We recently spoke to ManuElla, the Slovenian representative at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Here’s what she had to say!
Can you tell us a bit more about yourself, where did you grow up and how did you become a musician?
I grew up in a small Slovene town Laško, which is known by its good beer. I’ve got a sister and a loving family who always supported me in my music. The person who gave me the most support and showed me the love for music was my father who sadly passed away last year. But it all made me even stronger and my passion for singing got even stronger. Since I can remember, music was a big part of my life. I started singing when I was a little girl and I knew right away I always want to keep music close.
Which artists influence you in your song writing and music?
There are so many great artists that I like and admire, and of course their music might influence me in the way of loving music even more and giving me even more will to do my own music. I feel big respect for artists like Ellie Goulding, Taylor Swift, LeAnn Rimes and many more..
If you don’t mind me saying, your image seems influenced by Taylor Swift. Has she had much influence in your music?
Thank you very much. It’s actually quite flattering when people tell me I remind them of Taylor Swift. I have to thank my parents for that. 🙂 I do like her music, and I admire her for her life story. So she does have some influence on my music, sure.
You competed in “Misija Evrovizija” in 2011, Slovenia’s previous method for choosing their artist for Eurovision where you placed fourth. Could you tell us more about that experience and will it help you on your journey to Stockholm?
Yes. That was an amazing experience, I think in some way it was some kind of preparation for what I’m going through now. I wished to represent Slovenia on the Eurovision that year, but now I am grateful everything end up as it did, because I know I feel much more ready now for this big, amazing responsibility.
How did you get approached for participating in this year’s EMA? Did you write your song “Blue and Red” especially for it?
I believe everything happens for a reason and it was the same with ‘Blue And Red’. I was of course thinking of participating, but I wasn’t stressed about it at all. I was writing songs for my first album, and when it came to ‘Blue And Red’ we kinda knew right away that this is a good song for EMA.
How are the preparations going for Stockholm so far? Will you be making any changes to your performance on the Eurovision stage?
Everything is going really quickly, we are all super busy and we are all loving what we’re doing, so it’s such a pleasure creating the best we can for this great music adventure :-). Performance will be different than it was on EMA, I’m really excited about it and I can not wait to show it to you all, I hope you will love it as I do.
Can you tell us any secrets to your stage performance in Stockholm?
It’s gonna be fun and it’s gonna be passionate! The rest you will have to wait and see 😉
Who will be accompanying you on your journey to Stockholm? In other words, who will be joining you on team Slovenia!
The team that is working with me for the Eurovision is big and getting bigger every day, they are the most amazing people and I am forever grateful for their great work. We are though still working on the details who is actually going to go to Stockholm.
Do you have any favourite Eurovision artists and songs throughout the contest’s history?
Eurovision gave us such beautiful music through years, it would be quite hard to pick just one favorite. I really like The Common Linnets’s ‘Calm After the Storm’, Loreen’s ‘Euphoria’ and many more..
Finally, how would it feel to win the Eurovision trophy for you and Slovenia?
Wow. Even the thought about it gives me this funny butterfly feeling in my stomach. It would be a dream come true, it would be something that would accompany me for the rest of my life and I would be unbelievably happy. But I am not worrying about it, I just want to enjoy the whole Eurovision journey and I wish people who will watch me will too. And that will be the greatest victory for me.
We thank ManuElla for taking the time out to answer our questions and wish her the best of luck in Stockholm!
