We may be in the midst of a festive period, but the news about our favourite contest never stop! A few minutes before, the broadcaster RTVSLO published the names of the 10 acts that will be thrown into battle for the Slovene ticket to Tel Aviv.

One of the countries that have been faithful to their national selection format for many years now, is definitely Slovenia! The country’s annual competition Evrovizijska Melodija (aka EMA) is going to return for its 21st edition and determine their Eurovision hopeful!

A total of 103 songs were submitted to the broadcaster, while an appointed 4-member jury has selected the following ten, all set to take part in the show that will be held in coming February. The 2018 Slovene hopeful Lea Sirk was part of it.

Without further wait, the 10 finalists are:

• Fed Horses – Ti ne poznaš konzev
• Inmate – Atma
• Kim – Rhythm back to me
• Lumberjack – Lepote DNA
• Okusticni – Metulji plešejo
• Raiven – Kaos
• Renata Mohorič – Three bridges
• René – Ne poveš
• Ula Ložar – Fridays
• Zara Kralj & Gašper Šantl – Oprosti

Unlike in previous years, this year sees some changes when it comes to the voting procedure. As reported by the broadcaster, a jury panel is going to choose the show’s two superfinalists, while the eventual winner will emerge solely by the public’s vote.

Slovenia in Eurovision

Slovenia entered the Eurovision house in 1993 and has participated 24 times since. The country has ended up within the Top 10 twice, finishing 7th on both occassions (1995, 2001). This has been their best result to date.

Last year, the winner of their national selection show EMA was the successful pop singer and songwriter Lea Sirk, who went on to represent the country in Lisbon, with her song Hvala, ne! (No, thanks!). Following two consecutive semi-final eliminations, Slovenia managed to qualify to the Grand Final, where it placed 22nd with 64 points in total.

The 64th Eurovision Song Contest will take place on 14, 16 and 18 May at the EXPO Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, Israel. The contest’s slogan is Dare to Dream.