History Music / JokerOut

The group was formed in May of 2016 with the dissolution of a band called Apokalipsa. Three former members, then-highschooler Bojan Cvjetićanin, his lifelong best friend Martin Jurkovič and their mutual friend Matic Kovačič managed to join forces with two same-age peers: somewhat nepo-baby Kris Guštin, son of famous Slovenian rocker Gušti, and Jan Peteh, who had met Kris through guitar lessons. Released their first single ''Kot srce, ki kri poganja'' in November of that year and won the Špil league, a competition for student musical groups and soloists, in June. Spent most of 2017 performing at a myriad of different festivals and opening for various bigger acts, including Big Foot Mama, one of the three most successful rock bands Slovenia has ever seen.

The group was formed in May of 2016 with the dissolution of a band called Apokalipsa. Three of the former members, then-highschoolers Bojan Cvjetićanin, his lifelong best friend Martin Jurkovič and their mutual friend Matic Kovačič managed to join forces with two same-age peers: somewhat nepo-baby Kris Guštin, son of famous Slovenian rocker Gušti, and Jan Peteh, who had met Kris through guitar lessons. In November of that year, they released their first single ''Kot srce, ki kri poganja''. Won the Špil league, a competition for student musical groups and soloists, in June. Spent most of 2017 performing at a myriad of different festivals and opening for various bigger acts, including Big Foot Mama, one of the biggest rock bands Slovenia has seen to date.

* AbsentMindedProfessor: Jan is a self-dubbed ''bedroom multi-instrumentalist'', and often posts clips on Instagram of both incredibly smooth guitar playing as well as groovy, layered hip-hop beats he's working on. The guy wields music like a samurai does his sword. To top it off, he's in the process of getting his master's degree... in Mathematics. While actively working and touring with one of the biggest bands in Europe. He's ''brilliant''... and suits this trope to a T, because he forgets and/or loses things ''constantly'', zones out, sleeps in, can't be trusted to know the date, let alone the time, and generally processes thoughts with a slight delay. Nace's even mentioned that when they're out and about, someone always has to be keeping an eye on Jan and making sure he's with them; if left unattended, the guitarist will wander off like a stray cat.

ljubili se in se, igrali\\

->''"Mi bomo celo noč plesali\\
Ljubili se in se igrali\\
Kot da nas jutri več ne bo"''

->''"We'll dance and play until the stars fade,\\
across the sky we're writing our names,\\
Got no regrets, we want it all."''
-->-- "Carpe Diem (English Version)"

Started collaborating with legendary rock producer Žare Pak in 2019 and have been on a steady uphill climb ever since; by 2022, they were a considerable enough force on the Balkan music scene that when they submitted their entry for the Slovenian ESC preselection, ''the competition got called off.'' Finished 21st at ESC, but probably gained more from the experience than any other contestant (besides Finland). Spent the months after Eurovision touring, recording content & trying to balance the frankly insane amount of fame suddenly dropped on them with varying amounts of success.

To learn more, the vlog series' ''Carpe Diem'' and ''Welcome to the Backstage'' on Youtube are a great place to start & offer plenty of insight into how the band, their producers and friends work as a collective. Also provides a decent overview of the personalities that make up Joker Out. Which are all... [[TheDeterminator intense]] [[DeadpanSnarker in]] [[AbsentMindedProfessor their]] [[MellowFellow own]] [[GentleGiant right.]]

To learn more, the vlog series' ''Carpe Diem'' and ''Welcome to the Backstage'' on Youtube are a great place to start & offer plenty of insight into how the band, their producers and friends work as a collective. Also provides a decent overview of the personalities that make up Joker Out. Which are all... [[Determinator intense]] [[DeadpanSnarker in]] [[AbsentMindedProfessor their]] [[MellowFellow own]] [[GentleGiant right.]]

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Joker Out is an indie rock band from Slovenia. The group was formed in May of 2016 with the breakup of a band called Apokalipsa. Three of the members, then-highschoolers Bojan Cvjetićanin, Martin Jurkovič and Matic Kovačič were joined by same-age peers Kris Guštin and Jan Peteh from Buržuazija. In November of that same year, they released their first single ''Kot srce, ki kri poganja'' along with their first music video, and in June of 2017 became the winners of the Špil league, a competition for student musical groups and soloists. Helped along by the win, they spent most of 2017 and 2018 performing at a myriad of different festivals and opening for various bigger acts, including Music/BigFootMama, one of the biggest rock bands Slovenia has seen to date.

2019 saw the band's first time collaborating with (somewhat legendary) producer Žare Pak, who worked with the band on the single ''Gola'', the release of which was followed by ''Vem da greš'', in March 2020 and ''Umazane misli'' in October. Between the releases of ''Umazane misli'' and ''A sem ti povedal'' in July 2021, Jure Maček replaced drummer Matic Kovačič. From 2019 onwards, the release of every new single saw the band gaining traction amidst the Slovenian public, specifically the youth. In October of 2021, ''Umazane misli'' was voted to be the best new Slovenian composition of the year at the festival ''Frišno''/Fresh.

Originally supposed to be released in April 2020, but postponed several times due to the pandemic, Joker Out's first album ''Umazane misli'' was released in October 2021. It was presented at two consecutive concerts on October 20 and 21, 2021 in Cvetličarna, both of which already sold out completely during the previous year. The second concert was recorded and later broadcast on New Year's Eve by the Slovenian national television channel, RTV.

In two years, they received two Golden Flute ''(Zlata piščal)'' awards: one in 2020 for Newcomers of the Year, and one in 2021 for Performers of the Year.

In April 2022, they released a music video for ''Barve ocean'', the last single from ''Umazane misli.'' On the 12th of May, at the 8th Golden Flute Awards, they won Performer of the Year for the second time in a row. In August, they released their second album, ''Demoni,'' and held a presentation concert on September 9 at Križanke, a venue in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.

On October 10th, the band announced on Instagram that bassist Martin Jurkovič was leaving the band in order to commit to his education and study abroad. He was replaced by Nace Jordan from ''Diamanti,'' the in-house band of a popular Slovenian TV show, ''V petek zvečer''. He initially accompanied them at performances as a guest bassist, becoming an official member of the group by November. The first single off their second album, ''Katrina'', was followed at the end of October by ''Demoni'', their first single in Serbian, as their first official release for the ex-Yugoslavian market. On November 28, at the 10th Elle Style Awards, they received an award in the Elle Music category.

On December 8th, 2022, RTV Slovenia announced that Joker Out would represent Slovenia at the Series/EurovisionSongContest 2023 in Liverpool. Three days later, the band traveled to Hamburg, where they recorded the Eurovision song ''Carpe Diem'' at Clouds Hill studio. Before the end of the year, ''Barve oceana'' earned a MAC (short for Music Awards Ceremony, an annual popular music awards show for Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, North Macedonia and Montenegro) nomination for Rock Song of the Year and made it to the second round of voting, landing a place among the top 10 candidates. At the award ceremony in Belgrade in January, they were the only Slovenian performers to perform, namely with ''Demoni'', the live version of which was released on streaming platforms soon after.

To help put the popularity of Joker Out in their home country into perspective: on February 1st, 2022, the band claimed an award for the artist with the highest number of tickets sold in Slovenia in 2022, with sales largely owing to the band's upcoming concert in Stožice (the biggest indoor arena in the country) in October 2023, which was announced more than a year in advance.

On February 4, they performed their Eurovision song ''Carpe Diem'' publicly for the first time on national television. The single and video were released on the same day. As part of the promotional tour, they took part in Eurovision pre-parties in Barcelona, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Madrid, Amsterdam and London. In March, they were included in a list of 100 noteworthy music performers in Europe. On April 21, they released ''New Wave'', an English-Slovenian version of "Novi Val", recorded with acclaimed singer Elvis Costello.

At the Eurovision Song Contest, they performed tenth in the second semifinal on May 11th and qualified for the final, performing twenty-fourth, where they finished in 21st place. Their Eurovision experience has been immortalized in a series of vlogs on Youtube titled ''Carpe Diem Series,'' and a second season titled ''Welcome to the Backstage'' is currently airing.

* AbsentMindedProfessor: Jan is a self-dubbed ''bedroom multi-instrumentalist'', and often posts clips on Instagram of both incredibly smooth guitar playing as well as groovy, layered hip-hop beats he's working on. The guy wields music like a samurai does his sword. To top it off, the guy's working on getting a master's degree. In Mathematics. While actively working and touring with one of the biggest bands in Europe. He's ''brilliant''... and suits this trope to a T, because he forgets and/or loses things ''constantly'', zones out, sleeps in, can't be trusted to know the date, let alone the time, and generally processes thoughts with a slight delay. Nace's even mentioned that when they're out and about, someone always has to be keeping an eye on Jan and making sure he's with them; if left unattended, the guitarist will wander off like a stray cat.

* AllDrummersAreAnimals: Jure Maček, the drummer, is frequently compared to and can sometimes behave remarkably like a ginger cat. You'll often see him executing parkour stunts as if he's got nine lives to spare, spending free time draped over or perched on top of furniture or his fellow band members, and going through life with a confident, chilled out attitude and a mission to wreak moderate amounts of havoc. His surname, Maček, is Slovene for cat, and the rest of the band and crew often affectionately call him just that.

* MrFanservice: The entire band participates in on-stage antics, which can range from cute to sensual to mildly NSFW, usually depending on whether the concert is age restricted. Bojan's the most active and expressive out of the ensemble and his being the singer allows him to interact most with the audience. Kris tends to seem a bit reserved, but responds in turn to any advances Bojan or the others might make. Jure's interaction is limited by his spot at the drums, while Jan and Nace... usually have [[ShipTease their own thing]] going on.

On December 8th, 2022, RTV Slovenia announced that Joker Out would represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. Three days later, the band traveled to Hamburg, where they recorded the Eurovision song ''Carpe Diem'' at Clouds Hill studio. Before the end of the year, ''Barve oceana'' earned a MAC (short for Music Awards Ceremony, an annual popular music awards show for Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, North Macedonia and Montenegro) nomination for Rock Song of the Year and made it to the second round of voting, landing a place among the top 10 candidates. At the award ceremony in Belgrade in January, they were the only Slovenian performers to perform, namely with ''Demoni'', the live version of which was released on streaming platforms soon after.

* RebelliousSpirit: Characterizes the band's entire message and career. Especially brought to light in ''Proti toku'', a song off the band's first album, is all about proving skeptics wrong and paving their own way, regardless of how juvenile their passion, need for self-discovery and impulsiveness might seem to any naysayers. The title translates to "against the grain".

* BreakthroughHit: ''Gola'' for local audiences and ''Carpe Diem'', their Eurovision entry, internationally.

* EpicRiff: ''A Sem Ti Povedal'' has become known for this, but ''Vse Kar Vem'' and ''Sunny Side of London'' certainly qualify

Joker Out is an indie rock band from Slovenia. The group was formed in May of 2016 with the breakup of a band called Apokalipsa. Three of the members, then-highschoolers Bojan Cvjetićanin, Martin Jurkovič and Matic Kovačič were joined by same-age peers Kris Guštin and Jan Peteh from Buržuazija. In November of that same year, they released their first single "Kot srce, ki kri poganja" along with their first music video, and in June of 2017 became the winners of the Špil league, a competition for student musical groups and soloists. Helped along by the win, they spent most of 2017 and 2018 performing at a myriad of different festivals and opening for various bigger acts, including Music/BigFootMama, one of the biggest rock bands Slovenia has seen to date.

2019 saw the band's first time collaborating with (somewhat legendary) producer Žare Pak, who worked with the band on the single "Gola". "Gola" was followed by their fourth single, "Vem da greš", in March 2020 and "Umazane misli" in October. Between the releases of "Umazane misli" and "A sem ti povedal" in July 2021, Jure Maček replaced drummer Matic Kovačič. From 2019 onwards, the release of every new single saw the band gaining traction amidst the Slovenian public, specifically the youth. In October of 2021 "Umazane misli" was voted to be the best new Slovenian composition of the year at the festival Frišno/Fresh.

Originally supposed to be released in April 2020, but postponed several times due to the pandemic, Joker Out's first album Umazane misli was released in October 2021. It was presented at two consecutive concerts on October 20 and 21, 2021 in Cvetličarna, both of which already sold out completely during the previous year. The second concert was recorded and later broadcast on New Year's Eve by the Slovenian national television channel, RTV.

In two years, they received two Golden Flute (Zlata piščal) awards: one in 2020 for Newcomers of the Year, and one in 2021 for Performers of the Year.

In April 2022, they released a music video for "Barve oceana", the last single from Umazane misli. On the 12th of May, at the 8th Golden Flute Awards, they won Performer of the Year for the second time in a row. In August, they released their second album, Demoni, and held a presentation concert on September 9 at Križanke, a venue in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.

On October 10th, the band announced on Instagram that bassist Martin Jurkovič was leaving the band in order to commit to his education and study abroad. He was replaced by Nace Jordan from Diamanti, the in-house band of a popular Slovenian TV show, "V petek zvečer". He initially accompanied them at performances as a guest bassist, becoming an official member of the group by November. The first single off their second album, "Katrina", was followed at the end of October by "Demoni", their first single in Serbian, as their first official release for the ex-Yugoslavian market. On November 28, at the 10th Elle Style Awards, they received an award in the Elle Music category.

On December 8th, 2022, RTV Slovenia announced that Joker Out would represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. Three days later, the band traveled to Hamburg, where they recorded the Eurovision song "Carpe Diem" at Clouds Hill studio. Before the end of the year, "Barve oceana" earned a MAC (short for Music Awards Ceremony, an annual popular music awards show for Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, North Macedonia and Montenegro) nomination for Rock Song of the Year and made it to the second round of voting, landing a place among the top 10 candidates. At the award ceremony in Belgrade in January, they were the only Slovenian performers to perform, namely with "Demoni", the live version of which was released on streaming platforms soon after.

On February 4, they performed their Eurovision song "Carpe Diem" publicly for the first time on national television. The single and video were released on the same day. As part of the promotional tour, they took part in Eurovision pre-parties in Barcelona, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Madrid, Amsterdam and London. In March, they were included in a list of 100 noteworthy music performers in Europe. On April 21, they released "New Wave", an English-Slovenian version of "Novi Val", recorded with acclaimed singer Elvis Costello.

At the Eurovision Song Contest, they performed tenth in the second semifinal on May 11th and qualified for the final, performing twenty-fourth, where they finished in 21st place. Their Eurovision experience has been immortalized in a series of vlogs on Youtube titled Carpe Diem Series, and a second season titled Welcome to the Backstage is currently airing.

* AudienceParticipationSong: The band asks the audience to scream as loud as they can in 'Sunny Side of London' and even brought a device to measure said loudness to their Nordic tour. The award for loudest screamers went to the crowd in Turku, who beat the crowd before them with a margin of 0.4 units.

* BreakthroughHit: 'Gola' for local audiences and 'Carpe Diem', their Eurovision entry, internationally.
* BreakupSong: Most notably 'NGVOT' and 'Ona', though multiple other songs speak of relationships on the verge of falling apart.
* TheBusCameBack: Former band members Martin Jurkovič (bass) and Matic Kovačič (drums) made guest appearances at the band's massive sold-out concert at Stožice Arena on October 6, 2023 to perform their first-ever single 'Kot srce, ki kri poganja', and broke many a fan's heart when they proved that their camaraderie and love for the rest of the band is still going strong.

* ClusterFBomb: Bojan in the third episode of the band's second web series, Welcome to the Backstage, specifically, but Carpe Diem Series provides plenty of examples as well, and there exists a clip of him musing to himself whether he holds the record for the most bleeps in one episode of the series. It's mostly on purpose for comedic reasons; the guy is incredibly smart and well-spoken, but cares about making people laugh way more than he does showing off.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Demoni was much darker than their debut compilation album Umazane Misli, from the hauntingly beautiful strings in Metulji to the angsty, demanding lyrics and ominous chords of Ona.
* EarlyBirdCameo: NGVOT (Ne Govoriva Več O Tem) was performed for four years at concerts before being released in 2022 as a track on Demoni.
* EpicRiff: 'A sem ti povedal' has become known for this, but 'Vse Kar Vem' and 'Sunny Side of London' certainly qualify

* GratuitousPanning: Used liberally in many of their songs, most noticeably in 'Plastika', where the entire introduction is panned to the right.
* LyricalDissonance: 'NGVOT' is a fun and bouncy tune (accompanied by a similarly fun and bouncy dance from Kris and Nace onstage) about getting dumped and not talking to someone anymore. The lyrics laconically and bitterly about how devastating issues in communication can be on a relationship and the people in it. Translated lyrics include "ignorance suits you, it eases your worries".
** Similarly, Tokio is perhaps the most upbeat and happy-sounding song on the Demoni album... with its lyrics being a bittersweet reflection on a relationship that's over, and two lovers that will probably never meet again.
* MetalScream: During Demoni, Bojan typically screams his throat raw before going into the final chorus, having begun this during the UK Tour of July 2023. Not only does it throw a surprising and intense wrench into the flow of an otherwise repetitive song, but also works especially well with Bojan's performance of the song, which is... something to behold, to say the least.

* RebelliousSpirit: Characterizes the band's entire message and career, but especially brought to light in 'Proti toku', a song off the band's first album, is all about proving skeptics wrong and paving their own way, regardless of how juvenile their passion, need for self-discovery and impulsiveness might seem to any naysayers. The title translates to "against the grain".

* AudienceParticipationSong: The band asks the audience to scream as loud as they can in Sunny Side of London and even brought a device to measure said loudness to their Nordic tour. The award for loudest screamers went to the crowd in Turku, who beat the crowd before them with a margin of 0.4 units.

* BigGuyLittleGuy: Though Bojan isn't ''that'' short (178 centimeters), all of his bandmates still tower over him. This is especially pronounced whenever he stands next to Kris, who's a whopping 192 centimeters tall.
* BreakupSong: Most notably NGVOT and Ona, though multiple other songs speak of relationships on the verge of falling apart.
* TheBusCameBack: Former band members Martin Jurkovič (bass) and Matic Kovačič (drums) made guest appearances at the band's massive sold-out concert at Stožice Arena on October 6, 2023 to perform Kot srce, ki kri poganja, and broke many a fan's heart when they proved that their camaraderie and love for the rest of the band is still going strong.

* GratuitousPanning: Used liberally in many of their songs, most noticeably in Plastika, where the entire introduction is panned to the right.
* LyricalDissonance: NGVOT is a fun and bouncy tune (accompanied by a similarly fun and bouncy dance from Kris and Nace onstage) about getting dumped and not talking to someone anymore. The lyrics laconically and bitterly about how devastating issues in communication can be on a relationship and the people in it. Translated lyrics include "ignorance suits you, it eases your worries".

* RebelliousSpirit: Characterizes the band's entire message and career, but especially brought to light in Proti toku, a song off the band's first album, is all about proving skeptics wrong and paving their own way, regardless of how juvenile their passion, need for self-discovery and impulsiveness might seem to any naysayers. The title translates to "against the grain".

* RebelliousSpirit: Proti toku, a song off the band's first album, is all about proving skeptics wrong and paving their own way, regardless of how juvenile self-discovery and impulsiveness might seem to any naysayers. The title translates to "against the grain".

* TheBusCameBack: Former band members Martin Jurkovič (bass) and Matic Kovačič (drums) made guest appearances at Joker Out's sold-out concert at Stožice Arena on October 6, 2023, to perform Kot srce, ki kri poganja, and broke many a fan's heart when they proved that their camaraderie and love for the rest of the band is still going strong.
* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: All of the past and current members are decently well off in the looks department in their own ways, from guitarist Jan's [[TallDarkandHandsome James Dean style]] to Martin's timeless [[StoicSpectacles academic]] class, and saying the guys' handsomeness hasn't played a part in drawing fans to the band would be lying.

* MrFanservice: The entire band participates in on-stage antics, which can range from cute to sensual to mildly NSFW, usually depending on whether the concert is age restricted. Bojan's the most active and expressive out of the ensemble and his being the singer allows him to interact most with the audience. Kris tends to seem a bit reserved, but responds in turn to any advances Bojan or the others might make. Jure's interaction is limited by his spot at the drums, while Jan and Nace... usually have [[ShipTease their own thing]] going on.

* LyricalDissonance: NGVOT is a fun and bouncy tune (accompanied by a similarly fun and bouncy dance from Kris and Nace onstage) about getting dumped and not talking to someone anymore, full of lyrics about how devastating issues in communication can be on a relationship and the people in it. Translated lyrics include "ignorance suits you, it eases your worries".

* MrFanservice: The entire band participates in on-stage antics, which can range from cute to sensual to mildly NSFW, usually depending on whether the concert is age restricted. Bojan's the most active and expressive out of the ensemble and his being the singer allows him to interact most with the audience. Kris tends to seem a bit reserved, but responds in turn to any advances Bojan or the others might make. Jure's interaction is limited by his spot at the drums, while Jan and Nace... have their own thing going on.

* MetalScream: During Demoni, Bojan typically screams his throat raw before going into the final chorus, having begun this during the UK Tour of July 2023. Not only does it throw a surprising and intense wrench into the flow of an otherwise repetitive song, but also works especially well with Bojan's performance of the song, which is... sensual, to say the least.

* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: All of the past and current members are decently well off in the looks department in their own ways, from guitarist Jan's [[TallDarkandHandsome James Dean style]] to Martin's academic beauty and saying the guys' handsomeness hasn't played a part in drawing fans to the band would be lying.

At the Eurovision Song Contest, they performed tenth in the second semifinal on May 11th and qualified for the final, performing twenty-fourth, where they finished in 21st place. Their Eurovision experience has been immortalized in a series of vlogs on Youtube titled 'Carpe Diem Series', and a second season titled 'Welcome to the Backstage' is currently airing.

* AllDrummersAreAnimals: Jure Maček, the drummer, is frequently compared to and can sometimes behave remarkably like a ginger cat. His surname even translates to it.

* ClusterFBomb: Bojan in the third episode of the band's second web series, "Welcome to the Backstage", specifically, but Carpe Diem Series provides plenty of examples as well, and there exists a clip of him musing to himself whether he holds the record for the most bleeps in one episode of the series. It's mostly on purpose for comedic reasons; the guy is incredibly smart and well-spoken, but cares about making people laugh way more than he does showing off.

* AudienceParticipationSong: 'Scream as loud as you can' in Sunny Side of London
* AllDrummersAreAnimals: Jure Maček, the drummer, is frequently compared to, and behaves like a cat. His surname even translates to it.
* TheBusCameBack: Former band members Martin Jurkovič (bass) and Matic Kovačič (drums) made guest appearances at Joker Out's sold-out concert at Stožice Arena on October 6, 2023, to perform the band's first single 'Kot srce, ki kri poganja'.
* ClusterFBomb: Bojan in the third episode ('Studio') of 'Welcome to the Backstage'.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Their second studio album, Demoni, both lyrically and musically was much darker than their debut compilation album Umazane Misli.

* GratuitousPanning: Used liberally in many of their songs, most noticeably in 'Plastika', where the entire introduction is panned to the right.
* LyricalDissonance: NGVOT is a fun and bouncy tune (accompanied by a similarly fun and bouncy dance from Kris and Nace onstage) about being dumped and not talking to someone anymore. Translated lyrics include "ignorance suits you, it eases your worries".
* MetalScream: During Demoni, Bojan typically screams before going into the final chorus, having begun this during the UK Tour of July 2023.

At the Eurovision Song Contest, they performed tenth in the second semifinal on May 11th and qualified for the final, performing twenty-fourth, where they finished in 21st place. Their Eurovision experience has been immortalized in a series of vlogs on Youtube titled Carpe Diem Series.