Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

EMA 2014

EMA 2014 was the eighteenth edition of the Slovenian national final format Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA). The competition was used by RTVSLO to select Slovenia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. RTVSLO confirmed Slovenia's participation in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest on 17 January 2014 after two deadline extensions beyond the original 22 November 2013 confirmation date, which were requested in order for the broadcaster to find the necessary funding for participation.

On 23 January 2014, RTVSLO announced that EMA 2014 would return to select Slovenia's entry for the 2014 contest after RTVSLO opted to forego organising the competition in 2013 in favour of an internal selection. Miša Molk (RTVSLO Eurovision project manager) and Aleksander Radić (Head of the Slovenian delegation at the Eurovision Song Contest) were responsible for organisation of the national final. RTVSLO invited 29 artists and composers to participate, however, an additional 42 entries received from artists who did not receive an invitation were also considered. On 7 February 2014, seven artists were selected for the competition by a jury committee consisting of Miša Molk, Darja Švajger (singer, vocal coach and 1995 and 1999 Slovenian Eurovision entrant) and Andrea F. (radio host, musician and producer).

The competition took place at RTVSLO Studio 1 in Ljubljana on 8 March 2014 and was hosted by Ula Furlan. The winning song and artist was determined in two rounds of public televoting - first to select the top two, and then to select the winner. In the first round "Spet/Round and Round" performed by Tinkara Kovač and "Let Me Be (Myself)" performed by Muff qualified to the superfinal. In the superfinal "Spet/Round and Round" performed by Tinkara Kovač was selected as the winner.

At Eurovision

During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Slovenia was drawn to compete in the second half of the second semi-final on 8 May 2014. In the second semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Slovenia would perform 14th, following Greece and preceding Romania. Slovenia qualified from the second semi-final and competed in the final on 10 May 2014. During the winner's press conference for the second semi-final qualifiers, Slovenia was allocated to compete in the second half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Slovenia would perform 17th, following Italy and preceding Finland. Slovenia placed 25th in the final, scoring 9 points.

At the contest, Tinkara Kovač was joined on stage by four backing vocalists: Manca Špik, Nika Zorjan, Lea Sirk and Raay (Aleš Vovk). The performance featured Kovač, in a blue dress, playing the flute against a backdrop that transitioned from blue to gold lighting as the song progressed.

In Slovenia, the semi-finals of the contest were broadcast on RTV SLO2 and the final was broadcast on RTV SLO1 and Televizija Maribor. The second semi-final and final were also broadcast via radio on Radio Val 202 and Radio Maribor. All shows were commentated by Andrej Hofer. The Slovenian spokesperson revealing the result of the Slovenian vote in the final was Ula Furlan.

Split voting results

The following five members comprise the Slovenian jury:

Semi-final 2

The Slovenian votes in the second semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.

Final

The Slovenian votes in the grand final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.