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Dino Merlin (Bosnia & Herzegovina) 2nd press conference

06 May 2011 at 19:53 CEST

Dino Merlin introduces his background singer Aida, who performs one of Bosnia & Herzegovina’s favourite love songs. Its title is Kraj tanawa šadrvana. It tells the story of a couple in love that meet near a little fountain. The lyrics are actually a poem by Heinrich Heine, called 'Der Asra'.

Aida starts singing the tender song and before long, all the other delegation members have joined in, lip-synching it, as if hypnotised by the beauty of the lyrics. “We can’t live without love,” Dino summarises the meaning of the song.

Dino, who’s no stranger to the Contest, makes mention of the differences between the 1999 event in Jerusalem and this year’s Eurovision here. For one thing, he performed in front of a crowd of only 4,000 spectators. “I like to call that time the analogue era. Since then, the production standards have risen sharply.” He admits that he misses the orchestra accompanying the singers, because he prefers to perform live and not semi-playback.

“But there is something that will always be the same,” he explains, “that’s the music, the song and the singer’s charisma.” The band gives a convincing testament to what he has said by delivering a heart-warming acoustic version of Love In Rewind.