Last month, RTVSLO revealed the first 10 finalists of the Slovenia’s national selection, EMA 2020. To complete the lineup, EMA FREŠ will take place on January 18, as ten artists compete for the last two places in the final of EMA 2020. You can now listen to snippets of the 10 entries competing in this pre-selection!
In the televised final, the ten acts will for the first time perform their songs in full, with two being selected to go onto EMA 2020. One of the acts will be chosen by the public televote, the second by a three member jury.
The show is set to be hosted by aja Pinterič and Bojan Cvjetićanin from 20:00 CET on RTVSLO1. Previously, EMA FREŠ had been a web-based selection.
The ten finalists of EMA FREŠ are:
- Marmoris – Moj pristan
- Astrid in Avantgarden – Sing To Me
- Klarity – Diham
- Lana Hrvatin – Dream
- Parvani Violet – Cupid
- Pia Nina – Tukaj in zdaj
- Saška – Še kar lovim tvoj nasmeh
- Stella – Ne vem, če sem v redu
- Alfirev – Črno bela lika
- Younite – The Cure
Here are the snippets, handily edited into one video:
EMA 2020
Slovenia will be selecting their artist for Rotterdam on February 22nd. A three-person jury will select to two acts to advance to the superfinal. Public voting will then decide which of the two super finalists wins the ticket to Rotterdam. As any of you drama-addicts know, this same format was used for last year’s selection, where Zala and Gasper pulled a shock landslide win over RAIVEN.
Here are the confirmed finalists for EMA 2020 and the entries they will present:
- Ana Soklič – “Voda” (Water)
- Božidar Wolfand Wolf – “Maybe Someday”
- Gaja Prestor – “Verjamem vase” (I believe in myself)
- Imset – “Femme Fatale”
- Inmate – “The Salt”
- Klara Jazbec – “Stop the World”
- Lina Kuduzović – “Man Like U”
- Manca Berlec – “Večnost” (Eternity)
- Simon Vadnjal – “Nisi sam” (You are not alone)
- Tinkara Kovač – “Forever”
Notable names in the line-up include Junior Eurovision 2015 third-placer Lina Kuduzović and Tinkara Kovač, who finished 25th in the Grand Final in Copenhagen back in 2014 with “Round and Round”.
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.
Who are you rooting for to win EMA FREŠ? 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! Also be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the run up to Rotterdam!
