We’re here with another interview here at ESCUnited and this time it’s with Croatia’s very own Hana Mašić!
Hana Mašić has been in the Croatian music industry for a number of years, but 2023 will certainly be the year that catapults her into international waters. In prior years she’s appeared on singing competition shows like the Croatian 2003 Junior Eurovision selection for the first JESC contest ever, Zvezde Granda in both 2016 and 2017, and numerous appearance on Grand Productions weekly variety show Grand Parada. And now she has her eyes set on the Dora trophy and a chance at Eurovision!
It’s my pleasure to welcome Hana Mašić to ESCUnited for our next interview! How are you doing today in the lead up to Dora on February 11th?
Thank you. I am happy to be here. I am very excited and I feel extremely calm and ready. I hope you are doing well too.
Now I noticed that you’re not a stranger to the Eurovision bubble, as you competed in Croatia’s very first Junior Eurovision selection back in 2003. What motivated you to now debut in the Croatian national final 20 years later? Was this the first time you’d considered competing?
Honestly, the song “Nesreca” came to me, and I knew from the very beginning that it is a Dora and Eurovision material, it was a no brainer to me. Yes, it was, I heard the song, and I was like “I need to apply for Dora”. It was my intuition speaking to me.
You also competed on two seasons of the show Zvezde Granda from 2016 to 2018. Looking back, what did you learn about yourself as an artist because of your participation on the show? Do you think this experience could help you during Dora?
I’ve learned how diverse and powerful I am based on people and media reaction. I was paying attention to their feedback. For sure, because it made me stronger and I know how to function and deliver vocals and great performance under the extreme pressure without anyone knowing how scared I was. At the moment and while rehearsing today I’ve felt so calm.
Many of our readers likely haven’t heard your music prior to the Dora announcement. How would you describe your music and sound to them, and are there any artists who inspire or influence you musically?
My music is very diverse, same as my background. I pick the songs based on how I feel, and I love many different music genres, therefore I don’t want to put myself in a box. I love Rihanna and Rosalia, and I love how they like to play with music and how they sing everything, they always think outside of the box.
Okay now I’m going to ask a few questions to help our readers get to know you better – when you aren’t spending your time making music or performing, how do you spend your free time?
I am a very private person; I have a small circle of friends, and I stick to my family members. I enjoy being alone a lot with my dog. Every day I go to the gym, and that is also my mental health therapy, as well as running outside. Traveling is a very important part of my life, so whenever I am free I choose to go somewhere new.
If you were to produce a Eurovision cover album and got to pick which songs are on the track list, which songs would you select and why?
Honestly, it would be mostly Balkan songs on that album, because I feel more when I sing music from Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia because of my background and my native tongue, and I am proud of my roots, so I would cover “Lane moje”, “Molitva”, “Marija Magdalena”, “Sveta ljubav”, ‘Neka mi ne svane”. I would produce Balkan music for sure.
I’d listen to that album for sure! And speaking of songs, your entry “Nesreca” was written by Boris Subotic who is also competing for the chance to represent Serbia this year in their national final. How did this collaboration first come together and what was the songwriting process like to make the song?
Boris wrote that song, so you will have to ask him that question. Our mutual friend who happens to be my vocal coach presented that song to me, and it deeply resonated with my love life. I felt like it was written for me, even though at that time Boris and I didn’t meet.
Since the song is entirely in Croatian, our audience may not understand the lyrics of “Nesreca”. Can you explain the message or story that your song tells so they can better enjoy your entry?
Song is about me finding myself and loving myself again after the love of my life cheated on me. It is about me coming full circle when it comes to self-love and knowing my worth; smiling again and loving life again after being hurt, feeling shame and guilt. Also, the importance of having a support system like your sisters and friends when you are going through some hard moments in life and while you are healing.
If I only gave you ten words to describe what we’ll see from you on the Dora stage, what words would you use?
infidelity – broken heart – shedding – letting go – healing – self-love – self-awareness – support
Last question – is there any message you’d want to share with the ESCUnited readers?
Thank you for all of your support and love for Euroviosn and I hope you will watch my live performance. Kindly follow me on all of my social media for more info about my work. Your feedback means the world to me.
Hana Mašić is set to compete eleventh during the Croatian national final Dora, which will select the country’s next artist and song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The show is set to air at 20:05 PM CET on February 11th on HRT1 and HRTi.
Are #YOU team Hana Mašić for Croatia? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
