“Clickbait”, the song that won Montesong 2024 and was expected to represent Montenegro at Eurovision 2025, could be disqualified tomorrow.
A clip has emerged on social media of “Clickbait” being performed by the band during a music festival, Festival Kulture Zabjelo, in 2023. In a statement released on RTCG’s website, the broadcaster has confirmed that they and the Association of Variety Artists and Performers of Montenegro are jointly “verifying the authenticity of the video.”
🇲🇪 A small part of their performance is available in a recap video uploaded by the festival on 10 June 2023.
[🎥 festivalkulturezabjelo]More: https://t.co/ys5uM1Hqyr pic.twitter.com/n0H27ykKUN
— ESC Discord (@ESCdiscord) December 1, 2024
The rules of the Eurovision Song Contest dictate that any song that competes at the contest must be a new, original work. As a result, a rule exists that says that songs that compete at Eurovision 2025 cannot released or performed publicly before September 1 2024 and deemed to gain an advantage as a result. A version of this rule was also in place at Montesong 2024, which NeoneoN won earlier this week.
The full rule, as it appears in the contest’s rulebook, reads as follows:
“In case the song submitted has been made available to the public, for example, but not limited to, on online video platforms, social networks or (semi-) publicly accessible databanks and/or performed publicly, for example but not limited to during concerts, prior to the Release Date the Participating Broadcaster must inform the ESC Executive Supervisor, who shall have authority to evaluate whether the song remains eligible for participation in the Contest.
In particular, the ESC Executive Supervisor shall assess whether such disclosure prior to the Release Date is likely to give to the song an advantage in the Contest vis-à-vis the other participating songs.
The ESC Executive Supervisor shall have authority to authorise or deny participation of a song which may have been available to the public as described above. The ESC Executive Supervisor shall consult the Reference Group in case of doubt.”
Because of this, RTCG has confirmed that it is considering the “potential disqualification” of NeoneoN from Montesong 2024. Danijel Alibabić, the Director of Montesong 2024, confirmed on Instagram that a decision will be made tomorrow in consultation with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU):
“The decision on the potential disqualification will be made tomorrow, after consultation with the European Broadcasting Union, the organiser of the Eurovision Song Contest.”
The band have responded to RTCG’s announcement on Instagram. While they have said that the clip of them playing “Clickbait” live is genuine, they claim that they were performing “one of its working versions”. They have also stated that the song “was not published, commercially or exploited in any other way and that it could not have a competitive advantage.”
Because of this, the band say that their victory at Montesong 2024 was “fully deserved.”
If the recording is verified as authentic, then there is a possibility that “Clickbait” may be disqualified from Montesong 2024.
The broadcaster has not confirmed what they would do in the event of “Clickbait” being disqualified from Montesong 2024.
Image Source: NeonoeN | Source: RTCG
