Sarajevo daily "Dnevni avaz" April 9:

Branko Djuric Djuro directed Hari Mata Hari's clip

Though Eurosong '99 is 50 days away, every country is preparing for this event. Bosnia, also, started preparing for this festival. Video clip has been filmed in Portoroz, Slovenia [not in Neum, as previously reported], which was sent to EBU on time. But many have split views on the quality of the clip. As far as Hari Varesanovic himself is concerned, he is always in motion from Zagreb to Sarajvo and vice versa. In Zagreb he is finishing an ethno-material, more precisely Hanka Paldum' [a Folk music singer] album. Not even he is terribly satisfied with the way the preparations are going.

Bulk of the work

I expected BHT people to do more while I am away in Zagreb, said Hari Varesanovic. But it looks like I will have to do bulk fo the work by myself, just as I sad when I was working on preparations of my concert in Sarajevo's Skenderija hall. 

But we found out that people at BHT are not overly satisifed with Hari's cooperation. They mind his not showing up at scheduled meetings et al. As the chief of musical program at BHT, Ismeta Dervoz [Yugoslavia 1976] says that they will do everything to represent Bosnia as fully as possible. She said that responsibilities around this year's Eurovision Song Contest are all precisely laid out.

It's all precisely laid out

Bosnian delgation's chief of operaions is Haris Pasovic. Ismeta Dervoz, apart from being the Bosinan commentation live from Jerusalem, is currently in charge of everythign that involves Bosnian representative and the ESC. Nermana Mulic works in the International Department of BHT and is in charge of contacting EBU.

Sarajevo daily "Oslobodjenje" April 2:

"Starac i More" In The Symphonic Style

Hari Mata Hari's song has become the subject of various opinions, good and bad, among Bosnians. This was really expected, as each individual has his/her own favorite whom they want to see and hear at the next Eurovision Song Contest in Israel. But, since we should not prejudge, we can sincerely summize that Hari Varesanovic is one of the best (if not the best) Bosnian singer of Pop musc; has become a veteran of Bosnian music scene; and has a very acceptable visual image.

Song Starac i more, which has been judged by many as "too old and too cliched," has experienced some changes in its music style. This is what Hari Varesanovic had to say to Oslobodjenje:

"Last few days I have been working on the reconstruction of the song. I added almost all aspects of classical music, in such a way that it now sounds very symphonic, with no trace of Pop in it. I did what many world stars, such as Pavarotti and Boticelli, do. In Israel, 23 countries will be represented by, probably, songs in pop style with modern sound and aggressive production. My song will be the exact opposite. I have been working as a singer for twenty years and I think I will not embarrass my profession, and consequently my country. Working for this many years, I've become quite an expert and what is sure is that I will not let anyone down with my voice. Right now, we need a strong campaign [to release the song in the public], because what hasn't been heard will not be loved. I can, at least, promise a placing no lower than the average placing of all the previous Bosnian representatives."

About the video clip
"The clip was filmed at our sea shore [city of Neum]. The team behind it comes from Slovenia, with Branko Djuric Djuro as their leadman. There were constant storms while we were filiming the clip, but we've done some beautiful takes. RTVBIH [BHT] owns the project and their people said that they will distribute the video to other Bosnian TV stations. We didn't have much time to finnish the clip and it has already been sent to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Ten days isn't enoigh to make a video, but those are EBU rules. All this is very boring for someone who is used to a liberal artistic style. I don't like whe nart competes, but I'll leave it be. It's illogical that one works oneself of for two months and then has nothing else to do.

About Marija Magdalena
"I like the song and Doris' look incredibly. Marija Magdalena deserves the best critics and it is a dangerous favorite.

Sarajevo weekly "Ljiljan" March 22:

Thirteen Is Our Lucky Number!

"Starac i more," Hari Mata Hari's song, which was chosen as the thirteenth composition to be performed at "Vas slager sezone '99" by a journalist from "Ljiljan" will represent Bosnia and Herzegovina at the grand musical manifestation Eurosong '99 in Israel.

This year's "Vas slager sezone," organized by RTVBiH (BHT) can be characterized mostly by a good organization. The set looked very good and was nicely put together. Behind the scenes were present the usual festival atmosphere and impatience - and before the scene - half-empty Skenderija. Is the reason that the audience turn-out was low the fact that the tickets were moderately expensive (10-15 BAM = 10-15 DEM) or is the Bosnian public not interested in pop music and festivals. Time will show.

Half-empty auditorium saw the winner

Whatever it is, that night 3.000 spectators watched the Festival live, waiting for the winner and Bosnian representative for ESC in Jerusalem. Also the Festival watched many, many more people in their homes, as the Festival was broadcast by Nezavisna TV Banja Luka (Independent TV Station in Banja Luka), Televizija Crna Gora (Montenegrin TV) and the BHT Satellite network.

Uncertainty was present behind the scenes and among the audience throughout the show, even until the last jury from Zenica called in and gave its votes, which decided the winner.

Hajrudin Varesanovic and Fahrudin Pecikoza made a classic "Hari" love song, in the style of those that drew many audienced and applauses. The song is one which would have become a hit in former Yugoslavia and we hope it does well in Jerusalem, even though it was accompanied by boos and whistless from the audience. And Sarajevan jury did not award any points to Hari!? [Hari is native of Sarajevo] Varesanovic has said that the song will be rearranged and we should not forget his excellent vocal abilities, which were greatly present in "Starac i more."

The runner-up Dino Dervishalidovic in duet with a cute French girl Beatrice was a favorite most of the time. Song "Putnici" is really a novelty in Bosnia, both as a song with a peculiar melody and arrangement; and a song that was performed very strangely. It was obvious the audience's favorite was "Putnici," and we heard comments along the lines of "if this were to represent Bosnia in Jerusalem, it would generate very positive reactions, because of its religious message." Nevertheless, the juries wanted differently, maybe for the same reason: the song was just too weird and too strange for our society.

Third-placed "Seven Up" with "Daj spusti se" showed that they are a band that will be looked after at the future festivals such as "Vas slager sezone." Yet again, they were fired up with an excellent dance routine and a non-typical rhythm. The audience, as it was the case with "Putnici,'" preferred this song over the winner.

Other performers each had their own trademark. Some, like Losa [Sasa Losic] and Plavi orkestar, under the name of Sarajevo Old Stars rooted for the old-sounding, 60's music. Zera [Drazen Zeric], in his recognizable "all star" style appeared o nthe set and sang a typically Fazla [Bos 93] song, which could have been better. Vajta [Yug 81] used this Festival to come back to the momentum of Sarajevan audience and to have a great time with the following motto: "What's important is to compete."

Zeljka Katavic-Pilj sang a beautifu lsong "Bog mi je svjedok." Band Beat House Project, lead by Lejla Trto, performed a song does is not part of their usual style.

Sarajevo daily "Oslobodjenje" March 12:

The Best Won Over the Best.

"Starac i more" is the song that will represent Bosnia at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem and it is performed by Hari Varesanovic. This famous Bosnian artist is currently in Zagreb, Croatia, and he says the following about "Vas slager sezone '99":

Hari: The festival was, for the first time, raised to the level of a grand spectacle. I also watched Dora '99 and can tell you that our final was, by far, better done. Finally, the best known and acclaimed artists of Bosnia have competed against each other, which has revived the long-dead Bosnian music scene. Simply, giants met and won over ghosts. The best were included in the competition, and the best won. 

Oslobodjenje: Once again, various opinions about the quality of your song have been formed. Namely, your song has been udner attack by one part of Bosnian public.

H: I really don't understand those things. Day after the event, I read in "Oslobodjenje" that "Sarajevo was booing to the winner." I cna't comprehend the wrong-doing of some individuals. Sometimes whistles and boos can mean as much as applause and ovation. It was not Sarajevo that was booing, because Sarajevo is not rperesented by a small portion of the audience and the four memebers of Sarajevan jury. For me, Sarajevo is represented by those ten thousands of people who attended by concert. 

O: What do you say about other artists?

H: Competion, again, was very strong. My personal favorite was Sasa Losic. I'm sorry he did not win, because stylistically, his song was the most appealing. They reminded me of a modern version of The Beatles. Dino Merlin's song was a really good one, even though ethongraphically it was very much far from Bosnia. The folklore that accompanied "Putnici" was not Bosnian, but rather Arabian. There's another thing, though. Our public, very early, has created a picture of Dino MErlin as the favorite to win. He and his crew have been very good prepared for "Vas slager sezone '99." Twenty days before the event, the bombarded the media and they were succesfull in blowing up the baloon. But, I don't see anything faulty in that. That is profesionalism, that's business. Dino Merlin was into the project 100 percent and, because of that, if not because of anything else, I would have loved to see him win. My crew did not have the time to prepare for "Vas slager sezone." I came to Sarajevo from Zagreb only two days prior to the Festival. I cancelled a very important business trip and accepted the invitation of Ismeta Dervoz.

O: What do you think of "Starac i more"?

H: I believe that my song is not old fashioned. It's very close to Celine Dion's song from "Titanic," and we know that that song was a huge hit last year. Therefore, we can't talk about en vogue and old-fashioned songs. At every ESC, there is a huge assortiment of songs. Before May 29th, I will, of course, enrich the song arrangement-wise. It will be an orchestral way of performing, somethign like the Three Tenors. My wish for it is to be in a Pavarotti style. And we have already engaged ourselves. 

Vas slager sezone '99 participants:

Eldin Husembegovic: Maybe I was unlucky to perform first, like I did last year at the Forte festival. But, I am satisifed with my song and its placing. Trully, I liked Dino Merlin's song more than the winner's. I was pleasently surprised with the performance of Zejnaida Mesihovic and Sanja Vulic. At times, I thought that the debutants were far better and more professional than the old guys.

Nurudin Vatrenjak: Many are not satisifed with the winner. My favorites were Sasa Losic ans Zejnaida. I did not like the voting system, either. It seemed like set-up was ienvitable. I am not happy with my placins, but am glad to see so many young, unknown artists, which, certainly need more chances like these.

Andrej: What left the biggest impression on me was how our collegues from Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina welcomed us. Why would we wait until the Office of High Representative in Bosnia tells us that we have to take part in an event such as this one, when we can do it on our own. I am really happy that I performed together with my idols, Hari and Losa... I was really touched when Hari congratulated us on a superb performance of our song.

Zeljka Katavic-Pilj: Festivals come and go, but a good song stays. The competion was a very high one and I wish all the best to the winner. It was a shame that Dino Merlin had to rap, when we know that he ha excellent vocal abilities. I was glad that artists from entire Bosnia were represented. I congratulated performers from the Serb Republic for their good songs and their showing up in Sarajevo.