Eurovision 2008 - Slovenia - April 30th 2025

Hello and for today's entry into the Eurovision Histories blog, we are heading back to 2008. A time where we were dealing with such things like global financial crisises and banks collapsing. I was about to turn 14 and this is the 1st Eurovision I remember watching extensive YouTube videos about all the songs and learning all the lyrics ! 

Eurovision 2008 was the first Eurovision to introduce the current 2 semi final format that we still have now. The previous 4 years, we'd had 1 semi final and a somewhat silly rule where the top 10 entries from the previous year automatically qualified, which had led to some lackluster entries ( we will get to those). However, now all the songs but the big 4 and the host country had to fight it out for a place in the final. 

The 53rd edition of Eurovision was held in Belgrade, Serbia on May 24th, with the 2 semi finals taking place on the 20th and 22nd. 43 songs competed overall,with 19 in each semi final, fighting it out for 10 spaces. Today's song comes from the first semi final. The slogan for the contest was Confluence of Sound with a lot of imagery focused on this theme. 

Now it's time to give you the facts before we talk about my opinions and the performance so here they are. And of course a link to her semi final performance in case you don't know it or have forgotten it !


Song : Vrag naj vzame
Artist : Rebeka Dremelj 
Place : 11th ( Failed to Qualify) 
Points : 36 

Slovenia's entry this year was chosen via a national final, EMA. 20 entries competed over 2 semi finals where they were whittled down to 10 finalists. Rebeka actually placed 3rd in her semi final but it was the top 5 who proceeded through. In the final on February 3rd 2008, 10 acts competed to get to a super final where they would have another vote. Again, Rebeka was 2nd in this but she narrowly won the super final by just just 395, sending her to compete in Belgrade.

In the first semi final, Rebeka performed 8th on the night, between the songs from Azerbaijan and Norway. Sung completely in Slovenian, the song tells the story of a story of a woman whose just had a breakup. However, she's decided its time to move on and stop her moping. The title translates into in English as 'To Hell with it', she's saying to hell with the man who hurt her, she's moving on. There is also an English version called Heavy Weather which essentially gives the sane message although I don't think it hits as hard ! 

The song itself is pretty good, a bit dramatic, a bit moody. I feel the confidence builds well too, at the start it's a little softer but by the middle 8, she's belting it out that she's ready to move on. It's catchy, easy to sing along to and it was a contender to at least qualify. 

However, personally what lets this song down is the staging which despite 2008 having a reputation for being one of the most bonkers years for staging, this one fits up there. She starts in a little prison thing with chains and two guys in biker helmets who are prison guards. This isn't too bad to start. She's also in a silver coat which she tears off at the start of the second verse to reveal a purple and green dress which doesn't really make sense but Rebeka is a former Miss Universe contestant so she looks good ! And then the prison guys are wearing heelys before she has them on their knees with leads on crawling across the stage. It's bizarre to say the least ! There's 3 backing singers in the shadows providing harmonies. The singing itself is very good, the chaos on stage ... not so much ...

Slovenia didn't make the grand final, missing out by 6 points to Poland who were 10th. They received points from 10 counties and their highest scores were 10's from Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovnia. They gave their 12 points to Bosnia & Herzegovnia in the semi and their 12 in the final to host country Serbia. 

So, how to sum this song up in three words? I'd go for dramatic,  crazy and moody. I was rooting for this song to qualify but alas it wasn't meant to be. What's the moral of the story here ? Well, less sometimes is more with staging ! 

Until the next time, remember history is important especially if it's Eurovision History !!! 

Ellie x

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eurovision 1999 - Croatia - 28th April 2025

Welcome to the start of a new project, where we will be looking at all of the eurovision entries from the first until the most recent. We will also look at national finals and all the rich tapestry that this amazing competition has given us over the 69 editions we've had.  A quick bit about me, my name is Ellie, I'm 30, British ( I live in London) and I've been a massive eurovision fan since I was 12 !! My first core memory was watching Lordi win in 2006 and being royally pissed that Belgium didn't qualify that year.My favourite Eurovision Song is Germany 1981 ( we will come to that one ...) and my favourite contest is 1994 ( ironically the year I was born) But I have a nerdy passion for all things Eurovision and was lucky enough to go to LEP for the first time this year!!!!  Today we will be going back 26 years to 1999, a simpler time where we had solar eclipses... worrying about Y2K and of course the 44th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Jerusalem, Isra...
Read more

Eurovision 1967 - Belgium - May 7th 2025

Hello all. In today's entry in the Eurovision Histories series, we are heading back 58 years to 1967. The last contest to be broadcast in black and white in fact and a time of McDonald's inventing big macs and lots of civil wars. We're looking at our first Belgian entry and the first to be sung in Flemish.  The 12th Eurovision Song Contest took place on April 8th in Vienna, Austria. 17 countries competed this year after Denmark withdrew this year. It was hosted by Erica Vaal.  Let's give the facts first before we look at the song in question (and a link to the performance if you haven't seen it or have forgotten it )  Song: Ik heb zorgen Artist : Louis Neefs Place : 7th  Points : 8  Belgium 1967 Belgium selected their song via a national final. It was a very odd selection involving 9 semi finals where 10 artists sent multiple songs to compete in these semi finals. These varied between 5-9 per artist. Different songs competed in each semi final and then 7 songs o...
Read more

Eurovision 1987 - Austria - May 4th 2025

Hello all ! In today's edition of Eurovision Histories,  we're going back to the 80s again to look at 1987. Again, it was the time for massive perms, crazy eyeshadow looks but in the wider world we also had big storms and the start of what would become the Internet!  The 32nd Eurovision Song Contest took place on May 9th, also known as Europe Day in Brussels, Belgium. Hosted by singer Viktor Lazlo, this contest saw the most participants to date at 22 entrants ! We'll be looking at the participation of Austria today and our first entry sung in German.  Here are the facts before I get too far into my thoughts and a performance link in case you don't know this one or have forgotten it !  Song: Nur noch Gefüh Artist: Gary Lux  Place : 20th  Points : 8  Austria 1987 I cannot find any information to indicate that Austria held a national final this year to select their song. However I do have info on our Artist at least. This was Gary's 4th time at Eurovision...
Read more