Melodije Istre i Kvarnera 2023


The Melodije Istre i Kvarnera 2023 was the 53rd edition of the annual Melodije Istre i Kvarnera, a song contest held annually in multiple towns in the Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties of Croatia. The show was held between 19 and 24 June 2023, and presented by Lena Stojiljković and Borna Šmer. Andrej Baša
served as the artistic director for the competition.

Format

The 2023 edition of the Melodije Istre i Kvarnera festival had four host cities/munincipalities; Opatija, Rijeka, Barban and Krk. The four host cities would organize five nights with Krk hosting the last two shows with the grand final. The artistic director for the competition was Andrej Baša.
Each of the ticket holders for the live shows received a voting ballot where they could cast their votes for the main public's award. Each night, after all performances, the top 3 placed songs of the current show were revealed with the general ranking winner being announced on the last night in Krk.
On 27 March 2023, all competing entries and host cities were revealed. The main show consisted of 18 competing entries. 17 of them were sung in Croatian and one entry had its lyrics in Italian.

Awards

Additional to the main award, these awards were given out:
  • Best New Artist
  • Critic's Choice
  • Čakavski Sabor Award for Best Lyrics
  • "Nello Milotti" Award for Best Traditional Production
  • Radio Istra Award for Best Song Production
  • Radio Rijeka Award for Best Vocal Performance

Shows

First night

The first show was held in Opatija.
DrawArtistSongBallot vote ranking----
DrawArtistSongBallot vote ranking1ženska klapa Vejanke"Zavavik tu"—
2Matej Plavček & Maja Miljavac"Na vrh Učke"—----
3Eleonora Dobrović & Luka Brgić"Istria mia"—----
4Katja Budimčić Sabljar"Leta su pasala"—----
5Dino Guščić"Sad razumin"—----
6Melanija"Guštan more"—----
7ženska klapa Hreljin"Kokodak"—----
8Božidarka Matija Čerina & ž.v.s. Luštrin"Bit ćeš se moje"—----
9Marinella"Kažuni"—----
10Kožne jakne"Kožna jaketa"—----
11Po' metra crijeva"Metal je ča!"—----
12Lado Bartoniček"Ja bin jopet bija njen"—----
13Alen Vitasović"On ni doša"—----
14Daniel Moscarda"Na škaline"—----
15Erik Balija"Porat ud neba"—----
16Nevia Rigutto & Duško Jeličić"Pod ruku me ćapaj"1----
17Voljen Grbac, Joso Butorac & klapa Tić"Suza s Kvarnera"2----
18Tamara Brusić i ženska klapa Hreljin"Ženske za feštu"3----

Second night

The second show was held in Rijeka.
DrawArtistSongBallot vote rankingUpdated general ranking-----
DrawArtistSongBallot vote rankingUpdated general ranking1Nevia Rigutto & Duško Jeličić"Pod ruku me ćapaj"—2
2Voljen Grbac, Joso Butorac & klapa Tić"Suza s Kvarnera"11-----
3Tamara Brusić i ženska klapa Hreljin"Ženske za feštu"23-----
4Božidarka Matija Čerina & ž.v.s. Luštrin"Bit ćeš se moje"3—-----
5Melanija"Guštan more"——-----
6Eleonora Dobrović & Luka Brgić"Istria mia"——-----
7Kožne jakne"Kožna jaketa"——-----
8ženska klapa Hreljin"Kokodak"——-----
9Marinella"Kažuni"——-----
10Katja Budimčić Sabljar"Leta su pasala"——-----
11Lado Bartoniček"Ja bin jopet bija njen"——-----
12Po' metra crijeva"Metal je ča!"——-----
13Matej Plavček & Maja Miljavac"Na vrh Učke"——-----
14Daniel Moscarda"Na škaline"——-----
15Alen Vitasović"On ni doša"——-----
16Erik Balija"Porat ud neba"——-----
17Dino Guščić"Sad razumin"——-----
18ženska klapa Vejanke"Zavavik tu"——-----

Third night

The third night was held in Barban.
DrawArtistSongBallot vote rankingUpdated general ranking-----
DrawArtistSongBallot vote rankingUpdated general ranking1Voljen Grbac, Joso Butorac & klapa Tić"Suza s Kvarnera"—2
2Tamara Brusić i ženska klapa Hreljin"Ženske za feštu"11-----
3Božidarka Matija Čerina & ž.v.s. Luštrin"Bit ćeš se moje"——-----
4Melanija"Guštan more"——-----
5Eleonora Dobrović & Luka Brgić"Istria mia"3—-----
6Kožne jakne"Kožna jaketa"——-----
7ženska klapa Hreljin"Kokodak"——-----
8Marinella"Kažuni"——-----
9Katja Budimčić Sabljar"Leta su pasala"——-----
10Lado Bartoniček"Ja bin jopet bija njen"——-----
11Po' metra crijeva"Metal je ča!"——-----
12Matej Plavček & Maja Miljavac"Na vrh Učke"——-----
13Daniel Moscarda"Na škaline"——-----
14Alen Vitasović"On ni doša"2—-----
15Erik Balija"Porat ud neba"——-----
16Nevia Rigutto & Duško Jeličić"Pod ruku me ćapaj"—3-----
17Dino Guščić"Sad razumin"——-----
18ženska klapa Vejanke"Zavavik tu"——-----

Fourth night

The fourth night was held in Krk. It served as a main dress rehearsal prior to the final thus no voting occurred.
DrawArtistSong---
DrawArtistSong1Tamara Brusić i ženska klapa Hreljin"Ženske za feštu"
2Alen Vitasović"On ni doša"---
3Eleonora Dobrović & Luka Brgić"Istria mia"---
4Božidarka Matija Čerina & ž.v.s. Luštrin"Bit ćeš se moje"---
5Melanija"Guštan more"---
6Kožne jakne"Kožna jaketa"---
7ženska klapa Hreljin"Kokodak"---
8Marinella"Kažuni"---
9Katja Budimčić Sabljar"Leta su pasala"---
10Lado Bartoniček"Ja bin jopet bija njen"---
11Po' metra crijeva"Metal je ča!"---
12Matej Plavček & Maja Miljavac"Na vrh Učke"---
13Daniel Moscarda"Na škaline"---
14Erik Balija"Porat ud neba"---
15Nevia Rigutto & Duško Jeličić"Pod ruku me ćapaj"---
16Dino Guščić"Sad razumin"---
17Voljen Grbac, Joso Butorac & klapa Tić"Suza s Kvarnera"---
18ženska klapa Vejanke"Zavavik tu"---

Fifth night

The fifth and final night was held in Krk.
DrawArtistSongBallot vote rankingFinal general ranking-----
DrawArtistSongBallot vote rankingFinal general ranking1ženska klapa Vejanke"Zavavik tu"2—
2Matej Plavček & Maja Miljavac"Na vrh Učke"——-----
3Kožne jakne"Kožna jaketa"——-----
4Eleonora Dobrović & Luka Brgić"Istria mia"——-----
5Dino Guščić"Sad razumin"——-----
6Marinella"Kažuni"——-----
7Nevia Rigutto & Duško Jeličić"Pod ruku me ćapaj"—3-----
8Lado Bartoniček"Ja bin jopet bija njen"——-----
9ženska klapa Hreljin"Kokodak"——-----
10Božidarka Matija Čerina & ž.v.s. Luštrin"Bit ćeš se moje"——-----
11Melanija"Guštan more"——-----
12Daniel Moscarda"Na škaline"——-----
13Po' metra crijeva"Metal je ča!"——-----
14Katja Budimčić Sabljar"Leta su pasala"——-----
15Erik Balija"Porat ud neba"——-----
16Tamara Brusić i ženska klapa Hreljin"Ženske za feštu"32-----
17Alen Vitasović"On ni doša"——-----
18Voljen Grbac, Joso Butorac & klapa Tić"Suza s Kvarnera"11-----

Special guests

The special guests of Melodije Istre i Kvarnera 2023 included:
  • Singers / musicians: Gianluca Draguzet, Damir Kedžo, Vesna Nežić-Ružić, Sergio Pavat, Danijel Rubeša, Mauro Staraj, Nikolina Tomljanović

Official album

Melodije Istre i Kvarnera 2023. is the official compilation album of the contest. It was released by Melody Records in CD format on 9 June 2023. The album features studio versions of all 18 entries.
The album debuted at number 33 on the Croatiand Albums Chart issued weekly by Top lista. It charted for a total of two weeks making it the festival's first compilation album to chart.
Chart Peak
position
Croatian Domestic Albums 33