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Eurovision.tv meets Jelena Tomasevic!

07 May 2008 at 17:33 CEST

Eurovisionserbia.tv: How do you feel about representing Serbia at the Eurovision Song Contest?


Jelena: "It is a great honor to represent your own country at the festival which is considered the biggest music event in Europe. And if you’re a representative of the host country, as it is in my case, the honor and pleasure is even bigger. At the same time it is a big burden but high expectations are justified. What matters is being among the ones at the top of the list, or at best keeping the festival one more year in this country. I know for sure that when the song Oro starts, hearts of everyone in Serbia will be there with me. This will have great impact on me and my career. I think that from now on my career will be perceived as „before and after the Eurovision Song Contest."

Eurovisionserbia.tv: Does the song Oro appeal to your sensibility and how hard it is to perform it?


Jelena: "It appeals completely! It’s a song full of emotions and I always perform it with the deepest feelings. The essence of the song is a powerful love story and I try my best to cast that emotion on the audience. Apart from that, there are several ethno elements added by the composer Zeljko Joksimović and they correspond to the songs which I sang before our collaboration. He managed to write a song which is perfect for my sensibility. Also, the presence of Bora Dugić, a world-class instrumentalist and his great performance made the song even more special. It’s hard to perform this song, especially because of the music ornaments though they highlight my vocal capability."

Eurovisionerbia.tv: Did your emotions contribute the success of Oro?


Jelena: "They surely did. I felt the lyrics throughout the performance. I knew that the audience felt the same. After three years of collaboration with Zeljko and having gained some new experiences, I’ve succeed in what’s most important for a singer – to share my emotions with the audience."

Eurovisionserbia.tv: Did you consider any of 20 performers at the Beovizija - the Serbian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest -  as your opponent?


Jelena: "This year’s Beovizija was different, not only because of the quality of the songs and vocal capabilities but also because of the genre itself. We all noticed that there were not typical Eurovision or festival songs. I think that this year the audience enjoyed in various songs. I’m very happy that the audience and the expert jury shared the same point of view."

Eurovisionserbia.tv: How will you prepare for 24 May? Are you going to be accompanied by the same stage performers?


Jelena: "The final stage performance will be created by the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation RTS and my team. We will know very soon if there will be any changes at all. I can only say that the stage performance is going to be on the highest level."   

Eurovisionserbia.tv: In what language are you going to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest? Are you going to make any changes in the song?


Jelena: "There will be some slight changes in the song arrangement but only for the purpose of increasing the quality. I have recorded the song in several languages but I’ll perform in Serbian in the final round of the Eurovision Song Contest on 24 May."