Estonia

Estonia: Eesti Laul, 1st semifinal

Tonight is the night: Eesti Laul will have it’s first semifinal. Out of 10 songs, 6 will be chosen to go to the final: four of them by a 50/50 jury-televoting. After that, two more songs will be chosen by televoting only. The show will be aired on ETV at 21:20 CET and you can watch it here. The contestants are: “House of glass”, sung by Janek “Pretty girl”, sung by Ellip “Valik”, sung by Kaw “Unicorn vibes”, sung by Merlyn “Üks samm korraga”, sung by Mia “Tokimeki”, sung by Neon Letters & Maiko “Venom”, sung by Ollie “Why do you love me”, sung by Andreas “Monsters”, sung by The Bedwetters “You need to move on”, sung by Anett & Fredi Mia took part in the semifinal of Eesti Laul 2012Joosep Järvesaar (The Bedwetters) took part in 2016 as a member of the band Cartoon. They became 3rd.Karl-Kristjan Kingi (The Bedwetters) took part in 2017 (4th) and 2018 (5th)Annett & Fredi took part in 2020 and became 3rd.

Stefan Airapetjan

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameStefan Airapetjan Born24 december 1997 Nationality🇪🇪 Estonian National SelectionEesti Laul 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 In Eurovision2022 Turin SongHope (2022) Biography Stefan Airapetjan (mostly known as Stefan) is an Estonian singer with Armenian roots. He was born Din Viljandi, Estonia. In the 2010/2011 season, Stefan participated in the ETV children’s singing competition Laulukarussell (Singing Carousel) and reached the finals. Hedi-Kai Pai has been his tutor and vocal teacher for many years. He participated in Eesti Laul, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, several times. His debut in the contest was with the band Vajé in 2018. Vajé became 3rd with the song “Laura (Walk with Me)”. He participated as a solo singer in the song contest Eesti Laul 2019, where he took third place with the song “Without You”, and Eesti Laul 2020, where he took 7th place. In the spring of 2020, he participated in the program “The masked singer”, which he won. In Eesti Laul 2022, Stefan won the first place with the song “Hope” and has thus been chosen to represent Estonia at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy. Entries Hope Country🇪🇪 Estonia Year2022 LanguageEnglish LyricsStefan Airapetjan MusicStefan AirapetjanKarl-Ander Reismann Backings– Results Semi Points: 209Position: 5Running order: 12 Results Finals Points: 141Position: 13Running order: 25 https://youtu.be/GdTpQmMem8U

And the last ten finalists are….

Yes, the die is cast again. Ten songs will go through to the final, to be exactly the ten countries you will find below: Belgium Czech Republic Azerbaijan Poland Finland Estonia Australia Sweden Romania Serbia Congratulations to the ten winners. And remember: only ten songs could go through. That does not mean that the other songs are bad.

Our prediction for the 2nd semifinal

Two days ago we made a prediction for the first semi-final. Okay, no Albania and Latvia, but Moldova and Iceland instead. But don’t forget: we got no less than eight countries right! That’s why we’re taking the risk for another prediction tonight, this time for the second semifinal. We think that these are the countries that will advance to the final tomorrow: Finland: Who doesn’t know The Rasmus? These rockers have a huge fan base all over Europe. They will vote en masse. Finland makes it to the final. Serbia: The bookmakers are even predicting that Serbia will finish in the top-10. The act with washing hands will be appreciated by enough people for a place in the final. Unfortunately, Britain’s Prince Harry lives in the US. He would definitely vote for this song that mentions his wife. Azerbaijan: This country almost always makes it to the final according to a fixed recipe: a foreign team writes a song. A strong act is built around it. A guarantee for success! Australia: This song is one you either love or hate. There are plenty of people who really appreciate the act with the mask and feathers. The message also gets across. Sheldon is also a very good singer. Cyprus: A surprising song in Greek. Cyprus is not necessarily high on all lists, but it is just such a number that still gets enough appreciation to reach the final tomorrow evening. Estonia: This song makes people happy. And if there’s one thing we need right now, it’s hope, and what’s this song about….? Stefan will be in the final on Saturday. Romania: Spain votes in this semi-final and that helps, but in the meantime WRS also puts on a slick show. We think there is a good chance that it will be a final place. Poland: This is one of two entries on which our entire team is unanimous: Poland goes to the final with the rock-solid, well-sung ballad. Welcome back in the final, Poland! Belgium: The Belgian gospel song is one of a kind, well sung and therefore stands out in a positive way. Although the Belgians themselves seem to have doubts, we are convinced of a place in the final for Jérémie Makiese. Sweden: If Sweden doesn’t go to the final, nobody will. Even when everything went wrong, Cornelia Jacobs remained professional. The bookmakers are still predicting a very high position. But are we right? We’ll know in about 24 hours!

Day 7: A crystal mask, a thunderstorm and Murphy’s Law

The penultimate day of rehearsal: it is becoming increasingly clear what the viewer can expect. Today we saw the last artists of the second semifinal. Let’s take a closer look at the rehearsals: AUSTRALIA: Whatever you think of Sheldon Riley, he sings like no other. During his emotional ballad he wears the white suit with the enormous drag of feathers. He wears his crystal mask for most of the act, but it goes off. It can’t be difficult for Australia to make it to the final. CYPRUS: For the first time in years, Cyprus is singing (partially) in Greek again. Andromache and her dancers stand in a kind of shell as they sing the song. We have to admit that we would describe Andromache’s vocals as ‘not bad’. If is that a recommendation….? IRELAND: Ireland falls into the ‘how nice’ category. Brooke’s vocals are certainly not bad, neither is the act. However, you may wonder if this is the song with which Ireland will finally reach the final again. We cannot rule out the possibility that it will not work. NORTH MACEDONIA: Perhaps Andrea had hoped for greater success. She was not happy with her first rehearsal. The song comes across as screaming; a hoarseness that suits Kaliopi (2012 and 2016) but not Andrea. ESTONIA: Unfortunately, Stefan can’t count on the 12 points from Armenia, because the country where his roots lie is performing in the other semifinal. The many movements he makes do have an effect on Stefan’s voice, but somehow it doesn’t seem to matter for the entry. It is a happy song that can easily go through to the final. ROMANIA: The Romanians made some minor changes to the act, making it even better and slicker. Furthermore, it seemed as if WRS had changed the melody of the chorus a little bit here and there. In any case, a spectacular show is in store for Romania. POLAND: The ballad of Polen starts very calmly with Ochman alone on stage. Halfway through, when the song becomes a little less quiet, the aforementioned dancers (forest nymphs?) come on stage. We see that a heavy thunderstorm erupts on the stage. Finally a strong contender for Poland agiain. MONTENEGRO: A ballad in which not much happens in 3 minutes. The advantage is that not much can go wrong. We had already mentioned the blue dress that Vladana is wearing. Behind her a circle that most resembles the fluff ball of a dandelion. It is not sure whether it stands out enough to go to the final. BELGIUM: The Belgians have a strong singer with a gospel-like power ballad in Jérémie Makiese. He will definitely get points for that. Fortunately, because the act he shows looks a bit stiff and doesn’t really do justice to the song and singer. SWEDEN: Murphy’s Law strikes. If one thing goes wrong, everything immediately goes wrong. Problems with the sound, problems with the technique and a falling cameraman meant that she was only able to do one whole runthrough. Cornelia did manage to show how professional she is, by showing a good rehearsal even with all that trouble. CZECH REPUBLIC: The act with lots of light and nice graphics fits very well with the Czech entry. In that respect it is a unity. The vocals, however, leave a lot to be desired. That could cost them their heads if it has to be clear who will go to the final.

Day 4: new sun troubles, a Swedish circle and many more

Today is the day of the stage again. Today the EBU has made an official statement about it: “During the technical tests in Turin, the production team has experienced challenges with how long it takes to adjust the “sun” to different positions in the time between the different performances. Together with the host station RAI it was therefore decided that the sun will remain in the same position during all 40 songs, to ensure a fair competition for all participating countries.”. What position that is, is still being discussed. So to be continued again. It is certain that a number of countries now have to make changes in their staging. Meanwhile, 9 countries rehearsed for their performance in the second semifinal. IRELAND: Brooke takes the stage in a bright blue suit. During her performance she is assisted by four dancers. They start the song lying on the floor! Ireland uses many floor projections. Brooke is also praised by Eurovision.tv for her strong voice. Pyrotechnics are used at the end of her performance. NORTH MACEDONIA: Andrea stands alone on the podium for North Macedonia. She sings her song completely wrapped in black leather. In her performance she uses the lifting bridges over the water. Shadows of hands are visible on the LED screens. The sun is not only orange but also white and blue. ESTONIA: Stefan starts his performance on the B stage. He is accompanied only by his guitar. Later in the song, he goes wild: then he uses the entire stage to present his performance. The two cowboys from the national final stayed home. ROMANIA: WRS from Romania wears glittering wetlook trousers. He also wears a red blouse, but according to Eurovision tradition, that goes off. He turns out to be wearing a sleeveless shirt with glitter underneath. There is a lot of dancing. As a result, the Romanian likely gets a lot of attention from the crowd. POLAND: The Polish competitor Ochman is also in black, he wears a black suit. He is assisted by four dancers, who seem to represent some kind of water spirits. Flashing light effects can be seen during the performance. The waterfall on the stage is also used… what else could we expect with a song about a river? MONTENEGRO: Vladana has her entire performance on the B stage. She wears a blue dress during her performance. The background is also blue, with splashes of white as graphics. Vladana mainly remains in one place. BELGIUM: The Belgian Jérémie Makiese impressed with his song. Jérémie is flanked by four dancers. He himself wears blue-grey trousers, a black shirt and a silver jacket, while the dancers wear black jackets. At the end of the act all the light falls on Jérémie, who is standing on a platform on which flames are projected. SWEDEN: Cornelia Jakobs ranks high among the bookmakers. As the Swedes always do, Cornelia Jakobs also puts on the same act as during the national final Melodifestivalen. The starry sky at the beginning, the large, first green and then red, circular plate right behind Cornelia, even the silver-black clothing and the bare feet are the same. CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czech group We Are Domi is the last to rehearse today. The group uses a lot of light, which makes you feel like you’re in a disco. Funny effect: the ‘sun’ on stage looks like a vinyl album here. Eurovision.tv mentions the cello-string guitar: the guitarist made it himself.

Blast from the past: Estonia 2004

We know a lot about Eurovision; this is knowledge we want to share with you. Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Today: the 2004 Estonian entry. Semifinal 2004 was the first year that Eurovision knew a semifinal. The best scoring countries of the year before automatically went to the final. As Estonia was not among them, they had to participate in the semifinal first. Ten semifinalists would join the other countries in the final. Eurolaul The Estonian national final for the contest was called Eurolaul in these days. Artists and composers could submit their songs for the final, to be held on february 7th in the ETV Studios in Tallinn. Maarja-Liis Illus (as Maarja) and former winner Tanel Padar (with Slobodan River) were familiar faces for the Eurovision family. The complete field of participants was: 1.”Surrounded“, by Slobodan River, 3rd with 2080 votes2.”Dance“, by Ewert Sundja, 7th with 640 votes3.”Turn the tide“, by Zone & The Cardinals, 8th with 581 votes4.”Whatever you say“, by Charlene, 6th with 785 votes5.”I wanna stay“, by Airi Ojamets, 9th with 393 votes6.”Whenever blue“, by Hatuna & Sofia Rubina, 10th with 188 votes7.”Homme“, by Maarja, 4th with 1320 votes8.”Tii“, by Neiokõsõ, 1st with 8696 votes9.”Beautiful inside“, by Kerli Kõiv, 2nd with 3638 votes10.”I’ll give you a mountain“, by Charizma, 5th with 1157 votes Neiokõsõ The all girl band Neiokõsõ was made up of the sisters Anu and Triinu Taul, Diana Põld, Astrid Böning and Kadri Uutma. The group was made up especially for Eurolaul by producer/composer Priit Pajusaar. For the live performance at Eurolaul, and later the Eurovision Song Contest, Peeter Jõgioja joined the group. “Tii” was their only song, shortly after the Eurovision Song Contest the group split up. Tii It was said that the song “Tii” was inspired by “Sanomi”, the song Urban Trad brought to the second place in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003. The song was sung in the Võro-language. The title “Tii” means road. You can find the entire lyrics here. Võro is a language of the Uralic language family. It is spoken by 87,000 people in the southern part of Estonia. Results In the semifinal “Tii” received the 12 points from two countries: Finland and Latvia. Lithuania gave it 10 points. In total, the song received 57 points. That was enough for an 11th place. It was not enough for a place in the final for Estonia. photo credits: Daniel Aragay, Wikimedia Commons

Road to Rotterdam: Estonia

Uku Suviste was supposed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest last year. Because the contest was canceled, he could not perform his song “What love is”. The Estonian broadcaster did not immediately show confidence for the 2021 contest. Suviste simply had to participate in a national final with no fewer than 20 songs. He managed to win it with “The lucky one”.

Uku Suviste

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameUku Suviste Born06 June 1982 Nationality🇪🇪 Estonian National SelectionEesti Laul 2017Eesti Laul 2019Eesti Laul 2020Eesti Laul 2021 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongThe lucky one (2021)What love is (2020, cancelled) Biography Uku Suviste is an Estonian singer, pianist, songwriter and music producer. He was born in Võru. He has sung in the Tallinn Boys ‘Choir and the Lydia Rahula School Boys’ Choir. When Uku joined the Tallinn Music School, he followed solfeggio lessons and piano. He graduated from the music school in 1997. He studied pop-jazz singing at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School in 2002. Uku participated in the Uno Naissoo Young Composers’ Contest more than once. In 2004, his song “Never Have To” was awarded the Uno Naissoo Special Prize. A year later, he took part in the same competition with the six-voice a cappella vocal ensemble Sõbrad, They became second. Also in 2005, Uku took part in the show Kaks takti ette, where he became 3rd. After this, he worked as a producer at the Elmar Liitmaa Rockhouse Music Studio. By the end of the year, his first single “It’s christmas time” was released. In 2006, he has completed a year and a half in singing and music production at Berklee College of Music in the United States. Uku was the second vocal soloist and keyboard player in the band Lament, which deals with R&B and disco music of the 1980s. In 2008, he returned to the Naissoo Young Composers’ Contest and won it with the song “Refreshing”. In November 2008, the album “Beautiful Tim”e was released in collaboration with Birgit Õigemeel. Uku’s main activity was arranging songs, and the album featured several duets between Birgit and Uku. In 2010, Uku Suviste participated in the international song contest “New Wave” in Jūrmala. Uku, who represented Estonia, reached the 3rd place. In 2011, he was supposed to participate in Eesti Laul, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. However, he was disqualified because the song “Jagatud öö” was already used for other purposes in 2004. In 2012, he co-wrote the music video “Invincible” with Estonian Defense Forces and UNICEF for Estonian and foreign soldiers participating in missions and their families. Uku has performed in musicals such as “Oliver Twist”, “Chicago” and “West Side Story”. In 2017, he took part in Eesti Laul but did not reach the final. He had more luck in 2019 with the song “Pretty little liar”, which was the runner up. In 2020, he was chosen to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “What love is”. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen due to the corona crisis. However, in 2021 he won Eesti Laul again, this time with the song “The lucky one”. He went on to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. Entries The lucky one Country🇪🇪 Estonia Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsSharon VaughnUku Suviste MusicUku Suviste BackingsKaarel Orumägi Results Semi Points: 58Position: 13Running order: 2 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/mhMZQyv_Fhw What love is Country🇪🇪 Estonia Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsSharon Vaughn MusicUku Suviste Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/3EIQ6U039ms

Urban Symphony

About Quick Facts MembersSandra NurmsaluMann HelsteinJohanna MängelMari Möldre Active2007 – 2010 Nationality🇪🇪 Estonian National SelectionEesti Laul 2009 In Eurovision2009 Moscow SongRändajad (2009) Biography Urban Symphony was an Estonian music group. In autumn 2007, Sandra Nurmsalu participated in the singing talent show 2 takti ette, organized biennially by Eesti Televisioon and broadcast nationwide. During one week of the contest, contestants were tasked with forming their own bands and producing a performance. Nurmsalu, who had studied violin for two years at the Georg Ots Music School and previously arranged Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” for a string ensemble, decided to form a string-based band. She recruited Mann Helstein on viola, Johanna Mängel on cello, a female contrabass player, and a male keyboardist from her former school. The newly formed band re-arranged the song “Hungry” by Kosheen, resulting in a well-received televised and recorded performance. After the talent show ended, Nurmsalu, Helstein, and Mängel decided to continue their collaboration. They brought in new cello player Mari Möldre and began working with music producer Sven Lõhmus. Their first completed track was “Rändajad”, which they entered into Eesti Laul, Estonia’s selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The song earned them a 6th place finish in the Eurovision final. For this project, Marilin Kongo and Mirjam Mesak joined the group as backing vocalists. They also performed in other songs such as “Päikese poole”, “Skorpion”, and “Crying in the Rain”. In 2010, Urban Symphony announced their disbandment. The decision came as Sandra Nurmsalu wished to prioritize motherhood, while the other members chose to continue their studies and pursue other interests. Sandra Nurmsalu participated in Eesti Laul twice more. In 2014 her song “Kui tuuled pööprduvad” reached a 5th place, while “Soovide puu” was 8th in 2019. Entries Rändajad Country🇪🇪 Estonia Year2009 LanguageEstonian LyricsSven Lõhmus MusicSven Lõhmus BackingsMirjam MesakMarilin Kongo Results Semi Points: 115Position: 3Running order: 18 Results Finals Points: 129Position: 6Running order: 15 https://youtu.be/gi0FEO2tFFA?si=4PR2hl24THvalkOh