Photograph by Ana Šantl

🇸🇮 Slovenia 2019 | “Sebi” (English: Oneself)

Grand Final | 15th Place | 105 points

Semi Final 1 | 6th Place | 165 points | Qualified

Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl, who now go by the mononym zalagasper, are a lo-fi indie pop duo and couple from Maribor, Slovenia, who won the superfinal of Evrovizijska Melodija with 73 percent of the vote and thus the right to be Slovenia’s entry to Tel Aviv 2019 with their winning song, “Sebi”.

The duo only first met in 2017 and soon after became both musically and romantically involved, officially forming their duo in 2018 with the release of “Valovi” (English: Waves). Following the single’s success, the pair followed up with two additional singles before “Sebi” was released, and were all packaged together in the 2019 EP Štiri, which was released a few days before their upset over the favorite at EMA.

“Sebi” reflects on being oneself and what it means to be yourself. Though you may not know what to do and where to go, just be you, even if you make mistakes trying to find your way. If you make a mistake along the way for being you, don’t apologize for it. The lyrics both state that we, as each individual people, don’t need to prove ourselves to anyone else, and that we are all broadly guided by the same dreams and fears. The song is about being lost with yourself and your way in the world, and that all you need to do to go on is to find your way back to yourself and thereby finding happiness in being you.

Kralj and Šantl initially met on Instagram in 2017, as Kralj was an aspiring vocalist doing covers and Šantl was an instrumentalist and songwriter searching for somebody to sing “Valovi” when he happened upon her. The pair got together shortly after and began dating before the release of “Valovi” in 2018, and have been together since. The duo have been awarded for the work despite their relative recency, winning the Zlata Piščal Award with “Valovi” for best song. Though they came in 2nd during the final of EMA 2019, they won with a recording breaking share of the vote in the superfinal against the initial first place performer.

Since performing at Eurovision, the duo released their first English-language single, Come to Me. Later, they released their debut album, 4.

Watch “Sebi” below, and follow Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl on Instagram,  Twitter, and Facebook. Listen to their EP, Štiri, and their album 4 on Spotify.