Molitva
| Molitva | |
|---|---|
 Marija Šerifović performing "Molitva" for Serbia. | |
| Eurovision Song Contest 2007 entry | |
| Country | |
| Artist(s) | |
| Language | |
| Composer(s) | Vladimir Graić |
| Lyricist(s) | Saša Milošević Mare |
| Finals performance | |
| Semi-final result | 1st |
| Semi-final points | 298 |
| Final result | 1st |
| Final points | 268 |
| Entry chronology | |
| "Oro" (2008) ► | |
"Molitva" (Serbian Cyrillic: Молитва; English: "Prayer") was the winning song of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, and was performed by the Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was Serbia's Eurovision debut as an independent nation, as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro dissolved in June 2006.
Molitva was the first song containing no English language lyrics to win since 1998 ("Wild Dances" by Ruslana, the 2004 winner, had contained some English phrases). It was also the first time a ballad has won since televoting became the standard. The song is also notable for its stage presentation because it lacked dance routines, revealing or showy costumes, pyrotechnics and other gimmicks. The Eurovision Song Contest is often accused of concentrating on these things instead of the music itself. Many elements of "Molitva" contrasted with the previous winner, "Hard Rock Hallelujah".
Marija's performance was complemented by the notable presence of the five backing singers, who now perform as Beauty Queens.
BBC Eurovision commentator Terry Wogan faulted Šerifović for appearing onstage with her shirt untucked and her tie undone, and commented that the backing singers were dressed like "prison wardresses." After the song received overwhelming applause from the audience, he remarked, "They're coming to take me away."
Other versions
The English version is called "Destiny", the Russian version is called "Молитва" (Malitva) and the Finnish version "Rukoilen" (which is not sung by Marija, it sung by Beauty Queens). The song has also been released as a dance remix and a remix named "Jovan Radomir mix" by Swedish TV-presenter Jovan Radomir, who also wrote the English lyrics. An instrumental version has also been released as well as a karaoke version.[1]
Use of song
Molitva has been often played for many successes Serbia has had in the year 2007. It was played at a welcome party for Serbia’s tennis players (three of which are in the top ten in the world: Novak Đoković, Jelena Janković, Ana Ivanović) after their French Open successes .
During Wimbledon 2007, Molitva was often used during clips displaying the courts and players on the BBC. It was mainly used before and after footage or interviews with the Serbian players.
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Serbian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Austrian Single Chart | 8 |
| Bulgarian Single Chart | 5 |
| Croatian Single Chart | 6 |
| French Single Chart | 16 |
| Greek Single Chart | 10 |
| Italian Single Chart | 18 |
| Norwegian Single Chart | 19 |
| Russian Single Chart | 14 |
| Slovenian Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Spanish Single Chart | 12 |
| Swedish Single Chart | 9 |
| Swiss Single Charts | 19 |
| UK iTunes Top 100 Songs Chart | 83 |
| UK Singles Chart | 112 |
Accusations of plagiarism
Two days after the final, it was claimed that the song was plagiarised from Albanian artist Soni Malaj's song Ndarja.[2] This has however been denied by ethnic Macedonian composer Marjan Filipovski, author of Ndarja[3].
References
- ^ RDU - RTS . "Marija Šerifović - Molitva". RTS's webpage hosting the music files. Retrieved 15 may 2007.
- ^ The Sun: Serbia 'stole' winning song
- ^ Авторот на “Ндарја“: Молитва не е иста песна