Sixteen acts competed at this year’s EMA 2018 national selection show in Slovenia, but only eight made it to the final. Indigo served ethno-folk. BQL brought a contemporary pop tinged number, but in the end it was Lea Sirk and her sassy attitude who won the day with the edgy track “Hvala, ne!”. Next stop? Lisbon!
Ahead of tonight’s EMA 2018 final, the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — had a lot to say about Lea. Wiwiblogger Luis said:
Bang bang into the room! Lea provides a funny entry that sounds familiar to many others, but she delivers it with confidence and adds a much welcome twist to Slovenia’s often over-safe performances. This is memorable and it would wake up the masses in Altice Arena. In case they selected it, they should tweak the base a little bit. The beats sound a bit forced, and it makes “Hvala, ne!” graze a bit, when it should flow smoothly.
All the juries except the international panel agreed, ranking her first in the jury vote.
EMA 2018 Final results
Jury results
OGAE Slovenia
- Lea Sirk – 12 points
- Lara Kadis – 10 points
- BQL – 8 points
- Indigo – 6 points
- Nuška Drašcek – 4 points
- Proper – 2 points
Songwriters
- Lea Sirk – 12 points
- Proper – 10 points
- BQL – 8 points
- Lara Kadis – 6 points
- Nuška Drašcek – 4 points
- Ina Shai – 2 points
Radio
- Lea Sirk – 12 points
- Indigo – 10 points
- Lara Kadis – 8 points
- Marina Martensson – 6 points
- Ina Shai – 4 points
- BQL – 2 points
Television
- Lea Sirk – 12 points
- Proper – 10 points
- Nuška Drašcek – 8 points
- Lara Kadis – 6 points
- Marina Martensson – 4 points
- Indigo – 2 points
Singers
- Lea Sirk – 12 points
- BQL – 10 points
- Ina Shai – 8 points
- Lara Kadis – 6 points
- Proper – 4 points
- Nuška Drašcek – 2 points
International jury
- Ina Shai – 12 points
- Nuška Drašcek – 10 points
- Lea Sirk – 8 points
- BQL – 6 points
- Proper – 4 points
- Lara Kadis 2 points
Televoting results
- BQL – 4734 votes (72 points)
- Nuška Drašcek – 3069 votes (60 points)
- Lea Sirk – 2556 votes (48 points)
- Lara Kadis – 1778 votes (36 points)
- Proper – 1283 votes (24 points)
- Ina Shai – 709 votes (12 points)
- Indigo – 678 votes (0 points)
- Marina Martensson – 647 votes (0 points)
Total: 15464 votes
EMA 2018 – Our reaction
Are you happy with Slovenia’s decision? Who do you think should have won? Let us know on the comments box below! You can watch the show again and green room coverage with Nejc Šmit.
Follow all of our Slovenia Eurovision news here
Photo: Jani Ugrin/RTV Slovenija
Finally!!! Some Bounce music in the competition!!! Good luck, Slovenia #makeembounce #hvalane
I am from Slovenia, but I didn’t watch the final, because I was angry about Nika Zorjan, so I watched Hungary rather. I was just on my way to go skiing, so I listened to the most part of it in the car. When I came there, I entered Wikipedia and saw Slovenia covered in green. I was sure that BQL won, but I didn’t want to prove, before A Dal didn’t end. When it ended, I looked and saw that my final favourite actually won. It was the best saving, from the disqualifation of Nika Zorjan.
Agree with you from word to word!
me too bro haha…..nika zorjan was my favorite
#LJUBLJANA2019
I finally a sing this year that I like! My winner so far, its sounds like a Kpop song (BTS or Blackpink)
Uhhhhhhhhhh………………..
I’ll need to think about this one a bit more.
Not final for Slovenia.
It’s building to something until it reaches that annoying chorus that has no melody. Not my cup of tea.
OK decent song. Middle of scoreboard finish. Not to shady. Like the attitude.
Slovenia is my favourite country in ESC. Not so much due to songs but to the fact that they send something different every year. First Omar and now this. Has Slovenia ever sent something this contemporary?
I think Slovenia would be happy with a middle of the scoreboard finish!
Me too. That would be an achievement for them!
Pretty good entry, way better than Omar Naber..
Yesssssss
I love it!!! My number one for now.
Yus bish.
Love you Slovenia!!! What an amazing choice!
Flat song, boring chorus. 2/10
Excuse me, but this has a K-POP vibe.
Indeed. 🙂
Oh, yeah – you’re right, now I hear it too.
This is a great song! The chorus is fantastic. So minimilastic, but so infectious. It’s great if it is performed in Slovenian, but this kind of songs could come across better in English. Unless there are many good things still in store for us, this will be in my top 5. Easy qualifier.
This is clearly meant more for the dancefloor, than for a performance. However I do enjoy it…I just hope they don’t do anything like change the lyrics to english or something.
I find myself really liking this. The beat could be better and I’d rather not mention the chorus, but I can’t help but smile when it plays. Definitely my guilty pleasure of the year.
I don’t like it, it’s a mess
This is… surprisingly good actually.
I won’t lie, it wasn’t my favourite song in this selection. The song is fine and it has dynamic. However, I don’t quite like it.
Good luck to Slovenia!
Lea best of a very weak selection in EMA. Good singer and performer but song not great and will probably finish low in it’s semifinal in Lisbon. Amaya, Omar and Raiven songs were far superior than any of the finalists, especially Omars which was a real surprise to what you might expect from him. Amaya was a class act. Both excellent past representatives for Slovenia. BQL could stand on stage and mumble the Ljubljana telephone directory and their legions of teenie fans would still see them win the televote. That’s meaningless when you have such a loyal fanbase on redial.… Read more »
The only deserved victory of the night. A BOP.
I don’t know what is happening this year, maybe it’s just me but I don’t like most of the songs and I think every country is choosing worng his song. Even Melodifestivalen has a very low level this year.
It didn’t have a lot to beat and was ok but seriously, they should let BQL go to Eurovision. Rightly or wrongly, it seems to be what the Slovenian people want.
Not really. They just have fans from the last year, but this year their song had no special charm.
So, my final post today here. What’s this song about in Slovenian? As a Slovene, allow me to summarize the message for you. First, Lea introduces herself and tells us what she stands for, what she believe in. Then, in that nice passage, she addresses us, the audience, telling us to be daring, to speak our minds, and not to sell out ourselves, our dreams etc. Then that “horrible” base line hits, where she repeats Hvala ne, ne (Thank you, but no, thank you), which should be taken as a mantra for everyone who is considering to betray his/her being,… Read more »
Thank you for that much needed clarification. I like the message, I just hope the English version won’t be a disaster. Maybe she’ll need another mantra, “Thank you, no, no” does not so good.
Modern and in Slovenian and its also a different kind of style for Eurovision. Not a bad choice.
Why Slovenians bother voting tho? Every year their favorite is overriden by the jury vote a.k.a RTVSLO. Doesn’t matter the song BQL had tho.
RTVSlovenia, u peasants.
This really isn’t right BQL have won the televote in Slovenia two years in a row and get beaten by the song that came third. It really feels unfair on them. So many wrong decisions tonight. Ukraine and Moldova I am okay with but Slovenia and Hungary have guaranteed themselves a non-qualification.
children vote for BQL. in 2018 they still vote for the last year’s song.
The jury ruined the chance that Slovenia had to be in the final….
Cursed ESC 2018
I’m actually pretty surprised – in a positive way. I like this a lot, it’s definitely a standout.
Don’t wanna sound mean, but tbh I did put s.th. so modern past Slovenia… Glad to see, I had a wrong image…
Meh… A bit annoying. Has some good parts, but will struggle to qualify. I preferred BQL, but their song wasn’t much better. This year’s EMA was weak.
Totally agree.
Flop flop flop
I smell non-qualification again for Slovenia..
For all ESC fans who think that Lea will sing in Slovenian in Lisbon! You are wrong, guys. She said already before finals that she’d sing in English, if she’d won.
It’s a better choice for this song
I kind of agree. Maybe she can keep the Hvala Ne hook. I think that would sound good.
I really hope she keeps it in Slovene but if she does switch it to English, as others have said she needs to keep the Hvala Ne part in, that would not work in English.
She sang the first and last line yesterday in Portuguese during her winner’s performance. She said in one of her first interviews she loves Portuguese and by May she will probably master some of it. Who knows? Maybe she’ll sing it partly in Portuguese. However, the language rules at EMA are very strict this year. She said she didn’t know if she would be allowed to change the lyrics to English. But if she were allowed, she definitely would in order to reach more audience.
It sounds decent until it hits the chorus, then it goes rachet. I don’t think she should translate this into English because I have a feeling the song has some really basic lyrics and everyone would know that as soon as she sings it in English. Yet, at the same time, I think with a genre like this, it would be better off in English. Uhh, I really don’t know.
Wow… I don’t like BQL’s songs but I feel sorry for them. Another year, another win in the televote, another 2nd place overall. Now they will just withdraw and never come back again.
Im glad they didnt win this year because I think their song was boring (loved heart of gold though) but I do feel sorry for them too. I wonder if they’ll take couple of years off EMA then come back. If I was them I would feel too jaded to try again next year. Who knows.
Lea slayed. BQL had a better song, but their vocals and mainly their English diction were lackluster, should’ve just kept it in Slovenian.
Maybe next year they could select Raven internally? She was amazing as usual.
I’m surprised.
Not a really fan of this (and if she translates the song to English I would be even less excited), but it has kinda potential to be another “Space” – uptempo Balkan guilty pleasure that makes you think “what the hecking heck was THIS?”.
Yay!!! 😀
wait what ?? I actually like this ?? help it’s my new #1
It sounds like a twerk-swag-drugs,-rnb sort of song, sang in slovenian by a bored woman, who is gonna vote for this mess
As a Slovene I must say that I’m deeply disappointed. It’s the 2nd year in a row results from all the juries were 12p for the actual winner. It makes us all think if they just made decision themselves… The 2nd time in a row public votes wanted BQL and they couldn’t win. Maybe Eurovision should only be voting of some professionals? They clearly know what’s the best for Slovenia… as in 2017 – Omar was a disaster! I think this year’s selection was rather poor but the winner doesn’t convince me. People say “finally our eyes are open, we… Read more »
Polina, as a Slovenian, I must ask you which forums you are reading? I’ve been reading them now, but I haven’t seen anyone saying that we will win or that someone is expecting victory. Those who support Lea admit that this is not going to win, at best, they say it will be a border qualifier, but nothing beyond that. I say the same. So, honestly, I think you are spreading fake news.
So contradictory, sending her to represent us and don’t expect her to win. What’s the point of competing then? Then people should not vote at all. It’a common sense, isn’t it? And I followed FB comments, people say she might even win or place among first 3. And not all people read forums, some people interact in person. So I’m sorry I can’t provide an evidence for you as people’re hoping at loud she may win the esc >.<
Havin fun?! That’s the point.
Public votes sent Kalamari to Evrovision song contest, I hope this never happens again. Ever!!!!
wait wtf i just relistened and really like it
the song definitely has attitude, i think it could qualify
Meh. Don’t like it, don’t hate it either it’s just a bit boring. No final again for Slovenia
Horrible entry, no final for Slovenia this year, again…. Mark my words!
It is a good change for Evrovision song contest which is beeng kind of dull for a long time….winners made no hits all over the world like ABBA used to.
Wow, that was a good surprise for me. I really wasn’t expecting for one of my favorites (Lea and Indigo) to win. This will be super fun in Lisbon. Don’t know if it will take the country back to the final, but it’s a great way to shake things off after that extra boring act they picked last year.
Slovenia calling. So happy right now. I’ve voted Lea 🙂 I agree, there much room for improvement. Especially that drop in Hvala ne, ne should be upgraded somehow. Otherwise, Indigo was never favorite, BQL were robbed last year (but not this year – their song is a bad copy of their last year’s song), Nuška, thanks god she ain’t going to Lisbon. Kadis, nah, kitch, repetitive after 2 minutes, and she should fire her styliste 🙂 Will Slovenia go to finals? I don’t know, and I don’t care. Have fun people and greetings from S-love-nia 😉
This year I think Slovenia has good coreography, not too complicated, not too crowdy, and Lea seems very happy on the stage, so it is simply catchy…I think the whole performens is quite goood.
It reminds me of Lithuania’s attention song… super annoying 😀
At least Lea can sing. What’s her name just shouted for 3 minutes!
laugh out out out out out out out out out loud hahah..
i think that our country slovenia did a really good job i hope that we are going to be in finals in eurovision this year in lisbon
I really hope so! Great entry and I love Slovenia 🙂 It is marmite son but I think it will have enough people that like it to get it into the final. I could see 7th-10th in their semi.