Breathe (Vladana song)

"Breathe" is a song by Montenegrin singer Vladana Vučinić. The song represented Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy after being internally selected by Radio i televizija Crne Gore (RTCG), Montenegro's broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest.[1]

"Breathe"
The official cover for "Breathe"
Single by Vladana Vučinić
LanguageEnglish
Released4 March 2022
Length3:00
LabelDimitrov
Songwriter(s)
Music video
"Breathe" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2022 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
English
Finals performance
Semi-final result
17th
Semi-final points
33
Entry chronology
◄ "Heaven" (2019)

Background

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"Breathe" was written by Vučinić herself, alongside Darko Dimitrov, who carried out the production and mixing.[2][3] According to Vladana, the song is based on a difficult family ordeal Vladana suffered in 2021, when her mother died of Covid-19.[4]

Vladana also recorded and released Finnish ("Jää"/Stay) and Italian ("Respira"/Breathe) versions of the song on her official YouTube channel. [5] [6]

Release

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The song was originally planned to be presented in February 2022, but this was later moved to 4 March.[7][8]

Eurovision Song Contest

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Selection

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On 28 October 2021, RTCG opened a submission period where artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries until 10 December 2021.[9] At the closing of the deadline, RTCG received 30 entries, of which 24 were valid for consideration.[10][11] A selection jury evaluated and marked the received submissions against a number of criteria: up to 50 points for composition, up to 30 points for lyrics and up to 20 points for the production potential of the composition.[12]

On 4 January 2022, RTCG announced during the TVCG 1 morning show Dobro jutro Crna Goro that Vladana Vučinić would represent Montenegro in Turin. Vladana previously attempted to represent Serbia and Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 with the song "Samo moj nikad njen" which failed to qualify from the Montenegrin semi-final, and in 2006 with the song "Željna" which she performed in a duet with Bojana Nenezić and placed fifteenth.[13] In regards to her selection as the Montenegrin representative, Vladana stated: "I know that life is in both black and white keys, and everyday is a brand new song. That's why it's interesting. We only realise what it means to fight for a life when it begins to hurt, and when the cure is the only mission. This is my song, my cure for Europe, and for the world."[14]

At Eurovision

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According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2022, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Montenegro was placed into the second semi-final, held on 12 May 2022, and performed in 15th position, during the second half of the show.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "Vladana Vučinić will represent Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin". escYOUnited. 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  2. ^ Rossini, Federico (4 January 2022). "Eurovision 2022: il Montenegro sceglie Vladana Vucinic". Eurofestival News (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2022-01-04. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  3. ^ Vučinić, Vladana [@vladanavucinic] (2022-01-04). "Poštovani svi, […]" (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 2022-01-04 – via Instagram.
  4. ^ "Vladana Vucinic says Eurovision 2022 song "Breathe" will carry a message "heard beyond the Balkans"". wiwibloggs. 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  5. ^ "[VÍDEO] ESC2022: Vladana lança "Jää", versão finlandesa de "Breathe"". ESCPortugal (in Portuguese). 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  6. ^ "Eurovision 2022: Intervista a Vladana Vučinić". Eurofestival Italia (in Italian). 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  7. ^ Granger, Anthony (2022-02-06). "🇲🇪 Montenegro: "Breathe" To Be Released in March as Music Video Filming Commences Tomorrow". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  8. ^ Granger, Anthony (2022-02-20). "🇲🇪 Montenegro: "Breathe" to be Revealed on March 4". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  9. ^ Gallagher, Robyn (2021-10-29). "Montenegro: RTCG opens applications period for new Eurovision 2022 selection process". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  10. ^ "Latest Eurovision News: Winter 2021 - Montenegro receives record number of entries!". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 16 December 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  11. ^ Granger, Anthony (4 January 2022). "Today: 🇲🇪 Montenegro Reveals Their Eurovision 2022 Participant & 🇸🇲 Una voce per San Marino Continues". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 2022-01-05. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  12. ^ "RTCG objavila konkurs za izbor kompozicije za Evroviziju" (Press release) (in Montenegrin). RTCG. 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  13. ^ Granger, Anthony (31 December 2021). "🇲🇪 Montenegro: Eurovision 2022 Representative to be Revealed on January 4". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2021-12-31.
  14. ^ Avelino, Gerry (4 January 2022). "🇲🇪 Montenegro: Vladana Vučinić to Eurovision 2022". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  15. ^ "Eurovision 2022: Which Semi-Final is your country performing in? 🇮🇹". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  16. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Second Semi-Final". Eurovision.tv. 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.