Less than two weeks ahead of the alleged start of rehearsals, details and hints about staging have begun to emerge. The latest news comes from Slovenia, with Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl revealing in an interview that their staging will be similar to their EMA performance.
In an interview with Eurosong.hr, which you can watch below, the duo spoke about the meaning of the song, their ambitions and what we can expect from their staging.
In the interview, they revealed that the staging will be pretty much the same as it was in EMA, the Slovenian national final. In an interview with RTVSLO, they even revealed that they will wear the same outfits. Of course, the performance will be scaled up to match the size of the stage in Tel Aviv.
Our approach will be quite the same, [intimate and low light], the one thing is just that the stage is bigger, so we’re gonna picture ourself in the middle of all those stars.
Gašper speaking about the staging
When asked why they decided to keep their song in Slovenian, as opposed to translating it to English, Zala said the following:
We think first of all that it is a beautiful language, if you use it wisely. Second, the song is about staying true to who you are no matter what, so if we just changed the lyrics because of Eurovision that would be kinda weird.
Zala answering why Sebi was kept in Slovenian
Who are Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl?
Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl are a couple (if you didn’t already notice), and have been performing together since 2017. The pair met after Zala began providing the vocals for some of Gašper’s songs, having both previously been solo artists. Earlier this year, they released their first EP, Štiri, which features four songs. Sebi, along with all their other released songs, were written by the duo.
They scored an unexpected landslide victory in the EMA superfinal against Raiven’s Kaos, earning almost 73% of the televote! As a result, they will perform in the first half of the first semi-final at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv on May 14th, in 5th place.
Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest
Slovenia has competed 24 times as an independent nation. Previously, they have competed as Yugoslavia alongside: Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. As Yugoslavia, only four of the 27 entries were from Slovenia.
Slovenia officially debuted in 1993, where they won the right to compete after winning Kvalifikacija za Millstreet. They qualified along with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, who finished second and third respectively. Slovenia were represented in 1993 by 1X Band who sang “Tih deževen dan”. They finished in 22nd with Nine points.
Slovenia’s best ever finish at Eurovision is Seventh Place, which they have achieved twice. The first of those came in 1995, when Darja Švajger sang “Prisluhni mi”. Likewise the second of those came in 2001, when Nuša Derenda sang “Energy”. In Lisbon last year, it was Lea Sirk who flew the Slovenian flag with her song “Hvala Ne“. She performed in the second semi-final and successfully qualified for the grand final, ending a 2-year non-qualification streak for Slovenia. In the grand final, she finished 22nd with 64 points.
Are you looking forward to seeing Sebi on stage in Tel Aviv? Do you think Zala and Gašper will bring Slovenia to the final again? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! We’ll also be posting plenty of content on our YouTube in the run up to Tel Aviv!
