EMA 2006: The Previews

If there's one national final that I look forward to, it's Slovenia's EMA. Trust me, it's the rare national final that I will give up a Tuesday afternoon for. Judging by the songs so far, it's going to be very upbeat pop and rock affair. This is a very good thing.

• NORA SEM, DA TE LJUBIM - NUŠKA DRAŠČEK: I don't know this woman, but she's got a good upbeat dance song.
• SOS - NATALIJA VERBOTEN: Natalija was the hot favourite several years ago with an English song with dubious grammar. She's much better in Slovene, and it's another dance pop song. (It's like France Gall all over again, I tell you.)
• NORO SE UJAMEVA - REBEKA DREMELJ & DOMEN KUMER: In Slovene, "and" translates as "in." So I had a good juvenile laugh at that. More dance pop. Domen Kumer is a former male model and the boy is lanky. This ought to be an interesting pairing.
• TU DA DU -SERGEJA: The theme for this year's EMA seems to be 1980's revival. Tiffany would've totally done the English cover of this.
• MANDOLINE - SAŠA LENDERO: Saša and her breasts return along with the goateed Croatian, Andrej Babič of "I won't be your lover" fame. Less dramatic than "Metulj" last year, and I'd be surprised if she wins.
• RAPAD TEPE IPI MAPAM - ANDRAŽ HRIBAR: Robbie Williams rock ballad redux, but I like it.
• V MOJIH DLANEH - MARIJAN NOVINA: Another rock ballad, but Marijan's song better.
• POLKAHOLIK - ATOMIK HARMONIK: Insane fusion of polka and The Offspring. Seriously, that's what I thought. They're the favourites, so be afraid...be very afraid.
• VIHAR - MAJA SLATINŠEK: The sole boring ballad so far. Oh well, no EMA is perfect.
• HOKUS POKUS - YLENIA: Midtempo folk-rock. I'll say this, Ylenia has got some serious pipes on her.
• PLAN B - ANŽEJ DEŽAN: It starts out as a ballad (see Saša) and then turns into a dance song. I don't know about this. I will say that this guy could easily join Il Divo with his voice. He seriously booms (and my hunch is that he probably pings too, shoutout to the Mizez).
• NAJDI ME - KATRINAS: Katrinas sound like a new age Slovenian version of the Andrews Sisters. They have generally gotten a raw deal at previous EMAs. "Najdi Me" is a folk ballad that doesn't take advantage of the fact that these women can harmonise with the best of them. Now when I say "folk," I'm not necessarily saying Slovenian folk, because this would not be out of place at a Chinese folk music festival.
• OSTANI Z MANO - MONIKA PUČELJ: Monika rocked out several EMAs ago and she does the same here. Think Madonna's "Crazy for you" sped up with liberal helpings of guitars. Irene Grandi does this with panache, and I think Monika does the same here. I'd love to see her win it, but I doubt she will.
• HOČEM STRAN -ALENKA GODEC: Alenka is Slovenia's "soul sister." She's best known for singing R&B/Soul music, and here she is given an interesting pop/soul/dance song. Imagine Christina Aguileira singing dance and you've kind of got the idea at work here. The "la la la" and the chorus sticks in your head. Alenka has nearly won the lot on her previous outings and frankly, I think it's her turn to win it. Trust me, the woman can bring it big time.

Sadly they don't play Alya at the end of the previews, but rather Billy's Private Parking's entry from last year "Ljubljana." Odd choice considering that Alya finished higher. Oh well, now I'm all keyed up and anxious for EMA this Sunday. I tell you, the Slovenians don't play.