Montenegro’s national public broadcaster RTCG has officially begun its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. An open call for songs has been opened for interested singers and songwriters. Entries are to be accepted until December 10th.
Going back to the basics
The announcement comes as Montenegro confirmed it would not use a national selection to choose their entry to Turin. The broadcaster cited financial difficulties, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For its 2022 selection, RTCG also included stipulations for singers and songwriters. While songwriters can be from anywhere in the world, the singer must hold Montenegrin citizenship. Singers’ identities will also not be revealed until after the end of the first phase of selection.
While the selection dates have yet to be officially released, information about how the selection will be conducted was also released.
Entries will be scored out of 100 points, with the song accounting for 50, lyrics for 30 and potential for production for 20.
Montenegro is no stranger to internal selections, using the method no less than seven times in their participation. The last time a Montenegrin entrant was selected using an internal selection was in 2017, with Slavko Kalezić’s “Space”. Despite interest in Slavko and his song, Montenegro failed to qualify for the final – finishing in 16th place.
Montenegro’s history in Eurovision
Before Montenegro announced its return to the Eurovision Song Contest for 2022, Montenegro had a scattered appearance at the competition.
There has been a Montenegrin presence at the Eurovision Song Contest as far back as 1983, when the nation was a part of Yugoslavia. Montenegrin entries went on to represent Yugoslavia in 1983 and 1984, placing 4th and 18th respectively. Similarly, the nation also sent an entry as part of Serbia and Montenegro in 2005, placing 7th with No Name’s “Zauvijek moja”.
As an independent nation, Montenegro debuted in 2007 with Steven Faddy’s “Ajde, kroci”. This began a string of non-qualifications, until their first appearance in a Grand Final in 2014. Montenegro’s best result came in 2015 with Knez’s “Adio”, scoring 44 points and placing 13th. Their most recent appearance in the Contest was in 2019, when D-mol finished in 16th place in the semi-final with 46 points.
Are you excited for Montenegro’s Eurovision 2022 selection? Who do you think will try to represent Montenegro in Turin? Let us know in the comments or on social media. Be sure to follow ‘THAT Eurovision Site’ over at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
News Source: RTCG
Photo Credit: ARD
One thought on “🇲🇪 Montenegro opens submission window for Eurovision 2022 search”