Marija Spasovska will represent FYR Macedonia in Minsk!

Marija Spasovska has been internally selected to represent FYR Macedonia at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Minsk, Belarus. Her song is yet to have been confirmed.

An internal selection for the fourth consecutive year

Earlier this month, the Macedonian broadcaster MRT opened submissions for artists that were interested in taking part in the audition process for the selection of the country’s act in this year’s Junior Eurovision. Submissions closed on Thursday 16th August, and the auditions were then held on Saturday 18th August.

10 candidates took part in the auditions and Marija was selected by a jury, which “unanimously” selected Marija as the winner and FYR Macedonia’s representative for the contest, which will be held in Minsk in November. The jury said that Marija had, “the best performance and possesses extraordinary singing abilities”. 

This is, indeed, the fourth consecutive year in which FYR Macedonia will select their entry internally for the contest. The last time they used their national final, Junior EuroSong, to select their Junior Eurovision entry was in 2011. 

“I hope that I will represent my country the best I can”

Speaking to ESCXTRA.com, Marija told us that:

I am very excited about JESC and I hope that I will represent my country Macedonia the best I can

She didn’t however reveal when her song would be released for the contest. According to original reports on ESCXTRA, the song should be selected in 15 days of the audition date, meaning we should hear Marija’s song by 2nd September, though this has not yet been revealed. 

ESCXTRA have contacted MRT to comment on this. We hope to bring you a release date for Marija’s song shortly.

Who is Marija Spasovska?

13-year old Marija Spasovska was born on 10th May 2005 in Skopje. Marija began singing at the age of 4, and she has since performed at several competitions and events, including Slavjanski Bazar and Otkiritie Evropa.

Her most recent single, “Igraj so srce”, was released on 30th May 2018 and has had over 22,000 views on YouTube.

Marija also regularly posts covers on her YouTube channel, including Sia’s “Cheap Thrills”, “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin, “Reflection” from Mulan and Eurovision hits like Loreen’s “Euphoria” and Kaliopi’s “Crno i belo”. 

FYR Macedonia’s history in Junior Eurovision

FYR Macedonia has taken part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest since it began in 2003, only missing out on the contest in 2012 and 2014. 

Their debut entry, “Ti ne me poznavaš”, which was performed by Marija & Viktorija, finished 12th out of 16, with a total of 19 points. It’s not uncommon for FYR Macedonia to finish 12th in the contest – they have finished 12th on 7 out of 13 of their appearances in the contest. 

Their best results came in 2007 and 2008, when they finished 5th on both occasions with Rosica Kulakova & Dimitar Stojmenovski’s “Ding Ding Dong” and Bobi Andonov’s “Prati mi SMS”. 

In 2017, FYR Macedonia were represented by Mina Blažev and the song, “Dancing Through Life”. Despite being a pre-contest favourite, the song only managed to finish in the illustrious 12th place, scoring 69 points.  

Will you be supporting Marija this year in Junior Eurovision? Are you excited to hear her song? Which country do you hope is next to confirm their artist?

Let us know in the comments or on our social media @ESCXTRA.