Exactly seven days after the Montesong Festival, which sparked public debates about the legitimacy of NeonoeN’s participation in Eurovision 2025 in Basel, the band has officially put an end to the uncertainty surrounding the matter. NeonoeN withdrawed from Eurovision 2025.

Below is their full statement:

“Dear Public,

In the best interest of the public and with a desire to end the uncertainty, while reaffirming our commitment to music, we hereby inform you of our voluntary decision to withdraw from Eurovision. In line with regulations, RTCG will select another representative, and we will be the first to wish them success and extend our full support.

Winning Montesong brought us a level and type of publicity that we neither sought nor could control. We wish to stress—and the facts support this—that performing a draft version of our song live neither compromised the Montesong Festival process nor influenced its final outcome and our placement. History shows many similar cases, some of which were approved by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and even resulted in Eurovision victories, as it was clear these performances did not offer a competitive advantage.

However, we simply do not want to be part of discussions outside the realm of music or to promote our work in such a manner.

Eurovision has never been a goal in itself for us. Expanding the scope of our musical endeavors always has been and always will be.

The Montesong Festival, organized by the Association of Performing Artists, brought 16 new songs to life, which we believe is its greatest achievement.

We would like to thank RTCG management for their goodwill and their openness to offering us alternative opportunities. We trust they will understand and respect our decision to step away from Eurovision, and we are equally grateful for that.

A special and heartfelt thank you goes to the musicians, music lovers, friends, acquaintances, journalists, and the general public in Montenegro and abroad whose support has been our strength in recent days. Our families have shared in the highs and lows of this journey with us, and now it’s time to repay and dedicate ourselves to them fully.

Our single CLICKBAIT will continue to live on as a musical release and, perhaps, as a reflection of modern social phenomena.

Once again, thank you all. Let us now collectively support Montenegro at Eurovision!”

RTCG, the Montenegrin public broadcaster, expressed gratitude to NeonoeN for their respectful communication and extended best wishes for the band’s future artistic endeavors.

A decision on Montenegro’s new representative for Eurovision 2025 in Switzerland will be made in the coming days.

Photo: RTCG/Perica Laličić