“Proud” the song that will represent FYR Macedonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 is set to be released on March 4.
In two weeks time Tamara Todevska’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 will be revealed. The singer took to Instagram to reveal more details about the song that she will be performing on stage in Tel Aviv. “Proud” has been written by Robert Bilbilov, Darko Dimitrov and Lazar Cvetkovski.
Tamara posted on Instagram about the song and her journey back to Eurovision:
When one month ago, I got the invitation to represent my country at the Eurovision Song Content in Tel Aviv, (aside from my enthusiastic and happy YES ?), the first thing that popped up in my mind was, what will be the purpose of my participation at the contest? What is it that I want to say? What is it that I want to share with the world?
You see, for me, Eurovision has never been about entering the finals, being in the top 10 or even winning. Eurovision, to me, has always been so much more than that!
Eurovision is about accepting the different, defying the norms and being proud of who you are, just the way you are. Eurovision is that one night in the year when the entire continent comes together to celebrate boldness, bravery and individuality! It is the place where being different means being PROUD.
I am a mother of two: a three-year-old girl and a three-month-old boy. I know it sounds like a cliché, but they truly changed my life and I feel, both, as a mother and as a parent, that it is my responsibility and OUR responsibility to bring positive change to our children’s lives.
My whole life I have been told that I wasn’t girly enough, good enough, that I walked and acted like a man. Lower your head, put something sexy on, no one cares what you really think, they would say. You see, in their minds, I was just another lost girl.
Today, as I look at my daughter, I want her to grow up in a world where people will not judge her, tell her how to act, smile and move. I want her to know that she doesn’t have to follow the rules to be accepted. I want her to be whoever she wants to be and most importantly, be proud of who she is. That’s the least I can do for her.
I am proud to say that on the 16th of May I will dedicate my song to my daughter and sing for everyone out there who has been told to always lower their heads and follow strict rules.
On May 16th, we will break the rules and at least for one night in the year, we will show the world that I AM PROUD is always stronger than their YOU WILL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH!
You will ALWAYS be good enough!
See you in Tel Aviv!
Who is Tamara Todevska?
Tamara Todevska has previous experience within the contest on several occasions. Previously she was a backing singer in 2004 for the late artist Tose Proeski. 10 years later she then served once more as a backing singer for her sister Tijana with her entry “To The Sky”.
Tamara was also the representative of her country in 2008 in Belgrade with “Let Me Love You” alongside Vrčak and Adrian Gaxha. The song failed to qualify for the final as they finished in 10th place in their semi final. Under the old voting system, only the top 9 in the televote were guaranteed a space in the final with a backup jury selecting the final country. In this instance they opted for Sweden to advance instead, under the current system FYR Macedonia would have qualified.
Source: Tamara Todevska
FYR Macedonia has had a string of poor results in recent years failing to reach the final every year since 2012. The country debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998, however, two years earlier they attempted to participate but was knocked out in the pre-qualifying round. In 2016 they were represented by Kaliopi for a second time with the song “Dona”, she missed out on the final finishing in 11th in her semi-final. FYR Macedonia’s best result to date is a 12th place finish in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest represented by Elena Risteska and the song “Ninanajna”.
