Izdaju me koljena a nisam se zaljubila

I stop following Croatian singer Franka Batelić for a few months, and what does she go and do?



Only continue proving herself to be one of the best popstar projects going. Her team is doing a fantastic job of matching her up with the right music, provided here by the same people as those behind "Ruža u kamenu" (as well as her entry this year in Croatia's national finals for Eurovision, "Pjesma za kraj"). That poppy electro-disco beat, that chorus melody--I would have been sold even without the "ooo bop bop bop" backing vocals. I once jokingly said I wished someone would match Franka up with Xenomania, but even if that were financially and logistically possible, she doesn't need it, not as long as she can keep getting songs from Boris Đurđević (member of dance group Colonia and fantastic songwriter), Miro Buljan, and Nenad Ninčević.

"Možda volim te" "Ruža u kamenu," and "Pjesma za kraj" show just as much songwriting skill as anything any of the British, Swedish, American, or otherwhere-based songwriters I and the Internet go on and on about--I just wish more people would appreciate it.

#79 Franka Batelić, "Ruža u kamenu"

Da l' sam još jedna ja, pomalo nebitna
koja bi dala sve, život za tebe
ili me iskreno, onako pošteno
u srcu imaš svom i gineš za mene

...

Da li sam samo gost ili do jutra most
kog zoveš u pomoc da kraca bude noc

The debut single from a young Croatian singer, the winner of a TV singing contest, "Ruža u kamenu" and its unveiling performance (particularly the outfits and the matching of the stop-start post-chorus section to the stop-start dancing) at a Croatian music festival mark a proper popstar moment, one I'd like to see as the arrival of a brilliant new artist but that's a prospect I'm not placing any bets on. "Ruža u kamenu" is brilliant and unique, two things that made it all the more exciting an arrival from Croatia; I know you might not guess it from the song's placement on this list, but I think my excitement around Franka and "Ruža u kamenu" is about equivalent to what some people probably felt when Girls Aloud unleashed "No Good Advice" upon the world, not because the song is equally as good (it's great but not quite that great) but because with its excellently crafted musical parts are all just so fresh, so well done, so imbued with attitude by Franka, and so...out of nowhere that it manages the dual feat of being fantastic while hinting at so much potential. That's potential that, as I said above and elsewhere, I'm not expecting to be fulfilled, but I desperately want Franka to get the music and care this song and her performance of it prove she deserves.

Find it on: I've got no idea--Franka has yet to release a debut album and I have no idea where you can buy Croatian singles

Da l' sam još jedna ja, pomalo nebitna

I don't compete in or even regularly follow any of the Internet competitions simulating or based off of Eurovision, but I'm glad they're out there as when you do stumble across them they can often lead you to songs you might never have otherwise heard of but which are great. Take Croatian singer Franka Batelić, whose debut single "Ruža u kamenu" ("Rose In The Stone") debuted through her HRF (Hrvatski radijski festival, or Croatian Radio Festival).



Maybe credit for the fierceness I feel from the song and performance should go to the choreographer and whoever was in charge of wardrobe, as the whole jerky time-stopping movements the tutu-skirted dancers do doing the whole post-chorus section are absolutely perfect for the song. The whole thing, though, adds up to what I can't help seeing as the birth of a star (previous exposure notwithstanding)--there's just something about the styling, the confidence, and, mainly, the song itself, with its odd pop sound, that has me hoping Franka will end up being interesting for the right reasons. "Ruža u kamenu" isn't a song I can really properly describe--mid-tempo, yes, with some half-agressive guitar-riffs, yes, but also with just a hint, a hint, of electro bubbling up here and there. And then that post-chorus section (or second chorus, if you want): the best part of the song, for sure, and one that makes me want to break out a more pause-filled version of the Girls Aloud hand clock.

In fact, that's it exactly: I want someone to take Franka away into a recording studio and turn her into a proper Girls Aloud type popstar--this song isn't there yet, but it's interesting enough and suits her well enough that it gives me reason to think she could get there. In all likelihood she'll never do that and will instead revert to fairly pedestrian songs like those that did well at the festival she was performing at, but when that happens it'll really be a shame. What are Xenomania doing in their spare time? Or, failing that and sticking closer to home, what's the main songwriter of Colonia doing? Let's match him up with Franka A.S.A.P.

I've got really no idea where to buy Croatian music online--if anyone has any recommendations, let me know and I'll add the link.

Next up: maybe back to the UK.