The Eurovision version of the Slovenian song for the 2019 contest has been released.
Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl have released the “Dare to Dream” version of their entry for Tel Aviv on YouTube. The new version cuts the song down to three minutes as is required by Eurovision rules:
The duo will represent Slovenia in Semi Final 1 of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv after winning the Slovenian selection show, EMA, in February.
“Dare To Dream” refers to the slogan for the 2019 contest. The original version of the song came in at 3:18 and therefore needed to be edited for the competition.
The duo have also released an official music video for the track:
Speaking to RTVSLO after their surprise victory in EMA, Zala explained that when they first applied they never went in with the mindset of wanting to win the contest. Instead they took part in the competition because they wanted to reach a wider audience:
We came to EMA to perform for someone else who may not be listening to the radio or maybe have not even caught us on the Internet. Now it turned out that some people have been touched this song, which was our goal.
Who Are Zala Kralj and Gasper Santl?
Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl have been performing together since 2017. Before performing together they had both tried to be solo artists, and met after a Zala began providing the vocals for some of Gašper’s songs.
They released their first EP Štiri on the day of EMA 2019. In 2018 they released a total of three singles before they decided to apply to EMA. They will perform “Sebi” in Tel Aviv, the song was written by Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl.
Source: Zala Kralj and Gašper Šantl
Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Slovenia was one of three countries to join the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993. The country qualified through a specially organised selection round called “Kvalifikacija za Millstreet” which was hosted in Slovenia, seven countries competed for three spots in Eurovision 1993. The country has participated in 22 editions of the Eurovision Song Contest. Their best result came in 1995 when Darja Švajger finished 7th scoring a total of 84 points, she is closely followed by Nuša Derenda who finished 7th in the 2001 contest with 70 points.
