The central European country of Slovenia kicks off the search for the 2018 Eurovision representative this evening, starting with the semi-final stage of the nation’s selection, EMA 2018.

Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA) returns in 2018 for the twenty-third edition of the Slovenian national selection for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, in search for the country’s next representative at the competition this coming May.

How to watch

The semi-final of EMA 2018 takes place tonight from 20:00 CET via the following channels:

• TV Slovenija 1
• Live webcast via rtvslo.si

Semi-final in Slovenia

This evening sees EMA 2018 getting underway in the hunt for the country’s next act for the Eurovision Song Contest.

In total, 16 artists will be competing in tonight’s show, with hopes of advancing to the final of the competition next Saturday.

The participants

Tonight’s entries will all be performed in the Slovenian entries, complying with the 2018 rules of EMA.

• Anabel – Pozitiva
  
• BQL – Ptica
  
• Gregor Ravnik – Zdaj je čas
  
• Ina Shai – V nebo
  
• Indigo – Vesna
  
• KiNG FOO – Žive sanje
  
• Lara Kadis – Zdaj sem tu
  
• Lea Sirk – Ne, hvala!
  
• ManuElla – Glas
  
• Marina Martensson – Blizu
  
• MILA – Svoboda
  
• Nika Zorjan – Uspavanka – Lullaby
  
• Nuška Drašček – Ne zapusti me zdaj
  
• Orter – Kraljica
  
• Proper – Ukraden cvet
  
• Tanja Ribič – Ljudje

Only half of tonight’s semi-final participants will advance to the final of the competition the following Saturday. Four acts will be determined via a televote, whilst a further 4 artists will be selected via the professional jury.

The final of EMA 2018 will take place on the 24 February, in which the eventual Slovenian representative will be determined via a 50/50 combined public and jury vote.

EMA 2018 schedule

• 17/02: Semi-final (Sixteen participants, 8 qualifiers)
• 24/02: Grand final (Eight finalists, winner determined)