Last December, the band Joker Out was internally selected to represent Slovenia at Eurovision 2023. This effectively canceled Slovenia’s usual selection method – the national final show EMA.
Aside from allowing EMA winner Ana Soklič to return in 2021, the last time EMA was canceled was 2013. This was due to time constraints at RTVSLO and a lack of funding. That year, Hannah Mancini went to Eurovision in Malmö with the song “Straight into Love” but finished in last place in her semi-final – a first for Slovenia at Eurovision.
Joker Out are well-known in Slovenia, having won numerous awards. Their most recent album Demoni charted domestically in the Top 10 of Apple Music. The group consists of five members, namely Bojan Cvjetićanin (vocals, guitar), Kris Guštin (guitar), Jan Peteh (guitar), Nace Jordan (bass) and Jure Maček (drums).
The song was revealed in a televised show on RTVSLO “Misija Liverpool”. About representing Slovenia at Eurovision, guitarist Jan Peteh said:
“Perhaps Eurovision was on our bucket list, but we didn’t realize it, at least that’s how it is for me. But the offer to go definitely came at the right time for us. Never before it wouldn’t be appropriate in our careers, but now is really the perfect time to do it.”
Carpe Diem is an alternative rock song sung in Slovene. The song is a mix of the youthful energy of their first album and the darker, more mature atmosphere of their second album.
Since the introduction of the Semi Finals in 2004, Slovenia has only qualified for the Final 6 times, giving RTVSLO a 33% qualification rate. In Liverpool, Slovenia will perform in the second half of the Second Semi Final.
You can listen to Joker Out’s Eurovision entry below, and leave a comment to let us you what you think of “Carpe Diem”!
