Slovenia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Love Symphony" written by Andrej Babić and Aleksandar Valenčić, and performed by the group Quartissimo featuring Martina. The Slovene participating broadcaster, (RTVSLO), organised the national final in order to select its entry for the contest. 20 entries competed in the national final which consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. Fourteen of the entries competed in the semi-final and the top eight entries were selected to advance alongside six pre-qualified songs following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote. Fourteen entries qualified to compete in the final where "Love Symphony" performed by Quartissimo and Martina Majerle was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.
Slovenia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2009. Performing during the show in position 10, "Love Symphony" was not announced among the 10 qualifying entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Slovenia placed sixteenth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 14 points.
Background
Prior to the 2009 contest, (RTVSLO) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Slovenia fourteen times since its first entry . Its highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been seventh place, achieved on two occasions: with the song "Prisluhni mi" performed by Darja Švajger and with the song "Energy" performed by Nuša Derenda. The country's only other top ten result was achieved when Tanja Ribič performing "Zbudi se" placed tenth. Since the introduction of semi-finals to the format of the contest in 2004, Slovenia had thus far only managed to qualify to the final on one occasion. In 2008, "Vrag naj vzame" performed by Rebeka Dremelj failed to qualify to the final.
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 2009 contest on 14 September 2008. RTVSLO has traditionally selected its entry through a national final entitled (EMA), which has been produced with variable formats. For 2009, the broadcaster opted to organise (EMA 2009) to select its entry.
Before Eurovision
EMA 2009 EMA 2009 was the 14th edition of the Slovenian national final format Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA). The competition was used by RTV Slovenija to select Slovenia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, and consisted of two shows that took place on 31 January 2009 and 1 February 2009. Both shows of the competition took place at the RTV Slovenija Studio 1 in Ljubljana, hosted by Peter Poles and Maja Martina Merljak and were broadcast on TV SLO 1 and online via the broadcaster's website rtvslo.si.
Format The format of the competition consisted of two televised shows: a semi-final held on 31 January 2009 and a final held on 1 February 2009. Fourteen songs competed in the semi-final and the 50/50 combination of points from a three-member expert jury and a public televote selected eight finalists to proceed to the final alongside an additional six pre-qualified finalists. Fourteen songs competed in the final where the 50/50 combination of points from a three-member expert jury and a public televote determined the winner. During both shows, each member of the expert jury assigned a score of 1 (lowest score) to 10 (highest score) to each song with the combination of the jury votes creating an overall ranking from which points were converted and assigned as follows: 1-8, 10 and 12. The televote also assigned points as follows: 1-8, 10 and 12, with the results being determined when the votes were combined.
The jury that voted during the two shows consisted of:
Urška Čop Šmajgert (Slovenia) – music editor for Radio Maribor Andrea Zuppini (Italy) – composer and arranger Anja Rogljić (Serbia) – Head of the Serbian delegation at the Eurovision Song Contest
Competing entries Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 11 October 2008 and 28 November 2008. 113 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period. An expert committee consisting of Darja Švajger (1995 and 1999 Slovenian Eurovision entrant), Jernej Vene (music editor for Radio Val 202) and Mojca Menart (Head of ZKP RTV Slovenija) selected fourteen artists and songs for the semi-final of the competition from the received submissions, while the six pre-qualifying songs for the final were written by composers nominated by the entertainment programme of RTV Slovenija based on their success on EMA in recent years and Slovenian charts and directly invited by the broadcaster for the competition: Aleš Klinar, Boštjan Grabnar, Jan Plestenjak, Jože Potrebuješ, Matjaž Vlašič and former Slovenian Eurovision contestant Omar Naber who represented Slovenia in 2005. The composers also selected the performer for their entry. The competing artists were announced on 3 December 2008. Among the competing artists were former Slovenian Eurovision contestants Karmen Stavec who represented Slovenia in 2003 and Omar Naber. Artist Song Songwriter(s)Selection Alya and Rudi "Zadnji dan" Jan PlestenjakInvited by RTVSLO Aynee "Zdaj vem" Simona Černetič, Miha GoršeOpen submission Bjonde "Blond Power" Gorazd Sedmak, Gaber Radojevič Brigita Šuler "Druga liga" Boštjan Groznik, Werner Brozovič Čuki "Mal' naprej pa mal' nazaj" Jože Potrebuješ, Marino MarcelaInvited by RTVSLO Eva Černe "Vse" Boštjan Grabnar, Damjana Kenda Hussu Gianni Rijavec "Gloria" Leon Oblak, Gianni RijavecOpen submission Karmen Stavec "A si želiš" Rafael Artesero, Gregor Bezenšek Krema "Ob meni si" Janko Marinč, Roman Milavec, Dejan Markič Langa and Manca Špik "Zaigraj muzikant" Urša Vlašič, Matjaž Vlašič, Boštjan GrabnarInvited by RTVSLO Lea Sirk "Znamenje iz sanj" Patrik Greblo, Damjana Kenda Hussu, Sašo FajonOpen submission Mitja "Mission" Aleš Berkopec, Primož Velikonja, Damjan Berkopec, Mitja Šedlbauer, Nejc Viher Ne me jugat and Slavko Ivančič "Kaj me briga" Enkrat Se Živi, Mitja Kodarin, Gaber Radojevič Nexys "Vsaj za en dan" Anton Valenčak, Ines Mohorko, Anton Valenčak Nuška Drašček "Kako lepo" Duško Rapotec, Rok Terkaj, Ivan Popeskič Omar Naber "I Still Carry On" Omar Naber, Miha Gorše, Rok GolobInvited by RTVSLO Petra Slapar "Skrivnost" Daniela Bervar, Žiga PirnatOpen submission Quartissimo "Love Symphony" Andrej Babić, Aleksandar Valenčić Samuel Lucas "Vse bi zate dal" Anja Rupel, Aleš Klinar, Franci ZabukovecInvited by RTVSLO Tadeja Molan and Retro Beat "Sanje" Tadeja Molan, Retro BeatOpen submission
Shows
Semi-final The semi-final of EMA 2009 took place on 31 January 2009. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 1995 and 1999 Slovenian Eurovision entrant Darja Švajger and 2007 Slovenian Eurovision entrant Alenka Gotar performed as guests. Eight entries were selected to proceed to the final based on the combination of points from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.
+ Semi-final – 31 January 2009 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points 1 Nexys "Vsaj za en dan" 3 1,566 5 8 8 2 Petra Slapar "Skrivnost" 0 1,054 1 1 13 3 Lea Sirk "Znamenje iz sanj" 10 835 0 10 5 4 Brigita Šuler "Druga liga" 0 3,074 10 10 6 5 Ne me jugat and Slavko Ivančič "Kaj me briga" 5 2,922 8 13 4 6 Gianni Rijavec "Gloria" 0 1,333 4 4 11 7 Aynee "Zdaj vem" 0 896 0 0 14 8 Krema "Ob meni si" 4 1,023 0 4 9 9 Quartissimo "Love Symphony" 12 3,372 12 24 1 10 Tadeja Molan and Retro Beat "Sanje" 1 893 0 1 12 11 Bjonde "Blond Power" 6 1,312 3 9 7 12 Karmen Stavec "A si želiš" 7 2,466 7 14 3 13 Nuška Drašček "Kako lepo" 8 2,023 6 14 2 14 Mitja "Mission" 2 1,144 2 4 10
Final The final of EMA 2009 took place on 1 February 2009. The eight entries that qualified from the semi-final alongside the six pre-qualified entries competed. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2008 Slovenian Eurovision entrant Rebeka Dremelj, 2008 Eurovision winner Dima Bilan, Natalija Verboten, Helena Blagne and 4 tenor performed as guests. The combination of points from a three-member jury panel and a public televote selected "Love Symphony" performed by Quartissimo as the winner.
+ Final – 1 February 2009 Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place Votes Points 1 Lea Sirk "Znamenje iz sanj" 5 1,048 0 5 9 2 Čuki "Mal' naprej pa mal' nazaj" 0 8,411 10 10 7 3 Quartissimo "Love Symphony" 12 5,089 7 19 1 4 Omar Naber "I Still Carry On" 8 7,400 8 16 2 5 Brigita Šuler "Druga liga" 0 2,301 0 0 13 6 Ne me jugat and Slavko Ivančič "Kaj me briga" 6 3,240 4 10 6 7 Eva Černe "Vse" 1 2,996 2 3 11 8 Karmen Stavec "A si želiš" 4 2,815 1 5 10 9 Alya and Rudi "Zadnji dan" 7 4,366 6 13 4 10 Bjonde "Blond Power" 2 1,762 0 2 12 11 Samuel Lucas "Vse bi zate dal" 10 3,037 3 13 3 12 Nexys "Vsaj za en dan" 0 2,448 0 0 13 13 Langa and Manca Špik "Zaigraj muzikant" 0 22,294 12 12 5 14 Nuška Drašček "Kako lepo" 3 3,551 5 8 8
Ratings
+Viewing figures by showShowAir dateViewing figuresNominalShareSemi-final31 January 2009313,00017.2%Final1 February 2009450,00024.6%
Promotion Quartissimo and Martina made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Love Symphony" as the Slovenian Eurovision entry. On 1 March, Quartissimo and Martina appeared during the Bosnian song presentation show BH Eurosong 2009 where they performed the Slovene version of "Love Symphony", entitled "Simfonija". On 7 March, the artists performed "Love Symphony" during the semi-final of the Serbian Eurovision national final Beovizija 2009. On 18 April, Quartissimo and Martina performed during the Eurovision Promo Concert event which was held at the Amsterdam Marcanti venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Marcha and Maggie MacNeal.
At Eurovision According to Eurovision 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. The European 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 30 January 2009, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals. Slovenia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2009. The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 16 March 2009 and Slovenia was set to perform in position 10, following the entry from Denmark and before the entry from Hungary.
In Slovenia, the semi-finals and the final were televised on RTV Slovenija with commentary by Andrej Hofer. The Slovenian spokesperson, who announced the Slovenian votes during the final, was Peter Poles.
Semi-final