There is less and less time left for what will be the 23rd edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and we are already getting to know the 18 participating countries who will have to take the stage in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, the country hosting this new edition following the victory last year of its representative Andria Putkaradze with his song “To My Mom” at the Caja Mágica in Madrid.
The 23rd edition will take place on Saturday, December 13, and we continue to learn about the participants one by one. This time it is the turn of Montenegro, whose representative is Asja Džogović.
In Bucharest 2006, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) proposed to the RTCG broadcaster to join the children’s festival as an independent nation, but we had to wait to enjoy Montenegro’s first participation. Montenegro debuted in Malta 2014 after the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro and only participated for two consecutive editions, withdrawing in the 2016 edition due to financial difficulties.
The public broadcaster RTCG announced this year its return to the children’s festival after 10 years without participating. After passing the selection phases to choose its representative, Asja Džogović was announced at the beginning of September by the broadcaster, and weeks later her proposal titled “I Tužna I Srećna Priča” was presented.
This is Asja Džogović: a musical vocation from a very young age
Asja Džogović is a 13-year-old Montenegrin artist born in 2012 in Bijelo Polje, in the north of the country. Her parents, Almir and Elida, and her older brothers, Dajlan and Damir, discovered her talent when, as a very young child, she could reproduce any song with precision. At the age of seven, she began her training at the D-moll singing school in Podgorica, led by musician Danijel Alibabić, while attending eighth grade at Risto Ratković Primary School. Her first public performance was at the children’s festival Naša radost in Podgorica, where she won the prize for best lyrics with Dio neba.
In 2021, she stood out at the Zlatna nota festival in Novi Pazar, receiving awards for performance, music, and arrangement. She then triumphed at Ljubav, naša je planeta in Užice and Zlatna pahulja in Rožaje. At the Đurđevdan festival in Banja Luka, she shone with Želim, earning three awards. Her regional profile grew with major prizes won at Kids Stars in Sarajevo and Voice of the Stars in Zagreb. She rehearses with discipline, pays attention to every detail, and states that she does not feel stage fright, but rather excitement and happiness when singing.
Offstage, Asja enjoys painting, drawing, and playing volleyball and tennis, although her true passion is music. She admires Marija Šerifović, Jelena Rozga, and her mentors Danijel and Danijela Alibabić. Proud of Montenegro, she highlights its nature and hospitality.
Her song “I Tužna I Srećna Priča”, composed by Danijel Alibabić and Natalija Pavicevic, with arrangements by Dejan Božović, is a Balkan ballad reflecting loneliness, longing for love, and the hope of finding joy even in sadness.
This is “I Tužna i Srećna Priča”, Montenegro’s entry for Junior Eurovision 2025
The song with which Asja Džogović will represent Montenegro in Junior Eurovision 2025 is titled “I Tužna I Srećna Priča.” It is a Balkan ballad entirely in Montenegrin that shows us a deep feeling with raw emotions.
The Montenegrin entry features a luxury creative team. The arranger Dejan Božović, responsible for “Heaven”, performed by the boys of DMoll at Eurovision 2019, and the composers Danijel Alibabić, who was part of the group No Name, Serbia and Montenegro’s representative in the 2005 edition, and Natalija Pavicevic, with production led by Dejan Božović.
Together, they shape a musical piece in which Asja shows her ability to balance sadness and hope, just as the title suggests: “a sad and happy story.”
The song tells the story of a “dreamer” who moves through the night, searching for a home in love, even if that love exists only in their dreams. Each “korak” (step) represents hope and the effort to care for a fragment of a dream, while fear hides in a tear.
The proposal suggests that happiness can awaken when someone speaks with the voice of love, and that the world changes when tenderness and comfort are present, like a warm roof and a shoulder for dreams.
Dreams and hope are a refuge and a driving force, with love as the revealing power. The care and protection of children must not be a dream but a reality, creating an emotional home where happiness can awaken.
Lyrics of I Tužna i Srećna Priča
Montenegrin
Taj korak putuje snom, mašta o tom
Da ljubav, makar u snu, njegov je dom
Taj korak malenih stopa
I sanjar, ostavljen, sam
Iako, dalek je put, ne ostavlja san…
O ljubavi priča ljubav, nek čuje svako
I sreća smije se tad, al’ nije uvijek tako…
Za svaki korak sam, dok čuva djelić sna
Za kap iz oka dva, u kojoj ćuti strah
Nek priča ova sad, glasom ljubavi
Sreću, koja spava, baš svuda probudi…
Na pragu, srce ko vrata, zamišlja on
Ko čuvar, dlan je uz dlan, topao krov
Za snove, jastuk je rame
Nitima ljubavi tkan
Da sanjar putuje snom, al’ nikada sam…
Ovo je priča o sreći kada se smije
Ali i tužna, jer tako uvijek nije…
Za svaki korak sam, dok čuva djelić sna
Za kap iz oka dva, u kojoj ćuti strah
Nek priča ova sad, glasom ljubavi
Sreću, koja spava, baš svuda probudi…
Sreću, koja spava, nek ljubav probudi…
English
That step travels in a dream, he fantasizes about it
That love, at least in a dream, is his home
That step of small feet
And the dreamer, abandoned, alone
Although, the journey is long, it does not leave a dream…
Love talks about love, let everyone hear
And happiness laughs then, but it is not always like that…
For every step I am alone, while it guards a fragment of sleep
For a drop from the eye of two, in which fear is silent
Let this one talk now, with the voice of love
Happiness, which sleeps, wakes up everywhere…
On the threshold, a heart like a door, he imagines
Like a guardian, palm to palm, a warm roof
For dreams, a pillow is a shoulder
Woven with threads of love
That the dreamer travels in a dream, but never alone…
This is a story about happiness when it laughs
But also sad, because it is not always like that…
For every step I am alone, while it guards a fragment of sleep
For a drop from the eye of two, in which fear is silent
Let this one talk now, with the voice of love
Wake up happiness that sleeps everywhere…
Let love wake up happiness that sleeps…
Montenegro in Junior Eurovision
After the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro, the Montenegrin broadcaster RTCG took several years to join Junior Eurovision. In 2006, the country received an invitation to participate as an independent nation but decided to decline it. Finally, their debut materialized in 2014, when the official documentation was sent to the EBU on July 18.
Montenegro participated in two consecutive editions of the children’s contest. During that period, RTCG internally selected its representatives, a measure taken to reduce costs amid budget difficulties.
At Malta 2014, Maša & Lejla performed “Budi Dijete Na Jedan Dan,” finishing in 14th place with 24 points, the worst result in the country’s history. In the national juries’ ranking, they placed 13th, while among viewers, they ranked 14th. In 2015, the broadcaster repeated the internal selection method. Jana Mirković represented Montenegro with “Oluja,” scoring 36 points and achieving 13th place, the best result for the country to date. The entry was rated 12th by the national juries, though it only reached 14th place among viewers.
Despite this slight improvement, the overall balance of Montenegro’s participation was modest. In 2016, the country announced its withdrawal from the festival due to RTCG’s financial problems. Since then, Montenegro remained absent from the contest for nearly a decade until confirming its anticipated return in the 2025 edition, marking a new chapter in its Junior Eurovision history.