In the after-war period, Eurovision was a great idea. After years of competing in ammunition, European countries began to compete in the arts. Maybe, if not Eurovision, we would never have the Europe we have now, with all the freedoms, democracy, tolerance, and so on. Definitely, this played an enormous role in uniting as well as promoting a culture of each European country, as well as countries from outside the region. From that time, Eurovision was held almost every year.
Slovenia hasn’t been taking part in the contest until 1992. Before that year, Slovenia was inside Yugoslavia, so representatives from Slovenia participated only partially. When Slovenia ended the political change, the new country needed to show its culture all around the world. Eurovision became a great chance to do this. Thus, let’s discover the history of Slovenia’s participation in this song contest and how Slovenians did on the European musical stage!
Common Facts
Yugoslavia took part 27 times in the period from 1961 to 1991. Artists from Slovenia were 4 times of them. After gaining independence, Slovenia presented as a separate country in 1993. Its best position was 7th place. It was two times: in 1995 and 2001. On the other hand, the worst position was last place in 2013. Slovenia failed to reach the final 10 times. Oppositely, in 1993, they got the first place in the semi-final. Since its independence, Slovenia appeared 25 times in Eurovision and reached the final 15 times. The Slovenian national final is broadcasted by Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV SLO).
History
1993
That year, Slovenia was represented at the first time. They chose 1X Band as the participants. Their singer, Cole Moretti, sang the song Tih deževen dan, which ended in 22nd place.
1994
Slovenia didn’t participate that year. Eurovision was held in Ireland.
1995
It was the first best result for Slovenia. Darja Švajger represented Slovenia with the song “Prisluhni mi” in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995, in Ireland. The song got 84 points. The biggest amount was given by The United Kingdom and Greece, 10 points from each one.
1996
That year, the song called “Dan najlepših sanj” by singer Regina took 21st place. The contest was held in Oslo, Norway. The song got only 16 points.
1997
Tanja Ribič, with the song “Zbudi se” (Wake up), represented Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, in Dublin, Ireland. That time, it reached 10th place with gained 60 points. Russian and Turkey gave 10 points each at that year, the biggest numbers.
1998
Vili Resnik, a Slovenian rock singer, and guitarist was selected to represent his country at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham, UK, and with his ballad “Naj bogovi slišijo” he reached number 18 of 25.
1999
It was the first time for a Slovenian participant to sing in English. Moreover, the country was represented by Darja Švajger once again. They hoped that he would get a high place one more time. And partially, she did!
Her song For A Thousand Years reached the 11th place in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 in Israel.
2000
The song contest was held in Stockholm, Sweden. Slovenia did not participate that year because of poor results at the national final.
2001
This was the second song in English, as well as the second-best result for Slovenia. Furthermore, that tactic worked well!
Nuša Derenda represented Slovenia at the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, with the song “Energy”. There, she archived the 7th place again. The highest points were given by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. There were no more such high places in the history of Slovenian participation in this song contest.
2002
A creative team, Tomaž (Marlenna), Damjan (Emperatrizz), and Srečko (Daphne), named as a creative drag act, represented Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia. It was one of the most controversial entries in the history of Eurovision before Verka Serduchka and Conchita Wurst. The team was named Sestre, and they song “Samo Ljubezen” (Only Love) reached the 13th place.
2003
This year was not so lucky for Slovenia as the several previous ones. Slovenia entered the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, in Riga, Latvia, represented by Karmen Stavec with the song “Nanana”. In Slovenian, the song is named “Lep poletni dan” (A beautiful summer day). It got the 23rd place with only 7 points.
2004
At the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey, Slovenia was represented by Platin, a Slovenian duo consisting of married couple Simon Gomilšek and Diana Lečnik. Moreover, it was a romantic performance because they married in Turkey while they were participating. Unfortunately, their song Stay Forever failed to reach the final of the contest.
2005
The next entry was not so lucky neither. Omar Kareem Naber, a Slovenian singer, songwriter, and guitar player, participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv, Ukraine, with the song “Stop”. The song was originally a dynamic ballad but was turned into a rock song for Eurovision, and it didn’t reach the final.
2006
That year, the contest took place in Greece. Slovenia was represented by Anžej Dežan with the song “Mr. Nobody”. It failed to qualify for the final as well.
2007
Slovenia chose Alenka Gotar to fly the flag in Helsinki, Finland, with the song “Cvet z juga”.The song is written and composed by Andrej Babić and Aleksandra Valenčić. Finally, the song qualified for the finals, where it archived the 15th place. The highest points were given by Croatian, Andorra, and Montenegro. This was a good result after three years of fail.
2008
Slovenia was represented by Rebeka Dremelj with the song “Vrag naj vzame” in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, in Helsinki, Finland. The song failed to qualify for the final.
2009
That year, Slovenia chose Quartissimo to represent the country. It is a Slovenian string quartet featuring Žiga Cerar on first violin, Matjaž Bogataj on the second violin, Luka Dukarić on viola, and Samo Dervišić on cello. They appeared at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow. Their song “Love Symphony” failed to reach the final.
2010
This year, Slovenia tried to show the national identity by some folk song. Thus, the country selected its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, which was held in Oslo, Norway, as Ansambel Roka Žlindre and Kalamari with the song “Narodnozabavni rock” (Popular folk-rock). The performers were playing accordion, acoustic guitar, and double bass. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 final from the second semi-final.
2011
The next Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was held in Düsseldorf, Germany. Slovenia chose Maja Keuc, also known as Amaya, is a Slovenian singer to participate there. She performed the song “No One,” eventually finishing 13th in the grand final. The highest points were given by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Macedonia. In total, there were 96 points.
2012
This was one more failed year. The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan had a Slovenian participant as Eva Boto with the song “Verjamem”, which failed to qualify from the second semi-final.
2013
As we noticed before, Hannah Leah Mancini reached the worst Slovenian position in the Eurovision Contest with the song “Straight into Love”.
2014
The Slovenian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark, was in the face of Tinkara Kovač, a Slovenian singer and musician. She finished it in 25th place.
2015
After the outrageous performance of Conchita Wurst, the contest was held in Vienna, Austria. This time, Slovenia showed a good result. They sent Maraaya, a Slovenian duo founded by Marjetka Vovk and Raay. Their song “Here for You” finished in fourteenth place, receiving 39 points. The highest points were given by Azerbaijan and Montenegro this time.
2016
Manuella Brečko, better known as Manu, and formerly known as ManuElla, represented Slovenia in 2016, in Stockholm, Sweden. Her the song “Blue and Red” didn’t qualified for the final.
2017
An interesting situation, after 12 years, Omar Naber represented the country one more time! His song “On My Way” was played in Kyiv, Ukraine, once again as well! What a coincidence!!!
Very unfortunately, this entry failed to qualify for finals as well.
2018
Lea Sirk, a Slovenian pop singer, represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018. The contest was held for the first time in history in Portugal, Lisbon. She was qualified for the grand final and placed 22nd with 64 points.
2019
One more romantic entry. Zalagasper (formerly Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl) is a Slovenian musical duo from Maribor consisting of vocalist Zala Kralj and multi-instrumentalist Gašper Šantl. The duo represented Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, in Israel, with the song “Sebi”, finishing in the 15th place.
2020
This year is the hardest in the history of Eurovision. Due to the pandemic, it was obligatory to cancel all the public events for the sake of safety. Ana Soklič was chosen to present Slovenia this year, but the event has been postponed to the next one.
We wish Ana all the strength and luckiness to promote the Slovenian song and present the country with all the pride and honor! See you in 2021!
