Following months of speculation regarding BHRT’s participation and representative (including a major rumor that Hari Mata Hari would be returning to the competition), we finally have a confirmation from Bosnia and Herzegovina.  It has just been announced that singer-songwriter Maja Sarihodžić, better known as Maya Sar, will take the stage in Baku.  Sar is no stranger to Eurovision; she sang backup for Deen in 2004, and eagle-eyed Eurofans might recognize her as the giddy piano player behind Dino Merlin during this year’s performance of “Love in Rewind”…SITO!

Maya is currently wrapping up her first solo album, but she released her first single, “Nespretno (Awkwardly)”  last year.

She has also done quite a bit of charity work, particularly in the field of ovarian cancer awareness.  She wrote and composed a charity single, “Moj je zivot moje pjesma (My life is my song)”, which was performed by a quartet of famous singers from all over the Balkans (including Karolina Goceva, who represented FYR Macedonia during ESC 2002 and 2007):

Maya will be the first female soloist to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2007, when Marija Šestić took the stage with “Rijeka bez imena“.  The nation also hopes to continue its streak of qualifying for every single Eurovision Final since the Semifinal system was put in place in 2004 (a statistic shared only with Greece, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine), and her song will be unveiled early next year.

What do you think of BHRT’s choice?  Let me know in the comments!