16 June – Listen to me

Do you like a ballad, or are you more a fan of a banger? The bangers seems to be prevailing in the 2020s, but it wasn’t always the case. There were years when the ballad was popular, particularly before the orchestra was set aside.

A good ballad went well with a quality orchestra. And today’s birthday girl Darja Švajger was an exponent of such a stylee. At the 40th Contest in sunny Dublin, she sang her country’s second ever entry. Of course, it did better than their first, but it made some of us sit up and think the country at the top of the Adriatic could be in with a chance of stealing a cunning win. Darja managed a seventh spot, a position never bettered – only equalled. Darja tried again in 1999 but without the orchestra, she always had an uphill task. Here’s her 1995 song.

Darja is 58 today.

Vse najboljše, Darja!