# Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Croatia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Vjerujem u ljubav", written by Dado Topić, and performed by the band Dragonfly featuring Dado Topić. The Croatian participating broadcaster, Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT), organised the national final Dora 2007 to select its entry for the contest. Thirty-two entries competed in the national final which consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Eight entries qualified from each semi-final on 1 and 2 March 2007 to compete in the final on 3 March 2007. In the final, "Vjerujem u ljubav" performed by Dragonfly featuring Dado Topić was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.
Croatia competed in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2007. Performing during the show in position 13, "Vjerujem u ljubav" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. This marked the first time that Croatia failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. It was later revealed that Croatia placed sixteenth out of the 28 participating countries in the semi-final with 54 points.

## Background

Prior to the 2007 contest, Hrvatska radiotelevizija (HRT) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Croatia fourteen times since its first entry in 1993. Its best result in the contest was fourth, achieved on two occasions: in 1996 with the song "Sveta ljubav" performed by Maja Blagdan and in 1999 with the song "Marija Magdalena" performed by Doris Dragović. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, it had featured in every final they participated in thus far. In 2006, Croatia was an automatic finalist with "Moja štikla" by Severina.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, HRT organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its participation in the 2007 contest on 31 October 2006. Since 1993, HRT organised the national final Dora in order to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, a method that was continued for its 2007 participation.

## Before Eurovision
### Dora 2007

Dora 2007 was the fifteenth edition of the national selection Dora organised by HRT to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 1 and 2 March 2007 and a final on 3 March 2007, all taking place at the Hotel Kvarner in Opatija and broadcast on HTV 1.

#### Format

Thirty-two songs competed in Dora 2007 which consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Sixteen songs competed in each semi-final with the top eight proceeding to complete the sixteen-song lineup in the final. The results of all shows were determined by public televoting and the votes from a jury panel. The ranking developed by both streams of voting was converted to points from 1 (lowest) to 16 (highest) and assigned to the competing songs. Ties were decided in favour of the entry that received the most points from the jury.
The jury that voted in all three shows consisted of:
* Silvije Glojnarić – HRT
* Željen Klašterka – HTV
* Aleksandar Kostadinov – HTV
* Ljiljana Vinković – HTV
* Robert Urlić – HR

#### Competing entries

On 30 November 2006, HRT opened a submission period where artists and composers were able to submit their interest in participating in the competition by 8 December 2006 and submit their entries to the broadcaster with the deadline on 8 January 2007. 100 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period. A five-member expert committee consisting of Silvije Glojnarić (HRT), Robert Urlić (HR), Ljiljana Vinković (HTV), Željen Klašterka (HTV) and Aleksandar Kostadinov (HTV) reviewed the received submissions and selected thirty-two artists and songs for the competition. HRT announced the competing entries on 23 January 2007 and among the artists were Goran Karan (who represented Croatia in 2000), Claudia Beni (who represented Croatia in 2003), and Feminnem (who represented Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2005). On 27 January 2007, Barbara Munjas replaced Claudia Beni as the performer of the song "Ti si tu". On 29 January 2007, Giuliano replaced Goran Karan as the performer of the song "Pismom te ljubi milijun mandolina". On 10, 17 and 24 February 2007, the competing artists performed their entries live during the preview programme Ususret dori broadcast on HRT 1.
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
| Alen Vitasović | "Sve bi za nju da" | Rudolf Dvorski |
| Angels | "Male vještice" | Marko Tomasović, Mario Šimunović |
| Anja Šovagović and Galiano Pahor | "Teatar" | Ines Prajo, Arijana Kunštek |
| Antonija Šola | "Neka bude zauvijek" | Petra Crnetić, Antonija Šola |
| Ayra | "Još sam uvijek tvoj" | Ivan Bajsar, Naim Ayra |
| Barbara Munjas | "Ti si tu" | Dean Bakić |
| Brentini | "Što je to ljudima" | Denis Kraljević, Alen Brentini |
| Danijela Pintarić | "Moj svijet" | Andrej Baša, Robert Pilepić |
| Dragonfly feat. Dado Topić | "Vjerujem u ljubav" | Dado Topić |
| Esmeralda Kresina | "Malo za zauvijek" | Ines Prajo, Arijana Kunštek |
| Feminnem | "Navika" | Miroslav Lesić, Fayo |
| Giuliano | "Pismom te ljubi milijun mandolina" | Miro Buljan, Nenad Ninčević |
| Ibrica Jusić | "Nikada zaboravljena" | Branimir Mihaljević, Fayo |
| Ivana Radovniković | "Samo probaj" | Marko Tomasović, Dario Brzoja, Đuro Zifra |
| Jelena Rozga | "Nemam" | Tonči Huljić, Vjekoslava Huljić |
| Kemal Monteno | "Poljubi me" | Franjo Valentić, Fayo |
| Klapa Maslina | "Gitara i čaša vina" | Dušan Šarac, Krste Juras |
| Kraljevi ulice and Sandra Bagarić | "Pjesma za novčić" | Miran Hadži Veljković |
| Lana Klingor | "Gravitacija" | Bruno Kovačić, Ivana Plechinger |
| Livio Morosin and Miroslav Evačić | "Volim ja" | Miroslav Evačić |
| Luka Nižetić | "Pusti me u san" | Milana Vlaović |
| Marko Tolja | "Deja vu" | Andrej Baša |
| Milan Terze | "Ljubavnica" | Bruno Kovačić, Ivana Plechinger |
| Ness | "Ti si moj" | Emir Bešić, Anita Kolovrat Dzuzel |
| Raspashow | "Bio bih samo njen" | Ivan Škunca |
| Sabrina Hebiri | "Tražit ću te" | Marko Tomasović, Mario Šimunović, Krešimir Vrpka |
| The Sick Swing Orchestra | "Šlager pjevač" | Ante Žužul, Josip Tocilj, Krešimir Tomić |
| Tina Vukov | "Tata" | Robert Funčić |
| Trio Fantasticus | "Nema šanse šećeru" | Mladen Burnać, Fayo |
| Valentina Bralo | "Ljubavna priča" | Valentina Bralo |
| Vivien Galletta and Voljen Grbac | "Riječi dvije" | Ivan Brdar |
| Žanamari Lalić | "Jedino moje" | Silvio Pasarić, Žanamari Lalić |

#### Semi-finals

The two semi-finals took place on 1 and 2 March 2007. The first semi-final was hosted by Duško Ćurlić, Mirko Fodor and Iva Šulentić, while the second semi-final was hosted by Duško Ćurlić, Mirko Fodor and Barbara Štrbac; Nikolina Pišek hosted segments from the green room in the first semi-final, while Iva Jerković hosted segments from the green room in the second semi-final. The eight qualifiers for the final from each semi-final were determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote.
In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Boris Novković (who represented Croatia in 2005) performed as the interval act during the first semi-final, while Vanna (who represented Croatia in 2001) performed as the interval act during the second semi-final.
Semi-final 1 – 1 March 2007 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Televote | Total | Place |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Votes | Points | Total | Place |
| 1 | Angels | "Male vještice" | 3 | 1,270 | 9 | 12 | 11 |
| 2 | Alen Vitasović | "Sve bi za nju da" | 6 | 1,203 | 7 | 13 | 10 |
| 3 | Ivana Radovniković | "Samo probaj" | 5 | 778 | 4 | 9 | 14 |
| 4 | Ibrica Jusić | "Nikada zaboravljena" | 11 | 272 | 2 | 13 | 9 |
| 5 | Ayra | "Još sam uvijek tvoj" | 4 | 216 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
| 6 | Luka Nižetić | "Pusti me u san" | 10 | 1,951 | 12 | 22 | 5 |
| 7 | Klapa Maslina | "Gitara i čaša vina" | 8 | 2,496 | 13 | 21 | 7 |
| 8 | Marko Tolja | "Deja vu" | 10 | 1,597 | 11 | 21 | 6 |
| 9 | Feminnem | "Navika" | 13 | 1,306 | 10 | 23 | 4 |
| 10 | Esmeralda Kresina | "Malo za zauvijek" | 3 | 1,248 | 8 | 11 | 12 |
| 11 | Lana Klingor | "Gravitacija" | 12 | 843 | 5 | 17 | 8 |
| 12 | Kraljevi ulice and Sandra Bagarić | "Pjesma za novčić" | 16 | 4,939 | 15 | 31 | 2 |
| 13 | Milan Terze | "Ljubavnica" | 1 | 957 | 6 | 7 | 15 |
| 14 | Dragonfly feat. Dado Topić | "Vjerujem u ljubav" | 16 | 5,149 | 16 | 32 | 1 |
| 15 | Vivien Galletta and Voljen Grbac | "Riječi dvije" | 7 | 606 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| 16 | Giuliano | "Pismom te ljubi milijun mandolina" | 14 | 3,801 | 14 | 28 | 3 |
Detailed Jury Votes :
| Draw | Song | Jurors | Jurors | Jurors | Jurors | Jurors | Total | Points |
| Draw | Song | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Total | Points |
| 1 | "Male vještice" | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 3 |
| 2 | "Sve bi za nju da" | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 30 | 6 |
| 3 | "Samo probaj" | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 5 |
| 4 | "Nikada zaboravljena" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 11 |
| 5 | "Još sam uvijek tvoj" | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 27 | 4 |
| 6 | "Pusti me u san" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 34 | 10 |
| 7 | "Gitara i čaša vina" | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 33 | 8 |
| 8 | "Deja vu" | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 34 | 10 |
| 9 | "Navika" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 39 | 13 |
| 10 | "Malo za zauvijek" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 26 | 3 |
| 11 | "Gravitacija" | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 38 | 12 |
| 12 | "Pjesma za novčić" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 47 | 16 |
| 13 | "Ljubavnica" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 1 |
| 14 | "Vjerujem u ljubav" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 47 | 16 |
| 15 | "Riječi dvije" | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 7 |
| 16 | "Pismom te ljubi milijun mandolina" | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 42 | 14 |
Semi-final 2 – 2 March 2007 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Televote | Total | Place |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Votes | Points | Total | Place |
| 1 | Barbara Munjas | "Ti si tu" | 2 | 1,460 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| 2 | Raspashow | "Bio bih samo njen" | 6 | 661 | 3 | 9 | 14 |
| 3 | Žanamari Lalić | "Jedino moje" | 5 | 1,067 | 6 | 11 | 11 |
| 4 | Kemal Monteno | "Poljubi me" | 11 | 1,562 | 10 | 21 | 7 |
| 5 | Livio Morosin and Miroslav Evačić | "Volim ja" | 16 | 1,216 | 7 | 23 | 5 |
| 6 | Antonija Šola | "Neka bude zauvijek" | 5 | 2,087 | 12 | 17 | 9 |
| 7 | Ness | "Ti si moj" | 5 | 600 | 2 | 7 | 15 |
| 8 | Trio Fantasticus | "Nema šanse šećeru" | 8 | 3,445 | 15 | 23 | 6 |
| 9 | Valentina Bralo | "Ljubavna priča" | 2 | 822 | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| 10 | Danijela Pintarić | "Moj svijet" | 13 | 3,482 | 16 | 29 | 1 |
| 11 | Sabrina Hebiri | "Tražit ću te" | 9 | 532 | 1 | 10 | 13 |
| 12 | Jelena Rozga | "Nemam" | 14 | 2,123 | 13 | 27 | 3 |
| 13 | Brentini | "Što je to ljudima" | 8 | 990 | 5 | 13 | 10 |
| 14 | Tina Vukov | "Tata" | 15 | 2,485 | 14 | 29 | 1 |
| 15 | The Sick Swing Orchestra | "Šlager pjevač" | 13 | 1,670 | 11 | 24 | 4 |
| 16 | Anja Šovagović and Galiano Pahor | "Teatar" | 11 | 1,256 | 8 | 19 | 8 |
Detailed Jury Votes :
| Draw | Song | Jurors | Jurors | Jurors | Jurors | Jurors | Total | Points |
| Draw | Song | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Total | Points |
| 1 | "Ti si tu" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 2 |
| 2 | "Bio bih samo njen" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 6 |
| 3 | "Jedino moje" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 28 | 5 |
| 4 | "Poljubi me" | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 34 | 11 |
| 5 | "Volim ja" | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 46 | 16 |
| 6 | "Neka bude zauvijek" | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 5 |
| 7 | "Ti si moj" | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 28 | 5 |
| 8 | "Nema šanse šećeru" | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 8 |
| 9 | "Ljubavna priča" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 2 |
| 10 | "Moj svijet" | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 35 | 13 |
| 11 | "Tražit ću te" | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 9 |
| 12 | "Nemam" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 37 | 14 |
| 13 | "Što je to ljudima" | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 30 | 8 |
| 14 | "Tata" | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 43 | 15 |
| 15 | "Šlager pjevač" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 13 |
| 16 | "Teatar" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 34 | 11 |

#### Final

The final took place on 3 March 2007, hosted by Duško Ćurlić, Mirko Fodor, Iva Šulentić and Barbara Štrbac with Nikolina Pišek and Iva Jerković hosting segments from the green room. The winner, "Vjerujem u ljubav" performed by Dragonfly featuring Dado Topić, was determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public televote. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show was opened by 2006 Croatian Eurovision entrant Severina, while 1987 Yugoslav Eurovision entrant Novi fosili performed as the interval act.
Final – 3 March 2007 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Televote | Total | Place |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Votes | Points | Total | Place |
| 1 | Lana Klingor | "Gravitacija" | 8 | 2,038 | 3 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | Marko Tolja | "Deja vu" | 8 | 2,388 | 4 | 12 | 12 |
| 3 | The Sick Swing Orchestra | "Šlager pjevač" | 3 | 1,351 | 2 | 5 | 16 |
| 4 | Kemal Monteno | "Poljubi me" | 3 | 2,579 | 5 | 8 | 15 |
| 5 | Feminnem | "Navika" | 9 | 3,628 | 7 | 16 | 9 |
| 6 | Giuliano | "Pismom te ljubi milijun mandolina" | 12 | 6,142 | 11 | 23 | 5 |
| 7 | Livio Morosin and Miroslav Evačić | "Volim ja" | 15 | 2,820 | 6 | 21 | 6 |
| 8 | Anja Šovagović and Galiano Pahor | "Teatar" | 8 | 772 | 1 | 9 | 14 |
| 9 | Luka Nižetić | "Pusti me u san" | 5 | 4,925 | 8 | 13 | 11 |
| 10 | Tina Vukov | "Tata" | 14 | 5,928 | 10 | 24 | 4 |
| 11 | Jelena Rozga | "Nemam" | 12 | 5,351 | 9 | 21 | 7 |
| 12 | Trio Fantasticus | "Nema šanse šećeru" | 3 | 7,566 | 12 | 15 | 10 |
| 13 | Kraljevi ulice and Sandra Bagarić | "Pjesma za novčić" | 14 | 16,172 | 16 | 30 | 2 |
| 14 | Dragonfly feat. Dado Topić | "Vjerujem u ljubav" | 16 | 15,958 | 15 | 31 | 1 |
| 15 | Danijela Pintarić | "Moj svijet" | 12 | 12,161 | 14 | 26 | 3 |
| 16 | Klapa Maslina | "Gitara i čaša vina" | 4 | 9,552 | 13 | 17 | 8 |
Detailed Jury Votes :
| Draw | Song | Jurors | Jurors | Jurors | Jurors | Jurors | Total | Points |
| Draw | Song | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Total | Points |
| 1 | "Gravitacija" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 8 |
| 2 | "Deja vu" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 35 | 8 |
| 3 | "Šlager pjevač" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 32 | 3 |
| 4 | "Poljubi me" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 3 |
| 5 | "Navika" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 36 | 9 |
| 6 | "Pismom te ljubi milijun mandolina" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 37 | 12 |
| 7 | "Volim ja" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 47 | 15 |
| 8 | "Teatar" | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 8 |
| 9 | "Pusti me u san" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 34 | 5 |
| 10 | "Tata" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 46 | 14 |
| 11 | "Nemam" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 37 | 12 |
| 12 | "Nema šanse šećeru" | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 3 |
| 13 | "Pjesma za novčić" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 46 | 14 |
| 14 | "Vjerujem u ljubav" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 48 | 16 |
| 15 | "Moj svijet" | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 37 | 12 |
| 16 | "Gitara i čaša vina" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 33 | 4 |

### Promotion

Dragonfly and Dado Topić specifically promoted "Vjerujem u ljubav" as the Croatian Eurovision entry on 8 March 2007 by performing during the final of the Serbian Eurovision national final Beovizija 2007. The artists also took part in promotional activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Slovenia.

## At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2006 contest are required to qualify from the semi-final on 10 May 2007 in order to compete for the final on 12 May 2007. On 12 March 2007, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final and Croatia was set to perform in position 13, following the entry from Denmark and before the entry from Poland.
Both the semi-final and the final were broadcast in Croatia on HTV 1 with commentary by Duško Ćurlić. HRT appointed Barbara Kolar as its spokesperson to announce the Croatian votes during the final.

### Semi-final

Dragonfly and Dado Topić took part in technical rehearsals on 3 and 5 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. The Croatian performance featured the members of Dragonfly and Dado Topić dressed in black. The stage lighting was dark with the LED screens displaying amber and red colours against a black background. Dragonfly and Topić were joined on stage by a backing vocalist: Anita Mlinarić.
At the end of the show, Croatia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. This marked the first time that Croatia failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. It was later revealed that Croatia placed sixteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 54 points.

### Voting

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