Sat. Nov 2nd, 2024
Baby LasagnaBaby Lasagna | Photo: Davorin Visnjic/PIXSELL

We had a great opportunity to ask the incredible Baby Lasagna our questions about him and his song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”, before the 2nd Semi-final of the Croatian National Selection Dora 2024, which will take place on the 23rd of February.

BL: Hello guys, my name is Baby Lasagna. Today I’m gonna answer some of your questions and, hopefully, you enjoy it and come to meet me a little bit more. So, yeah, cheers!

ES: You were a member of the band “Manntra”. How did you decide to start a solo career? How did Marko become Baby Lasagna?

BL: Yes, I was a member of the band “Manntra”, but that had nothing to do with me creating a project Baby Lasagna. I left the band because of other reasons, and I focused on my songwriting, with which I won even a prize for the best album in Germany in 2023, and, between all of that, I felt the need that I should create something just for myself, specifically something that I like, and that was Baby Lasagna. And thus the project was born.

ES: This is your second attempt at “Dora”. Is it your wish to represent your country at Eurovision? Are you dreaming of an international career?

BL: The first time I was on “Dora” was with the band “Manntra”, and at that time I was not really happy that we were on “Dora”, but the other members were. I was a little kid who was like: “Well, we are a metal band! What we are doing on “Dora”, that doesn’t make sense”. And I didn’t really enjoy it then. But I hope that I’m smarter now than that kid five years ago and that I will enjoy this time on “Dora”. And, I don’t know, I don’t really think much about my career and where it’s gonna go. I hope it’s gonna be international, but first of all, I hope it’s gonna happen, if you know what I mean. So, yeah, I’m really hoping to perform at “Dora” and, God willing, at Eurovision.

ES: You wrote the song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” yourself. When and how did you start to write songs? Was your song specially written for “Dora”?

BL: I started to write songs when I was 9 years old. I still remember the title of my first song, it was called “The Song of Love”. Yeah, I cringe when I hear that, sorry. Yeah, so when I was 9 years old, I started to write songs. And, yeah, I wrote “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” all by myself, actually here, in this “studio”. And, yeah, I didn’t write it specifically for “Dora”. Actually, it’s a part of my upcoming album “Demons and Mosquitoes”, and to be honest with you, “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” wasn’t even supposed to be a single on that album. It was supposed to be an album filler, so, yeah, crazy how things have turned out to be.

ES: How did you feel when you heard that you got into the competition after all?

So, when I first heard that I got in, I wasn’t really excited right away. Actually, I was eating my pasta, and I was like: Yeah, okay! I’m ready, sure. Okay, bye! I just continued to eat, but the people around me were looking at me, and then just a few minutes later, I started to panic.

ES: How was it to get “out of the shadows” overnight?

BL: It was and still is weird to get “out of the shadows”, as you put it. It’s… I don’t know, I’m still in the middle of the storm, so I really need to let it pass, and then reflect on everything that’s going on. Because it’s really hard to be objective at this moment. But I’m trying to enjoy things and trying to… to soak it all in. So, yeah, that’s my motto right now.

ES: Who do you see as your biggest rival to win?

BL: I don’t see them as rivals, but I have my favorites, which are “Let 3” and Marcela, definitely. I think they have really great potential with their songs and their showmanship, so I’m really excited to see what’s gonna happen there.

ES: Your song is about young people leaving their homes in search of a better life. Have you ever considered leaving Umag?

BL: Yeah, my song is about people leaving their country in search of a better life, and I have had opportunities to leave Umag and Croatia, actually, and to go work in America, but I was afraid to do it, so I didn’t do it. Then I had some opportunities to go on a ship, on a cruise to work as a crew member, but I also didn’t do it because I was too scared. So, yeah, I never left my city, and I focused on music, and here we are.

ES: In case you’d move, what city or country would you choose and why?

BL: If I had to pick a country where I would live, it would probably be… I don’t know, maybe Ireland, because Irish people seem cool, and I’ve never been there. So, yeah, probably Ireland. I don’t know…

ES: You took Croatia by storm with your song, do you think you can take the whole of Europe by storm too, and bring Eurovision finally to Zagreb?

BL: Yeah, “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” took Croatia by storm, and I think it took a good part of Eurovision fans from all around the world, so I’m really happy about it. And because of that, I think that it can do well in Europe actually, and yeah, why not bring Eurovision to Zagreb 2025, why not? I think I can do it with the right staging and everything. I think it’s possible…

ES: Have you heard the songs that were chosen so far, which one is your favorite?

BL: Oh, my favorites are Norway right now, because they have some folklore in it, and a metal in it, and a high-pitched voice. I just love the song for now, so currently they are my favorite, I think.

ES: Do you watch Eurosong? Which is your all-time favorite artist or song?

BL: I started to watch Eurosong a few years ago, although I remember going crazy for “Lordi”. When they won, it was my first metal band probably so, yeah. I’m a casual fan of Eurovision, but I really loved Käärijä, I know Måneskin, Go_a… I mean a lot of artists. And today I heard “Queen of the Kings,” not the first time, but I remembered, I recall the song. Oh my God, that’s such a good song, so I can’t stop listening to it around. Yeah, they are honorable mentions, I would say.

ES: You said that you didn’t like adventures, so is participating in “Dora” the biggest adventure in your life so far?

BL: When I said I don’t like adventures, I was thinking more of, like, climbing Mount Everest, scuba diving with sharks, or, I don’t know, something like that. But when it comes to music, I really like doing new challenges, and new things, and competing in “Dora” as a vocalist, is one of them. It can be scary, it can be anxiety-inducing, but everything that’s worth doing, I think it is, so yeah, those adventures I do like.

ES: You like to write. But, what do you like to read, do you have a favorite genre?

BL: Yeah, one of my favorite books is “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I know it’s basic, but I like it. I also read “Idiot” and “Brothers Karamazov”, but “Crime and Punishment” is my favorite one. Well, I like anything that has to do with psychology and the human psyche, so that’s like psychological thrillers would maybe be my favorite kind of genre, I think.

ES: Will you write a novel about the “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” adventure after it, hopefully, finishes in Malmö?

BL: I don’t know if I’m gonna write a novel about the guy from “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”. I think that “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” is its own story, and I think I said everything that needs to be said, or at least it is what I have to say in it. So I don’t know.

ES: How much does Baby Lasagna differ from Marko?

BL: Baby Lasagna is totally different from Marko. I think Baby Lasagna is, like, borderline, an asshole. I mean, he is an extrovert, he likes to think that he’s edgy, he’s not afraid to say some things, and he’s kind of crazy, while I think I am everything the opposite way, so yeah, I think we are different in that way.

ES: Did your father finally learn your stage name?

BL: Yes, he finally learned. He finally says “Baby Lasagna”. But he still calls me Marko, the way I want to be called.

ES: If you meet Taylor Swift in Istria, where would you take her?

BL: That is a really fun question. So, if I had to take Taylor Swift somewhere in Istria, I would take her to one village, but I’m not gonna tell you the name of that village because currently it’s really small, doesn’t have any tourists at all, and yet it’s beautiful. It’s like five people are living there, and it’s so romantic and so magical. But I don’t want to share it with the world, not yet, so I’m gonna keep it a secret, okay?

ES: Thank you! Good luck! Sretno na “Dori”!

BL: Thank you for joining me, and thank you for having me. It’s been lovely, the questions are really creative. I can’t wait to talk to you guys again, hopefully, I’ll see you in Sweden in just a few months, and hopefully you like what you see on Dora 2024. See you, and have a good day. Meow!

Watch music video Baby Lasagna “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”

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