Listen to the sounds of this year’s EMA songs

The EMA song contest will take place on the 27th of February at 8pm

Anja Baš, Anja Kotar, D Base, ManuElla, Nuša Derenda, Raiven, Regina, San Di EGO, Sebastijan Lukovnjak in Žan Serčič - who will go to Stockholm? Foto: Jani Ugrin

The song that will represent Slovenia at this year's Eurovision Song Contest will be known on the 27th of February. Ten artists will be performing at Slovenia’s Eurovision entry song contest EMA. To make your choice easier, below you can already listen to short inserts from the competing songs.

This year's EMA will see Anja Baš performing for the first time as a solo artist. Her song is called What If. "It's a song which touches on destructive relationships. When I gave it some thought, I realized that we could apply this song to our relationships with ourselves and that's the way I'm representing the song," says Baš, who also penned the track.

A newcomer on the EMA stage will be the superfinalist of this year's Poprock song contest, Anja Kotar. "Too Cool is in some way a continuation of the song I performed at the Poprock festival, Čas je zdaj. I wrote it a few months ago when I was at an audition. When I realized that I didn't make the cut my first thought was: "I wear my tears like diamond earrings". And that's the first verse in my song Too Cool. It tells about the many times we are faced with obstacles, but must not give up. We have to hold our heads high and just say: 'I'm too cool for you.'," explained Kotar. Just like Baš, Kotar is also the songwriter of her own song.

Members of the D Base collective will contribute some hip-hop rhythms with their song Spet živ. "The song talks about past events, which we like to look back at. We live fast today and it's difficult to adapt to such an environment," explained rapper David.

For the first time since the Misija Evrovizija competition, ManuElla will take to the EMA stage again with a song called Blue and Red. "The song is right up my street. It's energetic and after two months of listening to it I haven't become fed up with it – that's a good sign. It puts you in a good mood and for me that's most important," explained the singer.

Nuša Derenda is back surrounded with a new team. Her song is called Tip Top. "It's a very powerful song, dramatic and a bit 'bond-like'. It caught my attention the first time I listened to it," said the co-holder of Slovenia's best ever placement at a Eurovision song contest ever.

Similar to Derenda, Raiven also has a lot riding on her performance and song Črno bel. "My song is very dynamic. I get to show off my vocals and play the harp. It's in Slovenian and is also a very contrasting song," said the singer.

Another familiar face is also returning to the EMA. Regina will present herself with a song called Alive in Every Way. "My song is full of positive emotions and energy. It begins as a light tune and then starts to develop – it's a combination of acoustic guitar sounds and new electronic sounds. It's very trendy," Regina is convinced.

Members of the San Di Ego band will offer a contrasting music genre with their song Brez tebe. "Our song is a nice rock ballad. It talks about a thing you find to be true with the years – that we can't live without our better halves," explained the singer of the band, Sergej Škofljanec.

Maribor will be represented by two performers: Sebastijan Lukovnjak and Žan Serčič. "The song is in English, it's modern and a real earworm. I expect a good placement," is what Lukovnjak had to say about his track Tales of Tomorrow. "The song I will represent myself with at the EMA is a simple summer story, just like the title says. It's a relaxing youthful story with a happy end," is what Serčič had to say about his Summer Story.