Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Beovizija 2007 was the fifth edition of the Beovizija national final organised by RTS in order to select the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The selection consisted of a semi-final featuring twenty songs and a final featuring ten songs to be held on 7 and 8 March 2007, respectively, at the Sava Centar in Belgrade. Both shows were hosted by Jelena Jovičić and Boda Ninković. The two shows were broadcast on RTS1, RTS Sat, in Bosnia and Herzegovina on RTRS, via radio on Radio Belgrade as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's website rts.co.yu.[2]

Artists and songwriters were able to submit their entries between 28 December 2006 and 29 January 2007. Artists were required to be Serb citizens and submit entries in Serbian, while songwriters of any nationality were allowed to submit songs.[3] At the closing of the deadline, 200 submissions were received. A selection committee reviewed the submissions and selected twenty entries to proceed to the national final. The selection committee consisted of RTS music editors Anja Rogljić, Ana Miličević, Zoran Dašić, Jelena Ilić, Nikola Dojčinović, Miki Stanojević and Bilja Krstić. The selected competing entries were announced on 7 February 2007.[4]

The semi-final took place on 7 March 2007 where twenty songs competed. The ten qualifiers for the final were decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of Branimir Dimitrijević (television director), Aleksandar Lokner (composer) and Maja Japundža-Nikolić (television host), and the Serbian public via SMS voting. The duo Flamingosi were featured as the guest performer during the show.[5]

The final took place on 8 March 2007 and featured the ten qualifiers from the preceding semi-final. The winner, "Molitva" performed by Marija Šerifović, was decided by a combination of votes from a jury panel consisting of Sandra Šuša (RTS entertainment editor-in-chief), Zafir Hadžimanov (singer-songwriter and actor) and Dragana Šarić (represented Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 as Bebi Dol), and the Serbian public via SMS voting.[6] Eurovision contestants Marija Šestić, Dado Topić and Dragonfly, Karolina Gočeva, Stevan Faddy and Alenka Gotar, which would represent Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia in 2007, respectively, singer Bilja Krstić, and the band Zana were featured as guest performers during the show.[7]

The points from the televoting that were announced during the broadcast were based on 1,788 votes in the semi-final and 171 in the final. The company Fondlier, hired by RTS to process text messages for the shows, stated that their servers were "clogged up" due to a high volume of messages. The tables below showcase the results after all the votes were processed, and these numbers were used to determine the results of the shows.

Marija Šerifović during a rehearsal before the semi-final

Marija Šerifović took part in technical rehearsals on 4 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. The Serbian performance featured Marija Šerifović performing in a white and black shirt with black trousers together with five backing vocalists in black costumes. The performance began with the backing vocalists at the back of the stage turned away from the audience with Šerifović at the centre stage. The backing vocalists gradually joined Šerifović, holding hands and ultimately placing their hands on Šerifović. The stage lighting and background LED screens predominately displayed red colours and a burning sun.[14][15] The five backing vocalists that joined Marija Šerifović on stage were: Ksenija Milošević, Sanja Bogosavljević, Suzana Dinić, Ivana Selakov and Ana Milenković.[16]

At the end of the show, Serbia was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Serbia placed first in the semi-final, receiving a total of 298 points.[17]

The draw for the running order for the final was done by the presenters during the announcement of the ten qualifying countries during the semi-final and Serbia was drawn to perform in position 17, following the entry from Germany and before the entry from Ukraine. Marija Šerifović once again took part in dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May before the final and Šerifović performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 12 May. Serbia won the contest placing first with a score of 268 points. This was Serbia's first victory in the Eurovision Song Contest, making Serbia the second country to win with a debut entry after Switzerland's win at the inaugural edition in 1956.[18]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Serbia and awarded by Serbia in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Hungary in the semi-final and the final of the contest.