Dalal, Deen, Ana & Jala sing 'Ljubav je' for Bosnia & Herzegovina!

Singer Deen is no stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest having represented his country in 2004 in Istanbul achieving 9th place with In The Disco. Dalal Medhat-Talakić is an R&B singer, a member of Bosnian duo Erato, together with Aida Jašarević.



Ana Rucner is a Croatian cellist and Jasmin Fazlić Jala, who co-wrote the lyrics is a hip-hop artist from Sarajevo, one of the most listened performers in this music genre.

"Combining non-combinable"

"Love is my inspiration. Most of my songs were inspired by love and this is also a song about love," Almir Ajanović, who wrote this year's entry for Bosnia & Herzegovina, explained in the show.

This is definitely one of the best songs I wrote so far. But it was a big challenge as we decided to combine five-six genres which seemed impossible to combine.

Dalal, Deen, Ana & Jala can hardly wait to perform their song in Stockholm. "My Eurovision experience in Istanbul years ago was incredible," Fuad Backović Deen said.

I was really young, just 20 years old. Besides, those were different times, different circumstances and we did our best and also achieved good results. This is different and I'm really looking forward to be part of the Eurovision again.

Nobody could understand this connection in the beginning. Dalal admitted during the broadcast - as we are so different and diverse.

But that's what makes it interesting. People know Deen and they are happy to see him back and I'm known as a vocalist who performs mostlz ballads and jazz songs - she added.

Meeting the Press

"This year's Eurovision entry of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be performed in Mother Tongue in Sweden," Lejla Babović, Head of Bosnian Delegation in the Eurovision Song Contest, confirmed at the first press conference after the song presentation.



Almir Ajanović, an author of the song Ljubav je, said that the team is already working on a concept for the stage performance. "But what we are working on is going to shock all the viewers in Europe. What you saw tonight was great, but their performance in Stockholm will amaze you even more."

He also revealed that the initial idea was to write an entry for Dalal. "I took a guitar, and the song was born in five minutes," Ajanović explained. Dalal suggested asking Deen to join and to perform the song as a duet. Deen came up with an idea to invite Ana to play the cello, and then Jala joined the team as well.



"It is true that it looks like we have a lot of confidence," Dalal said at the Press conference. "It's also because we know each other for a long time. However, after we heard some of the entries for this year, we realized that we can count on good rankings. Maybe even win the Eurovision."

Jala, who performs the hip-hop sequence in a song, stressed that this was a big challenge for him. "If I don't like something, I won't do it. It was quite challenging, but I really enjoyed working on this project."



After he had explained, how it all started and how they came up with an idea to turn the solo act into a quartet, Deen confessed was not certain about joining the team. "We have an amazing crew. In the beginning, I was opposing a bit, as I didn't really have any plans about returning to the Eurovision, but now I really like this idea and I really believe in it."

Deen was 14 when his first album came out. Nevertheless, back then he was a member of the boy band Seven Up. After four years working together, they decided to split. 16 years later, they've decided to gather once again especially for this occasion and perform one of their most popular tracks.



The BHRT show also featured special performances of Marija Šerifović (the winner of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest), Nina Badrić (who represented Croatia in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest) and Maya Sar (who represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest).

Deen already knows everything he needs to know, Marija Šerifović said after she performed her winning song Molitva.

The most important thing is, however, that they have self-confidence and to perform their entry the best they can. Everything else is not really in their hands.

Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Eurovision

Bosnia & Herzegovina will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time since 2012, when Maya Sar represented the country with Korake Ti Znam in Baku. The country has a 100% record of qualifying to the Grand Final since the current system was introduced in 2004. In 2006, Hari Mata Hari finished in third place with the song Lejla, achieving the highest ever placing for Bosnia & Herzegovina. 

Bosnia & Herzegovina will compete in the First Semi-Final on 10th May 2016.