The second semi-final of Serbian national selection for Eurovision Song Contest 2025, Pesma za Evroviziju is set to take place on 26th of February.

One of the fifteen artists competing is a returnee to the show and a singer which was among the judging panelist at Serbia and Montenegro national selection for Eurovision in 2006 as well as in the Serbian Eurovision jury team for 2017. Tanja Banjanin took a moment to share with us what are her thoughts ahead of the contest.

Hello Tanja, first of all congrats for being selected as one of the artists competing at Pesma za Evroviziju 2025. How does it feel to be part of the national selection for Eurovision once again?
I must admit that I haven’t participated in such a festival for a long time, and there are more novelties and requirements. They mostly relate to logistics and the organization of the performance, which is more demanding than before. I assume this is also due to Eurovision criteria. As for the rest, I am calm for now, but I must admit that I always feel a positive nervousness before each performance.

You competed at national selection for Serbia and Montenegro 2004 with „Istina“ how was that experience?
Exactly what I said in my first response. There weren’t as many requirements related to the performance itself, appearance, preparations, rehearsals, etc.

You were one of the jury members at the grand final of national selection for Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 how was that experience for you? Any memories or anecdotes which you could share with readers of escbubble?
Back then, it was very dramatic because it happened during the time of the breakup of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro, and it turned out that the Serbian jury favored the participant from Serbia, while the Montenegrin jury favored the participant from Montenegro. This led to a strong reaction from the audience at the Sava Center in Belgrade… All in all, in the end, none of the performers went to Eurovision. My experience a few years ago, when I was a member of the jury from Serbia, was much nicer, especially when the Portuguese artist with a beautiful song won.

You made a break in your music career and you returned performing the Serbian version of Circle of Life (Životni krug) for the movie „The Lion King“ in 2019. How was that experience? Do you plan to release more songs for the movies?
Yes, for me it was a completely new experience in terms of the craft. Because when synchronization is done, it’s literally about vocal technique. A complicating factor is that the English text has to be almost literally translated into Serbian, and it’s well known how ‘convenient’ the English language is for singing, as it has many vowels, unlike Serbian. In any case, since it was new, it was a beautiful experience.”

How was the creative process behind “Ja sam bolja” can you tell us more about the inspiration for the song and what does it mean for you?
It’s very interesting that this is the first song I’ve composed. Over the years, musicians kept encouraging me to compose, but I resisted… I’m not even sure why. Then one day, I simply started… at first, without any idea of the direction the song would take, whether it would be slow or fast. I just started, and whatever happened, happened. Then I came up with the lyrics, but my arranger, Voja Aralica, said that the chorus wasn’t any good. Since I didn’t have the energy or will anymore, I came home and told my kids to help me however they could. So, my kids became co-authors of the song – which is great! All in all, it’s a lovely story.

What can we expect from your performance at Pesma za Evroviziju 2025? Any hints?
Well, there’s no hint. It will resemble me 🙂

Which artist competing at this year’s Pesma za Evroviziju do you see as your biggest competitor? And whose performance are you most excited for?
I’m most excited about my own performance, ahahaha. As for the others, given my experience compared to the vast majority, I truly don’t see the other participants as competition, but not in the sense that they’re below my level, far from it. On the contrary, I’ll gladly support a younger performer on Eurovision.

Do you watch Eurovision regularly? Which song is your favourite?
In recent years, I’ve been following Eurovision almost regularly. And we do it as a family. Among the recent winners, Måneskin is unbeatable.

If you could choose any musician (living or dead) to record a duet with who would it be and why?
Now you’ve caught me a bit off guard, I would mostly focus on a Serbian artist… and probably an older one, from an earlier period. I’m not thrilled with the newer music scene in Serbia. As for foreign artists… oh, there are quite a few, a lot.

What do you do when you are not singing? Any hobbies?
I love skiing when I get the chance, but usually, what’s more accessible to me is socializing in clubs with my friends.

Which three things you always have with you when you leave your house?
Bag, phone, cigarettes.

What are your plans after Pesma za Evroviziju 2025?
I’m not thinking about that yet.

Thank you so much for your time Tanja. We wish you the best of luck at PzE 2025.

You can also check Tanja’s entry for Pesma za Evroviziju 2025, “Ja Sam Bolja” below:

In the case Tanja’s entry is your favourite of Pesma za Evroviziju 2025 semi final 2 don’t forget to vote for it in our poll below: