We want people to see it as a positive message

Klemen was surprised. His wife Mojca knew of his Eurovision dream so that was a big deal. He had to ask her twice and reinforce that the song wasn’t exactly a “Eurovision song”:

– It doesn’t matter. People need to hear this. What is a Eurovision song anyway?, she said.

As of now, Klemen sides with his wife and agrees that “How Much Time We Have Left” is a worthy Eurovision song and it may inspire others who are dealing with complicated stuff such as he and Mojca did:

– It does feel like the right time to share this message that even if someone tells you something is impossible, there still might be a way. It can be a reminder that sometimes it’s good to step out of the hamster wheel before it throws you out, he explains.

Traveling to the Eurovision pre-parties has also helped the Slovenian singer be sure that his song travels “no matter what the odds are telling”.

The journey to Eurovision 2025

During his national selection performance, Klemen turns and sings upside down, the moment most people remember from the staging. He confirms that the choreography will be kept for Basel but promises it’ll be better executed while also confessing it’s anything but easy to do.

Either way, that is a key moment of the performance that tells part of the story behind the song:

– When she read her diagnosis, our world turned upside down and I felt that rush of blood in my head, the same one I feel whenever I am upside down in the performance, he says.

– Priorities shifted right away and it was clear what didn’t serve us and what did.

We really want to make sure it will be told in the right way and that people see it as a positive story.Klemen

We carefully switch topics and focus on the staging:

– The upside down situation is approved by EBU and the production team, he reconfirms.

– But we’ll be adding something extra to make the story of the song clearer. I think it was a bit lost in EMA and we really want to make sure it will be told in the right way and that people see it as a positive story.

How different is hosting EMA than competing in it?

– I was so much more nervous now that I was competing. I have hosted it four times so I kind of felt like I had the shows in my hand and I could do whatever I wanted or even throw jokes here and there. Telling this story was something very important for me and I didn’t want to mess it up.

Klemen recreates Slovenia’s 25 years in the Eurovision

He certainly didn’t. The Slovenian people knew him, they knew of his wife battle and from the beginning he was one of the favourites to win. Dealing with the expectations of the public as well as his own wasn’t easy.

Being also known as a comedian made it harder to be taken more seriously?

– Not really, many already knew about it as my wife went on a talk show to speak about the disease, he says.

– Besides, I’ve done a lot of comedy stuff and impersonations but I’ve also done a lot of singing and many people have been asking me to “just sing” and use my own voice. Many have already been expecting this from me for a while. I am a blend of everything, he concludes.

Beginnings and first album

But first, there was acting. He apologizes for being “cheesy” but admits he has always followed his heart and, in high school, he mostly wanted to be an actor. He went to an acting academy and eventually was employed at the Slovenia National Theatre where he lived his dream for nine years. In parallel, he started to host TV shows and gained popularity for impersonating famous people which became a career path. Up until now:

– It was a journey and now I felt like I had to tell my own stories, to share my own experiences which will happen with the release of my first album that will be coming out after Eurovision.

More specifically on 3 June 2025, on the first anniversary of when his wife heard “How Much Time We Have Left” for the first time (and, again, also on his birthday). It’s a full circle moment for the couple but also for him as a musician:

Now I felt like I had to tell my own stories, to share my own experiences.Klemen

– Music was always there. It was my first passion as a child. I would always be singing and jumping around with a plastic guitar. While I did other things, the primal feeling within me was always singing. I just never put a lot of pressure in me to do it but I think now it’s the right time.

With Eurovision around the corner, Klemen doesn’t hide he’s a bit reluctant on what can happen following last year’s incidents but he’ll mostly focus on his job and his goals. Besides wanting to tell his wife’s story the right way, winning would mean the most to him:

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