Prior to the 2009 Contest, Slovakia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest three times since its first entry in . The nation's best placing in the contest was eighteenth, which it achieved in 1996 with the song "Kým nás máš" performed by Marcel Palonder. Slovakia's least successful result has been 21st place, which they have achieved in 1998 with the song "Modlitba" performed by Katarína Hasprová.