Slovenia's Statehood Day - Aussievision team rankings
- Hayley Bessell
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
Slovenia's Statehood Day is 25 June and marks the country's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. To celebrate, we are going to take a quick look at the history of Slovenia at Eurovision Song Contest.
Slovenia's first entry to the Eurovision Song Contes was in 1993. They debuted after they gained independence from Yugoslavia and because so many European countries wanted to join Eurovision that particular year, the EBU staged a special qualification round called Kvalifikacija za Millstreet, hosted by Slovenia in Ljubljana. Slovenia actually won the qualification round, earning one of only three available places in Eurovision 1993.
Slovenia's debut act was 1X Band and who sung Tih deževen dan, finishing in 22nd place. Over the next decade or so, Slovenia actually had a pretty decent track record, with some of their best placings. The nation's 1995 entry Darja Švajger's Prisluhni mi finished in 7th place, as did Nuša Derenda's Energy (a fan favourite) scoring another 7th place in 2001. There were other good results either in the Top 10 or just outside around the same period.
More recently, Slovenia has had three songs on the left-hand side of the scoreboard, between 2011 and 2019, which is not a bad effort for a small country: Maja Keuc's No One - 13th (2011); Maraaya's Here for You (2015) - 14th; and Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl's Sebi (2019) - 15th.
Overall, Slovenia has participated at Eurovision 30 times and reached the Grand Final on eight occasions since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004. Slovenia chose to sit out the 2026 Contest in Vienna, and we are yet to hear if they will return for next year's Eurovision Song Contest in Bulgaria.
To celebrate Slovenia's Statehood Day, eight members of the Aussievision team have listened to and ranked all of the Slovenian entries.
=31. Platin - Stay forever (2004) - 0 points
=31. ManuElla - Blue and red (2016) - 0 points
=31. Omar Naber - On my way (2017) - 0 points
=31. Omar Naber - Stop (2005) - 0 points
=31. Regina - Dan najlepših sanj (1996) - 0 points
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=26. Tanja Ribič - Zbudi se (1997) - 2 points
=26. Ansambel Žlindra & Kalamari - Narodnozabavni rock (2010) - 2 points
=24. Vili Resnik - Naj bogovi slišijo (1998) 3 points
=24. LPS - Disko (2022) - 3 points
=22. 1 X Band - Tih deževen dan (1993) - 4 points
=22. Ana Soklič - Voda (2020) - 4 points
=22. Klemen - How much time do we have left (2025) - 4 points
"I really don't mind this. I like it more than most people. I just want Slovenia to win one day just so Klemen Slakonja can host Eurovision. The guy makes watching EMA worthwhile, he's an incredible host." ~Fleur
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=19. Darja Švajger - Prisluhni mi (1995) - 6 points
=19. Quartissimo feat. Martina - Love symphony (2009) - 6 points
=19. Eva Boto - Verjamem (2012) - 6 points
16. Ana Soklič - Amen (2021) - 7 points
15. Hannah - Straight into love (2013) - 8 points
"The song is a banger, sadly her Eurovision performance was underwhelming to say the least." ~Fleur
14. Darja Švajger - For a thousand years (1999) - 10 points
13. Rebeka Dremelj - Vrag naj vzame (2008) - 11 points
12. Sestre - Samo ljubezen (2002) - 12 points
11. Alenka Gotar - Cvet z juga (2007) - 21 points
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10. Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl - Sebi (2019) - 24 points
9. Karmen - Nanana (2003) - 25 points
10 points from Sam and Joel
"A simple but stunning summery Slovene song. The ending of the 2003 contest was epic. Whilst Sweden was my favourite that year, Slovenia was a close second like in this poll. There is something about this song that just makes me smile and wanna bop about. Karmen has such great charisma. People forget the first ever song to perform 26th was a warm favourite that year – I think the running order sadly scuppered its chances. Finally, love the pink outfits and the funky planet graphics on the ground." ~Sam
"3 blondes dressed in pink singing schlager? Yes please! This is a no-brainer, straight to my #1 spot!" ~Joel
=8. Anžej Dežan - Mr Nobody (2006) - 28 points
12 points from Fleur, 10 points from Joel
"How this didn’t qualify for the grand final baffles me. This is cheesy Eurovision gold at its finest!" ~ Joel
"This deserved so much more, for example- qualification for the final. Still gutted after 20 years for him. This is such an underrated gem. I honestly think that this was one of their best ever entries." ~Fleur
=8. Tinkara Kovač - Round and Round (2014) - 28 points
=6. Lea Sirk - Hvala, ne! (2018) 34 points
"I still enjoy this - the bass, the attitude, and most of all - HER HAIR." ~Hayley
=6. Joker Out - Carpe diem (2023) - 34 points
10 points from Srdjan, Fleur Tim
"I loved everything about this song and the charisma of all the Joker Out members during the live performance just lifted this song even further for me. Another entry that should have done much better than it actually did." ~Srdjan
"I really enjoyed this song 3 years ago. The boys had such charismatic energy on stage and really felt like they were there to have fun. I remember having such high hopes for it and ultimately, it didn’t get nearly what it deserved in the final. Just a good song that got lost on the night i suspect." ~Tim
"I loved this as soon as I heard it. The biggest mistake for them was going to Eurovision in 2023. They may have faired better in 2024. Oh well, Bojan met Käärijä so there was that. That was a fun bromance. I will say that I am glad that they kept this song in Slovenian." ~Fleur
4. Nuša Derenda - Energy (2001) - 41 points
12 points from Sam
"This song has such an epic energy!! It is such a cool and contemporary clash of musical genres. The riffs in the chorus are my favourites part of this edgy entry. I am obsessed with Nuša’s bumblebee leather outfit. Even though this gave Slovenia its joint best ever Eurovision result I’m still amazed this didn’t do better. Europe simply wasn’t ready for such a futuristic performance, but for me this Slovenia’s best Eurovision entry by a mile." ~Sam
3. Maja Keuc - No One (2011) - 45 points
12 points from Hayley and Srdjan
"This Christina Aguilera-esque pop ballad just hit the right spot for me, Maja's vocals were outstanding and the song kept me interested for the entire 3 minutes. It was criminally underrated at the contest and deserved to do much better, it is one that I still listen to today." ~Srdjan
"STUNNING. Underrated and robbed Queen. Given some of the other songs in the contest that year, this should have been easily top ten. She sings it effortlessly and her voice is fantastic and the performance is so sexy! I actually still listen to this all the time and it sits just outside the top ten all-time favourite Eurovision songs for me!" ~Hayley
2. Maraaya - Here for you (2015) - 47 points
12 points from Tim; 10 points from Hayley and John-Christian
"This was the song that kicked off my ‘Eurovision’ journey. Singing in first in the running order of the grand final, it was the first song that I properly watched and took it in. What an 11 years since!! This just had such a hook in it with the air violin, Marjetka wearing the headphones and Raay just having a great time on Piano. The vocals were great and it felt like this was really home. It’s no secret that Slovenia is by far and away my nominal home country for Eurovision (and any other competition that Australia isn’t competing in) and it’s all because of this song." ~Tim
"I think it is safe to say 2015 is my favourite Eurovision year and I have such fond memories being up at a crazy hour to watch this Contest and loving this song. Such a simple but great bop and he is rather cute!" ~Hayley
"The song has more uptempo vibes and the violin parts of it add up the hype. If they had kept that way, who knows what placing that would get, maybe a Top 5 or Top 10 for that matter." ~John-Christian
1. Raiven - Veronika (2024) - 53 points
12 points from John-Christian and Laura
"One word: hauntingly beautiful. Sad that the juries and the fans underrated that masterpiece." ~John-Christian
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