Andromeda (Lelek song)

Croatian media and personalities

2024 Croatian representative Baby Lasagna praised the song, calling it "confident and convincing". He also highlighted the effective use of ethnic elements, which he felt provided distinctiveness and authenticity. He described these attributes as a "huge advantage" for Eurovision, and expressed confidence that Lelek would stand out among the competition and voicing his support for their entry.^[4][5] Igor Vlajnić of Novi list expressed broad support for the song, praising its composition, concept, visual design, and performance quality. He remarked that the entry strongly reflected regional identity and tradition, providing ample opportunity to promote Croatia. However, he expressed doubt regarding its chances of winning Eurovision.^[6]

Reviewing for Večernji list, Ivan Tandarić and Ilija Jandrić offered mixed assessments of the entry. Tandarić found the song "a little pretentious" but acknowledged its potential to reach the Eurovision final, praising its memorable title, polyphonic structure, and use of traditional elements. He noted that the song's meaning would likely appeal to international audiences, though he advised that the act's visual presentation should be simplified. Conversely, Jandrić felt the song failed to leave a strong impression. Despite acknowledging Lelek's strong public support, he criticised the song as being "outdated", stating that it might have been better suited for the contest "thirty years ago".^[7]

Eurovision-related and international media

Glen Weldon of the National Public Radio ranked the entry eighth in his list of the 10 best songs competing at Eurovision 2026, calling it a "witchy ethno-bop" that is a "gorgeous, haunting affair" and "quite beautiful" melodically.^[8] In the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, Robert van Gijssel and Els de Grefte dubbed the song as one of the 10 best Eurovision songs of 2026, describing it as a "folk power ballad" featuring an "ominous atmosphere" that "almost give you goosebumps" and praising the group's "mythical-sounding" vocal harmonies. Although they noted the song's structure was "somewhat formulaic", they remarked that the conviction of the song delivery made it feel as though the listener was being "sung to directly from the 18th century".^[9]

Eva Frantz of Yle gave the song a rating of five out of 10, calling it "suggestive and enchanting", but noted that the singing must be flawless for the entry to be convincing, to which she acknowledged that "they are not always".^[10] Jon O'Brien from Vulture ranked the entry 17th out of the 35 entries, praising the group as a "formidable, imposing, and curiously bewitching presence" that offered a "satisfying" example of pagan folk. He wrote that the song redeemed Croatia's performance from last year, although he judged that it was "less impactful than "My Sister's Crown" by Vesna or as innovative as "Bur man laimi" by Tautumeitas".^[11] In the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, Ralf Lofstad gave the song a three out of six, describing its performance as "very 'cinematic' bombastic" and likening the group to a gang of witches or high priestesses like Bene Gesserit from Dune, but declared that it is not a Eurovision winner.^[12]

Israel’s Kan public broadcaster issued an apology to Croatia’s Eurovision act for a post that poked fun at the singers’ facial tattoos. Lelek wrote on a Instagram post that they were “disturbed by the comments made by the Israeli broadcaster KAN, in which our culture and the sacrifices made by oppressed Catholic women were mocked.”^[13][14][15]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 took place at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026.^[16] During the allocation draw held on 12 January 2026, Croatia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final, performing in the first half of the show.^[17] Lelek was later drawn to perform third, after Sweden's Felicia and before Greece's Akylas.^[18]

For their Eurovision performance, the staging was be directed by Jasmin Cvišić, who also served as Serbia's staging director in 2022 and 2023. One of the group members was dressed in a white dress with red elements, symbolically representing a woman who sacrifices herself which is inspired by the song's themes, while the other four members were wearing dark red dresses with white details.^[19][20] "Andromeda" qualified for the grand final.^[21]

Lelek performed a repeat of their performance in the grand final on 16 May. The song performed 13th, after Bulgaria's Dara and before the United Kingdom's Look Mum No Computer.^[22] It received 124 points, finishing on 15th place.^[23]