Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005

Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Country	Croatia
National selection
Selection process	Dora 2005
Selection date(s)	5 March 2005
Selected entrant	Boris Novković
Selected song	"Vukovi umiru sami"
Finals performance
Semi-final result	4th, 169 points
Final result	11th, 115 points
Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2004 • 2005 • 2006►

Croatia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 by Boris Novkovic and Lado Members with the song "Vukovi umiru sami". The Croatian National Selection was held from March 3 until the 5th, 2005 at the HRT TV Studios in Zagreb, hosted by Nina Badrić and Robert Ferlin. There were two Semi-Finals; 14 of the 18 songs proceeded to these Semi-Finals which were held on 3rd and 4 March. The Croatian National Final took place on March 5. The top 3 winners were chosen by 50% televoting & 50% from a professional three-member jury. Televoting only then selected one of the 3 songs to represent Croatia at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev. Notable participants were the former Croatian representatives Magazin (1995), Danijela Martinović; (1995, 1998), Goran Karan (2000) and Vesna Pisarović (2002). The eventual winner, however, was Boris Novković featuring members of the ethno group Lado, with the song "Vukovi umiru sami" (Wolves Die Alone). The song is written by Boris Novković and composed by Franjo Valentić.

Boris Novković was born on 25 December 1967 in Sarajevo to a family of musicians. His father Đorđe Novković is one of the greatest Croatian pop composers and songwriters and his mother Ozana is a music teacher. During his impressive career, spanning almost 20 years, Boris has released 14 albums of which Ostvaren san is his most recent release in 2004. Boris competed in the Yugoslavian finals for Eurovision in 1989 with the song "Dajana" which came in second. Boris also competed in the International Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has performed at most Croatian festivals and has won many prizes.

National final

The Croatian National Final was held on March 5, 2005.

At Eurovision

At Eurovision, Boris delivered a simple performance accompanied by a bagpipe and the Lado members in the background. One of the main features of his performance was the drum player who not only made a spectacle out of his drum playing, but also jumped around the stage and did some gymnastics. The song remained in Croatian. The song is considered a Balkan ballad for having Croatian folk influence.Because Croatia placed 12th at the 2004 contest,Boris Novković feat. Lado members were forced to compete in the Eurovision semi-final, held two days before the final.Croatia qualified to the final, placing 4th in the semi-final and scoring 169 points.In the final, Croatia performed 18th, following Germany and preceding the Greece. Croatia placed 11th in the final, scoring 115 points.Meaning that Croatia automatically qualified for the final in the 2006 contest.The spokesperson who revealed Croatia's votes for other countries was Barbara Kolar, an HRT host.

At Eurovision 2005 (Kiev, Ukraine)

Points awarded by Croatia (semi-final)

12 points	Macedonia
10 points	Slovenia
8 points	Hungary
7 points	Latvia
6 points	Denmark
5 points	Ireland
4 points	Moldova
3 points	Switzerland
2 points	Poland
1 point	Romania

Points awarded by Croatia (final)

12 points	Serbia and Montenegro
10 points	Bosnia and Herzegovina
8 points	Macedonia
7 points	Latvia
6 points	Hungary
5 points	Greece
4 points	Malta
3 points	Switzerland
2 points	Albania
1 point	Moldova

References