A little bit of history...
Still awaiting a victory, Bosnia & Herzegovina don't have that great a record at Eurovision. I personally
think their worst songs have done well and their better ones have done worse, but that's neither here nor there. Their
best result (7th in 1999) is a far cry from their other string of really rather dire results, mostly in the low to mid teens.
Last year they had high hopes with their song by Feminnem, the only tribute to 50 years of Eurovision, but could unfortunately
notch up just 14th place, finding themselves in the Semi-Final of 2006.
Singer & Song
Hari Mata Hari Lejla
These Balkan ballads aren't really my cup of tea, but Serbia and Montenegro finished an impressive 2nd place in 2004
with something similar. So will televoters still like this? I suspect so. Some have said the song "melts like
butter in your mouth", a quote I would be happy to agree with. It surely is dreamy and mellow to begin with, rousing
to a powerful finish with a very polished performer, who also happens to be very popular in the Balkans.
Prediction
Definate Qualifier, not quite a Winner: 2nd - 5th in Semi, 4th - 7th in Final
Bosnia and Herzegovina are just as dead cert a qualifier as Belgium, with such a good draw in the Semi and a song that
should appeal enough to it's neighbours never mind the rest of Europe to pull it through. Sandwiched between Estonia
and Iceland, two upbeat yet very different songs, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be a welcome break, one that you can lie back
and enjoy. So all in all I'd be surprised if Bosnia & Herzegivina didn't make it through, they could better 7th,
but I still don't see a victory.
Prediction after Semi-Final
Possible winner: 3rd-5th
Hari Mata Hari was in control of the stage and the arena on Thursday night, and although I'm not a huge fan of the song,
he did deserve his ticket to the Final. He showed everyone how it should be done, comfortably and confidently.
The backing group were well behaved and performed wonderfully - everything about this looked so professional. In the
Final, Hari has pulled the 13th place, just after the interval break - a position nobody wants to find themselves in.
I don't think this will tarnish the chances of this though and as much as I don't want it to win, this could just do the trick.
Hopefully we'll see something more along the lines of 3rd-5th rather than 1st place - but don't discount it.
Review of the Eurovision Performance
Hari Mata Hari really did show us what it was all about, didn't he? He had a sound song and his stage presence
- full of confidence and tranquility - really helped to make the most of it. The backing singers performed wonderfully
- and it all looked so professional. Though I had other personal favourites in the contest, it's safe to say that Bosnia
and Herzegovina clearly deserved to do well - although I hope they try something different to the Balkan ballad next year
- it's just not my thing :o) As for the prediction - one of the few I'm proud to say I was right on :o)
