At this year's selection for the Montenegrin representative at the Eurovision Song Contest - Montesong, ballads predominate, and one of them will be performed by a Montenegrin singer. Đurđa Petrović is a Pole.
This is her third single, and what is interesting is that the previous two were also ballads. Đurđa is very emotional, and even though she is cheerful and positive, for her ballads carry special emotions, and that is exactly what decided her to appear at Montesong with such a number.
"Ballads somehow always find their way to me. The tenderness and emotions I carry within me are visible to the naked eye and fully reflect my being, so it's no wonder that interpreting ballads is something I really enjoy. With the song 'To ljubav je', I want to convey 'Love' in its most beautiful form. That song actually awakens gratitude for true, sincere, deep love, especially when it is compared to toxic, superficial, unhealthy, obsessive love that exists... It says that you should not stay in such loves because there really is true love, the one in which you stand upright , because someone loves you just the way you are. We wrote it from my experience, and that's why I believe so strongly in the message it carries. Also, there is a lot of ugly news and events that surround us every day, music and texts that only skim the surface. I wanted a song that could be felt even by those who don't understand what I'm singing about, that could touch each individual with its beauty and move them, even for a moment, from everyday life that can tire us out", says Đurđa, whose song he signed, in an interview with Vijesti News Kristina Kovač. Kristina already had the opportunity to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, as she sang backing vocals in Rome in 1992. Baby Doll, while in 2011 she introduced herself as an author, and then she sang her song Nina Radojicic. About how the cooperation with Kovač came about, and whether this track was originally planned for the Montenegrin selection for the representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, Đurđa reveals:
"The track is actually signed by several authors, although we know the most about Kristina here, since the time of K2 - we are here next to her Oliver Patocska (Hungary), Jonas Jensen (Norway) and my littleness. A real international team. I saw a post on her FB profile that she would like someone from Montenegro to write a song for this year's Montesong and I sent her a message. I didn't even expect an answer, but it arrived very quickly - she asked to hear me for a while, I sent her a recording and she really liked my voice, and especially my emotion. She invited me to come to Hvar within two days, where a Songwriting Camp was organized, where many producers and composers from various parts of Europe come to write songs for the Eurosong, and that's where the magic that we called 'It's love' was born."
In the announcement of the song on her Facebook account, Petrović Poljak wrote: "Only those who have been on both sides of its island can know what love is." When asked if she thinks that word and emotion are undervalued today and what love is for her, she answers:
“Real question. I think so. Somehow as a human race we have managed to alienate ourselves from each other. We don't have time for each other. We sit together, but we don't hang out. It's as if compassion and empathy are running out. The music that is marketed to us as mainstream is far from the kind that can awaken some primal beautiful emotion in you. But the power of music with emotions breaks down boundaries and can bring together the incompatible... We all need love. I am someone who cannot function without love. It is very important to me in every segment of life - from parental and sisterly, to partner, friendly. For me, love is support. Love is when someone embraces us and accepts our flaws equally as virtues. Love is forgiveness, understanding. Love is like a big hug that nourishes us in a special way and encourages us to be who we are. Unique and special", she believes and adds that her song, which she will perform in less than a week at Montesong, is about that kind of love.
However, the songs from this year's competition are widely listened to by the audience, and according to the comments below the video, the audience likes Đurđa's track. The interlocutor of Vijesti does not hide that she is encouraged by the positive comments, considering that the audience carries half of the votes.
"It's nice and I'm very pleased with the support. That was really my main wish - for people to feel it. To embrace her. To awaken in them a beautiful and tender feeling. Maybe some memory, to fall in love again, to dance. My favorite videos on the YouTube service are when people want to record their reaction to a song, and those where you can see that they really insist that they don't like the song, and at the end it ends with a eulogy. That is my favorite because you can see how the song 'picks them up' without their will... The power of music always amazes me. Also, the song got its first cover, with all the rendition in Spanish. When I heard that, I realized that this track finds its own way to people, no matter how organic that way is, and that means a lot. I would like the song to really win the hearts of the audience and live for a long time. Along with that love, voices also come spontaneously", Đurđa hopes.
Neither the national elections nor the Eurosong itself have been focused on songs for a long time, but the stage performance and costume are also very important, and the musician reveals what she has come up with for next Wednesday:
"Stage performance is very important in competitions like this, but also many times it all turns into one big circus. This song requires absolute respect for the emotion it carries, and that's why I hired a creative director Milan Pajić (did both performances of Zorja at PZE) and together with him and Kristina Kovač I am already working extensively on the stage performance. The most important thing for us is that the performance, the direction, the atmosphere help the emotion of the song shine brightly. Our approach to performing is - less is more. I think that the whole impression will really be complete only on November 27th, and I can't wait", she says impatiently.
She also referred to the fact that certain artists and songs are favored by playing songs on the air, but she believes that this does not harm the competition.
"The audience needs to get to know all the songs, but I think that the complete impression will be gained only with a live performance. Every artist has something of their own, so every song is special in its own way. What will excite the audience the most remains to be seen", she is honest, and reveals whose song she liked:
"I have my favorites, but I wouldn't like to reveal them because they are all my colleagues. I am honestly very glad to share the stage with all of them and I am glad that Montesong is being organized this year and I hope it will become a tradition. It is very important that this festival, like the Pearl of the Adriatic, comes to life, because festivals like this are important for the Montenegrin music scene. We really have something to showcase and show, and they are the right place for new songs, composers, performers. On this occasion, I warmly welcome all the organizers of the festival, as well as my colleagues and wish us all a happy performance", concludes Đurđa.
Bonus video:
