Eurovision 1999 - Croatia - 28th April 2025

Welcome to the start of a new project, where we will be looking at all of the eurovision entries from the first until the most recent. We will also look at national finals and all the rich tapestry that this amazing competition has given us over the 69 editions we've had. 

A quick bit about me, my name is Ellie, I'm 30, British ( I live in London) and I've been a massive eurovision fan since I was 12 !! My first core memory was watching Lordi win in 2006 and being royally pissed that Belgium didn't qualify that year.My favourite Eurovision Song is Germany 1981 ( we will come to that one ...) and my favourite contest is 1994 ( ironically the year I was born) But I have a nerdy passion for all things Eurovision and was lucky enough to go to LEP for the first time this year!!!! 

Today we will be going back 26 years to 1999, a simpler time where we had solar eclipses... worrying about Y2K and of course the 44th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Jerusalem, Israel on May 29th. I was 4 at the time and had no idea what Eurovision even was then ( little did I know how much it would consume my life now !!!) 

I've chosen to take a closer look at Croatia's entry from this year. Here's the facts first (and a link to watch the performance if you've never seen it or have forgotten all about it !!) 


Song : Marija Magdalena
Artist : Doris Dragović
Place : 4th 
Points :119 

Croatia this year selected their entry with their usual national finals Dora which was held on March 7th 1999. Marija Magdalena was the resounding favourite of the 24 enties, winning the selection with 207 points, 54 more than the runner up. Doris was performing in Eurovision for the 2nd time after previously entering in 1986 with her song Željo moja for Yugoslavia which placed 11th that year. 

At the contest itself, Doris performed 4th in the show between the songs from Spain and the UK. Her song, Marija Magdalena is a dramatic piece about the titular Mary Magdalene from the bible. Sung entirely in Croatian and with a dramatic key change, it has become a big fan favourite in the Eurovision fandom!! It regularly features on the annual Eurovision top 250 countdown !! 

So what do I love about this song... well it's got drama, it's got great vocals, it's powerful... need I go on ! If we consider the top 5 of this contest, we have a lot of happy bubblegum pop songs ( indeed those took the the top 2 spots of 1999) but Croatia said hold my purse, I want to be the balkan powerhouse that I am ! 

Doris performed on the stage with one female backing singer dressed in black. She meanwhile is all in white and during the second verse, throws off her cape to reveal a cut out paneled white dress. Croatia in the late 90s did love a white dress and some kind of reveal didn't they (also see 1998 for a reference) 

And of course in the final chorus, we get the obligatory key change but here it feels like it has an actual purpose. It's a natural slide as opposes to one that just has that harsh jump. And she belts like it's now or never. 

Now onto a bit of controversy. 1999 was the first year that there was no live orchestra , it was backing tracks only. However, vocals both main and backing still had to be live. Yet Croatia were a little naughty and added synthesised male vocals to their track, breaking the rule. They weren't disqualified for it but rather in the days of countries being rotated out on points averages, they were docked a 1/3rd of their points ( taking them down to 79) 

What was Croatia's points breakdown like this year ? They received points from 19 out of the 22 other countries including 2 sets of 12's from Slovenia and Spain and a set of 10 from Germany. Their big douze points went to their neighbours Slovenia !!! 

So what would I say in 3 words to sum up Croatia's best effort until 2024 ? Well I'd say, dramatic, powerful and goosebumpy !!! 

Until the next time ... history is important, especially if it's Eurovision History !!! 

Ellie x 

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