Croatia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 by Boris Novkovic and Lado Members with the song "Vukovi umiru sami" . The song was written by Boris Novković and composed by Franjo Valentić. Boris Novković was born on 25 December 1967 in Sarajevo to a family of musicians. His father Đorđe Novković is one of the greatest Croatian pop composers and songwriters and his mother Ozana is a music teacher. During his impressive career, spanning almost 20 years, Boris has released 14 albums of which Ostvaren san is his most recent release in 2004. Boris competed in the Yugoslavian finals for Eurovision in 1989 with the song "Dajana" which came in second. Boris also competed in the International Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has performed at most Croatian festivals and has won many prizes.
Before Eurovision
Dora 2005
Dora 2005 was the Croatian national selection which selected Croatia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. Notable participants included former Croatian representatives Magazin, Danijela Martinović;, Goran Karan and Vesna Pisarović.
Quarter-final
Between 7 and 18 February 2004, a quarter-final was held with 20 songs being presented on HRT over the course of 10 shows. From 21 to 24 February 2004, 4 more shows were broadcast where 18 semi-finalists were chosen by televoting and an "expert" jury.
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 3 March 2005 at the HRT TV Studios in Zagreb, hosted by Nina Badrić and Robert Ferlin. Nine entries participated and seven advanced to the final. The qualifiers were determined based on the votes of televoting and an "expert" jury.
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 4 March 2005 at the HRT TV Studios in Zagreb, hosted by Nina Badrić and Robert Ferlin. Nine entries participated and seven advanced to the final. The qualifiers were determined based on the votes of televoting and an "expert" jury.
Final
The final took place on 5 March 2005 at the HRT TV Studios in Zagreb, hosted by Nina Badrić and Robert Ferlin. The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a three-member "expert" jury panel and televoting determined the top three entries to proceed to the superfinal. In the superfinal, the winner was selected entirely by the televote. The eventual winner was Boris Novković featuring members of the ethno group Lado, with the song "Vukovi umiru sami".
At Eurovision
At Eurovision, Boris delivered a simple performance accompanied by a bagpipe and the Lado members in the background. One of the main features of his performance was the drum player who not only made a spectacle out of his drum playing, but also jumped around the stage and did some gymnastics. The song remained in Croatian. The song is considered a Balkan ballad for having Croatian folk influence. Because Croatia placed 12th at the 2004 contest,Boris Novković feat. Lado members were forced to compete in the Eurovision semi-final, held two days before the final. Croatia qualified to the final, placing 4th in the semi-final and scoring 169 points. In the final, Croatia performed 18th, following Germany and preceding the Greece. Croatia placed 11th in the final, scoring 115 points, meaning that Croatia automatically qualified for the final in the 2006 contest. The spokesperson who revealed Croatia's votes for other countries was Barbara Kolar, an HRT host.
