Klemen from Slovenia: "We want people to see it as a positive message"

While this was the very first time Klemen Slakonja applied and competed at Slovenia's national selection competition, Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA), this certainly wasn't his first appearance on the show. If you're more than a casual Eurovision fan, you will most likely have heard of him.

The year is 2011 and Maja Keuc has won the Slovenian national selection contest. Klemen hosted the show, something he'd repeat three more times in 2012, 2016 and 2020. Five years later he returned as a contestant and will now fulfill a lifetime dream: represent his country in Eurovision.

What he didn't expect, probably ever, was that he'd bring a ballad to the competition given his career run. Besides singing, Klemen is also a comedian who brought to life comedy sketches such as "Putin, Putout":

– Being in Eurovision feels like a dream come true, he states.

– But I never thought I'd go to Eurovision with a ballad. I've been studying this option since 2011, and performing in the show with a ballad had never crossed my mind... Not even when I wrote this song, he admits.

His Eurovision song "How Much Time Do We Have Left" wasn't written for the song contest. Klemen wrote it with his wife in mind, Mojca Fatur, a Slovenian actress. A while ago she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare form of cancer. And even if the odds weren't in her favor she managed to recover.

The idea of bringing it to Eurovision was actually hers, whom according to Klemen is his "biggest critic":

– She's the first who listens to everything I do and I really value her opinion. She's got a great feeling, Klemen says.

– I was very careful on when and how I delivered the song to her. It was on 3 June last year on my birthday. And once we were done she had tears in her eyes and said: "You should really go to Eurovision with this one."

Klemen was surprised. His wife Mojca knew about his Eurovision dream, so that was a big deal. He had to ask her twice and reinforce that the song wasn't exactly a "Eurovision song":

– It doesn't matter. People need to hear this. What is a Eurovision song anyway? she said.

As of now Klemen sides with his wife and agrees that "How Much Time Do We Have Left" is a worthy Eurovision song, and it may inspire others who are dealing with complicated stuff such as he and Mojca did:

– It does feel like the right time to share this message that even if someone tells you something is impossible, there still might be a way. It can be a reminder that sometimes it's good to step out of the hamster wheel before it throws you out, he explains.

Traveling to the Eurovision pre-parties has also helped the Slovenian singer be sure that his song travels "no matter what the odds are telling."

The journey to Eurovision 2025

During his national selection performance Klemen turns and sings upside down, the moment most people remember from the staging. He confirms that the choreography will be kept for Basel, but promises it'll be better executed while also confessing it's anything but easy to do.

Either way, that is a key moment of the performance that tells part of the story behind the song:

– When she read her diagnosis, our world turned upside down and I felt that rush of blood in my head, the same one I feel whenever I am upside down in the performance, he says.

– Priorities shifted right away, and it was clear what didn't serve us and what did.

We really want to make sure it will be told in the right way and that people see it as a positive story.Klemen

We carefully switch topics and focus on the staging:

– The upside down situation is approved by EBU and the production team, he reconfirms.

– But we'll be adding something extra to make the story of the song clearer. I think it was a bit lost in EMA and we really want to make sure it will be told in the right way and that people see it as a positive story.

How different is hosting EMA than competing in it?

– I was so much more nervous now that I was competing. I have hosted it four times so I kind of felt like I had the shows in my hand and I could do whatever I wanted, or even throw jokes here and there. Telling this story was something very important for me and I didn't want to mess it up.

He certainly didn't. The Slovenian people knew him, they knew about his wife's battle, and from the beginning he was one of the favorites to win. Dealing with the expectations of the public as well as his own wasn't easy.

Also being known as a comedian made it harder to be taken more seriously?

– Not really, many already knew about it as my wife went on a talk show to speak about the disease, he says.

– Besides, I've done a lot of comedy stuff and impersonations, but I've also done a lot of singing and many people have been asking me to "just sing" and use my own voice. Many have already been expecting this from me for a while. I am a blend of everything, he concludes.

Beginnings and first album

But first there was acting. He apologizes for being "cheesy," but admits he has always followed his heart and in high school he mostly wanted to be an actor. He went to an acting academy and was eventually employed at the Slovenia National Theatre where he lived his dream for nine years. In parallel, he started to host TV shows and gained popularity for impersonating famous people, which became a career path. Up until now:

– It was a journey. And now I felt like I had to tell my own stories, to share my own experiences, which will happen with the release of my first album that will be coming out after Eurovision.

More specifically on 3 June 2025, on the first anniversary of when his wife heard "How Much Time Do We Have Left" for the first time (and, again, also on his birthday). It's a full circle moment for the couple, but also for him as a musician:

Now I felt like I had to tell my own stories, to share my own experiences.Klemen

– Music was always there. It was my first passion as a child. I would always be singing and jumping around with a plastic guitar. While I did other things, the primal feeling within me was always singing. I just never put a lot of pressure on myself to do it, but I think now it's the right time.

With Eurovision around the corner Klemen doesn't hide, he's a bit reluctant about what can happen following last year's incidents but he'll mostly focus on his job and his goals. Besides wanting to tell his wife's story the right way, winning would mean the most to him:

– If Slovenia won, I would also love to host Eurovision, he says.

– I always aim high, but that isn't in my hands and all I can do is my best and if it touches people's hearts, it'd be amazing.

What will you want people to remember you for?

– That's a good question, he says.

He takes a good minute to get back on track:

– I am here to spread an important message when I could simply do a fun song. I am not going to lie, I'd love people to have fun while watching me perform, but where I stand currently it's more important to tell the message of this song and I'd love if people could appreciate a man that comes with his heart in his hands telling a story of the incredible human capability to overcome any hurdle.

As of now Klemen, his wife, and the Slovenian delegation have landed in Basel readying the first set of rehearsals for his upcoming performance of "How Much Time Do We Have Left" at the first Semi-final of Eurovision 2025 on 13 May.

A Eurovision homage

As we conclude this article, throughout our conversation Klemen referenced multiple times his major (and biggest) impersonation project: the recreation of all Eurovision winners from 2000 until 2025. The video took Klemen and his team months to prepare, and conclude as it faithfully represents all of the 24 past winners: