The Eurovision 2025 national final season has seen yet another artist replacement. The group Buč Kesidi, originally slated to perform “Tužne ljubavi”, will be replaced by Maršali singing “Po policama sećanja”.
Buč Kesidi disqualified over song deadline
Buč Kesidi were disqualified from Serbia’s national selection, as announced by RTS on 31st December, due to performing their PZE entry prior to the September 1st cutoff date imposed by the EBU. “Tužne ljubavi” was performed at a music festival in May of 2024, thereby making it ineligible to compete at Eurovision and, by extension, PZE.
Serbia’s national selection is in good company this year, as the 2025 season has already seen several artist replacements. Artists in Malta and Montenegro were similarly disqualified due to performing their song before the deadline, while artists in Albania, Ukraine, and Croatia voluntarily withdrew.
The line-up for this year’s competition is now as follows:
| Artist | Entry |
| AltCtrl | “Mamurna Jutra” |
| Ana and the Changes | “Brinem” |
| Biber | “Da Mi Se Vratiš” |
| Bojana x David | “Šesto Čulo” |
| Dram | “Vanja” |
| Dušan Kurtić | “Boginja” |
| Džet Vega | “Rolerkoster” |
| Filarri | “Meet and Greet” |
| Gifts and Roses | “Do Kraja Vremena” |
| Harem Girls | “Aladin” |
| Igor Simić | “Ne Mogu” |
| Iskaz | “Trendseter” |
| Ivana Štrbac | “La La La” |
| Jelena Pajić | “Kameleon” |
| Kruz Roudi | “Sve I Odmah” |
| Maja Nikolić | “Žali Srce Moje” |
| Maršali | “Po Policama Sećanja” |
| Mila | “Gaia” |
| Milan Nikolić i banda | “Storia Del Amor” |
| Mimi Mercedez | “Turbo Žurka” |
| Nataša Kojić | “Up and Down” |
| Nikola Antonijević Anton | “U Grad” |
| Ohajo | “MaMa” |
| Princ | “Mila” |
| Sedlar | “Oči Boje Zemlje” |
| Tam | “Durum Durum” |
| Tanja Banjanin | “Ja Sam Bolja” |
| Tropico Band | “AI” |
| Vampiri | “Tebi Treba Neko Kao Ja” |
| Vukayla | “Mask” |
Pesma Za Evroviziju 2025 will take place from 25th February to 1st March.
Serbia’s Eurovision journey
In 2007, Serbia made its debut as an independent country, having previously participated as part of Yugoslavia and Serbia & Montenegro. There, they were represented by Marija Šerifović with “Molitva”, which gave Serbia a quick first and so far only win at Eurovision. Since their debut, Serbia has participated 16 times, qualifying 13 times to the Grand Final.
Teya Dora represented Serbia at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö with her song “Ramonda”. At this year’s competition, Serbia qualified for the Grand Final, where they placed 17th. At the close of voting, she received 54 points – 22 coming from the jury and 32 from the televote.
Pesma Za Evrovizija has been the selection show for Serbia’s Eurovision entry since 2022, with Konstrakta winning the inaugural edition. It replaced the Beovizija music festival after RTS lost the rights to the brand. The show takes place over one week, and consists of two semi-finals each containing a non fixed amount around 15 artists, of which 8 (or 9 in 2022) qualify to the final. Points are awarded via a 50/50 televote-jury split where points are converted to a 12-1 scale. At least 51% of the lyrics of all submitted songs must be in one of Serbia’s official languages.
What do you think of the artist replacement trend this year? How will Maršali do at PZE 2025 ? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all things Serbia at Eurovision 2025!
News Source: RTS
Photo Credit: Buč Kesidi & Sea Star Festival
Giwrgos Oiko 
Samantha