In a rare media appearance, four-time Sammarinese representative Valentina Monetta has spoken about her future with the Eurovision Song Contest.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Euro Trip podcast, Valentina revealed that she had declined an invitation by SMRTV to potentially represent the micronation in 2022.
When asked by James Rowe, one of the presenters of The Euro Trip podcast, about whether she might be considering a record-breaking fifth appearance at the Contest, she said:
"This year they said "you can be part of the contest" but right now I don't think it's a moment for me to consider any of these requests."
She also continued to say:
"I was expecting to be part of a jury, not part of the contest. Because it doesn't make any sense for me to take part in a national selection to be part of Eurovision again."
The Sammarinese broadcaster is currently planning a national selection show, to take place from December through to February. The show will feature two weeks of academy and casting calls, as well as an astonishing seven shows to select its artist.
Valentina continued in the interview to mention that she hasn't written Eurovision completely off the cards yet, but it would need to be an internal selection.
"Of course I have to be considered equally but I'm not feeling like it [right now]. After so much time since representing San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest, I'm not feeling like I need to do a pre-selection. I'm never a diva but I would like special treatment.
"I asked the delegation if they want me as a judge and to be a part of selecting the artist so for now I'm just supporting what they do. For now I'm not gonna take part in a pre-selection to be part of the Eurovision Song Contest, it's not in my plan."
The interview didn't just feature the artist talking about her future in the Contest, but also reminiscing on her past as well, revealing how quickly she was selected by the broadcaster again to represent San Marino at the contest in 2013 following her 2012 performance.
"Almost immediately. The day after we'd done the semi-final, we saw the results and they cast me immediately. [They said] "we want to still work with you and believe we can do something amazing.""
The same process occurred when selecting her for the 2014 contest as well.
"[They chose me] immediately. Year by year, the contract was already prepared. They just decided to believe in me."
San Marino's new national final, 'Una voce per San Marino', begins with academy and casting on 14 December, with the semi-finals beginning on 10 February, and the final to be held on 20 February.
You can listen to Valentina's full interview on The Euro Trip podcast on all major platforms, including Acast, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.