After a two-year hiatus, Slovenia’s National Final EMA will return to the airwaves. With 12 Competing Acts and some format changes, this article serves as the Eurovision Fam guide for the competition.
Format Changes
RTVSLO (Slovenia’s national broadcaster) will bring back their national final for the first time since 2022. In 2023 and 2024 the broadcaster opted to internally select Joker Out and Raiven, respectively. With bringing back the completion, EMA (or Evrovizijska Melodija by its full name) to the country’s television screens, some changes are coming to the structure of the show.
In prior years, EMA included a pre-contest, EMA Freš, a contest for new and emerging artists. In 2022, the last year the national final was held, the winners LPS started their Eurovision journey as a part of this pre-contest. For the 2025 contest, there was no EMA Freš competition.
Another change for the 2025 edition is that there will be no semifinals. The contest will all take place in one night and consist of two phases. The first phase being a live performance from the 12 competing acts, that will be voted on by five thematic jury panels, each consisting of five people. These juries will score the acts à la the traditional Eurovision method, 1-8 points for their third to tenth favorite performance, 10 points for their second favorite, and 12 points for their favorite. The two top scoring songs will then move on to a super final, the second phase of the competition. The super final is where the Slovenian public will have their say as the winner will be 100% determined by the televote from the two super finalists
What is a Thematic Jury Panel?
The thematic jury panels voting will consist of music performers, songwriters and producers, radio and television personalities, member of Slovenia’s OGAE (the biggest Eurovision fan organization), and international Eurovision influencers and journalists.
The Artists
The following 12 Artist will compete in the show.
- Eva Pavli – Niti
- KiKi – O-ou!
- Jon Vitezič – Vse Ti Dam
- Trine – Grace
- Klemens – How Much Time Do We Have Left?
- Žan Videc – Pusti Da Gori
- ANNA – Čau
- July Jones – New Religion
- ZveN – Divja
- PolarAce – Kind
- Astrid & The Scandals – Touché
- Rai – Frederick’s Dead
The lineup features a variety of genres, such as pop, synth, rock, country, electronic and folk. And artists both established and emerging. There is Eva Pavli, a singer-songwriter, opera singer, and model who has had a number of hits on Slovenian Radio. KiKi, and alternative artists who went viral on TikTok following her second place finish at the Slovenska nota 2021 music festival. PolarAce is another act who had a viral moment after he performed Slovenia’s 2023 Eurovision entry Carpe Diem by Joker Out on an episode of Slovenija ima Talent while his dog did tricks (of course I have the link to the video). Žan Videc won the 2024 edition of the song competition Melodije morja in sonca. There are also the newcomers Trine, ANNA, and ZveN who will be competing as solo acts.
There are a couple of familiar names and faces for Eurovision fans, or those who followed EMA in the past. Jon Vitezič, who competed at EMA in 2022 with the song Jesus Style (a performance that included him receiving a haircut). July Jones, competed in the 2022 edition of EMA as well with her song GIRLS CAN DO ANYTHING which earned her fifth over all in the contest. Apart from creating her own music she has written for other artists, including Khaos or RAIVEN (a Eurovision fan favorite) and We Are Bulletproof for K-pop icons BTS. Klemens will be remembered by fans who watch EMA as the host of the competition in 2011, 2012, and 2016. In his home country he is known as an actor, comedian, presenter and parodist imitating world leaders and other celebrities from around the world.
Apart from the 10 solo acts, two bands are competing. Astrid & the Scandals a lo-fi, trip hop, jam band made up of Astrid, Tomaž, David Nik, and Luka Flegar. The other band is Rai, who are bringing a song that blends theatrics, tango, and metal to the competition.
How To Watch
With a diverse lineup of songs, artists, and even a bit of throat singing (as a treat), the return of EMA is sure to be a treat! You can tune in via the RTV SLO 1 Live Stream on Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 20:00 CET.