Episode 3 of Torino Throwback features the Croatian Eurovision star Mia Dimšić, who represented her country in Turin with the song “Guilty Pleasure” this year. After an interview ahead of Dora, a video chat before Eurovision and another interview on the Turquoise Carpet, Mia gave us the pleasure of a fourth interview and is the next artists that tells us about their experience in Turin.

Welcome back Mia! First of all, how did you process the events of Turin and Eurovision and what have you been up to since?

Turin was a crazy new journey I never expected to go through this year and I feel huge gratitude when I look back. I think it made me grow so much as an artist, but even more as a person. I got to make many decisions with my team and it was very interesting to look at myself in that process, also it was so much fun, so uplifting and definitely a dream of any musician. Since then I’ve been doing my standard mixture of playing music and traveling and composing some new stuff which I am particularly excited about.

In our previous interview, you told us that you wish to have a lot of fun in Turin and hope to meet new people through Eurovision. Do you feel like that wish got fulfilled?

Most definitely yes. The people I met, not just the artists but also their teams, Eurovision production and volunteers etc., all have one thing in common: they’re passionate around their work, they love it and there is nothing more inspiring. Also, we had some really nice parties, both in Turin and throughout the pre-parties I also attended.

Are you still in touch with any of the artists or delegations from other countries?

Yes, a couple of them. I saw Konstrakta recently, she was performing near Zagreb so I went to see her and was blown-away. Also, I sometimes talk to Malik, Andrea, Rosa Linn, Maro, We are Domi.. it’s so nice that all we get to share musical experiences and hopefully bond if anyone’s touring near the others. 

What was the most unexpected aspect about your entire Eurovision experience?

How quickly it all went by. I feel like it was a very vivid dream. I thought I would do so much more in the timeframe between my national final and Eurovision itself, I had a million plans, but it just kind of went by and it was such a busy time. But I guess that is part of the magic as well.

Has your perspective on the event changed after participating in the competition?

It has in that I value Eurovision so much more now than I have before. Not to say I undermined it or anything, I just had no idea how complex and hard it is to organize, especially through the pandemic. I feel so much respect towards all the professionals who made it work for us artists.

How did you feel about your result?

I’m happy about it. Maybe at peace with it would be an even more accurate expression. I feel deep inner knowledge that it was all the way it was meant to be.

When and how did you find out that you finished in 11th place in the semi-final, meaning that you were really close to get a spot in the final?

After the final when all the official numbers came out. A lot of my friends and family were upset that I was so close, but I was somehow okay with it. When you do everything you can, and I know I did, at least in the given moment, there really is no room for being upset or sorry.

The burning question, that many people are interested in: Would you consider ever returning to the Eurovision Song Contest? Why or why not?

Never say never. I am not actively thinking about it though, and if it does happen, I don’t think it’s gonna be in the near future. I am just happy that I get to put check on another amazing life experience and now I can’t wait to try something new.

Looking back at your entire journey from Dora to Eurovision, is there anything that you would do differently?

There is a lot of things I would do differently now that I know so much more about it, but with that same amount of knowledge I had back then (I.e., almost clueless) I would do exactly the same and I don’t believe in ever doing anything differently than you already have. There is a reason you did precisely what you did at any given moment of your life and its purpose is your growth, so in that sense I think I did more than well cause I grew, I lived and I learned.

What can your new fans, who discovered you through Eurovision, expect from you in the next few months?

They can expect my first all-English record. I am finishing it in the studio these days and can’t be more excited, proud and happy. Can’t wait to share it with everyone and I am so grateful for Eurovision cause it brought me this incredible new audience and new people I can create my music for. I believe it will be out in a matter of two-three months.

Finally, do you have some final words for the Eurovision fans out there?

Eurovision fans are the part of this whole experience that honestly took me by surprise the most. I never expected to find such a devoted, loving and fun community of people and so I wanna thank you all once more for all your support, you are what makes Eurovision memorable for all of us artists. I hope we get to hang out across Europe outside of the festival as well in the years to come. Love you all!

Thank you so much for taking your time for this interview, Mia. It was a huge pleasure to meet you throughout this Eurovision season and it would be lovely to see you back on our page soon again!

Mia Dimšić performed “Guilty Pleasure” in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 and finished in 11th place for Croatia. You can re-live her semi-final performance here!

Which artist would you like to see in our next episode of Torino Throwback? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and on our social media profiles! @escbubble