On Monday morning Australia time, Croatia will run their annual national final DORA.
Six Aussievision contributors have listened to the 16 Croatian songs which have qualified to the final and ranked them in the usual Eurovision style.
The bookies have Magazin with AaAaA as the odds on favourite to book their ticket for Basel.
Let's take a look at what the Aussievision team thought of the Croatian songs and see if they agree...
16th to 11th place
16. Filomena – Strong - (1 point)
15. Matt Shaft – Welcome to the Circus - (5 points)
14. Marko Bošnjak – Poison Cake - (6 points)
13. Natalli – Dom si srcu mom - (8 points)
12. Petar Brkljačić – Kraj - (15 points)
11. Marko Tolja – Through the dark - (16 points)
"I’m not sure why but this somewhat old-fashioned ballad really stood out to me. The black and white imaging of the performance highlights the simplicity and purity of this ballad. The lyrics of the song are incredibly heart-felt and hopeful. In a Eurovision pretty much devoid of any decent ballads, this would stand out if it went to Basel." ` Sam
10. Lelek – The Soul of my Soul (18 points)
Highs: 8 points from Emma; 6 points from Craig.
Lows: 0 points from Liv, Joel and Dale.
9. Marko Škugor – Šta da Boga molim ja (19 points)
Highs: 7 points from Joel and Sam; 5 points from Liv.
Lows: 0 points from Dale, Craig and Emma.
8. EoT – Bye, Bye, Bye (20 points)
Highs: 8 points from Dale; 6 points from Joel and Emma.
Lows: 0 points from Liv, Craig and Sam.
7. Laurakojapjeva – NPC (24 points)
Highs: 8 points from Joel; 6 points from Liv.
Lows: 2 points from Dale; 0 points from Sam.
6. Fenksta – Extra (24 points)
Highs: 12 points from Emma; 7 points from Liv.
Lows: 0 points from Joel, Craig and Sam.
"There is nothing else in the competition that sounds like this! The psychedelic hip hop/rap reels you in and the dancer's clever choreography keeps you interested throughout the whole three minutes. This would really stand out as something different to what we have seen selected for Basel so far." ~ Emma
5. Ogenj – Daj, daj (26 points)
Highs: 7 points from Craig and Emma; 5 points from Sam.
Lows: 3 points from Dale; 0 points from Joel.
4. Luka Nižetić – Južina (33 points)
Highs: 8 points from Liv, Craig and Sam.
Lows: 2 points from Emma.
3. Nipplepeople – Znak (35 points)
Highs: 12 points from Joel and Craig.
Lows: 2 points from Liv; 1 point from Dale.
2. Magazin – AaAaA (41 points)
Highs: 12 points from Dale; 10 points from Liv and Joel.
Lows: 3 points from Emma; 0 points from Craig.
"Big bold female Balkan bordering on shouty but that chorus and the drama sneaks into my 12 points." ~ Dale
"Sets itself apart from the rest with production and staging - wouldn't be surprised to see this take home the win!" ~ Liv
"This takes me back to the classic strong-girlie bangers of the early 2000’s! This sound is so not new Eurovision but I don’t care, I love the nostalgia it makes me feel!" ~ Joel
1. IVXN – Monopol (57 points)
Highs: 12 points from Liv; 10 points from Dale, Craig, Sam and Emma.
Lows: 5 points from Joel.
"The Andrew Lambrou of Croatia! The most realised performance of this national final. The vocal will need some reining in for that final performance but otherwise what a balkan banger." ~ Liv
"So much potential but this feels 80% there, just needs cleaning up and it could be epic. Dark Eastern club beats with a good stage show. Tidy it up and you've won me over IVXN." ~ Dale
"The first 30 seconds feel a bit underproduced, but once the beat kicks in, this is Luca Hanni-esque pop perfection and I'm here for it. Not the most unusual option in this selection, but in a year that's already full to the brim with weird and wonderful acts, perhaps the professionalism of IVXN could shine through?" ~ Craig
"Something you could imagine hearing in a club in Zagreb or the Croatian hills. Nothing particularly special but a solid package: catchy dance tune with Croatian influences, handsome man with an alright voice, impactful light show and good dancers." ~ Sam
"I'm a sucker for a male dance troupe what can I say? I probably like this more for the choreography than the song itself but it's an enjoyable package all the same." ~ Emma
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So there you have it, the Aussievision team does not agree with the bookmakers as IVXN has Jamala-ed their way to first place as our favourite.
DORA details
DORA 2025 will take place on Sunday, 02 March (Monday 03 March for us Aussies) and will be streamed live on YouTube.
Both semi-finals used a 100% public voting system, however, the final will be determined by 50% public voting, 25% national jury and 25% international jury. This is the second time Croatia is using a two semi-final competition since Dora was reintroduced in 2019.
The running order is:
EoT – Bye, Bye, Bye
Natalli – Dom si srcu mom
IVXN – Monopol
Filomena – Strong
Fenksta – Extra
Laurakojapjeva – NPC
Nipplepeople – Znak
Ogenj – Daj, daj
Petar Brkljačić – Kraj
Matt Shaft – Welcome to the Circus
Marko Škugor – Šta da Boga molim ja
Magazin – AaAaA
Marko Bošnjak – Poison Cake
Marko Tolja – Through the dark
Lelek – The Soul of my Soul
Luka Nižetić – Južina
Australian times are as follows (Monday morning):
3.15am - Western Australia
4.45am - Northern Territory
5.15am - Queensland
5.45am - South Australia
6.15am - NSW, ACT, Victoria and Tasmania
Croatia at Eurovision
Croatia has not yet won the Eurovision Song Contest, however, 1989 Yugoslavian winners Riva hailed from the Balkan nation.
Croatia made their debut as an independent nation in 1993 and have competed 29 times. Last year the nation received their best ever result with Baby Lasagna and his song Rim Tim Tagi Dim which finished in second place.
For continued updates on all the Eurovision Song Contest news follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram. All links at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet
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