Adam Pavlovčin (source: SME/Jozef Jakubčo)
Slovak singer ADAM PAVLOVČIN (29), also known as Adonxs, will represent the Czech Republic at the upcoming Eurovision. He cannot represent Slovakia because the country does not participate in the competition. "It is quite common to represent another country," he says, mentioning Czech singer Karel Gott, who once represented Austria, or Czech singer Aiko, who is going to represent San Marino this year. "In previous editions, it used to be more or less clear who would win by now, but there are several names making waves and nothing is certain," he explains.
This year, Eurovision is going to take place in Switzerland on May 13-17. How are you preparing for it?
It's sort of the musical Olympics. We started preparing last November. First, we premiered a more acoustic version of my song at the Maltese national selection. Since Czechia ran its own selection rather than a public round, we didn't have a video that people could react to, so we hitched a ride with Malta. We'll be travelling around Europe all April and performing in London, Amsterdam, and Madrid, where we'll be presenting the song at official events also known as 'Eurovision pre-parties'. I'll be performing with all the other participants. These performances can also influence the results. Everything in Eurovision has its own deadline, for example, we had to submit staging, costumes, and a lot of other documents so they could start working on it.
Is your pre-parties performance going to be the same we'll see in May?
No, these events don't have the space for a separate stage for each of the 37 participants. There will be dancers with us, but lighting- and stage-wise it won't be as extensive as it will be in Basel.
What is it like for you? Stressful, motivating?
Both. Sometimes I feel like I'm lagging behind, other days I tell myself I still have time. We train in intensive blocks. Now I'm very much focusing on the pre-parties. I also work with the stage designer, lighting designer, main cameraman; there are 15-20 people involved. You'll see some of it soon.
According to dramaturgy, you could be in the top five. I take it as a sort of official goal, but what is your personal one?
I'm taking it step by step. First, I want to make it to the finals, something Czechia didn't manage last year. Eurovision is unbelievably unpredictable, you cannot predict who will make it. Belgium was predicted to be in the top three last year, but in the end they didn't even make it to the finals. It's hard for me to answer this question. If I can at least make it to the top 15, I'll be very happy. The ambition is to bring the best result for the Czech Republic in history, which would mean making my way into the top 5. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to Eurovision. The competition has also started to attract established artists, with Loreen and Olly Alexander from Years & Years there last year. Tommy Cash will show up this time. Suddenly, you get to meet people who have experience, there is the chance to connect not only on a human, friendly level, but also on the professional level in the future. I'm looking forward to that.
Many were surprised that a Slovak would represent the Czech Republic, but I know that you consider Prague your home. How did you reconcile this duality?
