Karmen Stavec

Early Life and Early Career

Karmen Stavec (born 21 December 1973) is a Slovenian pop singer best known for representing Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003. She was born in West Berlin, in what was then West Germany, to Slovenian parents. After finishing her secondary education, Stavec moved to Slovenia and settled in the town of Domžale. There, she joined a dance-pop duo called 4 Fun and also enrolled at the University of Ljubljana to study Germanic languages. Stavec began her solo music career in 1998, performing at Slovenian music festivals and building her name in the local pop scene.

Road to Eurovision

Over the next few years, Karmen Stavec actively recorded music and took part in Slovenia’s national song competitions. She released her debut solo album Ljubim te in 1999, which produced several radio hits, such as the ballad “Ljubim te”, and established her as a rising pop star. In 2001, she followed up with a second album titled Ostani tu, continuing her run of catchy songs and sentimental ballads. During this period, Stavec also set her sights on Eurovision. She competed in the Slovenian Eurovision selection, known as EMA, multiple times. Her first attempt was in 1998, when she performed a duet with composer Patrik Greblo at EMA. In 2001, she returned as a solo act and achieved third place in the EMA competition (that year’s winner was Nuša Derenda). These early experiences helped Stavec gain stage experience and a loyal fan base in Slovenia.

Eurovision Song Contest 2003

In 2002, Stavec made a strong push to represent Slovenia at Eurovision with the upbeat song “Še in še”. She finished second in that year’s EMA final, narrowly losing to the drag act Sestre despite winning the highest number of televotes from the public. However, “Še in še” became a fan favorite and even won a fan poll as the best song of the national finals that season. Nevertheless, Stavec did not give up. In 2003, her persistence paid off when she finally won EMA with the energetic pop track “Lep poletni dan”. She translated the song into English as “Nanana” for the Eurovision Song Contest 2003.

Stavec co-wrote “Nanana” by providing the lyrics, while the music was composed by Martin Štibernik. In May 2003, Karmen Stavec took the big Eurovision stage in Riga as Slovenia’s representative among 26 competing countries. Slovenia ultimately finished in 23rd place with only 7 points in the final. The result was disappointing for Stavec and her supporters back home, given the high expectations and public support leading up to the contest.

Comeback and Later Activities

After Eurovision 2003, Karmen Stavec stepped back from the music scene. She later revealed that the poor result in Riga left her without the will to continue performing for a while. She did not release any new albums after her self-titled Karmen album in 2003, and for several years she largely disappeared from the pop spotlight. In 2007, Stavec made a quiet return by recording a new single titled “Povej”, showing that she still had an interest in music. A more public comeback came in 2009 when she entered EMA once again with the song “A si želiš”. That year, she managed to reach the EMA final, placing third in her semi-final and ultimately tenth in the national final. Her 2009 appearance introduced Karmen Stavec to a new generation of Slovenian fans, even though she did not win the competition.

Later Career

In the years that followed, Stavec moved on to a different career path outside of music. In 2010, she gave a final performance at the Slovenska Popevka song festival with a ballad called “Praviš, da veš”. After that, she officially retired from performing and transitioned into the business world, working in the jewelry sales industry. Today, Karmen Stavec lives a private life out of the spotlight.