Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Country Slovenia
National selection
Selection processEMA 2009
Selection date(s)Semi-final:
31 January 2009
Final:
1 February 2009
Selected entrantQuartissimo feat. Martina
Selected song"Love Symphony"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Andrej Babić
  • Aleksandar Valenčić
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (16th)
Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2008 • 2009 • 2010►

Slovenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Love Symphony" written by Andrej Babić and Aleksandar Valenčić. The song was performed by the group Quartissimo featuring Martina. Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija) organised the national final EMA 2009 in order to select the Slovenian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. 20 entries competed in the national final which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. Fourteen of the entries competed in the semi-final and the top eight entries were selected to advance alongside six pre-qualified songs following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote. Fourteen entries qualified to compete in the final where "Love Symphony" performed by Quartissimo and Martina Majerle was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.

Slovenia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2009. Performing during the show in position 10, "Love Symphony" was not announced among the 10 qualifying entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Slovenia placed sixteenth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 14 points.

Background

Prior to the 2009 contest, Slovenia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fourteen times since its first entry in 1993.[1] Slovenia's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been seventh place, which the nation achieved on two occasions: in 1995 with the song "Prisluhni mi" performed by Darja Švajger and in 2001 with the song "Energy" performed by Nuša Derenda. The country's only other top ten result was achieved in 1997 when Tanja Ribič performing "Zbudi se" placed tenth. Since the introduction of semi-finals to the format of the contest in 2004, Slovenia had thus far only managed to qualify to the final on one occasion. In 2008, "Vrag naj vzame" performed by Rebeka Dremelj failed to qualify to the final.

The Slovenian national broadcaster, Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija), broadcasts the event within Slovenia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. RTV Slovenija confirmed Slovenia's participation in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest on 14 September 2008. The Slovenian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest has traditionally been selected through a national final entitled Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA), which has been produced with variable formats. For 2009, the broadcaster opted to organise EMA 2009 to select the Slovenian entry.[2]

Before Eurovision

EMA 2009

The logo of EMA 2009

EMA 2009 was the 14th edition of the Slovenian national final format Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA). The competition was used by RTV Slovenija to select Slovenia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, and consisted of two shows that took place on 31 January 2009 and 1 February 2009. Both shows of the competition took place at the RTV Slovenija Studio 1 in Ljubljana, hosted by Peter Poles and Maja Martina Merljak and were broadcast on TV SLO1 and online via the broadcaster's website rtvslo.si.[3]

Format

The format of the competition consisted of two televised shows: a semi-final held on 31 January 2009 and a final held on 1 February 2009.[4][5] Fourteen songs competed in the semi-final and the 50/50 combination of points from a three-member expert jury and a public televote selected eight finalists to proceed to the final alongside an additional six pre-qualified finalists. Fourteen songs competed in the final where the 50/50 combination of points from a three-member expert jury and a public televote determined the winner. During both shows, each member of the expert jury assigned a score of 1 (lowest score) to 10 (highest score) to each song with the combination of the jury votes creating an overall ranking from which points were converted and assigned as follows: 1-8, 10 and 12. The televote also assigned points as follows: 1-8, 10 and 12, with the results being determined when the votes were combined.[6][7][8]

Competing entries

Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 11 October 2008 and 28 November 2008.[9] 113 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period.[10] An expert committee consisting of Darja Švajger (1995 and 1999 Slovenian Eurovision entrant), Jernej Vene (music editor for Radio Val 202) and Mojca Menart (Head of ZKP RTV Slovenija) selected fourteen artists and songs for the semi-final of the competition from the received submissions, while the six pre-qualifying songs for the final were written by composers nominated by the entertainment programme of RTV Slovenija based on their success on EMA in recent years and Slovenian charts and directly invited by the broadcaster for the competition: Aleš Klinar, Boštjan Grabnar, Jan Plestenjak, Jože Potrebuješ, Matjaž Vlašič and former Slovenian Eurovision contestant Omar Naber who represented Slovenia in 2005. The composers also selected the performer for their entry.[11][12] The competing artists were announced on 3 December 2008. Among the competing artists were former Slovenian Eurovision contestants Karmen Stavec who represented Slovenia in 2003 and Omar Naber.[13]

Artist Song Songwriter(s) Selection
Alya and Rudi "Zadnji dan" Jan Plestenjak Invited by RTV Slovenija
Aynee "Zdaj vem" Simona Černetič, Miha Gorše Open submission
Bjonde "Blond Power" Gorazd Sedmak, Gaber Radojevič
Brigita Šuler "Druga liga" Boštjan Groznik, Werner Brozovič
Čuki "Mal' naprej pa mal' nazaj" Jože Potrebuješ, Marino Marcela Invited by RTV Slovenija
Eva Černe "Vse" Boštjan Grabnar, Damjana Kenda Hussu
Gianni Rijavec "Gloria" Leon Oblak, Gianni Rijavec Open submission
Karmen Stavec "A si želiš" Rafael Artesero, Gregor Bezenšek
Krema "Ob meni si" Janko Marinč, Roman Milavec, Dejan Markič
Langa and Manca Špik "Zaigraj muzikant" Urša Vlašič, Matjaž Vlašič, Boštjan Grabnar Invited by RTV Slovenija
Lea Sirk "Znamenje iz sanj" Patrik Greblo, Damjana Kenda Hussu, Sašo Fajon Open submission
Mitja "Mission" Aleš Berkopec, Primož Velikonja, Damjan Berkopec, Mitja Šedlbauer, Nejc Viher
Ne me jugat and Slavko Ivančič "Kaj me briga" Enkrat Se Živi, Mitja Kodarin, Gaber Radojevič
Nexys "Vsaj za en dan" Anton Valenčak, Ines Mohorko, Anton Valenčak
Nuška Drašček "Kako lepo" Duško Rapotec, Rok Terkaj, Ivan Popeskič
Omar Naber "I Still Carry On" Omar Naber, Miha Gorše, Rok Golob Invited by RTV Slovenija
Petra Slapar "Skrivnost" Daniela Bervar, Žiga Pirnat Open submission
Quartissimo[lower-alpha 1] "Love Symphony" Andrej Babić, Aleksandar Valenčić
Samuel Lucas "Vse bi zate dal" Anja Rupel, Aleš Klinar, Franci Zabukovec Invited by RTV Slovenija
Tadeja Molan and Retro Beat "Sanje" Tadeja Molan, Retro Beat Open submission

Shows

Semi-final

The semi-final of EMA 2009 took place on 31 January 2009. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 1995 and 1999 Slovenian Eurovision entrant Darja Švajger and 2007 Slovenian Eurovision entrant Alenka Gotar performed as guests.[14] Eight entries were selected to proceed to the final based on the combination of points from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.[15][16][17] The jury consisted of Urška Čop Šmajgert (music editor for Radio Maribor), Andrea Zuppini (Italian composer and arranger) and Anja Rogljić (Head of the Serbian delegation at the Eurovision Song Contest).[18]

Semi-final – 31 January 2009
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points
1 Nexys "Vsaj za en dan" 3 1,566 5 8 8
2 Petra Slapar "Skrivnost" 0 1,054 1 1 13
3 Lea Sirk "Znamenje iz sanj" 10 835 0 10 5
4 Brigita Šuler "Druga liga" 0 3,074 10 10 6
5 Ne me jugat and Slavko Ivančič "Kaj me briga" 5 2,922 8 13 4
6 Gianni Rijavec "Gloria" 0 1,333 4 4 11
7 Aynee "Zdaj vem" 0 896 0 0 14
8 Krema "Ob meni si" 4 1,023 0 4 9
9 Quartissimo[lower-alpha 1] "Love Symphony" 12 3,372 12 24 1
10 Tadeja Molan and Retro Beat "Sanje" 1 893 0 1 12
11 Bjonde "Blond Power" 6 1,312 3 9 7
12 Karmen Stavec "A si želiš" 7 2,466 7 14 3
13 Nuška Drašček "Kako lepo" 8 2,023 6 14 2
14 Mitja "Mission" 2 1,144 2 4 10

Final

The final of EMA 2009 took place on 1 February 2009. The eight entries that qualified from the semi-final alongside the six pre-qualified entries competed. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2008 Slovenian Eurovision entrant Rebeka Dremelj, 2008 Eurovision winner Dima Bilan, Natalija Verboten, Helena Blagne and 4 tenor performed as guests.[14] The combination of points from a three-member jury panel and a public televote selected "Love Symphony" performed by Quartissimo as the winner.[19][20][21] The jury consisted of Urška Čop Šmajgert (music editor for Radio Maribor), Andrea Zuppini (Italian composer and arranger) and Anja Rogljić (Head of the Serbian delegation at the Eurovision Song Contest).[18]

Final – 1 February 2009
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points
1 Lea Sirk "Znamenje iz sanj" 5 1,048 0 5 9
2 Čuki "Mal' naprej pa mal' nazaj" 0 8,411 10 10 7
3 Quartissimo[lower-alpha 1] "Love Symphony" 12 5,089 7 19 1
4 Omar Naber "I Still Carry On" 8 7,400 8 16 2
5 Brigita Šuler "Druga liga" 0 2,301 0 0 13
6 Ne me jugat and Slavko Ivančič "Kaj me briga" 6 3,240 4 10 6
7 Eva Černe "Vse" 1 2,996 2 3 11
8 Karmen Stavec "A si želiš" 4 2,815 1 5 10
9 Alya and Rudi "Zadnji dan" 7 4,366 6 13 4
10 Bjonde "Blond Power" 2 1,762 0 2 12
11 Samuel Lucas "Vse bi zate dal" 10 3,037 3 13 3
12 Nexys "Vsaj za en dan" 0 2,448 0 0 13
13 Langa and Manca Špik "Zaigraj muzikant" 0 22,294 12 12 5
14 Nuška Drašček "Kako lepo" 3 3,551 5 8 8

Ratings

Viewing figures by show
Show Air date Viewing figures Ref.
Nominal Share
Semi-final 31 January 2009 313,000 17.2% [22]
Final 1 February 2009 450,000 24.6%

Promotion

Quartissimo and Martina made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Love Symphony" as the Slovenian Eurovision entry. On 1 March, Quartissimo and Martina appeared during the Bosnian song presentation show BH Eurosong 2009 where they performed the Slovene version of "Love Symphony", entitled "Simfonija".[23] On 7 March, the artists performed "Love Symphony" during the semi-final of the Serbian Eurovision national final Beovizija 2009.[24] On 18 April, Quartissimo and Martina performed during the Eurovision Promo Concert event which was held at the Amsterdam Marcanti venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Marcha and Maggie MacNeal.[25]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 30 January 2009, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals. Slovenia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2009.[26][27] The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 16 March 2009 and Slovenia was set to perform in position 10, following the entry from Denmark and before the entry from Hungary.[28]

In Slovenia, the semi-finals and the final were televised on RTV Slovenija with commentary by Andrej Hofer. The Slovenian spokesperson, who announced the Slovenian votes during the final, was Peter Poles.

Semi-final

Quartissimo and Martina took in technical rehearsals on 6 and 9 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May.[29] The Slovenian performance began with Quartissimo and Martina behind white decorated canvases showing their shades followed by the members of Quartissimo tearing down their canvases from the frames, appearing on the stage in black suits playing string instruments. Martina, who wore a long white dress, remained behind the white canvas and performed the first verse of the song in Slovene. In the second part of the performance, Martina tore down her canvas and stepped forward to the stage. The LED screens displayed images of musical notes and strings of a violin on a black background.[30][31] The creative director for the Slovenian performance was Miha Alujevič. The backing vocalist that joined Quartissimo and Martina on stage was Sandra Feketija.[32]

At the end of the show, Slovenia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.[33] It was later revealed that Slovenia placed sixteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 14 points.

Voting

The voting system for 2009 involved each country awarding points from 1-8, 10 and 12, with the points in the final being decided by a combination of 50% national jury and 50% televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Slovenia and awarded by Slovenia in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Serbia in the semi-final and to Norway in the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Slovenia

Points awarded to Slovenia (Semi-final 2)[34]
Score Country
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points  Croatia
6 points
5 points  Serbia
4 points
3 points
2 points  Albania
1 point

Points awarded by Slovenia

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Slovene jury:

  • Anžej Dežan – singer, represented Slovenia in the 2006 contest
  • Nuša Derenda – singer, represented Slovenia in the 2001 contest
  • Matjaž Vlašič – composer of the 1998, 2005 and 2006 Slovene contest entries
  • Aida Kurtović – producer
  • Dušan Hren – director
Detailed voting results from Slovenia (Final)[36][37]
Draw Country Results Points
Jury Televoting Combined
01  Lithuania
02  Israel
03  France 10 10 7
04  Sweden 2 2
05  Croatia 8 8 6
06  Portugal
07  Iceland 4 4 8 5
08  Greece 5 3 8 4
09  Armenia 1 1
10  Russia
11  Azerbaijan 6 6 1
12  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 12 20 10
13  Moldova 3 3
14  Malta
15  Estonia 2 2
16  Denmark 6 5 11 8
17  Germany
18  Turkey
19  Albania 7 7 2
20  Norway 12 10 22 12
21  Ukraine
22  Romania
23  United Kingdom 7 1 8 3
24  Finland
25  Spain

Notes and references

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Features unaccredited vocals from Martina Majerle

References

  1. ↑ "Slovenia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Maatko, Alesh (14 September 2008). "Ema 2009: Povabljeni avtorji?! Vrača se Vanja Vardjan!" (in Slovenian). Evrovizija.com. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  3. ↑ "Live: Slovenia decides for Eurovision 2009". Esctoday. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. ↑ Viniker, Barry (2 December 2008). "Slovenian Eurovision final on 1st February". ESCToday. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  5. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (2 December 2008). "Slovenia selects on 1st of February". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  6. ↑ Laufer, Gil (18 September 2008). "Slovenia: Same format with slight changes". ESCToday. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
  7. ↑ Floras, Stella (11 October 2008). "Slovenia: New selection format for Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  8. ↑ "Pravilnik" (PDF). rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "Objavljen razpis za EMO 09". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). 1 December 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Costa, Nelson (1 December 2008). "Slovenia: 113 songs submitted to EMA 2009". Oikotimes. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  11. ↑ "Izbrane skladbe za EMO 09". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). 11 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  12. ↑ Grillhofer, Florian (3 December 2008). "Slovenia: The complete line-up for EMA 2009". ESCToday. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  13. ↑ Konstantopoulos, Fotis (3 December 2008). "Slovenia: RTV SLO announces EMA 2009 participants". Oikotimes. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  14. 1 2 Calleja Bayliss, Marc (23 January 2009). "Slovenia: RTVSLO reveals details for EMA 2009". Oikotimes. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  15. ↑ Klier, Marcus (31 January 2009). "Slovenia: Semi final results". ESCToday. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  16. ↑ Calleja Bayliss, Marc (31 January 2009). "Slovenia: The Complete Finalists". Oikotimes. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
  17. ↑ "EMA 09 results (scroll down)" (in Slovenian). Radiotelevizija Slovenija. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  18. 1 2 "FOTO: Ema 09 - Manca in Langa bojkotirali zabavo!". 24ur.com (in Slovenian). Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  19. ↑ Calleja Bayliss, Marc (1 February 2009). "Quartissimo to represent Slovenia in Moscow". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  20. ↑ Klier, Marcus (1 February 2009). "Slovenia: Eurovision entrant chosen". ESCToday. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  21. ↑ Dahlander, Gustav (1 February 2009). "Slovenia's choice: Quartissimo to Moscow". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  22. ↑ "Ema gledalce prikovala pred zaslone". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  23. ↑ Floras, Stella (16 February 2009). "Song presentation in Bosnia & Herzegovina". ESCToday. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  24. ↑ Floras, Stella (7 July 2009). "Beovizija semi final". ESCToday. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  25. ↑ Romkes, René (17 March 2009). "April 18 - Eurovision Promo Concert". ESCToday. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  26. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (30 January 2009). "LIVE: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw". EBU. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  27. ↑ Konstantopolus, Fotis (30 January 2009). "LIVE FROM MOSCOW, THE ALLOCATION DRAW". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  28. ↑ Murray, Gavin (12 January 2009). "Eurovision 2009: 43 countries for Moscow". ESCToday. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  29. ↑ Hondal, Victor (11 April 2009). "Eurovision 2009: The preliminary rehearsal schedule". Esctoday. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  30. ↑ "Slovenia: Classical music behind canvases". eurovision.tv. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  31. ↑ "Slovenian classical symphony". eurovision.tv. 9 May 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  32. ↑ "Slovenia 2009".
  33. ↑ "Second Semi-Final of Moscow 2009". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  34. 1 2 "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Moscow 2009". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  35. ↑ "Results of the Grand Final of Moscow 2009". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  36. ↑ Bakker, Sietse (31 July 2009). "Exclusive: Split jury/televoting results out!". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  37. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2009 - Full Results". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original (XLS) on 6 June 2011.
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