This year's selection includes new names – no less than eight debutants will appear on the Ema stage. Anja Baš had already experienced the Ema stage as a backup vocalist (last year with Alya and Neno Belan), while Anja Kotar, D Base, ManuElla, Raiven, SAN Di EGO, Sebastijan Lukovnjak and Žan Serčič will make their first appearance on this stage.
Nuša Derenda and Regina are back. Both had already represented Slovenia at the Eurovision song contest. In 2001 Derenda took the seventh place with the song Energy (which remains the best result Slovenia ever had in the Eurosong contest, achived by Darja Švajger as well). This will be her sixth appearance at Ema. Regina will step on the Ema stage for the eighth time. In the finals in 1996 she took the 19th place with the song Dan najlepših sanj (The brightest day).
The Ema selection of 2016 will proceed in the same way as in 2011, 2014 and 2015. In those years we always entered the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest. The winner of Ema will be known after two voting rounds. In the first round the expert jury of three members will select two superfinalists, and in the second round the winner will be chosen by audience by televoting. The winner will be thus selected in the same manner as in 2011, when Maja Keuc won and in the grand finals took the 13th place, which is the highest placement of Slovenia in the last twelve years. The same procedure was followed last year as well, when Maraaya placed 14th in the grand finals.
DSZG 2016 - Poprock, Popevka in Ema
Ema, hosted by Klemen Slakonja, will be a part of the new DSZG 2016 festival, as in February Televizija Slovenija will dedicate practically the entire month to Slovenian popular music.