Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012

Misija Evrovizija was the first phase of the Slovenian national final used by RTV Slovenija to select Slovenia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.[2] The competition involved a three-month-long process that commenced on 2 October 2011 and concluded on 8 January 2012 with two finalists that would proceed to Misija EMA 2012.[3] The competition took place at the RTV Slovenija studios in Ljubljana, hosted by Klemen Slakonja and 2011 Slovenian Eurovision entrant Maja Keuc, and was broadcast on TV SLO1 and online via the broadcaster's website rtvslo.si.[4]

During the live shows, a four-member judging panel was responsible for selecting contestants to advance as well as to select those who would be exempt for elimination. The judging panel consisted of:[5]

• Darja Švajger – Singer, vocal coach and 1995 and 1999 Slovenian Eurovision entrant
• Jonas Žnidaršič – Television personality
• Raay – Singer-songwriter
• Tina Marinšek – Singer

Artists aged over 16 were able to attend the producers' auditions that took place between 26 August 2011 and 30 August 2011 in five cities across Slovenia: Celje, Novo Mesto, Koper, Maribor and Ljubljana. The competition producers selected 130 contestants for the judges' auditions from the auditioning acts. During the judges' auditions, the contestants performed in front of a three-member judging panel and thirty-two were selected to compete in the live shows.

Colour key

  – Contestant was eliminated

  – Contestant was in the bottom two

The 32 contestants competed in the first round of Misija Evrovizija over four shows, with 8 contestants in each. 4 contestants from each advanced in the competition as two were saved by the public vote and the other two were saved by the judges.

The remaining 16 contestants competed in the second round of Misija Evrovizija over two shows, with 8 contestants in each. 4 contestants advanced in the competition as two were saved by the public vote and the other two were saved by the judges.

The remaining 8 contestants competed in the third round of Misija Evrovizija over four elimination shows. The judges selected 2 contestants up for eviction, with one being saved by the public vote.

Due to the Slovenian parliamentary election on 4 December 2011, the tenth show was postponed to 11 December 2011.

The remaining four contestants competed in the semi-final of Misija Evrovizija. A public vote selected two contestants up for eviction, with one being saved by the judges.

The remaining three contestants competed in the final of Misija Evrovizija. Two were selected to compete in Misija EMA 2012. A public vote selected the first finalist and the judges selected the other finalist.

Misija 2012 aired on 31 December 2011 for the New Year of Misija Evrovizija. The top eight contestants of Misija Evrovizija and former EMA contestants performed during the show.

Misija EMA 2012 was the 17th edition of the Slovenian national final format Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA). The competition was used by RTV Slovenija as the second phase of the Slovenian national final to select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. The competition was broadcast on TV SLO1 and online via the broadcaster's website rtvslo.si and the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.[6]

Three songs performed by each of the two Misija Evrovizija finalists, Eva Boto and Nika & Eva Prusnik, competed in a televised show where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the points from a three-member expert jury and public televoting selected one finalist out of the three competing songs per artist to proceed to a superfinal. Both the expert jury and the televote awarded 1, 3 and 5 points to their top three songs performed by each artist with the top two being determined by the songs that receive the highest scores when the jury and public votes are combined. Ties were broken by giving priority to the song that achieved a higher number of scores from the jury. In the superfinal, public televoting exclusively determined the winner. In case of technical problems with the televote, the jury would have voted to determine the winner in a similar process as in the first round of the competition.[7]

52 songs were received by the broadcaster from composers during a submission period. An expert committee consisting of Darja Švajger, Mojca Menart (head of the Publishing House of RTV Slovenija) and Aleksander Radić (Head of the Slovenian delegation at the Eurovision Song Contest) selected three songs for the competition from the received submissions, while an additional three songs were written by composers invited by RTV Slovenija for the competition. Eva Boto and Nika & Eva Prusnik were then allocated three competing songs each, which were announced on 16 February 2012.[8]

Misija EMA 2012 took place on 26 February 2012 at the RTV Slovenija studios in Ljubljana, hosted by Klemen Slakonja and Maja Keuc.[9] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Maja Keuc, 2012 French Eurovision entrant Anggun and member of 1989 Eurovision winners Riva Emilija Kokić performed as guests. The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a combination of points from a four-member jury panel and a public vote selected one song per artist to proceed to the second round: "Konichiwa" for Nika & Eva Prusnik and "Verjamem" for Eva Boto. The jury consisted of the Misija Evrovizija judges Darja Švajger, Jonas Žnidaršič, Raay and Tina Marinšek. In the second round, a public vote selected "Verjamem" performed by Eva Boto as the winner.[10]

Eva Boto during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

Eva Boto took in technical rehearsals on 16 and 19 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 23 and 24 May. This included the jury show on 23 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[12]

The Slovenian performance featured Eva Boto performing in a long white dress attached with a flower decoration together with five backing vocalists who also wore long white dresses. The stage colours transitioned from blue to gold as the song progressed, and the LED screens displayed blue waving cloth which changed to golden bubbles in the middle of the performance.[13] The Slovenian performance was choreographed by Matic Zadravec from the Maestro Dance Studio.[14] The five backing vocalists that joined Eva Boto on stage were: Ana Bezjak, Katja Koren, Martina Majerle, Mateja Majerle and Sandra Feketija. Majerle previously represented Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 together with the group Quartissimo where they failed to qualify to the grand final of the contest with the song "Love Symphony".[15]

Despite being one of the bookmakers favourites, at the end of the show, Slovenia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final.[16] It was later revealed that Slovenia placed seventeenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 31 points.[17][18]

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding points from 1-8, 10 and 12 as determined by a combination of 50% national jury and 50% televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Slovenia and awarded by Slovenia in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Serbia in the semi-final and the final of the contest.