[citation needed] Kaliopi returned to the music scene as a solo performer in the Republic of Macedonia and competed at the 1996 edition of Skopje Fest, the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 1996.

[citation needed] Kaliopi began re-establishing herself in the music scene of Macedonia, composing songs for other artists and releasing her solo debut album, "Oboi me" in December 1999.

[citation needed] On 16 February 2002, Kaliopi took part in Skopje Fest 2002 as a composer and a backing vocalist for the song "Pesna za nas", which was performed by Gorgi Krstevski.

This was also the first solo album to feature songs in the Serbo-Croatian language and it also included Kaliopi's first single aimed at the ex-Yugoslavian market titled "Smeh".

[4] However, she still remained part of the competition as a composer, supplying selection finalist Aleksandra Pileva with the song "Ne", which ultimately placed third.

[citation needed] On 12 July 2006, Kaliopi performed at the Montenegrin festival Suncane Skale with the Serbian version of the song "Silna" and was placed third.

[citation needed] In late 2006, Kaliopi celebrated her 30-year jubilee as an artist, performing at a huge concert at the Universal Hall in Skopje.

She received critical praise for her performance of "Ako denot mi e nokj", which she dedicated to the late Toše Proeski, who had been involved in a tragic accident just a month earlier.

On 6 July 2008, Kaliopi participated at the 48th edition of the Split Festival, performing the song "Za tebe čuvam sebe", which was written by Croatian singer Alka Vuica.

[citation needed] In November 2009, Kaliopi released the album "Oblivion", a collaborative work with Edin Karamazov which featured 11 world-famous songs performed in nine languages with musical arrangements for the baroque lute and guitar.

She recorded the song "Nevinost" as part of "Miligram", an ex-Yugoslavian compilation album project by composer Aleksandar Milić Mili.

[citation needed] In December 2010, Kaliopi released the album "Poraka", for which she collaborated with Darko Juranović "D'Knock", Tihomir Preradović, Miroslav Rus and Rambo Amadeus.

The album contained the duet "Denot si budi" with Slovenian singer Marko Vozelj and "Ako Još Ikad Padne Snijeg" with Edin Karamazov.

[citation needed] On 19 November 2011, MRT invited Kaliopi to represent Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

[5][6] Prior to her Eurovision performance, Kaliopi promoted the song in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ukraine and Belarus.

[citation needed] The release of "Crno i belo" also marked a renewed cooperation between Kaliopi and Romeo Grill after the twelve-year pause.

The online festival focused on the social networks within which audience voted and selected the best video cover for some of the songs from the album "Melem".