Could Bosnia & Herzegovina's earworm "Ljubav Je" be a contender at this year's Eurovision Song Contest?
Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina
Song Title: "Ljubav Je" ("Love Is")
Artist: Dalal & Deen feat. Ana Rucner and Jala
First Semi-Final: Position #17
Last year's entry: Did not compete
Not much has changed since I last checked in with Bosnia & Herzegovina's entry "Ljubav Je" other than the song has really grown on me. Although I stand by my previous comments that the rock and rap elements make this entry a tougher sell, I think the argument could be made that Bosnia & Herzegovina are attempting (and achieving) a higher degree of difficulty. Let's take another listen:
There are a number of factors working in Bosnia & Herzegovina's favor with this entry. First, they are in a semi-final with lots of friends and neighbors. Add those points to the "welcome back" points that often accompany an entry from a country that has been on hiatus and "Ljubav Je" should rocket up the scoreboard.
Second, this entry is one of only three this year that is entirely non-English. I don't see this as a barrier, as a quality song should be able to communicate its thesis regardless of language. If you look at the number of YouTube views this song has (more than 1.7 million as of this writing), it must be reaching people who do not speak Bosnian.
The mixing of styles in this track also has its benefits. There is a lot of earworm potential, from the strings provided by Ana Rucner, the fast delivery from Jala, and the chorus from Dalal & Deen. I think this song will play well with others as running orders are determined, allowing what precedes and follows "Ljubav Je" to shine.
My concern about the performance is going to be staging. In my last writeup, the separation of the performers may have been what gave me the initial feeling of this track coming across as two or three songs slapped together. This is not a request for pyrotechnics, but I think Bosnia & Herzegovina would benefit from maximizing the horizontal space of the stage and including movement within the performance. This may be a departure from Bosnia & Herzegovina's typical staging, as their last three entries((Going back to 2010, y'all.)) featured musicians using their instruments.
Welcome back to Eurovision, Bosnia & Herzegovina. I'm excited to see what you do.