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"Ninanajna"
Single by Elena Risteska
from the album 192 and Milioner
Released	2006
Format	CD
Recorded	2006
Genre	Pop, R&B
Length	03:01
Writer(s)	Darko Dimitrov,Rade Vrčakovski
Producer	Darko Dimitrov
Elena Risteska singles chronology
Ni Na Nebo, Ni Na Zemja (2005) Ninanajna Ne Mogu (2006)
192 track listing Toa Što Plačam (10) "Ninanajna" (11) Nemožam (12 Milioner track listing Romeo i Julija (7) "Ninanajna" (8) Iskrene Suze (9) )

"Ninanajna"
Eurovision Song Contest 2006 entry
Country	Macedonia
Artist(s)	Elena Risteska
Languages	English, Macedonian
Composer(s)	Darko Dimitrov
Lyricist(s)	Rade Vrčakovski
Finals performance
Semi-final result	10th
Semi-final points	76
Final result	12th
Final points	56
Appearance chronology
◄ Make My Day (2005)
Mojot svet (2007) ►

"Ninanajna" (Macedonian Cyrillic: Нинанајна) was the Macedonian ^[1] entry in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, performed in Macedonian and English by Elena Risteska, composed and produced by Darko Dimitrov and with lyrics by Rade Vrčakovski. Versions were also recorded entirely in each of the two languages.

The song is an urban-inspired track, although the lyrics in Macedonian and English have quite different meanings. In the Macedonian-language version, Risteska tells her lover that she does not like the turbo folk fan he has become and that the facts that he sings "Nanani nananajna" to her and has "replaced Eminem with Planet Folk" as well as preventing her from listening to Shakira and Madonna are proof that he is no longer the man for her.

The English version, on the other hand, features Risteska telling her lover that she will do whatever he wants her to ("I'll open up your fantasies and make your dreams come true") but that "If you wanna ninana with me, I'll tell you what to do". The reference to Shakira is maintained, although in this version Risteska promises that "I can make Beyoncé and Shakira dance for you".

The version as performed at the Contest featured the English lyrics until the final chorus, when Risteska switched to Macedonian to express much the same sentiments as she had been throughout the song.

At the performance Risteska was wearing a red shirt with beads and a pair of hot pants. Risteska had three dancers dressed in casual clothing along with two backing singers who remain at the back and were incorporated into the dancing at certain points of the performance. The backing singers were Aleksandra Pileva and Maja Sazdanovska. As Macedonia had not finished in the top 10 at the 2005 Contest, the song was performed in the semi-final. Here, it was performed eleventh, following Monaco's Séverine Ferrer with "La Coco-Dance and preceding Poland's Ich Troje & The Real McCoy" with "Follow My Heart". At the close of voting, it had received 76 points, placing 10th in a field of 23 and qualifying Macedonia for the final for the third consecutive year. In the final, it was performed eleventh, following Russia's Dima Bilan with "Never Let You Go" and preceding Romania's Mihai Trăistariu with "Tornerò". At the close of voting, it had received 56 points, placing 12th in a field of 24 and returning Macedonia to the semi-final for the third consecutive year - although the twelfth-place finish was the country's best Contest result.

The unusual spelling of the title - with the j intended to be pronounced like the "y" in yes, rendering the song closer to "Ninanayna" - caused both BBC commentators some difficulty. The title was variously pronounced "Ninanyanya" and "Ninanarna", as well as being misinterpreted to be the name of a British news reporter, with one commentator remarking "Nina Nannar, wherever you are, she wants to dance for you". It was succeeded as Macedonian representative at the 2007 Contest by Karolina with Mojot svet.

Charts

Notes

References

• Diggiloo Thrush. "2006 FYR Macedonia (Macedonian lyrics)". http://www.diggiloo.net/?2006mk12. Retrieved 2006-11-10.  
• Diggiloo Thrush. "2006 FYR Macedonia (English lyrics)". http://www.diggiloo.net/?2006mk11. Retrieved 2006-11-10.  
• Diggiloo Thrush. "2006 FYR Macedonia (Macedonian-English bilingual version)". http://www.diggiloo.net/?2006mk. Retrieved 2006-11-10.