After the presentation video that was shot a day after the triumph of Tinkara Kovač at EMA, the Slovenian contest for ESC, in Studio 1 of Television Slovenia, she has presented a new music video for the Eurovision. The song titled Round and Round/Spet hasn’t only been given a visual make-over – the authors have also upgraded it in terms of music. Four backing vocalists will join Tinkara at the Eurovision stage: Lea Sirk, Nika Zorjan, Manca Špik and Raay.

You won EMA a month ago. What has this month been like?
Quite strenuous. I’ve had a lot of interviews. Actually, I don’t remember ever having as many. This is easy nowadays owing to the internet, but I sometimes miss human contact. It’s much more fun to meet over a cup of tea and a piece of cake, say, at the banks of the Ljubljanica, and have a chat rather than stare at the screen in the middle of the night (laughter).

You’ve had the opportunity to experience how it feels to participate at EMA and then accompany the winner to Eurovision three times. But what is it like to be that person?

There’s more adrenaline, of course, and when an extra challenge to make a step further in terms of the number of listeners and fans arrives, it’s sometimes hard to believe that’s you, this year’s person on a mission to present yourself and even represent your own country. This is a truly wonderful feeling, but bears a lot of responsibility at the same time.

Your band joined you again in the new video. You wrote in the MMC chat room that the same team would definitely accompany you at the Eurovision. How come there have been changes to the team that will be with you on the stage?

Yes, I did, but we’ve decided to build on live music performance, that is, the backing vocals. We all know that unfortunately the music is on playback, which is why the musicians themselves said that considering their music souls and authentic relationship to music, they wouldn’t like to pretend they’re playing. At the same time, me and the rest of the creative team believe that the three female backing vocalists, Lea Sirk, Manca Špik and Nika Zorjan, will give the refrain and the song in general an extra pair of wings.

How much emphasis will be put on the choreography?

As much as an intensive song needs from a musical point of view … A bit of magic and a pinch of glamour here and there.

After the victory, you wrote on Facebook that the media are too focused on scandals, and asked how many instruments there were in Round and Round/Spet. When you compare what the media used to write about the winner of EMA and what they do now, what has changed the most?

Yes, there are a lot of negative and rude comments on various forums, it’s jaw-dropping. It’s easiest to hide behind a pseudonym and be a smart-ass. I accept constructive criticism, but smearing all over, no thanks. The media have written little about the music, everything else seems more newsworthy – the clothes, the laughter, the tears … They’re a part of this, too, of course, but it would be nice to read a bit more about the music, too. That’s the spirit of EMA and the point of it, we mustn’t forget that.

What plans do you have for the remaining month of preparations?

We’re going to organize an event in Denmark before the song contest, and I hope it will all fit together. Other than that, the usual – singing, practising, practice for the vocal performance of the singers, fittings for the costume in between. Hopefully, a swim or two in the pool, too, and a walk through the endless sunny forests of Karst.