Who is TEYA DORA? Get to know the Eurovision 2024 representative from Serbia

Serbia has found a replacement for Luke Black. The Serbian singer has handed over the baton to Teya Dora, who, after winning the 3rd edition of Pesma za Evroviziju ’24 with the song “Ramonda,” will aim for a spot in the Eurovision Grand Final on May 7th during the first semifinal of the contest.

From Studio 8 at RTS in Košutnjak (Belgrade), the decision to select the artist who would represent Serbia in Malmö next May was in the hands of both a jury and the televote, with each accounting for 50% of the final decision. The jury awarded its top score to Teya Dora and her song “Ramonda.” On the other hand, the televote leaned towards Breskvica and her song “Gnezdo orlovo,” awarding Teya only 10 points. Ultimately, with a total of 22 points, Teya Dora clinched the victory in Pesma za Evroviziju ’24, securing the ticket to Malmö, Sweden.

Who are TEYA DORA?

Teodora Pavlovska, better known as Teya Dora, is a Serbian singer, pianist, composer, and music producer born in 1992 in Bor. She is the first Serbian performer to have over three million listeners on Spotify. She grew up with parents who were amateur musicians. At the age of five, before learning to write, she asked her parents to enroll her in music school to learn to play the piano.

Alongside high school in Belgrade, she attended the Dr. Vojislav Vuckovic Music School, in the Piano Department. She became the youngest winner of a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied singing. Additionally, she provided backing vocals for American artists such as Patti Austin, Siedah Garrett, Jerry Allen, and Valerie Simpson. Later, she lived in New York for a while, where she wrote English-language songs for ARKTKT Publishing.

In 2008, she made her debut on the Serbian music scene with the song “Nema limita,” which she created for Nikolia. Pavlovska continued to write songs for other Serbian artists before deciding to pursue a solo career. In 2018, she released her first solo single, “Yes to Me.” Later, with “Džanum,” a song she composed for the television series South Wind: On the Border, she gained significant popularity.

In June 2023, Teya Dora became the third Serbian artist to surpass one million monthly listeners on Spotify, along with Konstrakta and Luke Black, who achieved that success after participating in the Eurovision Song Contest.

“RAMONDA” the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

“Ramonda” was written by Teya Dora herself, with Andrijano “Ajzi” Kadović and Luka “Luxonee” Jovanović as co-authors of the lyrics and music, respectively. The song has been described by the authors as a “magical lullaby.”

The main theme of its lyrics is the Ramonda nathaliae, a flower symbolizing the struggle and victory of the Serbian people during World War I, due to its ability to revive even after being completely dried out. Serbia lost 28% of its total population during World War I, and this flower symbolizes the country’s struggle and recovery. The Ramonda nathaliae is worn visibly on the eve and Armistice Day in Serbia, celebrated on November 11.

Lyrics of «RAMONDA»

Serbia’s participation in Eurovision

Serbia made its debut in Eurovision in 2007 as an independent country. It did so with Marija Šerifović and her moving ballad “Molitva,” which took home the victory with 268 points.

Since Marija’s victory, Serbia hasn’t won again, but her participation was followed by a series of good results, including Željko Joksimović’s third-place finish in 2012 with “Nije ljubav stvar.”

Out of 17 participations, Serbia has qualified for the final 12 times, missing out only in 2009, 2013, and 2017, though always coming close. In this regard, their worst outcomes were the 11th place in the semifinals of 2013 and 2017.

Rounding out Serbia’s top 3 successes, we have the 2008 entry in Belgrade, where Jelena Tomasšević and Bora Dugić finished in sixth place with “Oro.” There’s also the fifth place achieved by Konstrakta with “In corpore sano,” one of the fan favorites in the 2022 edition.

In 2023, Luke Black represented Serbia in Liverpool with his song “Samo mi se spava” after winning the Pesma za Evroviziju 2023 final. The country finished in 14th place in the grand final, earning 30 points after barely qualifying with just a 3-point difference from the first non-qualifier.