All songs for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 have been selected. During the weeks between the national final season and the actual Eurovision Song Contest, we will introduce all 43 entries in random order. Part eighteen of the series is dedicated to the Bosnian entry.

Basic information

Performer:	Dino Merlin
Song:	Love in rewind
Language:	English & Bosnian
Music:	Dino Merlin
Lyrics:	Dino Merlin
Draw:	1st in the second semi final

The song

Love in rewind is a mid-tempo pop song. The lyrics tell about what love looks like on the surface and about what it actually is like:

Oh, on the surface, oh in the distance
It’s all the same
Oh, in the darkness, oh don't you notice
What a different game

If you take this life from me today
Tear it up and bury me away
You'll just find two, three songs of mine
Hundred worries of mine

The performer and songwriter

Dino Merlin, whose real name is Edin DervišhalidoviÄ�, became famous as founder of the rock group Merlin in the 1980s. Over the years, he eveolved as one of the most popular musicians in Yugoslavia. In 1993, he started his solo career. Later, he also wrote the lyrics to Jedna si jedina, the national anthem of Bosnia & Herzegovina which was in use between 1995 and 1999. As a solo performer, he has realeased a series of successful studio and live albums. He also wrote songs for other artists such as Hari Mata Hari (Bosnian representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006), Emina Jahovic (contestant in the Serbian national final 2010) and Turkish singer Mustafa Sandal.

Dino Merlin is the composer behind Sva bol svijeta, the first entry of Bosnia & Herzegovina as an independant country in the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest. Performed by Fazla it finished 16th in Millstreet. In 1999 he competed in the Bosnian national final in a duo with Beatrice. They finished second but still got the ticket to Jerusalem as the original winners Hari Mata Hari was disqualified. With their song Putnici they finished seventh, which was Bosnia & Herzegovina's best result to that date and it is still the country's second best result today. In 2011, Dino Merlin was chosen internally to take part in the competition, this time with the song Love in rewind.

The national selection

For the sixth year in a row, singer and song were selected internally. The chosen entry premiered during a special TV show dedicated to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Eurovision Song Contest

Bosnia & Herzegovina debuted in the EurovisionSong Contest as an independant country in 1993 having finished second in the Eastern Europe semi final. However, it would take until 1999 that the country reached the top ten of a Eurovision Song Contest final. Other top ten placings came in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009 and 2006 also marks the country's most successful year with a second place in the semi final and a third place in the final. Entries by the broadcaster from Bosnia & Herzegovina also took part under flag of Yugoslavia in 1964, 1965, 1973, 1976 and 1981.

Statistics

This will be Bosnia & Herzegovina's 17th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. It will be the sixth time that the country in represented by a male soloist. Only for the fourth in twelve times since the abolishment of the language rule in 1999, the Bosnian entry is performed mostly in English. Also for the fourth time, the entry mixes lyrics in English and Bosnian, although there are only very few words in the national language that are included in Love in rewind.

The song will open the second semi final and it will be followed by the pop ballad from Austria. It will be the second time that Bosnia & Herzegovina opens a show. The first time it happened in the final in 2007, when Marija ŠestiÄ� went on to finish eleventh. Five of the songs opening the semi finals since 2004, which means exactly the half, managed to qualify for the final. However, four of them were up-tempo (or at least very energetic). The only slow(er) song that managed to qualify was Lijepa Tena in 2009 thanks to the jury wildcard.

Bosni i Hercegovini i Dinu Merlinu želimo svu sreÄ�u i dobar rezultat u Düsseldorfu!

Videos

Song presentation/preview video:

Dino Merlin with Beatrice in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO1cfoVXr3c

Sva bol svijeta, written by Dino Merlin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCDM_WegJVw

Dino Merlin sings Jena si jedina:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFtyeknnPVg

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the Romanian entry.

Previous parts of the series:

1. Estonia
2. Italy
3. Croatia
4. Slovakia
5. Lithuania
6. Finland
7. Switzerland
   
8. Ukraine
9. Norway
10. Moldova
11. Belgium
12. Azerbaijan
13. Ireland
14. Portugal
    
15. Austria
16. Latvia
17. France