The Voice Croatia and Croatian radio-TV show A strana veteran Vedran Ljubenko is in the mix to win the ticket to Turin for Slovenia this year! He has been in the Croatian music industry for many years, has his own rock band “Crockers” and recently released a single titled “Tamagoči”. A little while back he generously gave us some of his time to answer a few questions about his career and upcoming EMA performance.

Zdravo Verdan! Thank you so much for finding time in your hectic schedule to talk to us! Congratulations on being chosen for EMA 2022! What made you decide to take part in EMA this year?

Thank you very much 🙂 Well I wanted to try something I have not done yet in my career. I’m glad that RTV Slovenia recognised my song and gave me this opportunity.

What inspired you to start playing and making music?

I started early around 14 years old to write songs, played piano and guitar, was singing in some bands. After The Voice Croatia 2015/2016 where I finished as a finalist, I started to work more seriously on my music and the message I want to send the people who like what I do.

Can you reveal anything yet about your song “H2O dieta”? Are there any similarities to your latest single “Tamagoči”?

This song is completely the opposite and it includes more musicality and jokes in it. For now, I can not give more details about it. All I can say is that people who listened to “H2O dieta” started to dance and repeat parts of it, especially the refrain 🙂

Have you rehearsed your song live yet? If so, how have rehearsals been? If not, can you share anything about what you’d like to do on stage?

Well I can promise you it will be an original stage presence. At the same time it will be unpredictable and funny.

How will your experience in The Voice Croatia help you at EMA?

The Voice Croatia was the beginning of my career so since then I gained a lot of character improvements and worked on who I really am. I had a lot of fun on A strana too with the cameras and good musicians around me. Now I see the camera as my friend who I need to attract.

Do you follow a process or ritual before a performance to get rid of nerves or performance anxiety?

I used to do it years ago, but now I try just to not overthink and be confident in what I can show. But for this time I can promise you, I’ll drink a few bottles of H2O before taking the stage.

If you win EMA, what would it mean to you to represent Slovenia at Eurovision?

It would mean so much to me and I would feel a special honour to give my best with my team in making a remarkable historical performance. My goal is to change the boundaries of music.

Are you a Eurovision fan? If so, do you have a favourite song or a memory about the Contest?

Its hard to pick favourite one in this huge competition of songs. Definitely I loved Hard Rock Hallelujah, Go_A’s Shum, Wild Dances, Euro Neuro, Jedan dan.

What are your plans after EMA? Can fans expect any new music?

Of course, I prepared and recorded my second album to represent myself even better then the first one, it’s called “Kad je Vedro, nije oblačno”. But who knows, maybe some of the new songs will jump in.

Thank you so much for your time! We wish you the best of luck at EMA! Do you want to share anything else or you maybe you have a message for your fans and the followers of ESCBubble?

First of all, I want to thank you all for the support. I want you to raise a glass of wine, or rakija and toast with each other during my performance. Have a good time 😉

Vedran was revealed as a competing act for EMA 2022 by RTVSLO on 19th December 2021. The final will be held in February to choose Slovenia’s 27th artist for the Eurovision Song Contest.

[democracy id=”98″]