EMA (Slovenia)
| EMA | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Also known as | Evrovizijska Melodija |
| Genre | Music, entertainment |
| Country of origin | Slovenia |
| Original language(s) | Slovene |
| No. of series | 19 |
| Release | |
| Original network | RTV SLO |
| Original release | 10 February 1996 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Slovenski izbor za pesem Evrovizije |
| Followed by |
Misija Evrovizija (2012) Internal Selection (2013) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
EMA (Evrovizijska Melodija; English: Eurovision Melody) is the national contest in Slovenia to select the country's entry since 1996 to the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest has been held since the country's debut in the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been held every year since, except for on two occasions (1994 and 2000) when Slovenia did not compete at Eurovision.
The contest is organized and broadcast by the Slovene broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV SLO). The contest was previously known as Slovenski izbor za pesem Evrovizije (literally Slovenian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest) in 1993 and 1995.
EMA has been the selection show for Slovene representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. Originally it was titled ‘’Slovenski Izbor za Pesem Evrovizije’’ (English: Slovenian Selection for the Eurovision Song Contest), however it was re-named into EMA in 1996.
After the break-up of former Yugoslavia, Slovenia gained independence and as RTV SLO became a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1992, Slovenia was able to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, for the first time as an independent country. RTV SLO organized the first "EMA" on 25 February 1993 in RTV SLO Studios in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It had 12 participants. Ironically 1X Band was not on the original participants list. However, after a disqualification of one of the original participants 1X Band was chosen to participate in the last minute. The winner was selected by 12 regional radio station juries from all over Slovenia. Each radio jury voted with Eurovision votes (1–8, 10, and 12 points).
Due to Slovenia’s first appearance being placed in the bottom 7, Slovenia wasn’t allowed to participate in 1994. Therefore, the contest wasn’t held that year.
The contest followed the 1993 format in 1995 and 1996. But in 1996, only eleven participants appeared, because of the twelfth participant’s disqualification before the contest was held.
In 1997, EMA saw major changes in the format. RTV SLO chose to invite 7 songwriters to each write 2 songs for the final, rather than to open a call for participants. And regional juries were re-placed by televoting. Both features stayed in production also in 1998.
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