Dodji i budi samo moj

I can forgive a lot of things for the sake of a great chorus. Take Montenegrin singer Milena Vučić's single "Indijana," (music vido featuring Milena sporting an oddly chosen milkmaid-type hairstyle here) for example. Milena competed in Serbia and Montenegro's 20044 national final for Eurovision as part of the girl group Negre, but as far as her solo career goes, she has the song festival Sunčane Skale to thank for her success (she entered Montenegro's 2006 Eurovision national final beforehand, but didn't rank too highly in that). "Indijana" wasn't the song she won Sunčane Skale with, though (but that song's great too); it was a follow-up single, and a song of a pretty different style. Gone was the pop-rock sound and in its place was punchy '80's-influenced pop--not '80's in the electropop sense that's popular now, but more as in the sense of French singer Nâdiya's "Tous ces mots" and "Roc," music with a sort of energetic stadium feel.

Sadly, "Indijana," the music for which was composed by the male host of this year's Eurovision, doesn't properly measure up to the brilliant "Tous ces mots" due to its failure to have compelling verses. That's a shame--even with the song starting off with rapping (which I actually like here), from the very beginning with the electro riff that gives way to the more solid swaying beat of the chorus, you get the feeling the song is going to be great; it takes a step back when you reach that first verse, which maybe feels too sparse or doesn't have Milena properly selling the vocal melody or just settles for messing around when it should be concerned about adding to the song's power and push--but not a big enough one for me to stop listening to "Indijana" and enjoying what it does have to offer.

To buy Milena Vučić's debut solo album Da L'ona Zna, go here (physical) or here (digital). It's also available on iTunes. Another of her singles, "Luče," harks back to the '80's, too, fitting in with "Indijana" but not being a rehash of it. It's maybe slightly less R&B-influenced and more just sharp rushing '80's beats; it's also probably more consistent than "Indijana," but the chorus to "Indijana" gets me so excited that that had to be the song I shared.

Next up: maybe something about Kate Ryan, but I want to wait on that until I actually have something to say.