Hannah: “Stage performance will be consistent with the song – minimalist”

Hello, Hannah. First of all, let me congratulate you for being chosen by the Slovenian national television to represent Slovenia in Eurovision. Are you excited?

Thank you! I was very excited to be chosen of course. It’s a big honor.

What was your first reaction when they suggested you to sing for Slovenia in this years Eurovision?

-It was very much a shock to me. I didn’t even know if Slovenia was sending something this year because I hadn’t heard anything about it. Then I got the call! It was a wonderful surprise.

We all remember you from EMA 2011 and your energetic song and performance. But most of our visitors know little about you. What can you tell us about Hannah Mancini?

I am an American singer/songwriter that moved to Slovenia 6 years ago because i met a Slovenian guy.  We both enjoy the life style of Europe and wanted to live here (he was raised in America since age 3) for some time, so we finally did it. I had a good career in L.A. but had decided to at least make the move here to see how it went. I never came back 🙂 The creative musical experiences and people I’ve worked with here have been amazing and with other Slovenes, I’ve managed to collaborate and release a lot of music both nationally and internationally so I believe it was just meant to be that I move here.

What is the difference between the USA and Slovenia? Do you miss your old life now when you have moved to Europe?

The main difference is the size and of course the cultures are different. Americans are much louder 😉  I really miss my family and close friends the most but I do visit them often. I have also made great friends and bonds in the time I’ve been living here.  I enjoy it so that I wouldn’t move back.

Was “Straight Into Love” ready before you knew you are going to Eurovision?

No. we had another song, but we realized it became ineligible because it was performed publicly before September 1st, 2012, so we had to make a new song. It was a great experience doing this though, the positive energy was there and we made “Straight Into Love” in very little time. A great team of producers from Slovenia and one talented young producer from Croatia were involved in this. The 4 of us worked very hard in a short amount of time to make another good song.

What can you tell us about your Eurovision entry? Do you think 2013 will be the year of eletronic music and does it have a good chance now, after “Euphoria” won last year?

I definitely think there are more people watching Eurovision open to electronic music now that Euphoria did so well. But I think the timing for that could have also been even the year before that, of course because I had an electronic dance entry on EMA 2011.  The timing wasn’t right for my song to go that year, but I think chances of this style doing well are better this time anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YquctqSclFI

Stage performance is really important in Eurovision. Most of online bets change drastically after first rehearsals in the host city of Eurovision. Can you tell us some details about your performance? Is choreography for your Eurovision entry already designed and who will join you on stage?

We have begun the process of designing the performance and the dancers. But it will be the type of dance fitting to the song, which includes dubstep elements. People on stage will be kept to a minimum, and though we’re not yet set on the exact look of the stage, we have many interesting ideas we are deciding on in the coming weeks.

Slovenia was drawn into the same semi final as Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. Would you mind being in a semi final without any country from ex-Yugoslavia, so you would lose a chance of getting points from neighboring countries?

This is an interesting line up for the semi finals, because traditionally ex-Yugoslavia countries do vote for each other, and one could see this as an advantage. But I would like to think that we’d still get some good points even if this weren’t the case.

Swedish television announced changes in Eurovision 2013. One of them is that there will be no traditional draw to determine which country will perform in which slot. All we know for now is that Slovenia will perform in the first part of the first semi final (1-8). Which number would you love to get and what do you basically think about the idea of a draw being determined by a few persons?

It would be great to go later in our allotted slot, but ok, if we don’t we will just have to hope that our performance is strong enough to make a good impression even if earlier presented 😉 I’m not sure what to think about the new changes. I could understand that the traditional draw is the option that one could see as being the most fair.

Germany has chosen popular Cascada to represent them in Eurovision. Their song is called “Glorious” and it pretty much has the same style as the Slovenian entry “Straight Into Love”. Did you have a chance to listen to it? What do you think about other songs chosen all over the Europe?

I have heard “Glorious” and it’s a catchy song. Both of our songs are electronic dance, but I think the styles of that are different. I am liking Norway’s entry so far the most from what I’ve heard.

Do you plan doing a promotional tour, that is will you visit some countries to present your Eurovision entry?

I haven’t heard yet all the details of our promotional tour schedule and which shows we will go to. But I would like to do as much as possible!

We would like to thank you for answering these questions for Eurosong.hr and for bringing the Slovenian representative closer to our visitors and Eurovision fans. We wish you all the best in Malmö and we truly hope you will bring Slovenia into the final. In the end, do you have a message for our visitors?

– I just want to say that I am incredibly proud and can’t wait to represent Slovenia in Eurovision 2013! The main goal for me is to have a wonderful time and enjoy this great festival with you all. Thank you for your support and see you in Malmö!!! 🙂