History may have repeated itself for all the wrong reasons for returnee Omar Naber, but Slovenia will be hoping to build on the success of their choir counterpart.
National broadcaster RTV Slovenija has today officially confirmed their participation in Eurovision 2018 and opened song submissions for eager Slovenian acts. Aspiring Eurovision composers and acts have until midnight on 16 November to send in their tunes.
The usual Eurovision rules apply, but RTVSLO is has specifically requested that all entries be submitted first in a Slovenian language version. If another language version exists, that should also be submitted as part of the entry.
Back in May, it was reported that English would be banned from the national selection as all participants would have to sing in either Slovenian or one of the recognised minority languages of Slovenia, including Croatian, German, Hungarian, Italian, Romani and Serbian. This requirement does not appear to have made it to the final rules for 2018.
There’s also no word whether RTVSLO will again use the national final Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA) to select the winning act. The long-running show has changed format over the years. Most recently it involved two semi-finals and a grand final, with the winner chosen by regional juries and televotes.
But despite the history of EMA, it doesn’t always deliver the goods. In 2016, ManuElla placed 14th in her semi-final at Eurovision with “Blue and Red”. While earlier this year, returning star Omar Naber placed second to last in his semi-final with “On My Way”.
With two years of non-qualifications, RTVSLO may wish to take a fresh approach for for 2018.
Slovenia’s best entry in the past decade was Maja Keuc with “No One”, which placed 13th in 2011. Now based in Sweden and going by the name Amaya, the Slovenian pop diva is sparking rumours of a potential Melodifestivalen entry for 2018.
Following closely is the married duo Maraaya who placed 14th in 2015 with “Here For You”. The prolific duo were the songwriters behind EMA 2017 runners-up BQL and their song “Heart of Gold”. Fans of Maraaya would like to see them involved with Slovenia’s Eurovision again, either in front or or behind the camera.
What do you think? Who would you like to see represent Slovenia at Eurovision? Should Slovenia use the EMA show? Share your thoughts below!
Raiven please back to EMA 2018
They had a great NF this year, with one of the best NF songs of the seasons – “NI panike”. But ended up with a bad song.