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Bosnian
daily Nezavisne, January
20, 2007
Interview with Marija
Šestić
 After the
so-far best placing of Bosnia and Herzegovina at
Eurovision, third place for Hari Mata Hari and
Lejla, this year vying to "remove" him
from the throne is the 19-year-old Marija
Šestić from Banja Luka. Composer duo Aleksandra
Milutinović and Goran Kovačić are the authors
of the music and words for the song that will
represent BiH on May 12 in the thus far most
competitive field of 43 countries.
Even though Marija is only nineteen years old,
her biography is full of festivals and awards.
Since she was six years old, she actively plays
the piano and sings; at that time she also
started winning awards for best singing, voice,
performance. She is the daughter of Dušan
Šestić, the author of Bosnia's national anthem,
who is her support in the private as well as
musical sense. Asked who she will deal with the
heavy burden of last year's third place, she
says:
"Hari left me with a difficult task! (smile)
I am really glad that Hari represent Bosnia and
Hercegovina in the best possible light. We will
work hard to justify our taking part, because he
is responsible for the direct participation in
the final. In any case, we will offer Helsinski
one grand musical quality and everything depends
on how we are accepted by the other 42
countries."
Q: Couple of years ago at BH Eurosong you took
fourth place with the song "In This
World." How did you decide to try again,
since the last couple of years songs are chosen
without festivals?
A: There were many songs that were in the running
to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was an
open competition for the song only, and later the
singer would be commissioned. After the song was
chosen, I was contacted, and since I took part in
BH Eurosong before, this was a great desire of
mine and I'm very happy that it turned as it did.
 Q: Do you
think that you were "in the line" for
Eurovision, based on the "national key"
[where one year a Bosniak is chosen, then a
Bosnian Croat, followed by a Bosnian Serb and so
on], which is followed ever since Bosnia exists
as a country?
A: I never thought about that honestly, and
neither did the team of authors. We are all
really young people and I don't believe that we
will ever even think about that key, even though
it is currently also a subject in Helsinki. In
any case, we do not want to think about that.
Q: The fact that BiH is in the final also has its
bad sides, such as presenting oneself to the
audience only once. Are you worried about this?
A: Not much. As many good things there are, there
are just as many bad. Even though we will soon
record the song and even though it will available
on various Eurovision sites almost half a year in
advance, the audience will not experience the
song until May 12. Everybody will only hear those
three minutes on the final night, but all of that
is tiny, since it's a great honor to be directly
qualified for the final.
Q: How instant is the song? What emotions does it
awaken?
A: The song quality is high and everybody will
recognize this fact. It has a strong atmosphere
and music line, so I believe that most listeners
will like it the first, the second, the third
time (laugh).
Q: What is your opinion of "Lordi"? How
much of a trend did they start; will there be
many similar acts with masks and such, as it was
the case with violions and ethno orchestras after
"Lane moje"?
A: I think they already exist. Even though trends
are followed year from year, everybody will try
to insert something new and will do everything to
make the audience vote for them, whether it be
through the stage peformance, make-up, new-old
music styles... On the other side, the audience
likes to hear something new every year, and so,
if there are any cloned "Lordis," we
will fare better.
Q: How important is the image when you have a
good song and will your plan be radical there?
A: I am not a frequent participant at the big
festivals, nor the ones "for adults"
(laugh) so I don't know... I haven't yet mastered
my style, but I believe that a talented group of
stylists will work on it, so I expect "full
equipment" on this visit.
Q: To finish, even though you have an impressive
CV, what will the peformance at Eurovision do for
your future career?
A: Definitely, it is a big door that is opening,
no matter the final placing; it is a big step
toward a serious singing profession in my life.
What previous entrants say
about Marija
Since the unification of the broadcasting
systems, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been
represented by six artists. Some of them went to
Eurovision by way of festivals, but in the last
couple of years, internal selection "behind
closed doors" seems to be popular. We asked
previous Bosnian Eurovision singers what they
think about that and what they expect from Marija
Sestic, who has the toughest challence yet, to
defend the third place of Lejla. Unfortunately,
we could not get Hari Varešanović to comment.
Nino Pršeš, Eurovision 2001 in
Copenhagen, Denmark:
"I have not heard the song, but I believe
that Marija has exceptional vocal abilities,
looks great and I am sure that she will give her
all to represent our country in the best light.
The only thing is, I think that she would like,
as well as other, for the selection to be in the
festival style, where young artists, composers
and singers, have a chance to show their talents
to the general public. That away, twenty-ish more
artists could get the chance to show themselves.
I know it is the right of the broadcaster who
chooses the song, but I think in the future they
should think about it, if the goal is to move our
culture to a level that it deserves. Mainly, I
don't doubt that Marija will give her all and
that everything will be in great order. I wish
her lots of luck."
Maja Tatić, Eurovision 2002 in
Tallinn, Estonia:
"Great! Marija Sestic is ideal for
Eurovision. She has all the qualities needed for
this contest. If she continues to work as hard, I
think that she will repeat Hari's placing, and
better if everything falls into place. I am sorry
that I haven't heard the song yet, but knowing
who has written it, I absolutely believe in a
good placing."
 Mija
Martina, Eurovision 2003 in Riga, Latvia:
"I am more for the comeback of the old
Festival style of choosing the represenative, but
c'est la vie. Regarding Marija, I think that in
the end, not much will depend on her. It is all a
big machine and what's very important is
teamwork, that is people around here. She will
show up on stage and sing her three minutes, but
everything depends on how she and the team will
present themselves, how much effort they will put
around journalists of other countries, how many
interviews will be organized and other public
appearances... It's all teamwork after all,
combining of forces with the goal of a good
result."
 Deen,
Eurovision 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey:
"I had the chance to meet Marija in 2005,
and she left a great impression on me. She, aside
from being a beautiful girl, is a first-class
singer and I like her singing sensibility a lot.
Marija holds all the qualities our representative
should have. Even though I haven't had the chance
to listen to the song, I don't doubg that it will
become a great success. I'd like to wish her to
achieve a success greater than Hari's last year.
May she win! As far as the selection is
concerned, there is no need to make noice, there
is no need for discussion about that. Every
country has the right to make its rules, whether
the selection is in style of a festival or
something else. I believe that the manner of
choosing is actually better. That way a lot of
money and effort can be saved, and it offers the
singer, Marija in this case, more possibilities
to present themselves best way possible.
 Feminnem
(Ivana Marić-Hodak), Eurovision 2005 in Kiev,
Ukraine:
"I think it's all in the song, and I have
not heard it yet. But with Marija's abilities in
mind, I absolutely don't doubt in a good result.
Hari achieved something that seems to be
unattainable, but I think that this year quality
will be high and that Marija, thanks to her
appearance, voice and the song of renowned
authors, will be able to come close to Hari's
result. The same way Deen gave us a hard task
after placing BiH directly into the final, Hari
gave a hard task to Marija. But, there's no need
to think about that. She just needs to relax and
let things go their way. The point is not to
justify somebody's placing, but to represent
one's country, song and self in the best light.
We wish her lots of luck."
BH Eurosong 2007
Marija Šestić going to
Helsinki
Several weeks now, rumors have been
spreading that Marija Šestić was tipped as the
singer to represent Bosnia & Herzegovina at
the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki.
PBSBiH has finally made this official.
The songwriters of the songs are
Aleksandra Milutinović from Belgrade, Serbia and
Goran Kovačić from Banja Luka.
Dejan Kukrić, the head of the BH Eurosong 2007
project explains that the theme of this year's
selection if "Sound of Rivers." Last
year, the theme was "It's Time for
BiH!" The songs selected in the shortlist
reflect this theme in their verses and overall
atmosphere.
"BiH is a land of river. Her rivers have
been sung about in numerous traditional songs and
are subjects of many legends and stories."
Marija Šestić, who is the daughter of Dušan
Šestić, the author of Bosnia and Herzegovina's
national anthem, said that the Eurovision
competition is a great responsibility and duty
for her.
"In some way, I was hoping for this
competition. In any case, it will afford me
excellent opportunities in the field that I will
be in my whole life," said Šestić.
Around 30 songs were received by PBSBiH,
according to Ninoslav Verber, the Director of the
Musical Production of PBSBiH.
March 4 is when a special show will
be broadcast on the national TV channel BHT1,
when the chosen song will be performed for the
first time.
In plans is also a release of a CD/DVD
compilation of all Bosnian representatives at
Eurovision from 1964 to 2006.
Listen to Marija's 2005 BH Eurosong
entry, In This
World
Marija
Šestić was born in 1987, and today is a student
at the Art Academy in Banja Luka, major piano.
Since age six, took part in festivals:
"St. George's Day Festival," in Banja
Luka 1995 - third place
"St. George's Day Festival," in Banja
Luka 1996 - first place
"Naša radost," in Podgorica,
Montenegro 1998 - award for interpretation
"Zlatno zvonce," in Novi Sad, Serbia
1999 - first place for interpretation
"International Festival of Young
Talents," in Zenica 2000-2002 - first place
for interpretation
"Banja Luka pop music festival," 2003 -
award for best young vocal performer
"The Golden Star," in Bucharest,
Romania 2004 - earned the FIDOF diplima
At 13 years of age, was the first solo singer,
from the are of former Yugoslavia, to be invited
to take part at MTV Berlin. The same year she
released her first CD.
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