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Joker Out | |
|---|---|
 Joker Out in 2023, from left to right: Nace Jordan, Bojan Cvjetićanin, Kris Guštin, Jure Maček and Jan Peteh | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Ljubljana,Slovenia |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | www.jokeroutband.com |
Joker Out is a five-memberSloveneindie rock band formed in 2016, who describe their genre as "Shagadelic Rock n' Roll".[1] They hadrepresented Slovenia in theEurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song "Carpe Diem", placing 21st.[2] Their discography includes three studio albums:Umazane misli (2021),Demoni (2022), andSouvenir Pop (2024).
The group was formed in May 2016 after the breakup of Apokalipsa, which included Bojan Cvjetićanin, Martin Jurkovič, Matic Kovačič and Luka Škerlep. Three of them (Cvjetićanin, Jurkovič, and Kovačič) were joined by Kris Guštin and Jan Peteh from Buržuazija, and Joker Out was born.[3] In November they released their first single "Kot srce, ki kri poganja", for which they also recorded their first music video.[4] On June 17, 2017, they became the winners of the 4th season (2016/17) of the Špil league (a competition for student musical groups and soloists).[5] In November they released their second song "Omamljeno telo".[6][7] The group also performed at many festivals.
Their next single "Gola", on which they first collaborated with producer Žare Pak, was released on September 12, 2019. On November 2, they had their first completely independent concert, held at theLjubljana Castle.[8] "Gola" was followed by the fourth single "Vem da greš" in March 2020, followed by "Umazane misli" (October 2020) and "A sem ti povedal" (July 2021). Jure Maček replaced drummer Matic Kovačič between the releases of "Umazane misli" and "A sem ti povedal". The composition "Umazane misli" was chosen by the audience as the Best New Slovene Song of the Past Year at the first edition of the Frišno/Fresh music festival, which took place on October 1, 2021.[9][10]
Their first albumUmazane misli was released in October 2021. It was originally planned to be released in April 2020, but the release was postponed several times due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. It was presented at two consecutive concerts on October 20 and 21, 2021 in Cvetličarna, both of which were sold out in 2020. The second concert was recorded byRadiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija). In these two years, they received twoZlata piščal (Golden Flute) awards – the first in 2020 for Newcomers of the Year, and the second in 2021 for Artists of the Year.[11]
In April 2022, they released the music video for the last single from their first album "Barve Oceana". On May 12, at the eighth edition of the Zlata piščal Awards, they were nominated for "Artist of the Year" for the second year in a row. On August 31, they released their second albumDemoni, which was preceded by the song "Katrina". They held a presentation concert for the album on September 9 at theKrižanke outdoor theatre in Slovenia's capitalLjubljana. On October 10, they announced on Instagram that bassist Martin Jurkovič was leaving the band to study abroad and was being replaced by Nace Jordan, a member of "Diamanti", the house band of the "V petek zvečer" show.[12][13] "Katrina" was followed at the end of October by "Demoni", their first Serbian-language single, which represents their first official release for the former Yugoslav market.[14]
On 8 December 2022, RTV Slovenija announced that Joker Out would represent Slovenia in theEurovision Song Contest 2023 inLiverpool. Recording for their Eurovision song took place within the month of December 2022 inHamburg, Germany, over a 12-day period.[15] The band stated that they wanted to keep the entire song in theSlovene language, saying: "we want to translate Slovenian into a universal language of dance and entertainment that all countries understand."[16] In January 2023, the band shot their music video in Ljubljana, at theGrand Hotel Union.[17]
On the same day that the band was announced to be internally selected by RTV Slovenija, the broadcaster announced that their song, later revealed to be titled "Carpe Diem", would premiere on a special Eurovision broadcast on TV SLO 1 calledMisija Liverpool on 4 February 2023, along with the Eurovision Song Contest premiering the music video on theirYouTube channel.[18] On 31 January, Joker Out was drawn to perform in the second half of the second semi-final on 11 May.[19]
As part of the promotional tour, in March and April they took part in the Eurovision pre-parties inBarcelona,Warsaw,Tel Aviv,Madrid,Amsterdam andLondon, and before leaving forLiverpool, they said goodbye to their home audience with a concert at Ljubljana'sNovi Trg [sl] on April 25. In March, they were included in the list of 100 noteworthy music performers inEurope (Artists to Watch 2023), by the Association of Independent Music Labels IMPALA. On April 21, they released the single "New Wave" (an English-Slovene version of their song "Novi val"), recorded withElvis Costello.[20]
At Eurovision, they performed in the second semi-final and qualified for the final, where they finished in 21st place. Following the contest, the band embarked on a European tour across Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, as well as Ireland and the United Kingdom. In June, they announced a Nordic tour for September, including shows in Norway, Sweden and Finland. They sold out 12,000-capacity arena gig in their hometown Ljubljana, on October 6, inArena Stožice.[21]
In July, they went on a sold-out UK Tour alongsideIrish bandWild Youth, with concerts inManchester,Liverpool,Glasgow andLondon. In the latter, they performed at theElectric Ballroom to a crowd of 1,500, among whom was the famousScottish singerLewis Capaldi.[22]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LTU [23] | |||
| Umazane misli | 72 | ||
| Demoni |
| 44 | |
| Souvenir Pop |
| — | |
| "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Live from Arena Stožice |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album or EP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLO [27] | FIN [28] | LTU [29] | SWE Heat. [30] | |||
| "Kot srce, ki kri poganja" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | Non album single |
| "Omamljeno telo" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | Umazane misli |
| "Gola" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Vem, da greš" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Umazane misli" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "A sem ti povedal" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Barve oceana" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Katrina" | — | — | — | — | Demoni | |
| "Demoni" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Carpe Diem" | 2023 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 4 | Souvenir Pop |
| "New Wave" (withElvis Costello) | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Sunny Side of London" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Everybody's Waiting" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | Souvenir Pop |
| "Šta bih ja" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bluza" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Stephanie" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zlata piščal(The Golden Whistle) | 2020 | Song of the Year | "Gola" | Nomination |
| Newcomer of the Year | Joker Out | Won | ||
| 2021 | Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| 2022 | Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| Song of the Year | "Umazane misli" | Nomination | ||
| "A sem ti povedal" | Nomination | |||
| Album of the Year | Umazane misli | Nomination | ||
| 2023 | Artist of the Year | Joker Out | Nomination | |
| Album of the Year | Demoni | Nomination | ||
| MAC(Music Awards Ceremony) | Rock Song | "Barve oceana" | Nomination | |
| Zlata piščal(The Golden Whistle) | 2024 | Song of the Year | "Carpe Diem" | Nomination |
| Artist of the Year | Joker Out | Won |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 | Succeeded by |