I truly love EMA, Slovenia’s national song selection for Eurovision Song Contest. They always have outrageous, colorful, sometimes very abstract acts with all kinds of different sounds. There is always high energy on stage. This year is no different. Here is my review for the semifinal.
The stage had a center piece which looked like the throne from “ Game of Thrones”. The LED floor was the main attraction if not a distraction during most acts. The host Vid Valič was quite funny although I did not understand the language. The green room was like a subway car packed with sardines. After seeing all the familiar faces from last year’s EMA, my eyes were looking for “ Raiven”. She apparently took the job of “Effie Trinket” from Hunger Games and announced the eight finalists.
First of all, the eight finalists are:
Ina Shai "V nebo”
Indigo "Vesna"
Lara Kadis "Zdaj sem tu"
BQL "Ptica"
Proper "Ukraden cvet"
Marina Martensson "Blizu"
Nuška Drašček"Ne zapusti me zdaj"
Lea Sirk"Ne, hvala!"
This week I would like to review the unlucky eight acts we are leaving behind.
1 Anabel "Pozitiva"
This is really like a gospel from 25th century, black and yellow church outfits from the future but the song itself is quite messy and I see nothing “positiva “about it.
2 Tanja Ribič "Ljudje"
We see an ice cold blond on stage in a white dress with a lot of help from wind machines. Some Balkan tones are blended in the song, very subtle but lifting up the otherwise quite boring song .I think this deserved better.
3 KiNG FOO "Žive sanje"
This group is a veteran from last year. Three guys and a gal singing in a circle with a slow start followed by some build up but comes to a plateau with no excitement at the end.
4- ManuElla "Glas" .
Well you can’t remember a thing as soon as the song is done. I was never a fan of ManuElla and her song “ Blue and Red” from 2016. This one is not an exception.
5- MILA "Svoboda"
She looks like a creepy prom queen from a horror movie. The trapeze circus act is way too tacky. Song is mid-tempo and very forgettable.
6- Orter "Kraljica"
I was really hopeful about this. His flamboyant looks and charisma seemed he could bring a lot to stage. He was only able to bring a half gorilla half human with two supernatural looking back vocals/dancers. I have to admit his vocals are strong but not a superb song at the end.
7- Nika Zorjan "Uspavanka"-Lullabye
She has an outrageous hair color I can’t even describe. The choreography starts with Nika laying on bed, then you see shadows of arms on her which turns out to belong to two guys with manbuns. The whole act goes in between a slumber party and a threesome- you wish- The song is mid-tempo and catchy. I think this had to go to final but somehow flunked.
8- Gregor Ravnik "Zdaj je čas"
Gregor is a very cute guy with dreamy eyes, nice to look at. But the song is like a piece of elevator music, tries to aim high with a strong voice but falls flat. Wait where did the back vocals come from just 20 seconds before the ending?
You can watch all the acts at RTV SLO app in the archives section. If you had to watch just one act, my recommendation is Nika Zorjan- Lullabye. It is fun.
And my top 3 for the next week:
Indigo "Vesna"
Lara Kadis "Zdaj sem tu"
Lea Sirk"Ne, hvala!"
And I am leaving out BQL from top 3. This year’s song is a little letdown compared to their song” Heart of gold” from last year. They may very well win this year as they missed out very close last year.
And I think my personal winner is Lea Sirk “ Ne, hvala”. This song for me is a “yes, thank you” although it translates as “no, thank you.”
Next weekend we will know who is getting the ticket to Lisbon. I will review the eight finalists and the winner.