Molitva

"Molitva"
Single by Marija Šerifović
from the album Molitva - The Best Of
Released	27 July 2007
Format	CD Single, Maxi Single
Genre	Pop
Length	3:03
Label	Connective
Writer(s)	Vladimir Graić, Saša Milošević Mare
Marija Šerifović singles chronology
"101" (2006) "Molitva" (2007) "Nisam anđeo" (2008)
"Molitva" Eurovision Song Contest 2007 entry Country Serbia Artist(s) Marija Šerifović Language Serbian Composer(s) Vladimir Graić Lyricist(s) Saša Milošević Mare Finals performance Semi-final result 1st Semi-final points 298 Final result 1st Final points 268 Appearance chronology "Oro" (2008) ►

"Molitva" (Serbian Cyrillic: Молитва; English: "Prayer") is a song with music by Vladimir Graić, lyrics by Saša Milošević Mare, and sung by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. It was Serbia's Eurovision debut as an independent nation, the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro having dissolved in June 2006. The song was released as a CD single in nine different versions on 27 June 2007 by Connective Records.^[1]

"Molitva" also won the semi final in the 2007 competition, collecting 298 points, which is, as of 2015, and since the expansion of the Contest and the introduction of the semi-finals, the biggest number of points in a semi final.

It was succeeded as the Serbian Representative by Oro by Jelena Tomašević and as the winning song by Believe by Dima Bilan from Russia.

Background

Marija Šerifović performing "Molitva" for Serbia.

Molitva was the first song containing no English language lyrics to win since Dana International's win for Israel in 1998 with "Diva". As of 2015 it is also the last non-English song that has won the ESC. It was also the first time a ballad has won since televoting became the standard and the first one of the so-called Balkan Ballads that came to prominence since the late 1990s to win the contest. The song is also notable for its stage presentation because it lacked dance routines, revealing or showy costumes, pyrotechnics and other gimmicks. The Eurovision Song Contest is often accused of concentrating on these things instead of the music itself. Many elements of "Molitva" contrasted with the previous winner, "Hard Rock Hallelujah".

Marija's performance was complemented by the notable presence of the five backing singers, who joined together afterwards to form Beauty Queens.

Two days after the final, it was claimed by the British newspaper The Sun that the song was plagiarized from Albanian artist Soni Malaj's song Ndarja.^[2] This has however been strongly denied by Marjan Filipovski, the Macedonian composer of Ndarja.^[3]

Other versions

The English version is titled "Destiny", the Russian version is titled "Молитва" (Molitva), and The Finnish version is called "Rukoilen" and was performed by the Beauty Queens, not Marija. The song has also been released as a dance remix and a remix named "Jovan Radomir mix" by Swedish TV-presenter Jovan Radomir, who also wrote the English lyrics. An instrumental version has also been released as well as a karaoke version.^[4] The UK oompah band Oompah Brass recorded an instrumental version of "Molitva" on their album Oompocalypse Now (2008) , premiered at the 2007 Belgrade Beer Festival.

Use of the song

Molitva has been often played for many successes Serbia has had in the year 2007. It was played at a welcome party for Serbia's tennis players after their French Open successes .

During Wimbledon 2007, Molitva was often used during clips displaying the courts and players on the BBC. It was mainly used before and after footage or interviews with the Serbian players.

At the final of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 24 May, Šerifović sang "Molitva" as the opening.

The short 10 sec instrumental theme of the song can be heard even today on Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) (between scheduled broadcasts as short intermezzo or when presenting RTS programme/image).

In 2012, Šerifović performed this song during the interval act of the second semi-final at the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku. She was accompanied by traditional Azeri musical instruments.

Track listing

1. "Molitva" (Serbian Version) – 3:03
2. "Destiny" (English Version) – 3:04
3. "Molitva" (Russian Version) – 3:01
4. "Molitva" (Magnetic Club Reload Mix Serbian Version) – 4:26
5. "Destiny" (Magnetic Club Reload Mix English Version) – 4:23
6. "Molitva" (Magnetic Club Reload Mix Russian Version) – 4:25
7. "Molitva" (Jovan Radomir Remix) – 3:38
8. "Rukoilen" (Finnish Version) – 3:06
9. "Molitva" (Instrumental) – 3:02

Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[5]	4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[6]	9
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[7]	19
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[8]	112

See also

• Modlitba, Slovak entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

References

1. "Marija Serifovic "Molitva/Destiny"". Gooves-Inc. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
2. The Sun: Serbia 'stole' winning song
3. Авторот на “Ндарја“: Молитва не е иста песна
4. "Marija Šerifović - Molitva". Radio Television of Serbia. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
5. "Ultratop.be – Marija Šerifović – Molitva" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
6. "Swedishcharts.com – Marija Šerifović – Molitva". Singles Top 100.
7. "Swisscharts.com – Marija Šerifović – Molitva". Swiss Singles Chart.
8. UK Singles Chart

External links

• Marija Šerifović - Molitva (Serbia) 2007 Eurovision Song Contest - Official Eurovision YouTube video.
• Lyrics at diggiloo.net