Coming off a politically-charged edition with the circumstances in Serbia barely moving the needle in the intervening year, Pesma za Evroviziju 2026 had a lot of ground to cover to show that the music scene in Serbia hasn’t died just yet. Based off the song quality, it has progressed from the middling class of 2025 to a more diverse group of 28 songs, of which 14 made the final.
The finalists included Harem Girls, who returned from the previous year, albeit featuring Ivana to join in their group during the choruses. “Bom Bom” switches from the Arabic and hip-hop influences in “Aladdin” to more straightforward Serbian pop, but nevertheless, it garnered a strong following amongst the fandom inside Serbia and abroad.
One of the main contenders of the field was the pop singer Zejna, who returned to Serbia’s national final for the fourth time with the curiously titled “Jugoslavija“. With lyrics pleading for a relationship to reconcile and stand united, like the late country, she sings it while going from the depths to a trapeze holding her up from the second chorus. In her gray dress
The winner, however, turned out to be something different. In a total contrast to the classic Balkan ballad which Serbia brought for the 2025 contrast, the Serbian jury and televote collectively put their trust in Lavina, a progressive metal band who has released previous songs in English, including their debut album Odyssey. Their entry, “Kraj mene”, was originally written in English before being translated into Serbian to better convey the angst rolling about the narrator’s relationship with his detached partner, interpreted in both the romantic and divine.
Clothed in leather and walking towards a sword-shaped microphone stand, lead singer Luka Aranđelović growls before letting out an agonizing cry. This moved the Serbian jury and televote, who both gave their highest scores to Lavina in the final, after the jury only gave Lavina 8 in the second semi-final. This is only the second time in Pesma za Evroviziju‘s short history where this happened, after Konstrakta’s “In Corpore Sano” did so in 2022.
For Eurofans, Serbia sending a metal song is out of the ordinary; this is a country known for its Balkan ballads and turbo folk. The 2020s saw further genre diversity amongst Serbia’s Eurovision entries, even as they take a moodier turn. But take a closer look into Yugoslav, and later Serbian musical history, and then one will find that Lavina brings more into its cultural fabric.
Let’s Rock in Roll in Yugoslavia:
When Yugoslavia was together, the Serbian broadcaster notably sent “Moja generacjia” in 1974, a progressive rock anthem by the group Korni. Three years earlier, they released their debut album, which was amongst the first full-length LPs in Yugoslav rock. In addition, they competed in the Opatija Festival in 1973 with the song, “Etida” , where they placed third.
With lyrics talking about the generation growing up amidst World War II, “Moja generacija” came in 11th in Eurovision, which triggered the end of the group, alongside with the weaker sales of their second album.
However, rock music wasn’t unusual in Yugoslavia; owing to its neutrality in the tormented rivalry of the Cold War, “as controlled as the Yugoslav radio stations were by the party and related bodies concerning the political content of their programme, musical editors were given a free rein to play whatever they wanted. A freedom that was used.” Radio Luxembourg played a role in disseminating Anglophonic rock music throughout Yugoslavia; this eventually influenced rock radio stations and was part of the burgeoning youth culture. Yet the lyricism within each songs varied by era; with suppression of subversive lyrics in the early 1970s being followed by the rise of punk and new wave, with more complicated themes throughout.
By the 1980s, with economic crisis and rising nationalism within the constituent republics, the songs reflected current times more and more. Within Belgrade itself, a burgeoning punk scene emerged, and sought for individualism within the struggling country. Meanwhile, the first metal bands grew out of Yugoslavia. Yet these trends didn’t fully reflect within Jugovizija, though songs such as “Braća Grimm i Andersen” occassionally appeared, with the song–performed by Denis and Denis–coming in third in Jugovizija 1986.
Rock in a Land of Turmoil: Serbia-Montenegro
When Yugoslavia collapsed in 1991, their music scenes splintered, even though their languages were similar. While Viktorija’s “Rat i mir” in 1990 compares romance to war and peace, it seemed to hint upon the turmoil which would befall the country.
In 1991–the last edition with all six republics–chaos ensued within the production, and the local jurors gave high points to their closest ally. The following year, genre diversity shrunk within the Jugovizija; with Sunčeve Pege’s “Viva rock ‘n’ roll” receiving no points from the jury.
While FR Yugoslavia–now Serbia and Montenegro–was banned from competing in Eurovision until 2004, it obscured a major role in how rock music played out within Serbian society. The ruling regime in Belgrade pushed rock into the fringes, and sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro made surviving on music quite difficult. Nevertheless, bands and artists still discussed about current issues through song. Notably, Darkwood Dub provided “Sistem“, a commentary reflecting student protests in 1996 and 1997 after Milosevic’s regime nullified the election results which had the opposition party Zajedno claimed victory. “It served as a means for drowning out the regime propaganda, as a call for “awakening,” as a method of mutual recognition for similarly-minded individuals, and as a substitute for other forms of expression.”
Lavina within Eurovision:
In contrast to Montenegro, which had sent rock-flavored entries in their first two appearances in Eurovision, Serbia was slower in that trend. In the debut version of Beovizija–Serbia’s national selection–the jury winner was Negativ with “Prava Stvar”, but their weak televoting score pushed them down to third place in the class of 2007.
In the subsequent twenty years, a variety of rock songs made their way through Serbia’s national selections, but with little success. Most recently, Nadia threw things back with some pop rock in Pesma za Evroviziju 2023 with “Devojka tvog dečka“, which placed 8th in the grand final.
Lavina brings something new to the Serbian Eurovision fabric, yet they are also a continuation of a strong tradition of Balkan rock and roll. With “Kraj mene”, they not only add a tinge of darkness, but also a dramatic showcase which befits their international flair. With their experience performing across Europe, Lavina has the capacity to surprise in Vienna, and show another side to Serbia.