North Macedonia’s Eurovision story is one of big songs, near misses and fierce fan loyalty. On this episode of Building Bridges, we hear it from two women who lived it, in conversations recorded a week apart.

As MRT prepares to return to a vastly different Contest they left five years ago, Jana and Andrea offer an honest portrait of what a Eurovision journey really means, from the highs on stage to the long road afterwards.

Jana Burčeska took Dance Alone to Kyiv in 2017. It was a whirlwind: she competed while pregnant, announced her engagement along the way, and missed the final in what many fans still call one of the Contest’s biggest shocks.

Nearly a decade on, she says the song’s lasting place in fans’ hearts is what she’s proudest of. She also reflects on her time behind the scenes with the Tel Aviv team that brought Tamara Todevska’s Proud to the stage, and she shares her advice for future acts: don’t take the voting too seriously, because fans will love you regardless.

“[D]on’t take it so seriously because fans will love you no matter what and the voting process is… just something else.”

— Jana’s sincere advice for the next artist from North Macedonia

We also catch up with Andrea Koevska, who sang Circles in Turin in 2022, was just 22 when she walked the Turquoise Carpet. She remembers feelings more than moments: the nerves, the friendships and the backing singers who were her “rock”. She explains why Eurovision’s community is unlike any other stage, and why finishing so close to the final felt both bittersweet and a relief.

“There’s no stage in this world, I think, like Eurovision that makes you feel accepted to be who you are.”

— Andrea candidly reflecting on her time in Turin

Since then she has finished her studies, moved to Berlin and earned her Master’s in composition. She is also preparing new music for early next year that sounds very different from Circles.

Hear both interviews in full on the latest episode of Building Bridges, available wherever you get your podcasts.

---

Are you pleased with to see North Macedonia back at the Contest? Let us know in the comments’ section below or on social media —please follow along with us @buildingbridgespod

Title Image: EBU / Nathan Reinds