Slovenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Love Symphony" written by Andrej Babić and Aleksandar Valenčić. The song was performed by the group Quartissimo featuring Martina. Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija) organised the national final EMA 2009 in order to select the Slovenian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. 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.
Prior to the 2009 contest, Slovenia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fourteen times since its first entry in 1993.[1] Slovenia's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been seventh place, which the nation achieved on two occasions: in 1995 with the song "Prisluhni mi" performed by Darja Švajger and in 2001 with the song "Energy" performed by Nuša Derenda. The country's only other top ten result was achieved in 1997 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.
The Slovenian national broadcaster, Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija), broadcasts the event within Slovenia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. RTV Slovenija confirmed Slovenia's participation in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest on 14 September 2008. The Slovenian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest has traditionally been selected through a national final entitled Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA), which has been produced with variable formats. For 2009, the broadcaster opted to organise EMA 2009 to select the Slovenian entry.[2]
Before Eurovision
EMA 2009
The logo of 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 SLO1 and online via the broadcaster's website rtvslo.si.[3]
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.[4][5] 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.[6][7][8]
The jury that voted during the two shows consisted of:[9]
Urška Čop Šmajgert (Slovenia) – music editor for Radio Maribor
Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 11 October 2008 and 28 November 2008.[10] 113 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period.[11] 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.[12][13] 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.[14]
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 entrantRebeka Dremelj, 2008 Eurovision winnerDima Bilan, Natalija Verboten, Helena Blagne and 4 tenor performed as guests.[15] The combination of points from a three-member jury panel and a public televote selected "Love Symphony" performed by Quartissimo as the winner.[19][20][21]
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".[23] On 7 March, the artists performed "Love Symphony" during the semi-final of the Serbian Eurovision national final Beovizija 2009.[24] 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.[25]
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.[26][27] 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.[28]
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
Quartissimo and Martina took in technical rehearsals on 6 and 9 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May.[29] The Slovenian performance began with Quartissimo and Martina behind white decorated canvases showing their shades followed by the members of Quartissimo tearing down their canvases from the frames, appearing on the stage in black suits playing string instruments. Martina, who wore a long white dress, remained behind the white canvas and performed the first verse of the song in Slovene. In the second part of the performance, Martina tore down her canvas and stepped forward to the stage. The LED screens displayed images of musical notes and strings of a violin on a black background.[30][31] The creative director for the Slovenian performance was Miha Alujevič. The backing vocalist that joined Quartissimo and Martina on stage was Sandra Feketija.[32]
At the end of the show, Slovenia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.[33] It was later revealed that Slovenia placed sixteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 14 points.
Voting
The voting system for 2009 involved each country awarding points from 1-8, 10 and 12, with the points in the final being decided by a combination of 50% national jury and 50% televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Slovenia and awarded by Slovenia in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Serbia in the semi-final and to Norway in the final of the contest.
