Last month, EMA FREŠ was announced by the Slovene broadcaster RTVSLO. This online competition will act as a pre-selection for EMA 2020. The full line-up comprises of 18 upcoming artists.
On Monday, the voting for the first round of EMA FREŠ opened. Each duel went online at 10:00 CET and voting remained open on the RTSVLO website until 20:00 CET, the winner is then announced shortly after. This will continue for the next two weeks until the final line-up is chosen.
You can check out the results from the first three duels below:
Duel 1: 4th November
- Stella – Ne vem, če sem v redu (I don’t know if I’m okay) – WINNER
- Pia Nina – Tukaj in zdaj (Here and now)
Duel 2: 5th November
- Soulution – Bil bom s teboj (I’ll be with you)
- Younite – The Cure – WINNER
Duel 3: 6th November
- Astrid in Avantgarden – Sing To Me
- Martina – Pleši (Dance) – WINNER
In Friday’s round, the three above winners were put to the public and a jury vote. Younite and Stella emerged victorious and will proceed to the EMA Freš final. It has not been revealed which act one the public or jury vote.
To recap, the following two acts are the first of six finalists, the remaining four will be selected in the next two weeks:
- Stella
- Younite
Still to come…
If you missed out on this week’s voting, not to worry! Keep checking the website on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to vote in next week’s duels! Then, check again on Friday to select which of the three winners will proceed to the final. Here are the duels for the next two weeks:
Duel 4: 11th November
- Klarity – Diham (I’m breathing)
- Tilen Lotrič – Jaz in ti (Me and you)
Duel 5: 12th November
- Marko Škof – Hočem da je vse kot prej (I want everything as before)
- Petra Ceglar – Srce naglas (Heart out loud)
Duel 6: 13th November
- Parvani Violet – Cupid
- Sara Petešič – Sanjaj / Dream
Duel 7: 18th November
- Ljudmila Frelih – Vztrajaj, ker je vredno (Persevere because it’s worth it)
- Saška – Še kar lovim tvoj nasmeh (I’m still chasing your smile)
Duel 8: 19th November
- Alfirev – Črno bela lika (Black and white figure)
- Nuša Pliberšek – Življenje je čarovnija (Life is magic)
Duel 9: 20th November
- Lana Hrvatin – Dream
- Marmoris – Moj pristan (My haven)
Format of EMA FREŠ
From November 4 onwards, two acts will be presented per day, each week, from Monday to Wednesday. The public will vote for a winner from each ‘daily duel’ via the EMA Facebook page. From each duel, one will progress to Friday’s round, where the winner of the week will be selected. Each week, the jury will also select a winner.
After the first three weeks, six artists will have qualified for the EMA Freš final. The remaining four finalists will by determined by a “happy losers” round, an additional online vote.
The final 10 will then compete for one of two spots in EMA 2020. One of these will be determined by a public vote, and another by the jury. These acts will compete against established Slovenian artists in the selection for Eurovision 2020! The submissions for EMA are due to close on November 18th.
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”.
What do you think of this format? Are you looking forward to seeing who Slovenia send to Rotterdam? 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!
