Junior Eurovision 2015 – Slovenia

Lina Kuduzović was born on 30th December 2002 in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, where she lives together with her mother Sebina, her father Denis and her little sister

She started showing interest in music from a very early age. As a three-year-old girl she gave a big surprise to her parents when she started singing the refrain of the My Humps song by Black Eyed Peas. This was just the start and her teacher in kindergarten also noticed her singing this and many other songs. The teacher thought Lina is really advanced singer for her age. When she was five, she started singing the song I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, which started her career as a young star.

At the start of the elementary school, parents enrolled her to the music class in the school. Lina was enthusiastic about practising solo singing and playing piano. This was the time of her first public appearances on small events, where she was noticed by a young reporter, who invited her to the Dobro jutro, Slovenija programme in May of 2009.

In the end of the year 2009 she took part in the Vrata med zvezdami show, a musical competition with children of her age. Despite not winning any of the top three spots, Lina was not disheartened. Her first appearance gave her welcome exposure, which resulted in an invitation to the charity concert for prematurely born children, where she sang the I Will Always Love You song. This appearance even increased her desire to perform before large audiences and at the perfect moment, the Slovenija ima talent (Slovenia’s Got Talent) show started looking for new talents.

In April of 2010, Lina sang in the Slovenija ima talent show for the first time, enrapturing the audience and the jury. The jury was especially impressed, naming her »Little Princess Lina«. For the audition, she sang “I Will Always Love You” and in the semi-finals “My heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion, confidently reaching the finals.

In the final show on 6th June 2010, the »little princess with the voice of an angel« sang “The Power Of Love” by Jennifer Rush in front of the whole of Slovenia, winning the first Slovenija ima talent show.

After a few years of living in Switzerland and working on her musical education, Lina entered the music show The Greatest Swiss Talents (Die grössten Schweizer Talente). Her appearance won over the members of the jury and she made it to the finals.

Lina soon realised that she loved writing songs as much as singing them. Her first creations were intended for singing at home but this summer she joined the Slovene representatives at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, the musical duo Maraaya, to create her first ‘real’ song entitled Prva ljubezen (First Love). She entered it as her contribution to the Slovene selection of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, known as Mini EMA 2015. The professional jury selected her to appear in the finals, where the viewers chose her as the winner by telephone voting.

You can see some covers by Lina on her official Youtube channel: “Let it Go”, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman”, “All of Me” and many more!

Source: linakuduzovic.com

Hello Lina! First of all, congratulations on having been selected to represent Slovenia at Junior Eurovision 2015!

E+: How did you feel when you were named the winner of MINI EMA? Did you expect such an awesome ending?

Honestly, I didn’t expect to win! I felt amazing! I was really happy! The night of the victory… well, I couldn’t believe that I was going to fly to Bulgaria!

E+: Tell us what your song is about. What is the thing you like the most of “Prva Ljubezen” (First Love)?

My song is about two persons who are secretly in Love, but they don’t know if he loves her or if she loves him! Actually, I like everything about my Song.

E+: You wrote the song together with Maraaya, who represented Slovenia at Eurovision 2015. What were your feelings when they asked you to compete at MINI EMA with a song composed by them? How did you experience the composition procedure?

I was surprised and of course I agreed!

E+: We know that you recently met Ula Lozar, the first Slovenian representative at Junior Eurovision. You had previously performed together when you were little. Has she given you any advice?

Yes she gave me an advice… She said: “Don’t bring any luck charms with you. If you lose them, you are going to be unlucky!” 🙂

E+: A few days ago, you released an official video for your song “Prva Ljubezen”. How was the shooting of the video? Can you tell us any funny anecdote?

The shooting was really much fun! We filmed the whole day, but It was worth it. Funny anecdote: we had a dog on the filming which suddenly jumped in front of the camera! 🙂 It was really funny!

E+: It is too soon maybe, but have you already decided about how your stage performance will look like?

Yes, I have something in mind, but it is not finished yet. Maybe some lights and stuff like that.

E+: What do you expect from the upcoming experience at Junior Eurovision? What do you think it will mean for your musical career?

I’m looking forward to meet new singers/artists, and of course a lot of fun! 🙂 It’s a step forward for me!

E+: Do you usually watch the senior Eurovision? Would you like to take part in the future?

Yes, I do watch Eurovision and I would really like to take a part in the future! That is one of my dreams!

E+: If you had to choose a Slovenian act to compete at the senior Eurovision, what would be your choice? How about a Swiss one?

If I had to choose, I would send Maja Keuc again! She is an amazing singer and also I know her personally, because we both took part at the same edition of Slovenia’s Got Talent and we got to know each other! We both reached the final stage and she got the 2nd place! At that time I voted for her… she was really the best!

If I had to choose for Switzerland, I would choose Sebalter or Mélanie René.

E+: When you were 7 years old, you became the winner of the Slovenian edition of “Got Talent”. This year, you made it to the finals of the Swiss edition. Which memories do you keep from these experiences?

When I was at Slovenia’s Got Talent it was like a fairytale to me… What fixed in my memory was the big stage and the big audience! I felt like a little girl in a big castle 😛

About the Swiss Talent… Well, everything was quite different. I was older and when I was on stage I felt butterflies.

E+: Tell us more about yourself, your favourite music style, favourite school subject, hobbies, musical career….

I am a 12-year-old girl born in Slovenia. I started singing when I was 3 years old and the song that I sang was My Humps! In 2013, we moved to Switzerland, where I needed to start everything from beginning (school, language, friends, new environment, etc…).

My music style is often beat songs… My favourites at the moment are: “How deep is your love”, “Stole the show”, “See you again”, “Want to want me”, “Ain’t nobody loves me better”, “Don’t worry”, “Waiting for love”, etc.
My favourite school subjects are: Singing (of course), Maths, Sport, DIYs and sometimes German.
My hobbies are: Singing, dancing, drawing, playing games, ice-skating, etc…

E+: What do you feel while singing on stage? Do you have any lucky charm you carry during your performances?

When I am on stage, I firstly feel scared, but when I start to sing, everything is fine and I feel like at home! No, I don’t have any lucky charms.

E+: If you had the chance, which singer would you choose to sing in a duet with?

I would choose to sing with Beyoncé! I love her voice, performances and style. Maybe someday 🙂

E+: Can you send a message for our readers and Junior Eurovision fans?

Be who you are and try to find the best of you. Be happy and try to enjoy every moment of your life, like I do! If you find yourself in my song, vote for me :). Thanks everyone for the support.

Thank you very much for your time and see you in Sofia!

MINI EMA 2015

First Semi-Final (September 20, 2015):

1. Rebeka Salter – S tabo (Let you go)
2. Janina Klenovsek – Sonce v ogledalu
3. Leni  – Najlepsi dan

 Second Semi-Final (September 27, 2015):

• Lina Kuduzovic – Prva ljubezen 
• Jaka & Maks – Full of energy 
• Tina Vinter – Brez Okov

Final (October 4, 2015)

• Leni – Najlepši dan
• Lina Kuduzović – Prva ljubezen

Nekaj čudnega govori srce
vsakič, ko te zagledam.
Ustavi se mi čas, ko zaslišim glas
in ko se mi nasmeješ.

Je občutek, ki neznan mi je,
so trenutki, so besede.
Le kaj čutiš ti?

Prva ljubezen, primo amore!
Prva ljubezen naj me spominja
na ta december,
ko sva se že zavedala,
da sva zaljubljena oba.
Prva ljubezen mi daje to, kar sem.

There is something strange
That I feel inside
My heart was never broken.

In the magic land
Only butterflies
Our love was never stolen.

Tam na hodniku se srečava,
vsi trenutki, vse besede.
Why do I feel this?

Prva ljubezen, primo amore!
Prva ljubezen naj me spominja
na ta december,
ko sva se že zavedala,
da sva zaljubljena oba.
Prva ljubezen mi daje to, kar sem.

Prva ljubezen, primo amore!
Prvo ljubezen si zaželela sva
za december,
Je? Je!
Prva ljubezen mi daje to, kar sem.

Nekaj čudnega govori srce
vsakič, ko te zagledam.
Ustavi se mi čas, ko zaslišim glas
in ko se mi nasmeješ.

Je občutek, ki neznan mi je,
so trenutki, so besede.
Le kaj čutiš ti?

Prva ljubezen, primo amore!
Prva ljubezen naj me spominja
na ta december,
ko sva se že zavedala,
da sva zaljubljena oba.
Prva ljubezen mi daje to, kar sem.

Има нещо странно
Което чувствувам вътре в мен
Моето сърце никога не е било разбивано.

В страната на вълшебството
Само пеперуди
Нашата любов никога не мое да бъде отнета

Tam na hodniku se srečava,
vsi trenutki, vse besede.
Защо се чувствам така?

Prva ljubezen, primo amore!
Prva ljubezen naj me spominja
na ta december,
ko sva se že zavedala,
da sva zaljubljena oba.
Prva ljubezen mi daje to, kar sem.

Prva ljubezen, primo amore!
Prvo ljubezen si zaželela sva
za december,
Je? Je!
Prva ljubezen mi daje to, kar sem.