Next week Serbia will begin the search for its representative for Eurovision 2023 and we had the opportunity to talk with Gift about their entry “Liberta” for Pesma za Evroviziju. They will compete in the 2nd semi-final on March 2, you can check our interview below.
Hello Gift and thank you for taking your time for ESCBubble! First of all, how was your reaction when you heard you will be at Pesma za Evroviziju 2023?
To be honest, we expected it as a natural response to our last year’s highly rated performance on PZE22, but yes we were happy and excited!
We remember you from last year, when you performed “Haos” in the selection, how was that experience for you and what made you decide to enter Pesma za Evroviziju again?
Konstrakta definitely inspired us to enter again, as she made mini cultural revolution not only in Balkans, then as well in rest of Europe without even winning the contest. So, I can imagine if she had won what would have happen then. Dream of every artist is to change the world even a little.
Maybe some fans already know you from last year, but for the new ones could you tell us how did you guys meet and formed this band?
This idea/concept of the band is actually quite old, it originates back from early 90’. Started with goth & glam original songs under name Seven Sisters, then slowly changed into GIFT after decades of successfuly performing covers from David Bowie, Bauhaus, Nick Cave, INSX, Pulp, Suede, The Smiths, Placebo, Iggy Pop and many more. Then later we recorded two original albums “Dreamoscope” (2016.) and “U senci grada” (2021.) and three singles among which is Haos.
Can you guys tell us who came up with the band name and what’s the story behind it?
Jovan (frontman) came up with the name GIFT. If you look up, meaning of the name John = Jovan in Serbian, would stand for “Gift by God”. Also meaning of GIFT today for our fans and people who know how we enjoy live performances, means that we express and transcend massive amount of energy and love for music. Often, the audience would tell us they feel gifted by band with our special personalized performance.
Your song for the National Selection is called “Liberta”, what can you tell us about it, what’s the message behind it?
It’s about freedom that is defined with special and warm feeling of being protected from the world while we were still children under our parents’s wings. Liberta sends one powerful message about that feeling which all children should know. They should feel protected, loved and free, free to imagine and dream big dreams…but also it reminds us when we become adults we should cherish that inner child in every one of us and keep it from traps of growing up. Don’t grow up, it’s a trap!
How will the staging be at Pesma za Evroviziju 2023? What can we expect from your performance?
As artist you’re always trying to challenge yourself, and Liberta is quite difficult to tame. Very powerful chorus and ending, so it requires more movement on stage and dynamics of colours. A lot of work and rehearsals are awaiting for us.
Which of the other contestants are you excited to see on Pesma za Evroviziju this year? And who do you consider to be your biggest competitor?
We think that the last year’s contestants were stronger than this year, but you never know who’s going to stand out, too many factors. Certainly, Frajle, Tijana Dapcevic, Filip Zmaher are some of the famous features locally and could have advantage in media, but I would like to think, perhaps that new names bring some sparkle on the stage.
Do you follow Eurovision and do you have a favorite song from the contest?
I (Jovan) used to follow Eurovision when I was young, my family would gather in front of TV screen and cheer for some beautiful perormances. Then years passed and I haden’t watch any Eurovisions, but two years ago I watched it again and Maneskin won and that certainly positively surprised me and made significant change in the game bringing RnR sound back to the contest.
Any other plans for 2023? Can we expect new music from Gift?
With Liberta we have started our work on the third album, so yes…more work and more fun.
In the end, I want to thank you for your time and please, if you have a message for your fans and our readers here on ESCBubble?
Live your lives as you were still kids. Find freedom in laugh and love. Never forget to think about the others. Stand your rights to feel free, love free and be free by being yourself, always as there is where the real power grows.
You can listen to Gift’s song for Pesma za Evroviziju ’23 here:
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