She is North Macedonia’s new idol. Following a long series of poor Eurovision results for the Balkan nation, their luck changed last May, when they reached the top of the jury vote and their best ever result, with the extraordinary performance of Tamara Todevska on the stage in Tel Aviv.

Her compatriots are definitely very Proud of her. Not only did her 7th place on the final scoreboard result in a heroine’s welcome at Skopje Airport, but Tamara was also honored by the country’s Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev.

Although she had been active within the music industry for many years now and 2019 didn’t mark her very first Eurovision participation, the time was now for her career to reach at its climax. Her Eurovision acclaim set the ground for further recognition, fans and concerts in North Macedonia, the Balkans and beyond.

Talking all things

Her experience in Tel Aviv brought her music career to a new level. Tamara Todevska didn’t skip a mention to the team she worked with, which she is very proud of. “I feel that I have found myself and this was the beginning of a wonderful journey“, she happily says.

In a recent interview to Serbian media Novosti, Tamara talked about everything: her Eurovision experience, her career, her future plans and of course what she is most proud of: her family. Looking back in the past and all things she has been through, she says that she has never been happier than now.

“I am proud of everything I have lived”

Tamara’s Eurovision entry Proud has been a teamwork and has a very touching message, because “it’s a poem that shows how strong we really are“, Tamara says. Among others, she spoke about her tears when she wrote the first lyrics of the tracks with her colleagues and immediately all good and bad moments in her life came to her mind and concludes: “I realized that I am proud of everything I have lived. There is something in this song that touched every cell of my being“. Her main target was to spread the message, something she has done with great success, admittedly.

Her song’s lyrics say: “Tell them, this is me and thanks to you I’m proud“, which is probably the hardest thing in life, she suggests. Tamara ends up to this conclusion, as our happiness often depends on the others’ opinion and approval. Although she says this may be normal at some point, she adds: “Time goes by and you realize that your own opinion is the most important of all and you should not be afraid to express it“. Tamara seems quite sure that there will always be people who will love you and others who will try to discourage you. “Then the thing is up to us. We can decide where to focus energy“, she completes.

“Our strength lies in our power to show weakness!”

Her life in retrospect: she has been through a lot, but without the difficult moments she could not understand what happiness finally is, she admits. “My tears have made me a stronger person. Our strength lies in our power to show weakness and to enjoy even the things that have hurt us, although it might sound crazy“.

She has a demanding task as a parent, as she states: To teach her children to appreciate and be proud of both good and bad things and life, and make them understand that everything happens for their good. And of course, to teach them to live the life they are dreaming of: “My children need to open their eyes and hear what others have to say, but first of all, I want them to know that what your heart says is, often, the most important thing“.

When it comes to Tamara herself, she summarizes many things in a few lines:

When I look in the mirror, I see a woman who has been through a lot, but she never gave up. I see happiness, I see grief, I see love, magic, but, most of all, I see myself – the way I should be. I’ve never been happier in my life. This is me, finally!

Her new music album is already being prepared, while a concert tour during the summer and come autumn is on the way! “I can’t wait to present what I have prepared! For me, this is just the beginning!“, she concludes.

Source: novosti.rs

Tamara Todevska at Eurovision 2019

Following three previous performances on the Eurovision stage (2008 – lead artist, 2004 and 2014 – backing vocalist), Tamara Todevska was internally selected by the country’s national broadcaster MRT to represent the country of North Macedonia for the first time under their new name at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Her song Proud was revealed at a later date. Although the Macedonian entry was not initally among the bookies’ favourites, it all changed after the rehearsals’ beginning. But the actual result was meant to be even more successful. The country finished as runner-up in the second semi-final and went through to the final, where they were eventually crowned the winners of the jury vote, with a total of 247 points.

This result was added up to her televoting score, which finally brought her to the 7th place of the scoreboard, with 305 points in total. This was the very first Top-10 placing for North Macedonia, since their debut in 1998 and apparently their highest Eurovision result.

Below you may enjoy her at the Grand Final on 18 May: