Slovenia : No One as excited as Maja Keuc
04 May 2011 at 14:29 CESTHigh spirits backstage
Maja Keuc arrived backstage in a good mood. "I'm very excited. I can't wait to get to the stage!" she said. The preparations before going to Düsseldorf have been heavy. One reason is that her dress has plenty of metal in it.
"We've been rehearsing all the time during the last weeks. I wear a massive dress which I really have got to get used to. It's very heavy with real metal in it."
Maja promises that the performance will be powerful. "We did a choreography that goes with the song, nothing really special. I have four backing vocalists. It's going to be a girl power performance."
Maja is wearing black leather boots, which have silver platforms and heels, and a black dress with silver strands. She also wears fingerless leather black gloves There are four female backing singers on stage, one of whom is Martina Majerle, who herself represented Slovenia in the 2009 contest, together with Quartissimo.
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Team very pleased with rehearsals
The LED screens display rotating flowers which change colour and shade, remaining dark during the verses and brightening at the chorus point.
Considering Maja's relatively recent rise to fame, the confidence she exudes on stage is similar to that of a seasoned professional with decades of experience behind her. Maja's team showed their appreciation of her efforts vocally at the end of each rehearsal.
After the rehearsal, lyricist Urša Vlašič remarked "We are very very happy with how things went, everything was perfect, the sound was great and the stage looks amazing."
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" I dreamed of this performance"
The Slovenian delegation thanked the broadcaster NDR as they were very happy with the first rehearsal. Maja added "I'm not so experienced, I always dreamed of this performance, it's amazing to be on the stage. Everything is super cool, I have my four strong backing vocals, and we have the women power on our side!"
Moderator Branko asked Maja what she was doing this time last year, She replied "Well, this time last year, I was finishing high school and also I came second on the Slovenia's Got Talent show as you know. A 6 year old child actually won that competition!. That was how my career started really."
Maja very relaxed
A journalist then asked about whether the participation on Slovenia's Got Talent was similar to this competition. Maja said "It's not the same at all, here i'm performing in front of the whole of Europe, not just the domestic audience. I'm carrying the responsibility of representing my country, it's a lot bigger here. I'm actually very relaxed, which is scary."
Maja had a backing vocal role in the musical We Will Rock You seven years ago, she was asked how singing cover versions differed from performing her own material. She answers
"I was singing backing vocals when i was 12 years old in the musical, I am writing my own songs now, working on my first album. You feel your own songs better than singing covers, it's more expressive to tell the stories with my own lyrics."
About Maja's dress
In response to a question from the press, Maja explains about her outfit "I didn't pick the designer myself, but I told him what I wanted. I wanted a dress made from necklaces, and pretty much gave him a free hand. It's a very messy dress, and it's a big challenge for me as it's very heavy."
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More about Maja
Maja Keuc has been called the Christina Aguilera or Anastacia of Slovenia. But in the face of such comparisons, Maja Keuc smiles and shakes her head. However, Maja has participated in musicals such as We Will Rock You, and is a former member of the local rock band Bugs.
She has furthermore worked with genres such as soul, jazz and blues, where she found herself very comfortable with. Maja shot to fame in Slovenia when she participated in the show Slovenija Ima Talent ("Slovenia's Got Talent") in 2010. The second place in the show caused her to be very sought after and also resulted in the involvement of a studio album.