North Macedonia debuted in the inaugural 2003 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, represented by the song "Ti ne me poznavaš" performed by Marija and Viktorija. The song placed 12th in a field of 16 countries.[citation needed]
The country's best performance at the contest has been 5th place, achieved twice to date – in 2007 when North Macedonia was represented by the song "Ding Ding Dong" performed by Rosica Kulakova and Dimitar Stojmenovski, and in 2008 with "Prati mi SMS" performed by Bobi Andonov.[citation needed]
MRT did not participate in 2012 due to issues with the voting process in the contest and the lack of budget available for participation. However, North Macedonia returned to the contest in 2013, held in Kyiv, Ukraine.[2] North Macedonia did not return to the contest in 2014, but returned again in 2015.[3] MRT did not participate in the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[1] but returned to the 2021 contest in France.[4]
For the 2022 contest, an audition round was held on 23 June 2022 at the MRT Studios in Skopje.[5] The selection criteria were vocal, artistic and scenic quality.[6] On 29 June 2022, it was revealed that Lara Trpčeska and Irina Dazidovska had been selected as Macedonian entrants by the committee.[7] Although originally not part of the act, Jovan Jakimovski was later added after Lara and Irina were selected, and on 2 November it was revealed Lara feat. Jovan and Irina will represent the country with the song "Životot e pred mene", written by Lara Trpčeska, Simon Trpčeski, Jovan Jakimovski and Darko Dimitrov.[8] The song premiered on 3 November 2022 during the MRT programme Dnevnik 2.[9][10]
For the 2023 contest, an audition round was held on 11 May 2023 at the MRT Studios in Skopje,[11][12] and on 16 May 2023, it was revealed that 12 year-old Tamara Grujeska had been selected as Macedonian entrant by the committee.[13][14] Her entry, "Kaži mi, kaži mi koj", was released on 16 October 2023.[15]
^Dimeska, V (31 October 2024). "Годишна програма за работа на ЈРП Македонска Радио Телевизија за 2025 година" [Annual Programme of Work of the Macedonian Radio Television for 2025] (PDF) (in Macedonian). MRT. pp. 100, 101, 107. Retrieved 17 November 2024. Трошоци за реализација на проектот Избор на песна – македонски претставник на Јуниорски евросонг 2025 година [Costs for the realization of the project Song selection – Macedonian representative for Junior Eurovision 2025]
^Aluloski, A (28 November 2024). "Записник од 263.седница на Програмскиот совет на Македонска Радио Телевизија одржана на ден 28.11.2024 година" [Protocol of the 263rd meeting of the Program Council of Macedonian Radio Television held on 28.11.2024.] (PDF) (in Macedonian). MRT. p. 2. Retrieved 14 December 2024. Членот Ивана Трајковска праша дали имаше одредено средства и буџет за маркетинг и промоција како овој цел проект би допрел до многу повеќе од граѓаните кај нас и во дијаспората и со тоа гласањето би било поголемо, бидејќи не можеме да расправаме за наредна година ако не учиме од грешките што сме ги направиле во оваа година. [Member Ivana Trajkovska asked if there were any funds and a budget for marketing and promotion so that this entire project would reach many more citizens in Macedonia and in the diaspora, and thus the vote would be larger, because we cannot discuss next year if we do not learn from the mistakes we have made this year.]
