| "Molitva" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byMarija Šerifović | ||||
| from the album Molitva - The Best Of | ||||
| Language | Serbian | |||
| Released | 27 July 2007 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:03 | |||
| Label | Connective | |||
| Composer | Vladimir Graić | |||
| Lyricist | Saša Milošević Mare | |||
| Marija Šerifović singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2007 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist | ||||
| Language | ||||
| Composer | ||||
| Lyricist | Saša Milošević Mare | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 1st | |||
| Semi-final points | 298 | |||
| Final result | 1st | |||
| Final points | 268 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| "Oro" (2008) ► | ||||
| Official performance video | ||||
| "Molitva" (Final) onYouTube | ||||
"Molitva" (Serbian Cyrillic:Молитва; "Prayer") is a song recorded by Serbian singerMarija Šerifović with music composed byVladimir Graić and Serbian lyrics by Saša Milošević Mare. Itrepresented Serbia in theEurovision Song Contest 2007, held inHelsinki, resulting in the country's only ever win at the contest.
The song marked the country's Eurovision debut as an independent nation, theState Union of Serbia and Montenegro having been dissolved in June 2006. It was released as a CD single in nine different versions on 27 July 2007.
"Molitva" was composed byVladimir Graić with Serbian lyrics by Saša Milošević Mare. It was recorded byMarija Šerifović in Serbian, English –as "Destiny" with lyrics byJovan Radomir–, and Russian –as "Молитва" with lyrics by Andy Mikheev.[1] It was released as a CD single in nine different versions on 27 July 2007 by Connective Records after its win at Eurovision.[2]
On 7–8 March 2007, "Molitva" performed by Šerifović competed inBeovizija 2007, the national final organised byRadio Television of Serbia (RTS) to select its song and performer for the52nd edition of theEurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition becoming theSerbian entry –and Šerifović the performer– for Eurovision.[3]
On 10 May 2007, the Eurovision Song Contest semi-final was held at theHartwall Areena inHelsinki. As this was Serbia's Eurovision debut as an independent nation, the song had to compete in the semi-final. Šerifović performed "Molitva" as the fifteenth song of the evening[4] and received 298 points, placing first in a field of twenty-eight field and qualifying for the final.[5] It was the highest number of points ever gained in the semi-final under the single semi-final format of the contest (2004–2007).
The song is memorable for its stage presentation because it lacked dance routines, revealing or showy costumes,pyrotechnics and other gimmicks –Eurovision 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" by Finnishhard rock bandLordi. Šerifović's performance was complemented by the presence of the five backing singers – who after the contest joined together to form the groupBeauty Queens.
On 12 May 2007, the final for the Eurovision Song Contest was held. Šerifović performed "Molitva" seventeenth on the evening.[6] and received 268 points, winning the contest.[7] It was the first song containing no English language lyrics to win since "Diva" byDana International win forIsrael in1998. Molitva was the last entirely non-English song to win the contest untilthe 2017 contest, wherePortugal won with "Amar pelos dois" bySalvador Sobral, as well as being the first time aballad had won sincetelevoting 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.
It was succeeded as the Serbian entry by "Oro" byJelena Tomašević and as the winning song by "Believe" byDima Bilan forRussia.
As the winning broadcaster, theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) gave RTS the responsibility to host thefollowing edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. On 24 May 2008, Šerifović sang "Molitva" as the opening act of the grand final.[8]
On 24 May 2012, Šerifović performed her song during the interval act of the second semi-final of theEurovision Song Contest 2012 held inBaku accompanied by traditional Azeri musical instruments.[9] The television specialEurovision: Europe Shine a Light, aired on 16 May 2020 throughout Europe, features Šerifović performing the song in an empty street inBelgrade.[10][11]
Molitva was included in the list of the ten best Eurovision winners according to theSpecial Broadcasting Service (SBS) in 2016 and toThe Independent in 2019, whileThe Eurovision Times, a fan blog, ranked it as the third best Eurovision song of all time.[12][13][14]
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[15] | 4 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] | 9 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] | 19 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[18] | 112 |
The English version is titled "Destiny", the Russian version is titled "Молитва" (Molitva), and the Finnish version is called "Rukoilen"; these were performed by the Beauty Queens, without Šerifović. The song has also been released as adance remix and a remix named "Jovan Radomir mix" bySwedish TV-presenter Jovan Radomir, who also wrote the English lyrics. An instrumental version has also been released as well as a karaoke version.[19] The UKoompah bandOompah Brass recorded an instrumental version of "Molitva" on their albumOompocalypse Now (2008),[20] premiered at the 2007Belgrade Beer Festival.
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 theirFrench Open successes.[when?] DuringWimbledon 2007, Molitva was often used during clips displaying the courts and players on theBBC. It was mainly used before and after footage or interviews with the Serbian players.
In 2013,Yulia Samoylova performed the Russian version of the song at her audition for the Russian version of X Factor,Faktor A. She would later be selected to representRussia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017,[21] but was barred from entering the host country of that edition, Ukraine. She would subsequently be repicked in2018.[22]
A short 10-second instrumental theme of the song, used during Eurovision 2008, was used on RTS between scheduled broadcasts as short intermezzo or when presenting RTS programme/image for several years.
In 2015, the chorus of the song was played on Day 102 of the soap opera parodyKalyeserye of the Philippine noontime variety showEat Bulaga!.[23]
| Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest winners 2007 | Succeeded by "Believe" byDima Bilan |
