Ahead of her participation in Dora 2026, Croatia’s selection for Eurovision 2026, Rory was able to speak with ZEVIN. She is aiming to go to Vienna with her song “My Mind”.
Check out our interview with ZEVIN here!
In the interview, Rory and ZEVIN chat about her pan-Balkan popularity, her connections with Konstrakta and her thoughts on her being called a “hyperpop” artist. She also reflects on her Eurovision memories, recalls her favourite songs and explains how she is hoping Croatia will accept her style as her own. The pair also joke over her dog as it appears to be on the lookout for a cat, causing chaos during the interview.
Who is ZEVIN?
ZEVIN is the stage name of Nives Cilenšek, a 23-year-old singer-songwriter born in Slovenia. Growing up across the Balkans, ZEVIN honed her craft in the visual world, working in films and performance art as well as music. Her music has long been characterised as “hyperpop” in genre; however, she prefers to be called a “bubblegum” artist from the Balkans. She has also taken creative direction of her entire project from the get go, and has recorded her own music videos and set up her own studio. Her song for Dora 2026, “My Mind”, was written by ZEVIN herself, alongside Jernej Drnovšek.
Croatia’s Eurovision journey
Croatia has been a part of the Eurovision family since 1961, as part of Yugoslavia. Ten Croatian artists went on to represent Yugoslavia in the Contest – the most famous of which being Riva, who gave Yugoslavia its only win in 1989. The 1990 Contest was held in Zagreb as a tribute to their Croatian heritage. Croatia debuted in the Contest as an independent nation in 1993 with the band Put and their song “Don’t Ever Cry”. Since then, Croatia has gone on to score as high as 2nd place in 2024.
In 2025, Croatia chose Marko Bošnjak to represent the nation in Basel with his song “Poison Cake”. Performing in the first semi-final, Croatia failed to qualify for the final, placing twelfth with a televote score of 28 points.
What do you think of our interview with ZEVIN? Who do you think will represent Croatia at Eurovision this year? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2026!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Erik Koletnik
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