After failing to qualify for the final since the semi-finals were introduced, Estonia have chosen what could be described as a ‘nonsense’ song to keep their hopes alive until the end of Eurovision week for the first time since 2003.
Estonia’s show for choosing their song, the Eurolaul, was held on Saturday 2nd February. Hosted by Marko Reikop and former Estonian representative Ines, ten songs vied for the opportunity to revive their country’s fortunes.
Kreisiraadio – Leto Svet. An interesting combination to start the show, a couple of not exactly good looking gentlemen dancing like the embarrassing uncle at a wedding doing the singing and, erm, dancing and behind them three young ladies waving Estonian flags wearing not very much. It’s one of those that goes for wide international appeal. The language changed from being mainly Serbian, the Estonian flag was swapped for German and then Finnish flags. There was a bit of French accordion and a slice of Irish dancing.
SKA Faktor – Real Big Money. Not surprisingly, there is more than a hint of ska about this song but it’s catchy enough and would appeal to more than aging Madness fans.
Rolf Junior – One on One. The third song of the night maintains the same pace throughout which could lose the interest of some of the viewers. Worth staying with, though as one of the backing singers looks like she’s escaped from Alice in Wonderland – the Musical.
Taavi Peterson – Question Man. Some of the notes proved too much for Taavi. This was one of the strangest performances of a song which seemed to lack much structure. His backing singers looked like they were his mates from the pub.
Kristjan Kasearu & Paradise Crew – Üksinduses. This was the first song of the night in Estonian but it is possible to imagine several British bands such as Travis, having a hit with an English version.
Birgit Õigemeel – 365 Days. Simple songs well sung often do well in the contest, especially if they are sung by a female. This is one of those songs, a gentle ballad at the start which builds well.
Luisa Värk & Traffic – It’s Never Too Late. This is a nice enough song but might need to be heard a few times to be given time to grow on the listener. It’s a soft rock number competently performed.
Supernova – Stefani. While it doesn’t sound like ‘Eighties Coming Back’ and they are both clearly different songs, there are elements in this song and performance which are reminiscent of the 2003 Estonian entry.
Iiris Vesik – Ice-cold Story. Starting with a string arrangement, this develops into a song that Catatonia might have put on one of their albums. It might be that the singer sounds not unlike Cerys Matthews that leads to this conclusion. Some of the backing artists are dressed in overcoats, some have not even a shirt on.
Luisa Värk & Margus Vaher – God Inside Your Soul. For Luisa’s second visit of the night to the stage, she was partnered by Margus and together they sung this very nice mid-tempo ballad.
While the good people of Estonia were casting their votes, they were entertained by Gerli Padar, singing an acoustic version of ‘Partners in Crime’ which actually worked very well. Following Gerli was Sahlene who performed ‘Brief and Beautiful’, sadly not a description of her outfit. Finishing the entertainment was a band whose name seemed to make them contenders for the Junior version of the contest, the Bedwetters.
After that, the votes were in. Only the top 3 weren’t revealed as they were to compete in another televote to determine the winner. Positions 4 – 10 were as follows;
4th Rolf Junior – One on One – 2660
5th Margus Vaher – God Inside Your Soul – 2399
6th SKA Faktor – Real Big Money – 1444
7th Kristjan Kasearu & Paradise Crew – Üksinduses – 1189
8th Luisa Värk & Traffic – It’s Never Too Late – 866
9th Taavi Peterson – Question Man – 837
10th Supernova – Stefani – 646
After another interval, the top 3 were revealed, in reverse order naturally.
3rd Birgit Õigemeel – 365 Days – 12990
2nd Iiris Vesik – Ice-cold Story – 30963
1st Kreisiraadio – Leto Svet – 52518
So, an easy victory for the nonsense song. To see if it can go where no Estonian song has been for five years, tune in to the first semi-final on Tuesday 20th May.
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In my view
Estonia could have had a beautiful song to show the world but no, they’ve gone for a song which is possibly the worst they’ve ever sent, and remember we are talking about Estonia! By the forces of irony, this means they will probably qualify for the final and finish in the top ten. Does the phrase LT United ring any bells?
The opinion expressed in "In my view" are those of the author and are not necessarily the one of EuroVisionary.com.
