Neonoen, founded in
Podgorica in early 2012 under the name Neon, is the result of the collaboration between singer
Marko Vukčević and guitarist Ilija Pejović. After the passage of several other musicians, the lineup was definitively solidified with the recruitment of bassist Filip Vulanović and drummer Milan Vujović. Despite their long activity on the local music scene, Neon released their debut single "Ti i ja solo" in 2018, finally starting to write original songs. In the same year, they were guests on the
RTCG music program
Obrati pažnju, where they performed some covers of famous songs, such as
Lonely Boy by
The Black Keys, "Za laku noć" by
Perper, and "Još ne sviće rujna zora", a Montenegrin patriotic song. About three years later, in 2022, they collaborated with
Ivan Dečak, frontman of the Croatian band
Vatra, for the song "Daleko odavde". In 2023, on the occasion of their tenth anniversary, Neon decided to change their name to Neonoen in order to avoid confusion with other bands both nationally and internationally. On 27 November, during the final of the contest, the group triumphed after obtaining second place from both the jury and the televote, thus securing the right to represent Montenegro on the Eurovision stage in Basel. Following the final of Montesong, it emerged that Neonoen had performed "Clickbait" in June 2023 at a music festival in
Zabjelo, which was a breach of the rules of both Montesong and the Eurovision Song Contest. On 4 December 2024, the band announced their withdrawal as Montenegro's representative in the contest. == Musical style ==