’ If something was really good and generally accepted at that moment, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be the same in 20 years. Emotion is something that doesn’t change, it is very recognizable and I think people always react to it. I, since I’m often in Greece, people still shiver at that song today. I think it has no expiration date and I’m really happy about that. In the end, Eurovision helped make that song what it is,” emphasizes Joksimovic.

“In the meantime, I wrote several times and was very successful. Although in 2012 I counted on at least second place, those Russian grandmothers moved me down one place to third. And then I enjoyed it, and of course I enjoyed it on the stage in Belgrade when I hosted Eurovision here. So, those 20 years go by quickly, but when we summarize, it’s not quite that little and there was something in between,” adds Duska Vucinic’s interlocutor.

Zeljko Joksimovic performed in the interval of the Pesma za Evroviziju 2024 final evening program, and he promised that he will certainly perform a few more times at Eurovision under the flag of Serbia, if not as a performer, then certainly as a songwriter.

When asked if the compositions have changed over these two decades, Joksimovic emphasizes that the melodies have not changed, but the arrangements have, the packaging has changed.

“However, again, looking at an Adele who appears at the piano and works wonders, or Miley Cyrus who works wonders with a classic arrangement, there isn’t much difference there. Trends have never been decisive for Eurovision. I think that even songs that didn’t follow trends always did better. Those that were a little different. That’s what ‘Lane moje‘ was like,” says Zeljko Joksimovic at the end of his appearance on Belgrade Chronicles.

Serbia will be represented in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest by Teya Dora with the song “Ramonda“, where she will perform in the first half of the first semi-final!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Serbia’s participation in Eurovision 2024 in Malmö!

Source: RTS