Lelek for 24 hours: 'The song talks about loss and pain. Ethno and English? We wanted the message to echo … '

We chose the name because it is simple, easily memorable and recognizable. The word itself indicates the final 'oj' tone in ethno singing, which seemed appropriate with regard to our musical vision, the girls under the name tell us WAILING which will sing on Dori 'The Soul of My Soul'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia91nc95igg

The song also delighted Dora fans, so there are more than 212,000 views on YouTube. The group they make Judita StorgaWho,, Claudia PulekWho,, Korina Olivia RogicWho,, Lara Brtan and Marina Ramljak It was made recently.

– The group was created at the initiative of the project manager Tomislav Rose, who presented his idea in September 2024. What brought us together is, of course, a love of music and a common desire to present to people tradition in a new, fresh form and arrangements that we have not had the opportunity to hear so far – they explain to us.

The performance on Dori, they say, is an ideal opportunity to present their love to a wider audience.

Photo: Ante Odak

– As a new name on the music scene, our desire was to bring our work closer to as many people as possible and to present themselves to the audience in the best possible way. We believe that the stage is Dora, although it carries a great responsibility, the perfect place to achieve this goal. We made sure that we would not go out with a song that would serve solely for self -promotion. Instead, we have opted for a project that we believe is worth participating in this competition, and potentially the Eurosong itself. Although we were convinced that our application had a great chance of passing, the news that we went to the competition we welcomed with a huge excitement. That moment was a confirmation of our efforts and an additional incentive to do our best in the period ahead of us – the girls say.

The song he will sing in Opatija is inspired by a not -so -beautiful event.

– The music for the song 'The Soul of My Soul' was composed by Filip Lackovic, while the lyrics were written by Tomislav Roso. The idea they were leading was to give the audience a unique experience on the Dora stage, a combination of a movie arrangement with elements of ethno sound, which is not a common occurrence in this competition. Although we have considered several different directions and genres that we could fit in ethno elements, this choice made us the most appropriate for this occasion. The song is quite layered and leaves room for thinking and your own interpretation. It is inspired by loss and tragedy, and its main message lies in the universal human experience of pain – they admit.

Photo: Ante Odak

It is this ethno sound and the movie arrangement stands out 'The Soul of My Soul' from other songs from Dora, and these elements create an atmosphere that is rarely seen on these stages.

– The song is not only a melody and a text, but a layered experience that invites the listener to connect to the important topics of the time we live in. Also, it is especially emphasized by the fact that it is performed by as many as five vocalists who live music every day – the girls say.

Although the song does not leave too much space for dynamic choreography, the girls gathered a team with which they want to create a visual performance worthy of attention.

– The performance we prepare will be carefully designed, no segment of our live performance is left to the case – from the costume, the stage elements, the movement, the light to the story itself. Each element is formed by a professional person in which we have complete confidence. We are very pleased with how the whole process of preparation is progressing and we cannot wait to show the audience everything we have prepared – they revealed to us.

Photo: Karla Čulin

Apart from one of the audience favorites, Lelek also delighted last year's winner Baby Lasagna.

– Considering that the song was targeted for Dora, we hoped that the audience would include us among their favorites. It is a wonderful feeling when someone recognizes your work and gives you support in this regard, we are very grateful for that. Baby Lasagna showed his performance that the result should mean and be imperative for anyone who signed up for Dori. The ladder was raised very high. Although it is not the most comfortable to come to the stage a year after the best results in the history of Croatia, all our attention is focused on performance and we believe we will be at the level – they said.

They also revealed to us that Baby Lasagna had contacted them.

– We personally do not know Mark, but he was wonderful and after the song outings sent us briefly and clearly: 'Bravo!'. We would not have rebelled if he had sent Demo for a duet with a message of support … Maybe after Dora! they speak through laughter.

Photo: Karla Čulin

The only goal is to give the performance the audience deserves, and they will celebrate in both cases – whether they win over or not.

– Of course, we want to win. Everyone who sends a song on Dora should do it with this idea and desire, because it is the only way to a good result at the Eurovision Song Contest. In the end, Dora can turn into a festival of good music with many favorites and compositions of valuable attention. It is clear to us where we came and in what we get into. If we were doing a promotional song, we would have sent it to one of the festivals that does not carry the burden of presentation of the nation. While you are doing a song, you can't be completely sure if it's « it », because at that moment you don't have the feedback of the audience. However, over time, it turns out if the direction we go is good or not. We hope we went in the right direction – they said.

Girls follow Eurosong and have always wanted to show up on the stage of that competition. Baby Lasagna and Doris Dragovic are their performances that they remember as the most striking. They presented their song in English, which not everyone liked it.

– We had a few options ahead, but we were guided to give people something that would not be just another song. By sound, we might say that the song is experimental. We were not sure how the audience would respond to ethno elements in English, but our wish was to convey a message to as many people as possible. Considering that the topic is sensitive and the song will reach the European audience, the English language seemed more appropriate – they said.

Photo: Karla Čulin

However, when they published a part of the song in Croatian, comments of enthusiasm overwhelmed their social networks. 'Immediately publish the whole song', 'Croatian is better in Croatian', 'No English, this should be sung on ours' are just some of the comments.

– We follow the comments and reactions to our song, and it was this segment that for now, showed that a certain number of listeners are bothered. As it is in our interest to provide a project behind which our listeners will be proud to stand, we hired in terms of singing in Croatian. To help creating a text, we contacted one of the famous regional Eurovision stars to which the idea liked it and showed interest in cooperation. We hope that we will have the version in the Croatian language before Dora, maybe even on Dori itself – they concluded.