Slovenia 2024: Raiven – Veronika

Niall Fulton avatar
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Slovenia have only missed 2 contests since their debut, however having only qualified from 8 out of 20 semi finals, its fair to say they have a chequered record in the Eurovision Song Contest history books.

Their first appearance in 1993 was only secured after they hosted ‘Kvalifikacija za Millstreet’ on behalf of the EBU, they won that competition with 1XBand’s song ‘Tih deževen dan’, however only managed to gain 9 points at the actual contest which led to them being relegated in 1994. Upon their return the next year, Darja Švajger secured them 7th place with her song ‘Prisluhni mi’, sadly that remains their best placement to date, a fate equalled by Nuša Derenda in 2001.

Since then, Slovenia haven’t even entered the top 10, however last year hopes were high for fan favourite indie band, Joker Out. They were already a huge success story in their home nation and subsequently have managed to replicate that throughout Europe with more sell out shows than one can count on all of their fingers and toes. ‘Carpe Diem’, however, placed just 21st in the Grand Final at Liverpool.

It seems that the disappointment has not deterred them from getting involved again, with lead singer Bojan Cvjetićanin joining the 2024 delegation to provide contributions to both music and lyrics for Raiven’s entry ‘Veronika’.

Raiven is no stranger to euro fans having competed three times at the Slovenian national final ‘Evrovizijska Melodij’, narrowly missing out on winning the ticket to Eurovision each time with 2 second places and a third place finish. Not only can she blend pop, electronic and opera – she’s an award winning harpist! Save some talent for the rest of us Raiven!

It may have taken an internal selection, but finally Raiven will represent her home country in Malmö this May, but can she break through and take Slovenia’s first top 5 result, or even win? Find out what we think!

niallpoints review

Slovenia really want to turn around their fortunes and that is evident from this video. It is pure cinema; the video itself, the instrumental, it’s purely mystical, magical and just plain marvellous. Raiven’s vocals are sublime and in this video she really reminds me of Lady Gaga in her look and artistry. This seems like a performance piece more than just a song; the juries will eat this up but for the public reaction we’ll really need to wait to see just how the whole thing comes together, at this stage though my hopes are high.

Early prediction: 5-10

Visually this has me screaming! All the while I was watching the video I found myself mesmerised, almost transfixed! I love the dark and moody vibe of it! Her voice is stunning and the whole production to this entry is incredible ! However… sonically I’m not really vibing to it yet. I recognise the talent and the quality. But it’ll take a few more listens for me to fully appreciate it. But hey good news: already sounded better the second time! Who knows what might happen? This one might come to life for me with a solid staging. But judging by the music video, I’m pretty sure that won’t be an issue!

Early prediction: 5-10