| Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTVSLO) | |||
| Country |  Slovenia | |||
| Selection process | Evrovizijska Melodija 2008 | |||
| Selection date | 3 February 2008 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Vrag naj vzame" | |||
| Artist | Rebeka Dremelj | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (11th) | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Slovenia was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Vrag naj vzame", composed by Josip Miani-Pipi, with lyrics by Igor Amon Mazul, and performed byRebeka Dremelj. The Slovene participating broadcaster,Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTVSLO), organised the national finalEvrovizijska Melodija 2008(EMA 2008) in order to select its entry for the contest. 20 entries competed in the national final which consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. The top five entries were selected to advance from each semi-final based on a public televote. Ten entries qualified to compete in the final where the winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, the top two entries were selected. In the second round, "Vrag naj vzame" performed by Rebeka Dremelj was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote.
Slovenia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 20 May 2008. Performing during the show in position 8, "Vrag naj vzame" was not announced among the 10 qualifying entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Slovenia placed eleventh out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 36 points.
Prior to the 2008 contest,Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTVSLO) had participated in theEurovision Song Contest representing Slovenia thirteen times since its first entryin 1993.[1] Its highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been seventh place, achieved on two occasions:in 1995 with the song "Prisluhni mi" performed byDarja Švajger, andin 2001 with the song "Energy" performed byNuša Derenda. Its only other top ten result was achievedin 1997 when "Zbudi se" byTanja Ribič placed tenth. Since the introduction of semi-finals to the format of the contest in 2004, it had thus far only managed to qualify to the final on one occasion. In2007, "Cvet z juga" performed byAlenka Gotar qualified to the final and placed fifteenth.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, RTVSLO organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its participation in the 2008 contest on 10 October 2007. The broadcaster has traditionally selected its entry through a national final entitledEvrovizijska Melodija (EMA), which has been produced with variable formats. For 2008, the broadcaster opted to organiseEMA 2008 to select its entry.[2]
EMA 2008 was the 13th edition of the Slovenian national final formatEvrovizijska Melodija(EMA). The competition was used by RTVSLO to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, and consisted of three shows that commenced on 1 February 2008 and concluded on 3 February 2008. All shows in the competition took place at theGospodarsko razstavišče inLjubljana and were broadcast onTV SLO 1 and online via the broadcaster's websitertvslo.si.[3] The final was also broadcast onRadio Val 202.[4]
The format of the competition consisted of three televised shows: two semi-finals held on 1 and 2 February 2008 and a final held on 3 February 2008. Ten songs competed in each semi-final and public televoting exclusively determined five finalists to proceed to the final. Ten songs competed in the final where the winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, two songs were selected out of the sixteen competing songs to proceed to a superfinal, during which the winner was determined.[5]
Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 10 October 2007 and 30 November 2007.[2] A record 162 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period.[6][7] An expert committee consisting of Elza Budau (lyricist), Andrej Šifrer (singer-songwriter), Vojko Sfiligoj (musician and composer), Samo Koler (public representative), and Igor Pirkovič (RTVSLO Eurovision project manager) selected twenty artists and songs for the competition from the received submissions.[8] The competing artists were announced on 11 December 2007.[9] On 4 January 2008, "Eo eo", written by Aleš Zibelnik, Matej Vidovič, and Urša Mravlje and to have been performed by Zaka' pa ne, was disqualified due to the song having been publicly released before the competition and replaced with "Samara" performed by Brigita Šuler.[10] On 22 January 2008, "Extrem", written and to have been performed by Petra Pečovnik, was disqualified due to plagiarism and replaced with the song "Dober planet" performed by Cole and Predsednik; Cole had representedSlovenia in 1993 as a member of1X Band.[11]
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 4Play | "DJ" | Miha Hercog, Igor Amon Mazul |
| Andraž Hribar | "Corpomorto (Jutri jadram naprej)" | Andraž Hribar |
| Brigita Šuler | "Samara" | Werner Brozovič, Andreja Brozovič |
| Cole and Predsednik | "Dober planet" | Josip-Cole Moretti, Miklavž Ašič, Jože Andrejaš |
| Dennis | "Ni me sram" | Denis Vučak, Zvone Tomac |
| Eva Černe | "Dovolj" | Boštjan Grabnar, Damjana Kenda Hussu |
| Halgato Band | "Nomadi" | Milan Ostojić,Feri Lainšček |
| Iris | "Peti element" | Sabina Hribernik, Saša Lendero |
| Johnny Bravo | "Butn ..., butn!!!" | Leon Oblak |
| Langa and Civili | "Za svobodo divjega srca" | Mišo Kontrec, Feri Lainšček |
| Male malice | "Spam" | Tadej Vasle |
| Manca Špik | "Še vedno nekaj čutim" | Raay, Urša Vlašič |
| Mirna Reynolds | "Lepi fantje" | Robi Povše, Mirna Reynolds |
| Neža Trobec | "Prav ti" | Borut Praper, Rok Predin |
| Rebeka Dremelj | "Vrag naj vzame" | Josip Miani-Pipi, Igor Amon Mazul |
| Slovenia United and Grupa občanov | "Kako je ne bi imel rad" | Jurjev Kolk |
| Stereotipi | "Naravnost v srce" | Dare Kaurič, Janez Rupnik |
| Tina Gačnik - Tiana | "Povej!" | Bor Zuljan, Leon Oblak |
| Turbo Angels | "Zabava" | Ed Fisher, Boštjan Groznik |
| Ylenia | "Našel si me" | Marino Legovič, Damjana Kenda Hussu |
The two semi-finals ofEMA 2008 took place on 1 and 2 February 2008. The first semi-final was hosted by Lorella Flego andPeter Poles, while the second semi-final was hosted by Tjaša Hrobat and Jure Sešek. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, LeeLooJamais,Aleksandra Kovač andNeisha performed as guests during the first semi-final, whileTrkaj,Alya, Nikolovski andRegina, who had representedSlovenia in 1996, performed as guests during the second semi-final.[12][13] A public televote selected five entries to proceed to the final from each semi-final.[14]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langa and Civili | "Za svobodo divjega srca" | 7,176 | 1 |
| 2 | Slovenia United and Grupa občanov | "Kako je ne bi imel rad" | 1,463 | 8 |
| 3 | Mirna Reynolds | "Lepi fantje" | 379 | 10 |
| 4 | Dennis | "Ni me sram" | 1,354 | 9 |
| 5 | Cole and Predsednik | "Dober planet" | 1,742 | 5 |
| 6 | Andraž Hribar | "Corpomorto (Jutri jadram naprej)" | 1,467 | 7 |
| 7 | Turbo Angels | "Zabava" | 2,983 | 3 |
| 8 | Ylenia | "Našel si me" | 1,580 | 6 |
| 9 | Manca Špik | "Še vedno nekaj čutim" | 1,831 | 4 |
| 10 | Johnny Bravo | "Butn ..., butn!!!" | 4,683 | 2 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stereotipi | "Naravnost v srce" | 1,831 | 8 |
| 2 | Rebeka Dremelj | "Vrag naj vzame" | 3,541 | 3 |
| 3 | Tina Gačnik - Tiana | "Povej!" | 2,986 | 5 |
| 4 | 4Play | "DJ" | 6,367 | 1 |
| 5 | Halgato Band | "Nomadi" | 1,525 | 9 |
| 6 | Neža Trobec | "Prav ti" | 631 | 10 |
| 7 | Iris | "Peti element" | 2,018 | 7 |
| 8 | Brigita Šuler | "Samara" | 3,413 | 4 |
| 9 | Eva Černe | "Dovolj" | 4,919 | 2 |
| 10 | Male malice | "Spam" | 2,247 | 6 |
The final ofEMA 2008 took place on 3 February 2008 and was hosted by Bernarda Žarn and Mario Galunič. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Helena Blagne,Darja Švajger (who had representedSlovenia in 1995 and1999),Nuša Derenda (who had representedSlovenia in 2001), andAlenka Gotar (who had represented Slovenia in 2007), performed as guests. The winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, two entries were selected to proceed to the second round. In the second round, "Vrag naj vzame" performed byRebeka Dremelj was selected as the winner.[14][15]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manca Špik | "Še vedno nekaj čutim" | 3,432 | 9 |
| 2 | Eva Černe | "Dovolj" | 8,044 | 5 |
| 3 | Langa and Civili | "Za svobodo divjega srca" | 21,193 | 1 |
| 4 | 4Play | "DJ" | 9,134 | 4 |
| 5 | Johnny Bravo | "Butn ..., butn!!!" | 6,192 | 7 |
| 6 | Tina Gačnik - Tiana | "Povej!" | 4,945 | 8 |
| 7 | Cole and Predsednik | "Dober Planet" | 3,189 | 10 |
| 8 | Rebeka Dremelj | "Vrag naj vzame" | 12,665 | 2 |
| 9 | Turbo Angels | "Zabava" | 7,914 | 6 |
| 10 | Brigita Šuler | "Samara" | 9,746 | 3 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Langa and Civili | "Za svobodo divjega srca" | 56,428 | 2 |
| 2 | Rebeka Dremelj | "Vrag naj vzame" | 56,823 | 1 |
| Show | Air date | Viewing figures | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal | Share | |||
| Final | 3 February 2008 | 501,200 | 27.6% | [16] |
Rebeka Dremelj made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Vrag naj vzame" as the Slovenian Eurovision entry. On 2 March, Rebeka Dremelj performed the song during the presentation show of the2008 Bosnian Eurovision entry,BH Eurosong Show 2008.[17] On 27 February, Dremelj performed the English version of the song, "Heavy Weather", during Greek Eurovision national finalEllinikós Telikós 2008.[18] On 9 March, Dremelj performed "Vrag naj vzame" during the semi-final of the Serbian Eurovision national finalBeovizija 2008.[19] Dremelj also took part in promotional activities in Belgium and performed during an event held at thePlace Sainte-Catherine/Sint-Katelijneplein inBrussels on 28 April.[20]
It was announced in September 2007 that the competition's format would be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008.[21] According to the 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. TheEuropean 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 28 January 2008, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals.[22] Slovenia was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 20 May 2008. The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 17 March 2008 and Slovenia was set to perform in position 8, following the entry fromAzerbaijan and before the entry fromNorway.
In Slovenia, the semi-finals were televised onTV SLO 2 and the final was televised onTV SLO 1. Both shows featured commentary by Andrej Hofer. The contest was also broadcast via radio with all three shows airing onRadio Val 202.[23] RTVSLO appointedPeter Poles as its spokesperson to announce the Slovenian votes during the final.[24][25]
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Rebeka Dremelj took in technical rehearsals on 11 and 15 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 19 and 20 May. The Slovenian performance featured Dremelj emerging from a green-lit cage and performing in a cape, which was later removed to reveal a green-blue dress, together with two dancers in black latex and helmets.[26] During the performance, Dremelj revealed a leash on her dancers which she took them with.[27] The stage costumes for the performance were designed by Slovenian designer Urša Drofenik.[28] Dremelj was joined by three on-stage backing vocalists: Jelena Majić, Marina Durović and Sandra Feketija. The two dancers that joined Dremelj on stage were Matej Bedič and Željko Božič, with the latter also choreographed the Slovenian performance.[29]
At the end of the show, Slovenia was not announced among the ten qualifying entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.[30] It was later revealed that Slovenia placed eleventh in the semi-final, receiving a total of 36 points.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Slovenia and awarded by Slovenia in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semi-final and to Serbia in the final of the contest.
| Score | Country |
|---|---|
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points |  Armenia |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
|
|
