Словения на Евровидении 2006: "Mr Nobody" и неудачный отбор

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Slovenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Mr Nobody" written by Urša Vlašić and Matjaž Vlašić. The song was performed by Anžej Dežan. Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija) organised the national final EMA 2006 in order to select the Slovenian entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. Fourteen entries competed in the national final where "Plan B" performed by Anžej Dežan was selected following the combination of votes from a five member jury panel and a public televote. The song was later translated from Slovene to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Mr Nobody". Slovenia competed in the semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 18 May 2006. Performing during the show in position 3, "Mr Nobody" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the semi final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Slovenia placed sixteenth out of the 23 participating countries in the semi final with 49 points.

Prior to the 2006 contest, Slovenia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eleven times since its first entry in Slovenia's highest placing in the contest, to this point, has been seventh place, which the nation achieved on two occasions: in 1995 with the song "Prisluhni mi" performed by Darja Švajger and in 2001 with the song "Energy" performed by Nuša Derenda. The country's only other top ten result was achieved in 1997 when Tanja Ribič performing "Zbudi se" placed tenth. In 2005, "Stop" performed by Omar Naber failed to qualify to the final. The Slovenian national broadcaster, Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV Slovenija), broadcasts the event within Slovenia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. RTV Slovenija confirmed Slovenia's participation in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest on 18 September 2005. The Slovenian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest has traditionally been selected through a national final entitled Evrovizijska Melodija (EMA), which has been produced with variable formats. For 2006, the broadcaster opted to organise EMA 2006 to select the Slovenian entry.

The results of EMA 2006 caused controversy as Saša Lendero who won both televoting groups ultimately placed second due to the jury awarding her zero points, marking the fifth time in six years that the jury expelled the televoting winner from their votes. "Plan B" was also accused of plagiarising the song "Santa Maria" by Austrian singer Simone, however the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) allowed the song to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest as they did not see it as a plagiarism. A new version of "Plan B" was later created with the song being translated to English for the contest titled "Mr Nobody".

Anžej Dežan made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Mr Nobody" as the Slovenian Eurovision entry. On 4 February, Dežan performed "Mr Nobody" during the Maltese Eurovision national final Malta Song for Europe 2006. Dežan also performed the song during the third elimination show of the Ukrainian Eurovision national final Ty – Zirka! on 25 February, and during the Serbian and Montenegrin Eurovision national final Evropesma Europjesma 2006 on 11 March. On 8 April, Dežan appeared in Croatia during the HTV1 show Studio 10. Dežan also completed promotional activities in Macedonia in late April, including a performance during the Sitel TV programme Zvezdena Planeta.

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2005 contest are required to qualify from the semi final on 18 May 2006 in order to compete for the final on 20 May 2006; the top ten countries from the semi final progress to the final. On 21 March 2006, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi final and Slovenia was set to perform in position 3, following the entry from Bulgaria and before the entry from Andorra. At the end of the semi final, Slovenia was not announced among the top 10 entries and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Slovenia placed sixteenth in the semi final, receiving a total of 49 points. In Slovenia, the semi final was televised on TV SLO2 and the final was televised on TV SLO1. Both shows featured commentary by Mojca Mavec. The Slovenian spokesperson, who announced the Slovenian votes during the final, was Peter Poles.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Slovenia and awarded by Slovenia in the semi final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semi final and the final of the contest.