Will Montenegro's Knez say hello to the country's second Eurovision Song Contest final with "Adio"?
Country: Montenegro
Song Title: "Adio" (Goodbye)
Artist: Knez
Semi-Final: Second, Position 4
Last year's entry: "Moj Svijet" - Sergej Ćetković (19th Place)
Montenegro is in a bit of a honeymoon period, having qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest final for the first time ever last year in a modest 19th place. Part of that 19th place can be attributed to Armenia and FYR Macedonia giving last year's entry 12 points each, so Montenegro is well on its way to achieving some standing within the Contest community. How does this year's entry, "Adio" by Knez, stack up?
First, the song was written by Serbian Eurovision mainstay Željko Joksimović, last seen taking third place in Baku in 2012 with "Nije ljubav stvar". "Adio" is similar to the 2012 track in a few ways: the somber beginning, strong instrumentation in the bridge, and a powerful yet abrupt finish. Unlike last year's entry from Montenegro, "Adio" doesn't remind me of a soundtrack for a television ad, which only works in the song's favor.
If the video offers any indication of what the staging will be like, Montenegro appears to be in pretty good shape. In the video above at the 2:30 mark, the five backing singers behind Knez gave me the subtlest reminder of how "Molitva" was staged in 2007, which worked out pretty well for Serbia. I don't imagine there being that much of the stage being used in the performance, but what little movement happens could make for a compelling three minutes.
The challenge for Montenegro will be in gathering points. Since the country has so few appearances, there isn't a clear indication of who its "friends" are. Slovenia is the only other FYR in the semi-final, so that should help slightly. However, the second semi-final features quite a few of Eurovision's non-powerhouses, such as San Marino, Portugal, Czech Republic, and Latvia. As a result, the points could be spread among a lot of countries, creating a rather large bubble. I would like to see Montenegro advance once again, but one or two points could make the difference.