Next Time (sometimes rendered "Некст Тајм" in Macedonian Cyrillic) is a rock duo from Skopje, North Macedonia. The duo consists of twin brothers Martin and Stefan Filipovski. Stefan fronts the band as the lead singer, while Martin plays the guitar and sings back-up vocals. The group represented the Republic of Macedonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia but failed to reach the final. In their active years, since 2008, they have released three studio albums including the self-titled debut in 2008, Na krajot od denot (English: At the End of the Day) in 2011 and Majka (English: Mother) in 2022.
History
2008-2012: Early career, Eurovision Song Contest and debut studio album
Next Time was formed in early 2008 after they signed with Plan B Production. Previously they performed as a garage band at children's music festivals. Discovered by composer and songwriter, Jovan Jovanov, the Macedonian duo released their first single "Ne veruvam vo tebe" ("I Don't Believe in You") in May, 2008. The song's lyrics were written by Next Time with Jovanov as the producer. "Ne veruvam vo tebe" immediately topped a number of charts in Macedonia and was quickly a hit.[citation needed] The band also released their first music video for the song. Next Time's first festival appearance was at the First Radio Music Festival "Zvezdena Nok" in June, 2008. At "Zvezdena Nok", the duo won the "Summer Hit of the Year" award with their second song "Me misliš li?" (English: Am I In Your Thoughts?). Two months later at Ohrid Fest, Next Time were voted "Best New Artist" with their third single "Me ostavi sam da živeam" (English: You Left Me Live Alone).[1] Next Time's biggest festival success came in October when they won the second semi-final at MakFest. With their fourth single "Bez tebe tivko umiram" (English: I'm Slowly Dying Without You) they went on to finish second in the final, only three points behind the winner.
On 16 December 2008, Next Time released their self-titled debut album which featured 13 songs, two of which were bonus songs sung in a foreign language. One of the bonus songs, "Why Did You Go" was in English. The other song was a cover of the Italian pop-opera song "Caruso". The first four singles were all accompanied by music videos.
In February 2009, Next Time competed at Skopje Fest, a Macedonian music competition and the national selection for the country's Eurovision Song Contest entry, performing the song "Nešto što kje ostane" (English: Something that Will Remain). The group won the competition, and represented Macedonia at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow.[2] Competing in the first semi-final, Next Time did not advance to the finals, finishing in 10th place after the viewers' and the jury's vote.[3]
Briefly after their Eurovision performance, on 24 December 2009, the duo gave a concert at the Universal Hall in Skopje.[4]
2012-2014: Na krajot na denot
The band's second studio album Na krajot na denot (English: At the End of the Day) was released in 2012.[5] In March 2012, Next Time started filming the music video for the song "Lice od raj" (English: A Face of Paradise) under Tomato produkcija. Filming took place several days at several locations in Skopje, including a private apartment in Karpoš 4, the town square in Skopje and Triumph Arch. It showed an urban story starring model Angela Popovska from Models IN in her music video debut.[6]
After the release of their second album, the duo made a hiatus from the music industry.[5]
The summer of 2018 saw the duo perform at the "Edna ljubov" (English: One Love) music festival held in North Macedonia and Bulgaria; they gave eight concerts in Skopje, Sofija, Bansko, Strumica, Varna, Ruse, Kavadarci and Stara Zagora several of which were their first-ever performances.[5]
2022-present: Majka and performances
In 2022, the band released the album Majka which they had worked on for eight years.[7] In 2023, the duo held their first concert tour in Australia.[7]
