Vecernji list, 8 March 2002: 'Vesna Pisarovic has the best song for Eurovision'

Alongside Vesna, the favourites are Boris Novkovic, Goran Karan, Alen Vitasovic, Petar Dragojevic and Joy. 
Vecernji list played the songs to Nina Badric, Boytronic from "ET", Dino Dvornik, Rajko Dujmic and Zoran Škugor.

1. Ivan Mikulic: Ti si tu
   
   Boytronic: Nothing we haven't heard before from Ivan Mikulic, but this time it's in his inferior style.  An album-filler.
   Nina: Otherwise a marvellous singer, he needs to let himself use his voice to the maximum, and this song doesn't help him do that.
   Škugor: An outmoded song, and it's a shame it's not better written, because he's a good singer.
   
2. Petar Dragojevic: Lazi
   
   Boytronic: The song's got atmosphere.  I don't believe it'll score much in the Dora, but I think it'll throw Petar Dragojevic into the centre of attention.
   Nina: This will be an excellent way for Petar to promote his album, he's a nice boy, it's a good song, and it would be a big success in MHJ.  It's a typical MHJ song. (Which is promising, as long as it's not typical Petar-at-MHJ too.)
   Škugor: If Petar carries on with this kind of slow ballad, getting nearer and nearer to Oliver Dragojevic, he could be a star for teenagers in the future.
   
3. Adalbert Turner Juci: Dotakni srce
   
   Boytronic: Juci was my favourite last year.  I like his country style, I think it'll do fairly convincingly.  This song isn't a favourite, but it's unburdened, appropriate and catchy.
   Dvornik: It's like Plava trava zaborava.  I hope the song's production sounds better live than on the recording we had for the demo.
   Nina: Last year's duet with Emilija made a stronger impression.
   
4. Zak: Znam kako je kad ti uzmu sve
   
   Boytronic: First of all it worked on me like a copy of Boris Novkovic, and after that, "Crvena jabuka".  Totally old-fashioned.
   Dvornik: It doesn't stink, it doesn't shine.  It still needs some work done on it.  I don't know how this got to the final at all.
   Škugor: A mediocre song.
    
5. "Najbolji hrvatski tamburaši": Divne godine
   
   Boytronic: The song's got something, but it doesn't fit into the Dora.  The former "Zlatni dukati" really are our best tamburica players, and I believe them.  Connecting the tamburica and the loop works for me.
   Dvornik: It would have been better for them to just go out with the tamburica.  This sort of song isn't for the Dora, or for Krapina.
   Nina: I'm not sure that flirting with the tamburica would make something special for Eurovision.  This is an unusual, non-standard tamburica arrangement.
   Škugor: It'll be a big release in Slavonia [home of tamburica music], but here in Dalmatia it won't have a good result.  If I was on the jury, I wouldn't accept a song like this.
   
6. Alen Lazaric: Sve ljubavi mog zivota
   
   Boytronic: Predicted, old-fashioned, like listening to a pop song from the seventies.  The one difference is that we can't hear the crackling on the record.  A message to the arrangers: this is 2002!
   Dvornik: The plans are worn out.
   Nina: It's more for ZagrebFest.  It's a festival style.  I ask myself what criteria the songs were chosen by, because I listen to them exclusively on the criterion of which one would amaze the European public.
   
7. Branimir Mihaljevic: Hvala ti na sve
   
   Boytronic: I rate Branimir highly as a musician and arranger, but I've got a feeling that when he writes songs for himself for the Dora or similar projects, he goes very pretentious and then rather a lot is lost.  The song's nothing special at all.
   Nina: A pleasant slow song, it reminds me of Italian songs in San Remo.  Likeable and simple.
   Škugor: A suitable song for Elton John twenty-something years ago.
   
8. "4"33'": Ave Maria Laudata
   Boytronic: A question to the jury: was there nothing better than this out of 200 songs?
   Dvornik: But what can I say...
   Nina: An interesting idea not realised well enough, and the producers got stuck too.  With more sumptuous production it could be like Enigma, which would be interesting.
   Škugor: I don't understand what the writers wanted to say at all.
   
9. Davor Radolfi: Odlazim
   
   Boytronic: I like the colour of Radolfi's voice, although I don't believe him when he sings.  Tvoje ime kao ime ruze [Dora 1995], which he sang in the Dora a few years ago, was a better song.  I know the writers can do better than this song.
   Nina: I like the move in Radolfi's repertoire, the song's different to his songs in the past.  A classic American-type ballad, which would sound good if he sung it in English.  I like it.
   Škugor: A song for the late-night show on Croatian Radio.
   
10. Zeljko Houdek Jacques: Carolija
    
    Boytronic: It seems to me that Djurdjevic wrote this with his left foot for ten minutes.  Looking back to his range and his hits with "Colonia", this isn't like him at all.  The voice sounds very unsure.  Judging by the recording I'm hearing, it seems like he's hardly singing at all. (And I thought this was why they had the no-debutants rule.)
    Dvornik: I've heard those harmonies a million times, but the guy sings nicely.  He still needs to consolidate himself, but it's silly to do that in the Dora.
    Nina: My number one favourite.  Jacques is a first-timer, but it's one fast song which jumped out at me, and I think it could leave a good impression at first hearing.  I like the performance and it could sound good outside Croatia, especially in English.
    
11. Zdenka Kovacicek: Odavno shvatila sam
    
    Boytronic: We've heard this combination already.  I wouldn't like to realise something wrongly, but I really don't see Zdenka on stage in Estonia.  That doesn't reduce my respect for the lady.
    Dvornik: I'm afraid that outside Croatia this might sound too much like some Russian song.
    Nina: Marko Tomašovic and Zdenka, super-chemistry.  She enjoys herself in her new songs, she's totally convincing.
    Škugor: An extension of her tried and tested ZagrebFest formula.
    
12. Tihana Sabati: Ne ljubim više na glas
    
    Boytronic: Ivana Brkic won the competition.  Unfortunately she's a child and her voice isn't mature yet, but it's an appropriate little song.  She could get a stronger wind behind her.
    Dvornik: This is too much for me, although I'm in a good mood this morning.
    Nina: It's like it wasn't for the Dora, and like they never expected it would be accepted.
    Škugor: I think that, otherwise, the girl sings a lot better than she sang this.
    

13. Goran Karan: Još uvijek vjerujem da ljubavi postoji
    
    Boytronic: A beautiful song.  I appreciate Karan and the possibilities of his voice, but I believe Zdenko Runjic more when Oliver Dragojevic sings him.
    Dvornik: I hear the writer's not inspired.  I expected more from Karan and Runjic.
    Nina: A good chorus, terribly convincing, but having won already will be a handicap to Karan.  I think he'll be among the favourites.
    Škugor: A standard Karan song.  Nothing special.
    

14. "Perle": Nemirna rijeka
    
    Boytronic: The melody's like an Al Bano-Romina Power duet, but the lyrics are unclear.
    Nina: Perle were nice last year, similar to "Putokazi", but now with basically a different song from last time.  I like it, and I think it'll do well.
    
15. Boris Novkovic: Elois
    
    Boytronic: A song whose quality stands out.  That's Boris, but a little different.  I'd especially praise the lyrics.  If Eros Ramazotti sang it, it would be a megahit on MTV and VIVA.
    Dujmic: An excellent song, but a bit too difficult and introverted for Eurovision.
    Dvornik: Original, and well-qualified for our context and for the Dora.
    
16. "Joy": Takav sam ti ja
    
    Dujmic: The nearest song to the world.
    Dvornik: To me this is like Rock me baby, but not for the urban public, but for our village.
    Nina: Many first-timers in the Dora, a good opportunity to promote "Joy".
    Škugor: Nenad Nincevic's hit rock bottom rhyming okice and kokice.  He surely wrote this so that it would be catchy for Croatians, but I also think it'll go down well at the Dora.  They could make a big investment in their staging too.
    
17. Vesna Pisarovic: Sasvim sigurna
    
    Boytronic: My favourite.  The best song.  Very trendy, the melody's good, and Vesna's already proven as a vocalist, although she could improve her performance a little on some songs.
    Dujmic: In terms of the harmony it's the best song, but there are a few too many lyrics in the chorus.
    Dvornik: This is the best one, for me.  Vesna's one of the best female singers we've got.
    Nina: I liked her song last year better.  It was very convincing and I'm sure it'll score well enough.
    Škugor: Very good. The guitar's probably emphasised deliberately, so that Vesna will reach out to the rock fans as well.  Since her career's already on the way up, I'm sure this will score well.
    
18. Mladen Burnac: Ja, ja
    
    Boytronic: The song Ja ja is three million light years away from do jaja.  Ha ha...
    Dvornik: I won't waste a word on this.  I don't know why Burnac goes in for this job at all.
    Nina: Bravo, Zrinko!  Bravo, Mladen!  Bravo, Fayo!  Mladen's finally got a hit!  Nice, simple, funny and it's covered with Mladen's personality.  A happy song.
    Škugor: It could get by with the kids.
    
19. Alen Vitasovic: Ja sam Istrijan
    
    Boytronic: A hit in Istria, maybe an anthem and there'll be something new for Alen there.
    Dujmic: An excellent message in the sense of some old things.  I'm not talking about commercial success.
    Dvornik: Nice because other ones are bad, but far from some of the serious combinations.
    Nina: Alen in his standard line.  I think it could go to the top of the charts, but I don't know if it has any scope outside Croatia. (Of course not.  Imagine the UK entering a song full of bagpipes.) I like the chorus in Italian.
    Škugor: The text fitted two or three years ago, when Istria was being accused of wanting to secede.  I'm sorry that Vitasovic hasn't had the sort of song after Bura [winner MHJ 1995] that would still give him real glory after a while.
    
20. Davor Tolja and Ida Buric: 101 laz
    
    Boytronic: I wouldn't bother myself by going on as far as the chorus if I hadn't got to.  I'd already have changed the radio station.  Tolja was good with Denis i Denis, but - technically speaking - he didn't move in the next ten years.
    Dvornik: Loosely, what can I say?  Tolja was starting to copy himself.  Well, people outside Croatia don't know what Room 23 is, but the problem's that this is a weak copy.

This jury's results: