Omar Naber arrived in Kiev just over a week ago and will perform 17th in the running order at tomorrow’s first Eurovision Semi-Final.
 
He’s had a busy week. Here’s a day-by-day taster of what he’s been up to since arriving in the Ukrainian capital on 30th April, as the clock counts down to that performance.
 
Monday 1st May
Omar stepped on to the Eurovision stage at the Kiev International Exhibition Centre for the first time for his first rehearsal.

Speaking to the press after his first rehearsal, Omar said: “As they say, practice makes perfect, so I am satisfied with everything for now. The design team responsible for the performance and the visuals have done a fantastic job. We will still make a few minor adjustments, but by Friday, when we have the next rehearsal, everything will be fine-tuned and ready to go.”
 
Tuesday 2nd May
Omar had a few free hours so got to take advantage of them by having a wander around Kiev – and he was very impressed. “It feels great being Kiev. It’s full of soul – the people have been so friendly and you can feel that warmth in the air. I also love the food – which will help me keep up my strength for the days ahead!”

Wednesday 3rd May
Omar was invited to meet with Nataša Prah, the Slovenian Ambassador to Ukraine, and he kept her informed about how his preparations for the semi-final are going. They also discussed the changes Omar has noticed in the city since he performed last time out in 2005.

Thursday 4th May
At the invitation of the Montenegrin delegation, Omar impressed the guests with his appearance at their pre-event party, alongside that of the host’s and the representatives of Serbia, Macedonia and Croatia.

Friday 5th May
Omar’s second on-stage rehearsal took place and left the whole team with a strong feeling of satisfaction.

 “I’ll do my very best to perform and present the song as best I can to the world,” said Omar at his press conference after the rehearsal. “My team has done top-notch work on it to ensure that its presentation will stand out and be exceptional. My job in all of this is that, at the onset, I put in 100% to my performance – as the audience expects. After that, the rest is out of my hands.”
 
Omar spent Friday evening in the company of fans as he performed at the Eurovision village.

Saturday 6th May
Omar spent the day doing press and media interviews – and was very in-demand.

In the evening, Omar was invited by the Australian representative Isaiah, to attend their delegation’s party.

Sunday 7th May
All of this year’s performers at the Eurovision Song Contest, attended the official opening and walked down the red carpet.

This evening (Monday 8th), Omar will perform in front of the national juries before undergoing the same assessment by viewers from across Europe tomorrow evening.
 
At one of his interviews before he takes to the stage once more for the performances that matter, Omar admitted to one of the journalists:
 
“Performing on stage at the biggest musical event in the world is a big responsibility so you have to look after yourself in the best possible way. I’m trying to stay calm and collected.”

Omar’s outfit for the performance was designed exclusively by Jelena Proković – JSP, who previously lent her services to ensure he made a stylish appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005, which was of course, also held in Kiev.
 
To keep track of all EMA-related news and preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest, visit the MMC RTV Slovenia, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels, as well as the EMAEvrovizija Snapchat.

Omar Naber, Slovenia’s representative at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, has just completed a whirlwind promotional tour which has seen him visit the UK, Israel and the Netherlands in the last few days.

He kicked it off on Sunday 2nd April at the London Eurovision Party at the Café de Paris, where he was one of 25 performers.      A day later he left the British capital and travelled to Israel for Israel Calling. There, at the invitation of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism, Omar and all of the 28 national Eurovision representatives in attendance, planted their own tree in a Eurovision forest.

At the Israel Calling concert in Tel Aviv, Omar wowed the audience with his performance of his entry “On My Way”.

The Netherlands was the next and final stop on Omar’s promotional tour. At Eurovision in Concert in Amsterdam he took to the stage with another 35 of this year’s artists.

“The last week has been very dynamic and intense – even strenuous – but I have thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Omar.
“My song was very well received by all the audiences and it was great to have them singing along with me. I’m also glad that I got to meet almost all of this year’s other national representatives while I was on the road.
I’ll most likely keep in contact with most of them after the Contest.”

A new challenge awaits Omar this Saturday after arriving home. He will step out onto the big stage at the Ljubljana Slovenian Exhibition Centre, accompanied by the RTV Slovenia Festival Orchestra, and perform the song “Miže” (Žiga Pirnat / Andraž Gliha) at the Slovenian Song Festival.

The video for a new Eurovision version of Omar Naber’s ballad “On My Way” has been shot and will be exclusively premiered this weekend on Sunday 2nd April at 20:00 CET on the Eurovision Song Contest’s YouTube portal.

Since it triumphed at EMA last month, the arrangements of the track have been remixed slightly by arranger Žiga Pirnat for live performance, with the instrumental part of the song being performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra – who were involved in the recording of the 2014 winning song “Rise Like a Phoenix”, which was performed by Conchita Wurst. The alterations were completed via Skype from Los Angeles, where Pirnat works and lives.

The video was shot by the Kolektiv TRETJEOKO and the video includes a dance performance by Jernej Kozan – the winner of the TV show Slovenia’s Got Talent 2015.

In the month before the Eurovision Song Contest, Omar will be undertaking a whistle-stop promotional tour, taking in the UK, Israel and the Netherlands.

On Sunday 2nd April, the night the video premieres, he will perform at the London Eurovision Party event, before travelling from the British capital to Israel, where he will continue to promote the song and perform at Israel Calling on Wednesday 5th April. He will round off the tour with an appearance at Eurovision In Concert on Saturday 8th April, in Amsterdam.

Before embarking on his travels, he will perform this evening at 22:00 CET in Orto Bar with his own band – a specially-prepared concert for his Slovenian fans.

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Happy New Year everyone!

Omar

Hope you are all well.

Summer is here!! Yeaaayy!!

Been very busy with quite a few performances in the past few weeks and a hectic spell coming up later this month of June.

I’ve also been working a lot on writing and recording some new songs, some of which are quite commercially accessible songs.

All for the next album which seems to be leaning towards the pop music genre more than anything else!
Maybe even some a bit of a departure from the norm for me … we’ll see … jury is still out on that 🙂
Also recording a studio version of the Julio Iglesias song ‘Amor’ with the excellent Fake Orchestra (You have to check these guys out!!)

So … no time to waste … things to do … keep following on Facebook for the regular updates as always.
At this rate, my next update will be autumn … but I’ll try to be a little better with making the gaps less 🙂

Come to some gigs … check the ‘Events’ section here … I always love to see you at any 🙂
And, thanks as always, for the support.

Omar x