Stop (Omar Naber Song)

Slovenia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Stop", written by Omar Naber and Urša Vlašič, and performed by Naber himself. The Slovene participating broadcaster, (RTVSLO), organised the national final in order to select its entry for the contest. Fourteen entries competed in the national final where the winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, the top three entries were selected. In the second round, "Stop" performed by Omar Naber was selected as the winner.

Slovenia competed in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 19 May 2005. Performing during the show in position 23, "Stop" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Slovenia placed twelfth out of the 25 participating countries in the semi-final with 69 points.

Background

Prior to the 2005 contest, (RTVSLO) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Slovenia ten times since its first entry . Its highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been seventh place, achieved on two occasions: with the song "" performed by Darja Švajger, and with the song "Energy" performed by Nuša Derenda. Its only other top ten result was achieved when "" performed by Tanja Ribič placed tenth. In , "Stay Forever" performed by Platin failed to qualify to the final.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, RTVSLO organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its participation in the 2005 contest on 4 August 2004. The broadcaster has traditionally selected its entry through a national final entitled (EMA), which has been produced with variable formats. For 2005, RTVSLO opted to organise (EMA 2005) to select its entry.

Before Eurovision

(EMA 2005) was the 10th edition of the Slovenian national final format (EMA), used by RTVSLO to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. The competition took place at the RTVSLO Studio 1 in Ljubljana, hosted by Saša Einsiedler and Saša Gerdej and was broadcast on TV SLO1, Radio Val 202, Radio Koper, Radio Maribor, and online via the broadcaster's website ''rtvslo.si''.

Competing entries

Artists and composers were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster between 16 October 2004 and 10 December 2004. 103 entries were received by the broadcaster during the submission period. An expert committee consisting of Andrej Karoli (music editor for Radia Slovenija), Mario Galunič (television presenter), Zoran Predin (singer-songwriter), Andrej Šifrer (singer and composer), Jaka Pucihar (composer) and Matjaž Kosi (songwriter and music producer) selected thirteen artists and songs for the competition from the received submissions, while an additional entry was provided by Omar Naber who won the first season of the talent show ''Bitka Talentov''. The competing artists were announced on 22 December 2004. Among the competing artists were Regina (who represented ) and Nuša Derenda (who represented ).

Final

EMA 2005 took place on 6 February 2005. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Ruslana (who won Eurovision for ) and Željko Joksimović (who represented ) performed as guests. The winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, three entries were selected to proceed to the second round. In the second round, "Stop" performed by Omar Naber was selected as the winner.

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 took place at the Palace of Sports in Kyiv, Ukraine and consisted of one semi-final on 19 May, and the final on 21 May 2005. According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the " Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), and the ten highest placed finishers in the were required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progressed to the final. As Slovenia had placed 21st in the previous contest, the nation had to compete in the semi-final this year. On 22 March 2005, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final and Slovenia was set to perform in position 23, following the entry from and before the entry from . At the end of the show, Slovenia was not announced among the top 10 entries in the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Slovenia placed 12th in the semi-final, receiving a total of 69 points.

In Slovenia, the semi-final was televised on TV SLO2 and the final was televised on TV SLO1. Both shows featured commentary by Mojca Mavec. The two shows were also broadcast via radio on Radio Val 202 with commentary by Jernej Vene. RTVSLO appointed Katarina Čas as its spokesperson to announce the Slovenian votes during the final.

Voting

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

Points awarded to Slovenia

Points awarded by Slovenia

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2005

2005
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Eurovision