#LIVEBLOG: Montesong2024 from 1900GMT/2000CET

By John Stanton on November 27, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

This is it! The 2025 season of the Eurovision Song Contest starts tonight with Montesong 2024. Yes, that’s 2024. Confused? Well, you may be after we’ve heard 16 songs competing for Montenegro’s Gold Ticket to Basel next May.

With this blog, you know what to do. Just hit refresh for our latest thoughts. You can also follow the action HERE and HERE. All times below are GMT.

The action starts below:

22.02 – That finishes our coverage of Montesong. It’s an interesting choice. Good luck to Neonoen in just over five months’ time

22.00 – Neonoen have won with Clickbait

21.56 – Back, and the acts are all on stage.

21.53 – We’re getting an ad break!!!

21.52 – After the jury voting, this is how things stand…

21.51 – Finally, Daniel Popovic gives his 12 to Nina Zizic

21.49 – Emmelie De Forest gives her 12 to Neonoen

21.47 – Tijana Bogacevic gives her 12 to Neonoen

21.46 – Elena Risteska gives her 12 to Nina Zizic.

21.43 – Dado Topic is next. He gives his 12 to Baryak

21.41 – Nuša Derenda gives her 12 to Milena Vucic

21.40 – It’s vote time. We’re going around the jurors. The first 12 goes to Nemanja Petrovic

21.35 – Emmelie de Forest is on now.

21.32 – We’ve had another ad break, and now we’re getting Elena Risteska from North Macedonia.

21.21 – More recaps, as is custom. And Sergej Cetkovic. He sings Moj svijet. Nice

21.15 – We have prizes being distributed already. Not sure why.

21.13 – The lines are open, so the public can vote, vote, vote. Isn’t it exciting?

21.06 – Back to the Green Room. We hear the performers singing Ruslana’s Wild dances

21.02 – That’s all the songs, all the 16 songs. And your guess is as good as mine. So in the meantime, there’s an ad break.

21.01 – More dramatic stuff. Milena is dressed as Malevalent from the films. And she has Roman centurions with her. There’s a lot of style, but maybe less substance. Nevertheless, it has impact.

20.57 – Song 16 is Skorpijs by Milena Vučić

20.56 – This starts with a very long intro. Another earnest ballad sung quite well. Even though Verica is dressed like a blancmange. But one that eventually strips down and plays a violin. It’s nice, but again doesn’t really grab you.

20.53 – Song 15 is Čuješ li by Verica Čuljković

20.51 – Another band. A very hairy and muscular one too. This is more serious in tone and is more a chant than a song. And the chorus has a heavy electric guitar riff going on in the background. There are soaring notes that don’t challenge the singers – and there are several of them. I actually like this. That’s usually the kiss of death.

20.49 – Song 14 is Dva srca by Baryak

20.48 – No, not everyone’s favourite Icelandic singer. This has an odd staging. People in monk’s habits and white masks. Dolce Hera is in what looks like hessian with things written on it. There’s also a costume change, revealing a silver outfit underneath the sackcloth. And she plays the drums. Very quirky, but at times doesn’t sound like it’s completely in tune. Maybe that’s the idea.

20.44 – Song 13 is Repeat by Dolce Hera. That’s Repeat by Dolce Hera

20.42 – Back to the Green Room for some hi-jinks involving Neonoen. They’re characters.

20.41 – Twelve down, four to go. And we still have voting to come of course.

20.40 – It’s a grown-up Dmol! They are a six-piece vocal group although one has an electric guitar. They saunter around each other and sing as one. There are shots showing them behind a heavy net curtain. which makes this a bit messy. Not a winner to me.

20.37 – Song 12 is San by Glumci Bend

20.36 – Motorbikes on stage? That’s different. Isak is in basic black and sings a song with a melody that sounds familiar to me, but I can’t work out why. It’s a catchy little song though, and he seems very singing it. The gravelly voice also sets it off. The chorus to me is better than the verse. And you can tell where this is going – it’s nicely formulaic. A potential floor filler? Well a remix definitely could be.

20.32 – Song 11 is Ljeto ljeto ljeto by Isak Šabanović

20.31 – They’re another band, using hammers and anvils among other things. The lead singer has a memorable look. There are lots of references to social media in this midtempo song. I was expecting something a bit more frantic, but even the instrumental break is quite underwhelming. It’s a song with a current theme but a beat maybe 20 years old. At least they try.

20.27 – Song 10 is Clickbait by Neonoen

20.26 – Nina performed with Who See back in the day, and this is a very different song. She starts blindfold. Thanks Donny Montell. Her song is almost spoken, until she whips off the blindfold and starts moving around the stage. This gets very serios, very powerful, very earnest. This means business if they’re looking for a quality ballad. She really means business here. Very very good.

20.23 – Song 9 is Dobrodošli by Nina Žižić

20.21 – Briefly in the Green Room and we hear contestants singing Zauvijek moja. Nice.

20.19 – We’re back – that was speedy.

20.17 – Half way through, and we break for adverts.

20.16 – This starts slowly and then really picks up. There’s some very busy choreography. She even breaks into English in points. There are some very challenging notes, which could prove decisive.

20.13 – Song 8 is Obala raja by Kejt

20.12 – Another ballad and Đurđa starts sat on the floor. This starts really softly, and there’s dry ice too. There’s a lot of orchestration in the arrangement and its 3/4 tempo draws you in. It’s a song that is nostalgic – but not dated. This could spring a surprise too.

20.09 – Song 7 is To ljubav je by Đurđa

20.08 – A quick breather as we go again to the Green Room. Tamara is there. Luka likes Bandido (ES90). An interesting choice.

20.07 – This starts off on a very dark stage. Luka has a dancer in gimp(?) suit. He has a decent voice but the musical arrangement seems slightly overpowering. It is, however, a more mid-tempo song that bounces along OK. But it’s safe, and we know how safe does at Eurovision.

20.04 – Song 6 is Kada dođe maj by Luka Radović

20.03 – Tamara is in a striking outfit of a gold bodice and skin-tight trousers. And much fabric about her arms. It’s another serious songs with a serious musical arrangement and more arm movements both by her and her dancers. It’s actually nicely choreographed. This is a far better Adriatic ballad and could do something good during the voting. And there’s a key change. About time. Very good.

19.59 – Song 5 is Poguban let by Tamara Živković

19.56 – A quarter of the songs gone – in very quick succession, and it’s back to the Green Room. We meet the singers of songs 2-4.

19.55 – Our first band. They’re rockers and are quite vociferous in what they want us to do. It’s different and not what you might expect from this part of Europe. Still, it might not be the choice tonight, unless they have a large fanbase watching on a Wednesday evening. There is polite applause.

19.52 – Song 4 is Stop war by Bend 9

19.51 – This is a ballad – nicely downbeat, with a sympathetic starry starry backdrop. He has two dancers, one’s dressed as a sailor. More dancers appear, dressed in local traditional costume. Something for everyone perhaps? It’s a good Adriatic angst-ridden ballad, but maybe just a bit too serious.

19.48 – Song 3 is Među zvijezdama by Nemanja Petrović

19.47 – We quickly speak to Anastasija. She likes Helena Paparizou’s ‘My number one

19.46 – Tina’s song is more upbeat – a bit funky disco actually. It’s like she’s out with some mates at the local Ritzy, and she’s burst into song. She has a good voice on her – powerful. And there’s an very kind instrumental break to allow you to collect your thoughts. This is pretty good.

19.43 – Song 2 is Nova by Tina Džankić

19.42 – Anastasija is in a long pink dress, with bits of mirror on it, and she is emoting. It’s a serious song with lots of arm movements. It builds nicely but there’s no killer moment to make you think “yep, that’s the one”.

19.39 – We’re onto Song 1! It’s Kraj by Anastasija Koprolčec

19.38 – No, still no Song 1. We’re back in the Green Room.

19.34 – We’re now getting a story of RTCG. It was originally part of JRT and called TV Titograd

19.30 – We’re getting the rules on how the winner will be picked. A mix of jury and public voting. Just to be, erm, the same

19.28 – A national final wouldn’t be a national final without something about the next host nation. We see songs from Switzerland, views from Switzerland. You get the picture.

19.23 – And now, Vladana Vučinić. She’s looking well.

19.18 – And now… a retrospective of Montenegrin songs down the years. From ‘ajde kroci onwards.

19.15 – No completing song yet. We’re getting Zauvijek moja by No Name instead. You know how that goes.

19.13 They’re chatting to Sergej Cetkovic. Bless him

19.12 – Of course we have a Green Room. Lazar Radulovic and Andrea Sekulerac are there.

19.10 – We’re getting a retrospective of past Yugoslav hits. Including Ciao amore (YU84). I’m feeling old. And then more recent Montenegrin entries. Moj svijet specifically.

19.08 – Our first guest is only Daniel Popovic (YU83) singing Dzuli. Good on him.