Montenegro: NeonoeN withdraw from Eurovision 2025

• National final winners NeonoeN decided to withdraw from Eurovision 2025 as their song 'Clickbait' is under investigation for breach of EBU rules. 

  Band Neonoen won the Montesong national final last week with 'Clickbait' but their joy didn't last long a video that came up showed a performance of their song at a festival back in 2023, way back before the dates of September 1, 2024 , the date before which no competings songs in Eurovision should be displayed. 

  In the light of this developement Montenegro's broadcaster, RTCG, launched an investigation to confirm the facts or not. However, the band decided to withdraw from the competition before any outcome was published. 

  Neonoen's statement reads as following: 

  Dear,

  In the best public interest, with the desire to end the uncertainty and once again contribute to the music for which we are here in the first place, we inform you that we are voluntarily withdrawing from participation in Eurovision. According to the regulations, RTCG will choose another representative, and we will be the first to wish him luck and provide our full support.

  The victory at Montesong brought us publicity, the type and extent of which we did not choose, nor could we control. We note, and the facts confirm it, that the live performance of the working version of the song did not jeopardize the Montesong festival process itself, nor could it affect its final outcome and our ranking. It is also a fact that there were many similar examples and that the EBU always decided that those songs could participate (one even won the Eurovision Song Contest), because they did not have a competitive advantage over the others, which is clear to everyone.

  However, we simply do not want to be part of any stories outside of music, nor to promote our own work in that way.

  Eurovision was never a goal in itself for us. Expanding the field of our musical activity – it certainly is!

  The Montesong Festival, organized by the Association of Variety Artists, brought 16 new songs and that is its greatest value.

  We would like to thank the management of RTCG for their benevolent relationship and their intention to give us room for other options. We believe that they will understand our decision to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest, and we thank them for that as well.

  Special and enormous gratitude for the support of fellow musicians, lovers of good music, friends, acquaintances, journalists and the general public from Montenegro and abroad, which gave us strength in the last days. Our families together with us lived through all the splendor and despair of this process and now it’s time to repay them and dedicate ourselves in the right way.

  CLICKBAIT lives on as a musical single, but we fear also as a contemporary social phenomenon.

  Once again, thank you all. Now let’s all support Montenegro at Eurovision together!

   

  Following this development the broadcaster will be announcing shortly the acts that will be taking the band's place in order to represent Montenegro at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. 

   

  News Source: RTCG

  Image: Photo: RTCG/Perica Lalicic

   

   

   

   

AUTHORS

Angelos D.
Loyal follower of the Eurovision Song Contest since 1987, I've made the competition one of the stories of my life. After attending as accredited press the event for 13 consecutive years along with the 2017-2024 JESC editions, I also enjoy the last three years sharing more Eurovision music through the Eurofans radio's project.