Eurovision 2023 Slovenia profile: 'Carpe Diem' by Joker Out

Photo credit: Urša Premik

Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Slovenia has participated at Eurovision since 1993, after playing host to 'Kvalifikacija za Millstreet', the first "qualification round" in the Contest's history. 1X Band came top out of the seven countries competing for a Eurovision debut, winning the right to perform as Slovenia's first representatives on the Eurovision stage. The country has competed in almost every Contest since, missing 1994 and 2000 only.

Slovenia has qualified for the Grand Final six times since the official semi-final system was launched in 2004. Its highest finish to date has been 7th places in 1995 and 2001. In recent years, the country has seen mixed results in terms of qualification and in the Grand Final, with the best result in the last 11 Contests coming in 2011 with Maja Keuc and 'No One' finishing 13th.

Last year, LPS failed to qualify for the Grand Final with 'Disko', placing 17th in the first semi-final with 15 points.

2023 Entry: Joker Out - 'Carpe Diem'

• Joker Out will compete in 10th spot in Semi-Final 2

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 9th

• Odds to win ranking: 21st

(Rankings as of 13 April)

About the artist

Joker Out is a band from Slovenia made up of five members: Bojan Cvjetićanin, Jure Maček, Kris Guštin, Jan Peteh and Nace Jordan. The band's origins can be traced back to 2016: after a break-up of the band Apokalipsa, Cvjetićanin formed Joker Out with former members Matic Kovačič and Martin Jurkovič.

The band has released a string of singles in Slovenia and, to date, two albums in recent years. Joker Out's success in Slovenia has been recognised, with the band winning Newcomer of the Year in 2020 and Artist of the Year twice in 2021 and 2022 at the Zlata piščal (Golden Whistle) awards. They have also performed at sold-out shows in Ljubljana.

About the song

'Carpe Diem' was written by all five members of the band together with Žarko Pak and was recorded in December 2022 in Hamburg, Germany. The band has stated on several occasions that they wished to perform in Slovene, explaining that they wanted "to translate Slovenian into a universal language of dance and entertainment that all countries understand".

The band released the song on the 4 February, followed by an English-language version on 31 March. It has been described as an alternative rock song.

Photo credit: Urša Premik

How Joker Out was selected for Eurovision

Radiotelevizija Slovenija announced the internal selection of Joker Out on 8 December last year. Vanja Vardjan, Head of Entertainment at Radiotelevizija Slovenija, commented at the time:

"We decided to use a tried and tested form of national selection, namely the internal selection. We have chosen Joker Out, who, like Magnifico and the bands Siddharta and Big Foot Mama before them, bring good quality popular music to the Slovenian music scene to the delight of the broadest of audiences. We were looking for a good sound and popularity, and I’m convinced that we have found them".

A showpiece event was held on 4 February, at which Joker Out revealed its song 'Carpe Diem' as the country's Eurovision 2023 entry and performed it live. Konstrakta, Serbia's representative in Turin last year also performed, as did past Slovenian entrants LPS, Maja Kuec, Nuša Derenda and Tomaž Mihelič.

Slovenia will compete in semi-final 2 on May 11 (European time) in Liverpool.

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