The 26-year-old Maribor native, who goes by the moniker of Amaya, has been living in Stockholm for a number of years, though she still often visits her native country. This year, she was on a jury that picked the 16 finalists who would later vie to represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest. She also premiered her new single, "Concrete", at this year's EMA, the Slovenian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Keuc and a team of Swedish songwriters wrote the song on an island in the centre of Stockholm.

Keuc writes songs for herself and other artists
Keuc said in a recent chat on MMC that her moniker has already caught on with her foreign fans, but her Slovenian fans haven't warmed to it yet. Several years ago she moved to Stockholm to live with Jonah Nilsson, her boyfriend of six years, who is also a pop star in Sweden. Keuc writes music for herself and other artists, and she is primarily known as a songwriter in Sweden. Songwriting and live appearances are currently her main sources of income.

Keuc wanted to compete at last year's EMA but later decided to withdraw from the competition, citing conflicting career plans. She still doesn't want to talk about what happened, "It's a long and complicated story, I'm afraid, and I'd like to keep it to myself. I think I made the right decision, as it allowed me to protect myself. In other countries, the music industry is so much more aggressive than in Slovenia, and talent only plays a minor role."

It's difficult to qualify for Melodifestivalen
Many of our readers wanted to know whether she had plans to compete at EMA again, or whether she would prefer to compete at Melodifestivalen, Sweden's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. The latter could be a great opportunity to make it big in Sweden. "I agree, but the problem is that it's really difficult to qualify for Melodifestivalen if you're a rookie. Talk about a tall order! You need the support of a major record label and you need at least a million streams on one of the big music streaming services. They only care about the numbers," said Keuc, adding that Sweden has a highly sophisticated music culture. "You can't throw a stone without hitting a studio, producer, or musician out here. The Swedish have always been trailblazers – not only in music, but also in technology and branding (Spotify, SoundCloud, Skype, H&M, Ikea, Volvo, etc.). What's more, the Swedish government subsidizes cultural workers, so they get a head start. I like their mentality, and I've learned a lot from them."

Keuc also said that her dream was to collaborate with Loreen, the winner of the 2012 Eurovision Song contest, as well as with Tory Kelly, while "Beyonce is in a league of her own, and I could never hold a candle to her."