With an amazing show hosted in the Marino Cvetković Sports Hall in Opatija, Croatia has decided: LET3 with their song Mama ŠČ! will carry the Croatian flag in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023!
This seaside resort in the west of Opatija, Croatia, put on a phenomenal party for all Eurovision lovers out there: DORA 2023 surely did not disappoint! Mirko Fodor, Mario Lipovšek Battifiaca and Marko Tolja were our lovely hosts for the night, ensuring that the show went by seamlessly, keeping us entertained.
The show opened with Mia Dimšić’s beautiful, somewhat stripped down rendition of Guilty Pleasure, reminding us of how captivating this song was last year and how Croatia chose well. Instead of the pink outfit, Mia opted for the impressionable all-black performance one.
After the Dora version of the flag parade (in their case, it’s the performers’ parade), the show was set to begin! Here are the highlights as to how it went:
- Top of the Pops and Mario 5reković opened the show with their song Putovanje, a jazzy, funky song that put the audience in a good mood and paved the way for the rest.
- Yogi followed suit with his guitar-led acoustic Love at First Sight, a truly heartwarming and mellow number.
- Boris Štok put us in a nostalgic mood with his pop-rock hit Grijeh, that hit all the right spots.
- Tatjana Belina, with her silky voice, graced us with the wonderful electro poppy Dom, that speaks fondly of her home and it being whereever the sun shines.
- Krešo & Kisele Kiše brought us right back into a dancing mood with their Kme, Kme, firing up the stage in a whirlwind of sounds and colors!
- Next up was Maja Grgić with I Still Live. Her performance included a dress seemingly made of plants, representing nature, all in green. What a Poison Ivy look it was!
- Barbara Munjas performed her song Putem snova with an eye-catching performance and choreography that got us glued to the screen the entire time. In addition, she was shoeless on stage!
- Đana followed right up with Free Fallin’, white beads trailing across her face, delivering a poppy-EDM track with amazing visuals.
- Patricia Gasparini performed her song I Will Wait, bringing nothing less than a pop magnificence done right on stage!
- After the small break, The Splitters (guys from the town of Split, get it?) carried on with the show with their song Lost and Found, a comforting melody about love and being found in one’s heart.
- Hana Mašić sang Nesreća next. The title of her song translates to ‘misfortune’, and she represented it quite well with her passionate performance and violins in the undertones of the number.
- Damir Kedžo, the 2020 winner of Dora, opted for Angels and Demons to entice the audience and the voters this time around. With a larger than life voice and a modern beat, his track is definitely an upbeat heaven!
- Martha May honored the Dora stage with Distance, a gentle poppy ballad that managed to melt even the coldest of hearts.
- Detour were next, with an unusually named song Master Blaster (Stevie Wonder, anyone?) and what can we say – we certainly did jam along as well!
- Meri Andraković sang Bye Bye Blonde and lit the stage on fire! This fast-paced, somewhat 80’s sounding number came as a full package with costumes, choreography, and a well-rounded performance!
- Let 3 performed Mama šč! in an unusual and a bit eccentric performance of the night! It surely was something else, and it filled up the stage to bring out the audience smiles.
- Eni Jurišić came out as the penultimate performer with her Kreni dalje, a charming r’n’b/pop tune that showcased her delicate voice and talent.
- And finally, last but not the least, Harmonija Disonance graced the stage with the ethnic banger Nevera (Lei, lei), absolutely bumping up some heartbeats. They closed the show in a true frenzy!
VOTING: As in previous years, voting was done via both a public vote and a jury vote, with a 50% weighting given to each, to decide the winner.
INTERVAL ACT: Croatia hosted the famous singer Toni Cetinski who delivered many of his songs with a heartfelt performance and got the green room, as well as the audience, back on their feet!
RESULTS: After the results from different areas of Croatia were in, they were announced Eurovision style, by going to each part of Croatia and receiving the votes from their jurors. After the jury vote, this is what the results looked like:
Next up, audience votes! In the same style and some nerves, LET3 won DORA 2023 with 174 televote points, 279 points in total!
Congratulations, LET3! We cannot wait to see what you bring to Liverpool! Check out their Dora 2023 performance below:
Croatia will perform in the first semi final at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in May.
What do #YOU think of Croatia’s choice for Liverpool and do you think they will manage to qualify to the grand final? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our Discord, or on our forum page!
