Joker Out, a hugely popular pop rock band from Ljubljana who describe their style as shagadelic rock'n'roll, will represent Slovenia at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool.

The public broadcaster RTV Slovenija announced the pick on 8 December, having decided to invite a band of its choice.

Vanja Vardjan, editor-in-chief of the entertainment programme at RTV Slovenija, described Joker Out as "currently the hottest band" in the country.

Their Eurovision song is scheduled to premiere on 4 February 2023 on RTV Slovenija, with a video clip to follow a day later. They will sing in Slovenian.

They already have the music for the song, but not yet the lyrics, and will travel to a recording studio in Hamburg, Germany, on 10 December.

"We stand behind our music and our achievements and it feels right to be able to show that at Eurovision," Bojan Cvjetićanin, the singer, said. The band say they are going to Liverpool to win.

Except in 2013, the country's entrant has always been picked through the national EMA contest, which includes a public vote.

The decision to invite the entrant directly came after Slovenia's entries failed to make it to the finale for the past two consecutive years. The 2013 entry did not make it to the finals either.

Formed in 2016, the band has released two albums. Their concerts have been sold out.