Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Slovenia originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTVSLO) will use the national selection EMA 2020 to decide their representative.[1] However, due to 2019-20 pandemic of Coronavirus, the contest was cancelled.
| Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Slovenia | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | EMA 2020 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 22 February 2020 | |||
| Selected entrant | Ana Soklič | |||
| Selected song | "Voda" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | Ana Soklič Bojan Simončič | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Cancelled | |||
| Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Background
Prior to the 2020 Contest, Slovenia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-five times since its first entry in 1993.[2] Slovenia's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been seventh place, which the nation achieved on two occasions: in 1995 with the song "Prisluhni mi" performed by Darja Švajger and in 2001 with the song "Energy" performed by Nuša Derenda. The country's only other top ten result was achieved in 1997 when Tanja Ribič performing "Zbudi se" placed tenth. Since the introduction of semi-finals to the format of the contest in 2004, Slovenia had thus far only managed to qualify to the final on six occasions. In 2018, Slovenia was represented by Lea Sirk and the song "Hvala, ne!", which qualified to the final and placed twenty-second. One year later, in 2019, Slovenia qualified for the final again with Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl, finishing in fifteenth place with the song "Sebi".
The Slovenian national broadcaster, Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija), broadcasts the event within Slovenia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The Slovenian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest has traditionally been selected through a national final entitled Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA), which has been produced with variable formats. To this point, the broadcaster has only foregone the use of this national final in 2013 when the Slovenian entry was internally selected. For 2020, the broadcaster opted to organise EMA 2020 to select the Slovenian entry.
Before Eurovision
On 1 August 2019, RTV Slovenija announced the launch of their national final EMA 2020 and the associated competition, EMA FREŠ. EMA FREŠ acted as a preselector for EMA itself, with eighteen non-established artists in Slovenia participating and two qualifying for EMA 2020.
EMA FREŠ
EMA FREŠ was the first phase of the national final format Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA) used by RTV Slovenija to select Slovenia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The final of the competition was broadcast on TV SLO1 and online via the broadcaster's RTV 4D platform.[3]
Format
Eighteen songs competed in nine duels over three weeks between 4 and 20 November 2019. Three duels were released online each week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and online voting exclusively selected the winner of each duel to proceed to the second round. In the second round, an expert jury and online voting selected two finalists out of the three songs to proceed to the final. The online vote selected the first finalist and the jury selected the other finalist. Six songs in total directly proceeded to the final and the remaining twelve songs competed in the Second Chance round through the same process as in the first round of the competition between 25 November and 6 December 2019 and four songs in total were selected to proceed to the final. In the televised final, a three-member expert jury and public televoting selected two finalists out of the ten songs to proceed to EMA 2020. The televote selected the first two finalists and the jury selected the other two finalists.[4]
Competing entries
Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 1 August 2019 and 19 September 2019.[5] All artists must be under the age of 26 and have three or less commercially released songs. An expert committee consisting of Maja Pinterič (social media influencer), Rebeka Tomc (social media influencer), Denis Živcec (journalist and Eurovision expert), Klemen Kopina (television presenter) and Bojan Cvjetićanin (singer-songwriter) selected eighteen artists and songs for the competition from the received submissions.[6] The competing artists were announced on 21 October 2019.[7][8]
| Artist | Song | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Alfirev | "Črno bela lika" | Patrik Šimenc, Žan Vončina, Tia Alfirev |
| Astrid in Avantgarden | "Sing to Me" | Astrid Ana Kljun, Janez Hace, Martin Štibernik |
| Klarity | "Diham" | Klara Klasinc Brglez, Primož Jurendić, Niki Kozoderc |
| Lana Hrvatin | "Dream" | Lana Hrvatin, Enej Žagar |
| Ljudmila Frelih | "Vztrajaj, ker je vredno" | Jean Markič, Domn Grace |
| Marko Škof | "Hočem da je vse kot prej" | Domen Kumer, Mirna Reynolds |
| Marmoris | "Moj pristan" | Matic Skok, Blaž Horvat, Andraž Kos |
| Martina | "Pleši" | |
| Nuša Pliberšek | "Življenje je čarovnija" | |
| Parvani Violet | "Cupid" | Veronika Steiner, Anže Zaveršnik, Aljaž Šumej, Florjan Ajdnik, Jaka Jeršič, Anže Lečnik |
| Petra Ceglar | "Srce naglas" | Petra Ceglar |
| Pia Nina | "Tukaj in zdaj" | Pia Nina Stružnik Štefe, Jernej Kržič |
| Sara Petešič | "Sanjaj/Dream" | Sara Petešič |
| Saška | "Še kar lovim tvoj nasmeh" | Jure Skaza, Matic Mlakar |
| Soulution | "Eno" | Patrik Mrak, Nace Jordan, Žiga Bahor |
| Stella | "Ne vem, če sem v redu" | Špela Jezovšek |
| Tilen Lotrič | "Jaz in ti" | |
| Younite | "The Cure" | Jakob Zlatinšek, Pija Lucija Kralj |
Week 1 (4–8 November 2019)
| Artist | Song | Votes | Place | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel 1 – 4 November 2019 | ||||
| Stella | "Ne vem, če sem v redu" | 869 (52%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Pia Nina | "Tukaj in zdaj" | 800 (48%) | 2 | Second Chance |
| Duel 2 – 5 November 2019 | ||||
| Soulution | "Eno" | 1,150 (46%) | 2 | Second Chance |
| Younite | "The Cure" | 1,336 (54%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Duel 3 – 6 November 2019 | ||||
| Astrid in Avantgarden | "Sing to Me" | 811 (42%) | 2 | Second Chance |
| Martina | "Pleši" | 1,126 (58%) | 1 | Advanced |
Public vote qualifier Jury qualifier
| Final – 8 November 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Song | Jury | Internet | Result | |
| Stella | "Ne vem, če sem v redu" | 2 | 669 | 2 | Finalist |
| Younite | "The Cure" | 1 | 1,148 | 1 | Finalist |
| Martina | "Pleši" | 3 | 558 | 3 | Second Chance |
Week 2 (11–15 November 2019)
| Artist | Song | Votes | Place | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel 1 – 11 November 2019 | ||||
| Klarity | "Diham" | 1,098 (57%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Tilen Lotrič | "Jaz in ti" | 829 (43%) | 2 | Second Chance |
| Duel 2 – 12 November 2019 | ||||
| Marko Škof | "Hočem da je vse kot prej" | 688 (42%) | 2 | Second Chance |
| Petra Ceglar | "Srce naglas" | 965 (58%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Duel 3 – 13 November 2019 | ||||
| Parvani Violet | "Cupid" | 1,008 (74%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Sara Petešič | "Sanjaj/Dream" | 347 (26%) | 2 | Second Chance |
Public vote qualifier Jury qualifier
| Final – 15 November 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Song | Jury | Internet | Result | |
| Klarity | "Diham" | 3 | 799 | 1 | Finalist |
| Petra Ceglar | "Srce naglas" | 2 | 617 | 3 | Second Chance |
| Parvani Violet | "Cupid" | 1 | 766 | 2 | Finalist |
Week 3 (18–22 November 2019)
| Artist | Song | Votes | Place | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel 1 – 18 November 2019 | ||||
| Saška | "Še kar lovim tvoj nasmeh" | 1,240 (82%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Ljudmila Frelih | "Vztrajaj, ker je vredno" | 279 (18%) | 2 | Second chance |
| Duel 2 – 19 November 2019 | ||||
| Nuša Pliberšek | "Življenje je čarovnija" | 847 (50.5%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Alfirev | "Črno bela lika" | 831 (49.5%) | 2 | Second chance |
| Duel 3 – 20 November 2019 | ||||
| Marmoris | "Moj pristan" | 723 (57%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Lana Hrvatin | "Dream" | 554 (43%) | 2 | Second chance |
Public vote qualifier Jury qualifier
| Final 3 – 22 November 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Song | Jury | Internet | Result | |
| Saška | "Še kar lovim tvoj nasmeh" | 1 | 773 | 1 | Finalist |
| Nuša Pliberšek | "Življenje je čarovnija" | 3 | 516 | 3 | Second chance |
| Marmoris | "Moj pristan" | 2 | 679 | 2 | Finalist |
Second Chance - Week 4 (25–27 November 2019)
| Artist | Song | Votes | Place | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel 1 – 25 November 2019 | ||||
| Pia Nina | "Tukaj in zdaj" | 429 (73%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Sara Petešič | "Sanjaj/Dream" | 158 (27%) | 2 | Eliminated |
| Duel 2 – 26 November 2019 | ||||
| Marko Škof | "Hočem da je vse kot prej" | 277 (47%) | 2 | Eliminated |
| Nuša Pliberšek | "Življenje je čarovnija" | 307 (53%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Duel 3 – 27 November 2019 | ||||
| Alfirev | "Črno bela lika" | 1,050 (55%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Soulution | "Eno" | 863 (45%) | 2 | Eliminated |
Public vote qualifier Jury qualifier
| Final – 29 November 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Song | Jury | Internet | Result | |
| Pia Nina | "Tukaj in zdaj" | 1 | 337 | 2 | Finalist |
| Nuša Pliberšek | "Življenje je čarovnija" | 3 | 260 | 3 | Eliminated |
| Alfirev | "Črno bela lika" | 2 | 934 | 1 | Finalist |
Second Chance - Week 5 (2–6 December 2019)
| Artist | Song | Votes | Place | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duel 1 – 2 December 2019 | ||||
| Lana Hrvatin | "Dream" | 324 (66%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Martina | "Pleši" | 165 (34%) | 2 | Eliminated |
| Duel 2 – 3 December 2019 | ||||
| Astrid in Avantgarden | "Sing to Me" | 808 (55%) | 1 | Advanced |
| Petra Ceglar | "Srce naglas" | 649 (45%) | 2 | Eliminated |
| Duel 3 – 4 December 2019 | ||||
| Ljudmila Frelih | "Vztrajaj, ker je vredno" | 240 (47%) | 2 | Eliminated |
| Tilen Lotrič | "Jaz in ti" | 270 (53%) | 1 | Advanced |
Public vote qualifier Jury qualifier
| Final – 6 December 2019 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Song | Jury | Internet | Result | |
| Lana Hrvatin | "Dream" | 2 | 326 | 2 | Finalist |
| Astrid in Avantgarden | "Sing to Me" | 1 | 398 | 1 | Finalist |
| Tilen Lotrič | "Jaz in ti" | 3 | 261 | 3 | Eliminated |
Final
The final of EMA FREŠ took place on 18 January 2020 at the RTV Slovenija Studio 2 in Ljubljana, hosted by Maja Pinterič and Bojan Cvjetićanin. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Fed Horses, Lumberjack and Raiven performed as guests. Two entries proceeded to EMA 2020. The ten competing entries first faced a public vote where the winner proceeded: "Še kar lovim tvoj nasmeh" performed by Saška. A three-member jury panel selected an additional entry out of the remaining nine to proceed: "Cupid" performed by Parvani Violet.[9] The jury consisted of Urša Mihevc (singer-songwriter and member of Fed Horses), Rok Ahačevčič (singer-songwriter and member of Lumberjack) and Jernej Vene (music editor for Radio Val 202).
Public vote qualifier Jury qualifier
| Final – 18 January 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Result | |
| 1 | Stella | "Ne vem, če sem v redu" | 9 | 588 | 2 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Younite | "The Cure" | 4 | 417 | 7 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Alfirev | "Črno bela lika" | 6 | 461 | 6 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Klarity | "Diham" | 8 | 474 | 4 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Marmoris | "Moj pristan" | 10 | 464 | 5 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Saška | "Še kar lovim tvoj nasmeh" | 5 | 684 | 1 | Finalist |
| 7 | Pia Nina | "Tukaj in zdaj" | 3 | 154 | 10 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Lana Hrvatin | "Dream" | 7 | 211 | 9 | Eliminated |
| 9 | Parvani Violet | "Cupid" | 1 | 570 | 3 | Finalist |
| 10 | Astrid in Avantgarden | "Sing to Me" | 2 | 285 | 8 | Eliminated |
EMA 2020
EMA 2020 was the 24th edition of the Slovenian national final format Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA). The competition was used by RTV Slovenija as the second phase of the national final to select Slovenia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 and was broadcast on TV SLO1 and online via the broadcaster's RTV 4D platform.
Competing entries
Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 1 August 2019 and 18 November 2019.[10] 74 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period. An expert committee consisting of Raiven (musician and singer), Mojca Menart (head of the publishing business of ZKP RTV SLO) and Jernej Vene (music editor for Radio Val 202) selected ten artists and songs for the competition from the received submissions.[11] The competing artists were announced on 20 December 2019.[12] Among the competing artists were former Slovenian Eurovision contestant Tinkara Kovač who represented Slovenia in 2014 and former Slovenian Junior Eurovision contestant Lina Kuduzović who represented Slovenia in 2015. Bozidar Wolfand Wolf represented Yugoslavia in Eurovision 1984 as a backing vocalist.
Final
EMA 2020 took place on 22 February 2020 at the RTV Slovenija Studio 1 in Ljubljana, hosted by Klemen Slakonja. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2019 Slovenian Eurovision entrants Zalagasper performed as guests. An online backstage broadcast at RTV Slovenija's official website also occurred concurrently with the competition, which was hosted by Boštjan Gorenc, Anže Tomić and Eva Košak.[13] The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a three-member jury panel selected two entries to proceed to the second round: "Voda" performed by Ana Soklič and "Man Like U" performed by Lina Kuduzović. The jury consisted of Maja Keuc (singer and 2011 Slovenian Eurovision entrant), Darja Švajger (singer, vocal coach and 1995 and 1999 Slovenian Eurovision entrant) and Nuša Derenda (singer and 2001 Slovenian Eurovision entrant). In the second round, a public vote selected "Voda" performed by Ana Soklič as the winner.[14]
| Final – 22 February 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Composer(s) | Place | Result |
| 1 | Simon Vadnjal | "Nisi sam" | Kevin Koradin, Clifford Goilo, Simon Vadnjal | 4 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Saška | "Še kar lovim tvoj nasmeh" | Jure Skaza, Matic Mlakar | 4 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Gaja Prestor | "Verjamem vase" | Žan Serčič, Gaja Prestor | 7 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Ana Soklič | "Voda" | Ana Soklič, Bojan Simončič | 1 | Advanced |
| 5 | INMATE | "The Salt" | Andrej Bezjak, Marko Duplišak, Miha Oblišar, Jure Grudnik | 7 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Manca Berlec | "Večnost" | Patrik Šimenc, Manca Berlec | 10 | Eliminated |
| 7 | Tinkara Kovač | "Forever" | Aleš Klinar, Anja Rupel | 4 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Božidar Wolfand – Wolf | "Maybe Someday" | Grigor Koprov, Božidar Wolfand Wolf, Helena Banič Wolfand | 12 | Eliminated |
| 9 | Parvani Violet | "Cupid" | Veronika Steiner, Anže Zaveršnik, Aljaž Šumej, Florjan Ajdnik, Jaka Jeršič, Anže Lečnik | 3 | Eliminated |
| 10 | Klara Jazbec | "Stop the World" | Ed Fisher, Ani Cordero, Klara Jazbec | 7 | Eliminated |
| 11 | Imset | "Femme Fatale" | Jaka Peterka, Dejan Macura, Blaž Horvat, Jaka Ažman, Matej Pečaver, Rok Lunaček | 11 | Eliminated |
| 12 | Lina Kuduzović | "Man Like U" | Lina Kuduzović | 2 | Advanced |
| Superfinal – 22 February 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Ana Soklič | "Voda" | 5,035 (54%) | 1 |
| 2 | Lina Kuduzović | "Man Like U" | 4,369 (46%) | 2 |
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2020, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Slovenia was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2020, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[15] However, due to 2019-20 pandemic of Coronavirus, the contest was cancelled.
References
- "Slovenia: Eurovision 2020 Participation Confirmed as EMA FREŠ is Launched". eurovoix.com. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- "Slovenia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- "EMA Freš". rtvslo.si (in Slovene). 17 January 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
- "Slovenia: 18 fresh acts will battle for two places in the national selection EMA 2020". wiwibloggs.com. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- Agadellis, Stratos (3 August 2019). "Slovenia: RTVSLO opens submission window for EMA 2020; EMA FREŠ introduced". Esctoday. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- Pantzartzidi, Angie (25 October 2019). "Slovenia: RTVSLO launches EMA Freš online contest". Esctoday. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- "Slovenia: EMA FREŠ artists revealed". eurovoix.com. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- "Ema FREŠ: 18 izvajalcev, pet tednov in komentatorjev". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). 21 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- Christou, Costa (21 October 2019). "🇸🇮 Slovenia: EMA FREŠ participants revealed". escxtra.
- Niazi, Dan (1 August 2019). "Slovenia's RTVSLO open submission window for EMA 2020". escxtra. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- "Znani so nastopajoči na izboru Ema 2020". rtvslo.si. 20 December 2019.
- "Slovenia's national contenders for Eurovision 2020 revealed". eurovision.tv.
- "Nad izvajalce, pesmi, koreografijo in obleke tokrat Pižama, Anže in Eva". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). 22 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- "Slovenia: Ana Soklič to Eurovision 2020 after winning EMA". Eurovisionworld. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
- Groot, Evert (28 January 2020). "Which country performs in which Eurovision 2020 Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
| Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest | |||||||||||||
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Note: Entries scored out are when Slovenia did not compete | |||||||||||||