STA, 19 May 2021 - Slovenia's entry to the 2021 Eurovision song contest, a power ballad by Ana Soklič entitled Amen, has not made it to the competition's final. Soklič failed to secure enough points in Tuesday's semi-final held in Rotterdam.
A total of 26 entries will vie for the Eurovision victory in Saturday's final: 20 songs picked in both semi-finals plus those who are automatically pre-qualified for the Grand Final, the so-called Big 5, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, and the Netherlands as the host country and latest Eurovision winner.
Soklič, who was chosen to represent Slovenia this year as she did not get the chance to do that in 2020, sang the song in English.
Afterwards, the singer told the press she still stood behind her song as she wrote music that survived the test of time.
"I'm glad you were with me and I hope you'll stay with me going further! Eurovision was a huge thing, but now my journey continues and it'll be filled with music as much as possible," she said.
The inspiration for Amen is life itself, Soklič said at the entry's presentation in February. She co-wrote music along with Žiga Pirnat and Bojan Simončič and lyrics with Pirnat and US lyricist Charlie Mason, whose credits include global hits as well as the 2014 Eurovision winning song Rise Like a Phoenix, performed by Conchita Wurst.
The production of Amen also included the RTV Slovenija Symphony Orchestra and an accompanying choir led by Dorian Holley, who was one of Michael Jackson's backing vocalists. The vocals for the song were recorded in EastWest Studios in Hollywood with acclaimed record producer Tony Maserati on hand.
Slovenia was first represented at Eurovision as an independent country in 1993. Since then, the country has never failed to take part except for 1994 and 2000. The country's best result to date is 7th place, both in 1995 with Darja Švajger and in 2001 with Nuša Derenda.
