Slovenian broadcaster RTV SLO will broadcast a preview show for the return of EMA, one week before the national final on February 1.
Evrovizija.com reports that the show will “take a look behind the scenes of the preparations for EMA” and help audiences “get to know the contestants and their expectations.”
Preview shows are often used by broadcasters to generate publicity for their national finals. They are a chance for viewers to become familiar with the artists competing in the national final before they perform in the competition, and generate attention for a country’s Eurovision entry before it is decided.
Slovenia’s broadcaster RTV SLO has decided to bring back the EMA format for the first time since 2022. The show, whose full name is Evrovizijska Melodija, was introduced in 1996 to select the country’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Since then, the national final has been used intermittently, with the broadcaster occasionally choosing to select an artist internally. Slovenia decided to do this in both 2023 and 2024, selecting Joker Out and Raiven respectively without holding a national final.
EMA’s return will see 12 artists compete to represent Slovenia at Eurovision in Basel, Switzerland this May. 11 of the 12 competitors are making their debuts in the contest, while July Jones is the only artist who has competed at EMA before.
TV viewers in Slovenia and Eurovision fans will get a chance to learn more about those artists during the EMA preview show, which will air the week before the national final is held on February 1, 2025.
Slovenia was represented by Raiven at last year’s contest in Malmö, Sweden, where she performed her song “Veronika”. The song qualified for the Grand Final, where it placed in 23rd overall, scoring 17 points.
Image Source: EBU / Sarah Louise Bennett | Source: Evrovizija.com
Slovenia was one of three countries to join the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993. The country qualified through a specially organised selection round called “Kvalifikacija za Millstreet” which was hosted in Slovenia, seven countries competed for three spots in Eurovision 1993. Their best result came in 1995 when Darja Švajger finished 7th with a total of 84 points, she is closely followed by Nuša Derenda who finished 7th in the 2001 contest with 70 points.
Tags: EMA EMA 2025 eurovision 2025 Headline national selection Slovenia
