Mia Dimšić is a Croatian singer and songwriter who is one of the participants at Dora 2022!

Mia started releasing her first singles in 2015 and her 2016 released song “Život nije siv” quickly became a big hit in Croatia. In 2017, her album under the same name reached #1 in the Croatian album charts and her singles “Bezimeni“, “Sunce, oblak, vjetar” and “Cimet i caj“ all individually reached the first place in the Croatian single charts as well. Mia released another album in 2017 and a third one in 2019, which reached number 1 again! Furthermore, her three songs “Ovaj Grad“, “Cesta do sna” and “Sva blaga ovog svijeta” (with Marko Tolja) all became number one hits as well.

We had the big pleasure to meet Mia Dimšić ahead of Dora 2022, where she will compete with the song “Guilty Pleasure”.

Pozdrav Mia! Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today, we cannot wait to find out more about you, your music and your participation at Dora 2022! You already are a very successful musician in Croatia, with two #1 albums and several big hits. Why have you decided to enter Dora?
Thank you for having me, it’s a pleasure to chat with you! I kind of decided to apply for Dora last minute, about a week or so before the deadline. My manager Damir Bačić, who is also my co-writer and the key person in my career, just called me one day and casually said “Do you think we should apply to Dora with ‘Guilty Pleasure’?”, and after he said it, the idea just wouldn’t leave my head for a couple of days. I am a huge believer in intuition so when that happens, I know it’s right and that I should go for it. The most important thing for me was that I already had a song ready, so it wasn’t written for a specific purpose. If someone told me “Let’s write a Eurovision song!”, I’m pretty sure I’d freeze and it wouldn’t turn out right. I’ve been writing songs in English throughout 2021, since my next big dream is putting out my first English record, so ‘Guilty Pleasure’ was initially supposed to be the lead single. We concluded that Dora, and potentially Eurovision, would be the perfect stage and setting to kick off that journey, and I am so happy I applied and so excited for the preparation and the show itself.

Would you like to tell us a little bit about how your musical career began?
It’s my favorite story ever, and also the one that made me stop believing in coincidences. I started playing guitar and writing songs when I was 16, but it was just a hobby. I sang in a choir, a folklore dance ensemble, played the Croatian national instrument ‘tambura’ in an orchestra, and then finally I made an acoustic duo with my best friend and we started performing locally. Sometime during college I was at a birthday party and started singing and playing guitar just for fun and a member of a famous local band heard me. His band was supposed to go to the States and Canada the following summer and none of the more acclaimed female singers were available so he suggested me and somehow the other members agreed. It was sheer luck, and in a couple months’ time I was on a real tour, with zero experience and not one original song out. That is where I met my manager Damir, who was also managing our tour. On our free night during the tour, we went to a local bar in Detroit and it happened to be an open mic night. I took the guitar and performed some of my favourite country evergreens, and after that he asked me if I wanted to become a professional singer-songwriter. I’ve fantasized about it since I was a little girl but just didn’t think I had what it takes. After we returned to Croatia, we started writing songs and preparing everything and my first single came out in 2015. What follows are the six perfect dream-like years of my life and the best job in the world.

What was your favorite moment of your time as a musician so far?
In 2018 my debut album “Život nije siv” (Life ain’t Grey) and its lead single “Bezimeni” (The Nameless) won Porin awards (Croatian equivalent to Grammys) in categories album of the year and song of the year. The moment I received the awards is to-date one of the most surreal moments of my life. Still, there were so many wonderful moments it’s impossible to choose just one. Singing in front of thousands, have people sing the choruses you wrote in your room on a lazy afternoon back to you – I feel so privileged to have experienced any of that. Making and performing music is an absolute dream and I want to keep doing that for the rest of my life.

I have listened to some of your music and realized that it was mostly in Croatian – Is “Guilty Pleasure” your first song in English?
The only English song I’ve put out so far is the one called “Pieces of the Puzzle”, and it’s a kind of a bonus track on my debut album, so “Guilty Pleasure” will be the second. I graduated with a degree in English and German translation so writing in English feels natural to me, and I love it. English is such a handy language for writing, so flexible, and is also very pleasant for singing.

We would love to find out more about “Guilty Pleasure” – What is your song about?
It’s a bit of a love triangle story – I am a huge fan of love triangles both in literature and on TV! I’m singing about feeling guilty because I can’t stop fantasizing about another person while being in a committed relationship. I think we’ve all been in a similar situation at one point or another and the question of monogamy in our culture and whether it’s natural for humans to practice it is so intriguing to me. When something occupies my mind as much, sooner or later it finds its way into a song.

Can you give us a taste on what your performance is going to look like?
I wouldn’t wanna spoil the surprise and reveal too much, but I can tell you the performance, like the song itself, will be very minimalistic and organic. It won’t be very flashy, and will focus on the storyline and emotion of the song, that’s the way I feel most authentic and myself.

What is your personal goal for Dora 2022?
I want to give it my all and be the best possible version of myself that I can and surround myself with professionals who love what they do, from things such as hair and make-up to lighting or camera. I want to have fun rehearsing and performing and have the time of my life with members of my team. Also, it would be really cool to make some new friends. I know a couple of contestants, but most of them I haven’t met yet so that’s gonna be really cool. I’m sure we’ll all have a blast.

Have you followed the Eurovision Song Contest in the past? Do you maybe even have a favorite ESC song?
Of course, I’ve watched it since I was a little kid like almost anyone I know. My favorite would have to be “Euphoria” by Loreen. I know it’s probably most people’s, but clichés are clichés for a reason. It’s just immaculate. The melody, lyrics, her energy, performance… goals for sure.

What would it mean to you, if Croatia decided to send you to the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin?
It would mean the world to me, and me and my team would work real hard and do whatever we can to position our country as high as possible and make a good impression. But first we would probably make a nice party and enjoy the moment for a bit.

And finally,  do you have a message to our Croatian and international readers?
Just want to say thank you for all the support. I can’t wait to perform and I hope you’ll enjoy it! 

Once again a big thank you, Mia. We are so excited to see you perform “Guilty Pleasure” on February 19^th in Opatija and maybe we will even see you in Turin in May! In the name of the entire ESCBubble Team, I wish you the best of luck for the competition and all your future projects!

Listen to Mia’s song “Guilty Pleasure” here:

In case you want to support Mia, you can followe her Facebook and Instagram accounts and of course vote for her in our Dora poll, where you can decide who will be our reader’s winner of Dora 2022!

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