Croatian broadcaster HRT has now given us a list of participants, song titles, the running order, and more information about the twenty-second edition of Dora – the national final that chooses who will represent Croatia at Rotterdam in May!
Dora 2021 will be the twenty-second edition of the Croatian national final, which has had memorable winners in Maja Blagdan in 1996 (who came fourth in Eurovision), and Doris Dragović in 1999 (who also came fourth in Eurovision).
Artists will need to bring a negative COVID-19 test to Opatija before they can take to the Dora stage.
The national final will also see a change to its voting system to be similar to that of Melodifestivalen to ensure that there won’t be a tie. In case of a tie, the public vote shall take precedence.
Who’s competing for the ticket to Rotterdam?
1 – Nina Kraljić (Alkonost of Balkan)
Song title: Rijeka
Songwriters: Nina Kraljić, Hana Librenjak, and Miki Solus
Nina Kraljić should be a well-known face to Eurovision fans, after the singer represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm in 2016 with the song ‘Lighthouse’.
2 – Eric Vidović
Song title: Reci mi
Songwriters: Eric Vidović
3 – Ella Orešković
Song title: Come This Way
Songwriters: Siniša Reljić Simba, and Ella Orešković
4 – Bernarda Brunović
Song title: Colors
Songwriters: Bernards Brunović, and Borislav Milanov
Eager-eyed Eurovision fans who follow national finals may have already recognized the name before the song was even released. Bernarda Brunović took part in the Swiss Eurovision national final “Die grosse Entscheidungs Show” in late 2010 and in “Dora” just two years ago in 2019.
5 – Sandi Cenov
Song title: Kriv
Songwriters: Siniša Reljić Simba, and Fayo
Sandi Cenov is a well-known name in the Croatian music field, having become incredibly popular in the 1990’s. He also took part in the 2005 elections for the Zagreb City Assembly.
6 – ToMa
Song title: Ocean of Love
Songwriters: Adriana Pupavac, Andreas “Beemon” Björkman, Kalle Persson, and Tomislav Marić
7 – Filip Rudan
Song title: Blind
Songwriters: Filip Rudan, Antonio Franić, and Hrvoje Domazet
8 – Beta Sudar
Song title: Ma zamisli
Songwriters: Predrag Martinjak
9 – Cambi
Song title: Zaljubljen
Songwriters: Marija Mirković
10 – Ashley Colburn & Bojan Jambrošić
Song title: Share the Love
Songwriters: Ivan Škunca, and Ashley Colburn
Bojan Jambrošić is one of the most famous pop singers in all of Croatia, coming to fame after winning the first season of “Hrvatsa traži zvijezdu”, the Croatian version of the Idol series. He also sang the theme song for the Croatian soap opera “Ruža vjetrova” (“Wind Rose”).
11 – Brigita Vuco
Song title: Noći pijane
Songwriters: Brigita Vuco
12 – Mia Negovetić
Song title: She’s Like a Dream
Songwriters: Mia Negovetić, Linnea Deb, Denniz Jamm, and Denise Kertes
For fans of the Croatian singing competition, Mia Negovetić is a welcome return to Dora, after she finished runner-up behind Damir Kedžo last year. Her song is also co-written by Linnea Deb, the Swedish songwriter behind ‘You’ (Sweden 2013), ‘Heroes’ (Sweden 2015), ‘Monsters’ (Finland 2018), and ‘Yes’ (Denmark 2020).
13 – Albina Grčić
Song title: Tick-Tock
Songwriters: Branimir Mihaljević, Max Cinnamon, and Tihana Buklijaš Bakić
Albina would be recognizable to Croatian audiences through her participation in the third season of “The Voice Hrvatska”, which aired last year. She was immediately signed to a record contract with Universal Music Croatia following her appearance, and released her debut single, ‘Imuna na strah’, in October last year.
14 – Tony Cetinski & Kiki Rahimovski
Song title: Zapjevaj, Sloboda je!
Songwriters: Kristijan Rahimovski
Tony Cetinski is returning to Dora after a twenty-five year break. Tony won Dora back in 1996, and represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo.
Are there any reserve acts this year?
As with previous years, HRT has ensured there are four reserve acts in case of unavoidable circumstances where one of the fourteen selected artists cannot perform on the night. This years reserve acts are:
Elis Lovric – Brodolom
Endi feat. Lora – Megaloman
Pjerino Ruzevic – Soldier
Z/11 – Only Love
Who will be hosting the show?
HRT has announced that the hosts of Dora this year will be Daniela Trbović, Barbara Kolar, Jelena Lešić, and Doris Pinčić Rogoznica, who will be hosting live from the Marino Cvetković Sports Hall in Opatija. There will not be a live audience this year, as has been the case with most national finals being held this Eurovision season.
Where and when can I watch?
Dora 2021 will be broadcast on Croatian broadcaster HRT in the morning on February 14 (the evening of February 13 in Europe).
20.10pm CET (Europe)
06.10am AEDT (NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS)
05.40am (SA)
05.10am AEST (QLD)
04.40am (NT)
03.10am (WA)