In the final, "Nešto što kje ostane" performed by Next Time was selected following the combination of votes from a twelve-member jury panel and a public televote.

[1] The nation's best result in the contest to this point was twelfth, which it achieved in 2006 with the song "Ninanajna" performed by Elena Risteska.

Despite rumours of a withdrawal due to financial difficulties which could have ended in bankruptcy or liquidation of MRT, the broadcaster confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest on 6 November 2008 and held weekly debate programs to as a platform for discussion on how the selection process for the Macedonian entry can be fair and successful.

[4][9] MRT received 142 submissions at the closing of the deadline and thirty-two entries were selected by a six-member committee consisting of Gordana Andrashevska (MTV), Ljupčo Mirkovski (artistic director of Skopje Fest), Meri Popova (MTV), Radica Mitić (MR 2), Ariton Krliu (MR 2) and Danail Darkovski (composer and instrumentalist).

[11][12] On 23 January 2009, MRT announced that "Ti peam pesna", written by Kire Kostov and performed by Aleksandar Belov was withdrawn from the competition and replaced with the song "Isto što i ti" by Treta dimenzija, while Stefan Cvetkovski would replace Naum Petreski as the performer of the song "Zemi se".

Sixteen entries competed and a 50/50 combination of public televoting and a twelve-member jury panel selected "Nešto što kje ostane" performed by Next Time as the winner.

[17] Next Time made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Nešto što kje ostane" as the Macedonian Eurovision entry.

[19] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries.

The background LED screens displayed metallic elements and glass patterns with single white flashing lights being used on stage.

[25][26] The four musicians that joined Next Time on stage were the co-composer of "Nešto što kje ostane" Damjan Lazarov, Goran Mihajlovski, Maja Balevska and Mario Stanković.

This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.