Back in September, Serbia’s RTS published the submissions form for their 2022 national final. With the December 1 deadline still months away, the broadcaster has already surpassed the number of submissions of the 2020 edition of Beovizija, which received 90 in total.
In a recent television appearance, Olivera Kovačević, editor-in-chief of the RTS Entertainment, has confirmed that over 100 applications have been received for 2022. While she celebrated this milestone, she encouraged artists to continue to apply before the deadline in order, to ensure the highest quality selection possible.
The most important thing is to have a good song and for a representative to go who can sing that song well. You already know how strict the jury is because the jury is always our biggest problem, and how they will evaluate not only the performance but above all the vocal potential of the performers.
Olivera Kovačević, editor-in-chief of the RTS Entertainment
After the December 1 deadline, a jury (formed of representatives from Radio Beograd, PGP RTS records and RTS’ music editors) will select the shortlist for the live shows. The broadcaster is aiming for 30 songs to compete in the selection overall, but this may be higher or lower depending on the quality of songs received.
Although the selection is slated to take place in February, the jury reserves the right to select the entry internally if the pandemic prevents the selection from going ahead.
Following the internal selection of Tijana Bogićević in 2017, Beovizija was used by RTS to select their entrants between 2017 and 2020.
Serbia at Eurovision 2021
In 2020, Balkan pop sensation Hurricane won Beovizija 2020 with a maximum total of 24 points from the combined televote and jury scores with their song “Hasta La Vista”. However, just weeks after selection, the EBU had to unfortunately cancel the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
After much media speculation and public desire to see the girls return, RTS finally confirmed the news everyone had been waiting for in November 2020. Earlier this year, RTS made the decision to hold an internal song selection for Hurricane, and later released “Loco Loco”.
Having become a huge regional hit, the semi-final in which the entry qualified scored a 43% viewership share last Thursday. It also surged above its fellow semi two entries in terms of YouTube views. At the Grand Final, Hurricane placed 15th with 102 points, notably placing 9th in the televote.
Who would you like to see represent Serbia next? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 national final season!
