Zbudi Se

Slovenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 with the song "Zbudi se" written by Saša Lošić and Zoran Predin. The song was performed by Tanja Ribič. Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija) organised the national final ''EMA 1997'' in order to select the Slovenian entry for the 1997 contest in Dublin, Ireland. 13 entries competed in the national final where "Zbudi se" performed by Tanja Ribič was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote.

Slovenia competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 3 May 1997. Performing during the show in position 6, Slovenia placed tenth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 60 points.

Background

Prior to the 1997 contest, Slovenia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest three times since its first entry in . Slovenia's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been seventh place, which the nation achieved in 1995 with the song "Prisluhni mi" performed by Darja Švajger. In 1996, "Dan najlepših sanj" performed by Regina placed twenty-first.

The Slovenian national broadcaster, Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija), broadcasts the event within Slovenia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. 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 1997, the broadcaster opted to organise ''EMA 1997'' to select the Slovenian entry.

Before Eurovision

EMA 1997

''EMA 1997'' was the third 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 1997 and took place on 22 February 1997 at the RTV Slovenija Studio 1 in Ljubljana. The show was hosted by Mojca Mavec and was broadcast on TV SLO1.

Competing entries

An expert committee consisting of music editors for Radio Slovenija as well as representatives of ZKP RTV Slovenija and the Union of the Slovenian Musicians nominated 19 composers. Each member of the expert committee assigned a score of 1 (lowest score) to 7 (highest score) to their seven preferred composers with the top eight that received the highest overall scores when the votes were combined being directly invited by the broadcaster to submit up to two entries (one upbeat song and/or one ballad) by 20 December 1996. The invited composers were: Matjaž Vlašič, Aleš Klinar, Saša Lošić, Danilo Kocjančič, Veno Dolenc, Primož Peterca, Sašo Fajon and Slavko Avsenik Jr. A total of thirteen songs were created and selected for the competition and among the competing artists was former Slovenian Eurovision contestant Darja Švajger who represented Slovenia in 1995.

Final

EMA 1997 took place on 22 February 1997. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Norina Radovan performed as a guest. A public televote selected "Zbudi se" performed by Tanja Ribič as the winner.

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, the twenty-four countries which had obtained the highest average number of points over the last four contests competed in the final on 3 May 1997. On 28 November 1996, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Slovenia was set to perform in position 6, following the entry from Ireland and before the entry from Switzerland. The day before the contest, Slovenia was considered by bookmakers to be the tenth most likely country to win the competition. The Slovenian conductor at the contest was Mojmir Sepe, and Slovenia finished in tenth place with 60 points.

The show was televised in Slovenia on RTV SLO1. The Slovenian spokesperson, who announced the Slovenian votes during the show, was Mojca Mavec.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Slovenia and awarded by Slovenia in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Russia in the contest.ESC History - Netherlands 1997
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References

External links

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1997

1997
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997
Eurovision