Estonia: Eesti Laul 2023 First Semi-Final tonight!

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The nationa final season of Eurovision 2023, continues tonight with the first semi-final of Eesti Laul 2023, the third national final to take place after that of Ukraine and Albania.

ERR, Estonia’s public broadcaster, decided to remove the qualifying rounds after a year of use, back in the 2022 edition. So this year’s Eesti Laul will begin right from the two semi-finals and then the Grand Final, where the representative of Estonia will be decided.

Τhe hosts for this year’s edition will be Grete Kuld and Tõnis Niinemets who are going to host the show once again, two years later, after successfully hosting Eesti Laul 2021.

The first semi-final of Eesti Laul 2023 will be broadcasted this evening at 18:30 CET and will last about three hours. You can the show through the official website of ERR, by clicking HERE.

The Participants of the first semi-final of Eesti Laul 2023:

In the list below, you can see the ten artists and the songs, competing in the first semi-final Eesti Laul 2023 (You can listen to each song by clicking on their title):

  1. JANEK – “House of Glass”
  2. Ellip – “Pretty Girl”
  3. Kaw – “Valik”
  4. MERLYN – “Unicorn Vibes”
  5. MIA – “Üks samm korraga” (One step at a time)
  6. Neon Letters & Maiko – “Tokimeki” (Palpitation)
  7. OLLIE – “Venom”
  8. Andreas – “Why Do You Love Me”
  9. Bedwetters – “Monsters”
  10. Anett x Fredi – “You Need to Move On”

Eesti Laul 2023

In total, 20 songs are going to take part in Eesti Laul 2023, after being selected by ERR’s competent jury. Ten song will compete in each of the two semi-finals, with the six best songs advancing for the Final.

Each semi-final has two rounds of voting. In the first voting round, five songs will be selected by the jury vote combined with the public vote, while in the second round, one song will qualify for the final solely based on the televote.

In the Grand Final the show will have two rounds of voting. The first round will determine the entries that will advance to the Super Final, 50% by the jury and 50% by the TV audience. There the Estonian representative is selected by 100% televoting .

The program of Eesti Laul 2023

  • First Semi-Final – Thursday January 12
  • Second Semi-final – Saturday  January 14
  • Grand Final – Saturday February 11

Until we learn who is going to represent Estonia in Eurovision 2023, lets remember their song for last year’s contest. The previous winner of Eesti Laul and Estonia’s representative in Eurovision 2022 was Stefan with the song “Hope“,  who ended up in 13th place in the Grand Final, while on the same time he brough his country back to the final after a non-qualification in 2021:

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Estonian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, in Liverpool!

Eurovision 2023: Semi-final allocation draw scheduled for the end of January!

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In the latest episode of ” The Euro Trip podcast”, Councilor and Deputy Mayor of Liverpool Harry Doyle was a guest and spoke among others things, about the preparations for Eurovision 2023.

The allocation draw for the semi finals is any important date, since it marks the official start of the Eurovision season. During the event, the draw to determine in which semi finals countries will perform and which out of the two semis Big Five must broadcast and vote takes place, as well as the host city insignia exchange.

Mr Doyle revealed that preparations are underway for the ceremony which is gonna take place at the end of January. Furthermore, meetings with representatives of local and Ukrainian communities of Liverpool will also take place, to explore ways of collaboration. We remind you that as part of the agreement of BBC to host Eurovision 2023 on behalf of Ukraine, is to include Ukrainians and Ukraine culture as part of the shows.

Even though Mr Doyle did not reveal the exact date of this years allocation draw, it is expected that it will be at the last Tuesday of January, as it happened the two previous years, meaning January 31st.

Below you can listen the full episode of the podcast:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates on Eurovision 2023!

Source: The Euro Trip Podcast

Estonia: The Semi-Finals Running Order of Eesti Laul 2023 has been revealed!

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A short while ago, the Estonian broadcaster announced the running order of the 20 artists who will compete in the two semi-finals of Eesti Laul 2023!

Janek will open the curtain with House of Glass, while Anett and Fredi will be the last to perform in the first semi-final with You Need to Move On. Inger‘s Awaiting You will be the first song to be heard in the Second Semi-Final, which will end with Alika‘s Bridges.

The running order for the Two Semi-Finals is as follows:
First Semi-Final – January 12
  1. JANEK – “House of Glass”
  2. Ellip – “Pretty Girl”
  3. Kaw – “Valik”
  4. MERLYN – “Unicorn Vibes”
  5. MIA – “Üks samm korraga” (One step at a time)
  6. Neon Letters & Maiko – “Tokimeki” (Palpitation)
  7. OLLIE – “Venom”
  8. Andreas – “Why Do You Love Me”
  9. Bedwetters – “Monsters”
  10. Anett x Fredi – “You Need to Move On”
Second Semi-Final – January 14
  1. Inger – “Awaiting You”
  2. Linalakk & Bonzo – “Aeg” (Time)
  3. Meelik- “Tuju”
  4. Elysa – “Bad Philosophy”
  5. Robin Juhkental – “Kurbuse matused” (Funeral of sorrow)
  6. m els – “So Good At What You Do”
  7. Wiiralt – “Salalik“
  8. Sissi – “Lighthouse”’
  9. Carlos Ukareda – “Whiskey Won’t Forget”
  10. Alika – “Bridges”

Eesti Laul 2023

In the semi-finals, five songs (out of ten) from each show will be selected to advance to the Grand Final. Three songs will be chosen by the audience and two by the jury.

In the Grand Final the show will have two rounds of voting. The first round will determine the entries that will advance to the Super Final, 50% by the jury and 50% by the TV audience. There the Estonian representative is selected by 100% televoting .

Eesti Laul 2023 will take place on the following dates:

First Semi-Final – Thursday 12 January
First semi-final – Saturday 14 January
Grand Final – Saturday 11 February

Last year’s winner of Eesti Laul and Estonia’s representative at Eurovision 2022 was Stefan with the song “Hope”. He finished in 13th place in the Grand Final, bringing his country back to the final after an elimination in 2021:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdTpQmMem8U

Stay tuned for all developments about Estonia in Eurovision 2023!

Source: ERR

Estonia: Interview with Janek | “Ηouse of Glass” and Eesti Laul 2023!(video)

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Janek, one of the candidates of this year’s national final of Estonia, Eesti Laul with the song “House of Glass“, spoke exclusively to EurovisionFun and to Stella Gialetzi and Apostolis Matamis.

The singer, after talking about the changes that have come to his life recently due to the competition, referred to his decision to participate in this year’s national final:

“Although music has always been in my life, lately I’ve decided to write more and start collaborating with other musicians. So I decided to join Eesti Laul, as it’s a good way to introduce myself to both Estonian and foreign audiences and to the public of other countries.”

As for the involvement of “House of Glass”, he revealed that it is a song about love and that many people can relate to it. At the same time, it is also a song about the sadness and confusion that a breakup brings to a relationship. He states that the message of his participation can be compared to his effort in musical events, as he has been trying for a long time to succeed in the field and realize his dreams.

“I came up with the chorus melody maybe in my shower but they told me it’s not good! But when I decided to work with Morland (Norway 2015), between several songs he told me that this has the most potential and so we made some changes and ended up with House of Glass!”

Among other things, he himself, talking about his stage presence in the semi-final, commented to us that they don’t want to do much but only what is necessary for the song, while he revealed to us that he will be alone on the stage of Eesti Laul 2023!

His favorite Estonian entries are “Rändajad” by Urban Symphony (2009), while his favorite Eurovision entries are Sweden 2012, Austria 2014 and many other entries that failed to qualify  in the Eurovision final.

Just before the end of the interview, Janek offered us a part of his song acapella.

Watch the exclusive interview with Janek in the video below:

Below you can listen to House Of Glass by Janek  (Eesti Laul 2023):

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news about Eurovision 2023! Don’t forget to subscribe to our Youtube Chanel for more exclusive interviews and everything about Eurovision!

 

Estonia: Listen to the acoustic version of House of Glass, Janek’s entry in Eesti Laul 2023!

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Janek with his song House of Glass, is already considered one of the favorites to win Eesti Laul 2023 and represent Estonia in Liverpool. Janek released the acoustic version of the song a few hours ago, leaving once again the best impressions.

House of Glass is signed among others by the Norwegian songwriter Kjetil Mørland, with experience in the Eurovision contest.

Eurovisionfun spoke to Janek a few days ago. You can watch our interview in the video below:

Will Janek manage to represent Estonia at Eurovision 2023? Tell us in the comments below!

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Estonia: Interview with SISSI | Lighthouse and Eesti Laul 2023! (video)

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Following the announcement of her participation in this year’s Estonian national final, Eesti Laul 2023, SISSI speaks exclusively to EurovisionFun’s, Apostolos Bogiannos and Apostolis Matamis.

SISSI is among the finalists of this years Eesti Laul and she will try to represent her country in  Eurovision 2023 with the song “Lighthouse“.

This is her third time being on the national final and she feels amazing to be back, cause she loves not only competing but also being a part of a big celebration of music alongside with other artists. About her decision to participate in this years national final, she told us:

“Τhis year there was actually no plan to participate. The previous years we had a plan of making an entry for Eesti Laul, but finally I get to work with a new producer who listened to my song “Lighthouse” and he fell in love with it! At first, it was supposed to be my next single, but after we finished it, he was sure that this song is for Eurovision!”

As SISSI mentioned her song has three layers and works as a therapy for her. It’s a very personal song for her and she wrote it in a very hard period of her life, when she couldn’t even thought of writing a song. Some months before, two member of her family drowned and that’s why water plays a big part also on her music video.

“My song is about grief either on a lost love or a person who will never come back! Through this song I finally got to except my own emotions and all the chaos and beauty that brings to my life. My goal is to inspire other people too!”

 

Asked about her staging of the song in the national final SISSI said:

“This time I will be more free on the stage! My sister and my mother will be in charge of the stage choreography and we will work on the camera angles but we will not know what exactly I am going to do on the stage!”

Her favorite Estonian entries is Ott Lepland’s  Kuula from 2012 but also she gives a shoutout to songs that ended up on second or third place in the national final of Estonia. In general her favourite Eurovision entries are Portugal 2017, Sweden 2013 and 2012.

Sometime before the end of the interview, SISSI offered us a part of her song acapella!

Watch the exclusive interview with SISSI in the following video:

Listen to SISSI – Lighthouse from Eesti Laul 2023:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Εstonian entry for Eurovision 2023!

 

 

 

Estonia: Lineup for the semifinals of Eesti Laul 2023 is announced!

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Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR, released earlier today the line up of the two semi-finals of Eesti Laul 2023, the winner of which will represent Estonia in Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool. Here is the official line up of each show:

Andreas, Anett & Fredi, Bedwetters, ELLIP, JANEK, kaw, MERLYN, MIA, Neon Letters & Maiko and OLLIE will compete in the first semi-final on January 12.

Alika, Carlos Ukareda, Elysa, Inger, Linalakk & Bonzo, m els, Meelik, Robin Juhkental, SISSI and Wiiralt will perform in the second semi-final on January 14.

From each semi-final, five songs will qualify and the order of performance will be announced in the beginning of January.

The Grand Final, is divided in two rounds of voting. In the first round, that consists of 50% public vote and 50% jury vote, will determine the songs that will advance to the Superfinal. Then, the Estonian representative will be decided by 100% public vote.

We remind you that these are the dates announced for Eesti Laul 2023:

  • First Semi-Final – January 12th
  • Second Semi-Final – January 14th
  • Grand Final – February 11th

The previous winner of Eesti Laul and Estonia’s representative in Eurovision 2022 was Stefan with the song “Hope“,  who ended up in 13th place in the Grand Final, while on the same time he brough his country back to the final after a non-qualification in 2021:

Source: Menu.err.ee

 

Estonia: Listen to the songs competing in Eesti Laul 2023!

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Estonia’s public broadcaster, ERR, released the 20 songs that are going to participate in Eesti Laul 2023, in order to claim the country’s representation in Eurovision 2023.

The competitors of Eesti Laul 2023:

In the list below you can see the 20 competing artists and their songs for Eesti Laul 2023:

The National Final

Ten songs will compete in each of the two semi-finals, five of which will advance to the Grand Final. Three songs will be chosen by the public vote and two from the jury

The Grand Final, is divided in two rounds of voting. In the first round, that consists of 50% public vote and 50% jury vote, will determine the songs that will advance to the Superfinal. Then, the Estonian representative will be decided by 100% public vote.

We remind you that these are the dates announced for Eesti Laul 2023:

  • First Semi-Final – January 12th
  • Second Semi-Final – January 14th
  • Grand Final – February 11th

The previous winner of Eesti Laul and Estonia’s representative in Eurovision 2022 was Stefan with the song “Hope“,  who ended up in 13th place in the Grand Final, while on the same time he brough his country back to the final after a non-qualification in 2021:

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Estonian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, in Liverpool!

Source: Etv.ee

Estonia: Ultima Thule withdraws from Eesti Laul 2023!

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Ultima Thule withdrew from Eesti Laul 2023 after the death of their singer Riho Sibul.

The band “Ultima Thule” together with “Wiiralt” would participate in Eesti Laul 2023, the Estonian national final  for the Eurovision song contest. However, in a statement they revealed that they withdraw from the competition. The decision comes after the death of the band‘s singer and guitarist Riho Sibul at the age of 64 last Sunday. Wiiralt agreed to continue participating in the competition on their own with the song “Salalik” (Secret). Martin Saaremäe, a member of Wiiralt, said that Riho’s style will be honoured during the band‘s performance at Eesti Laul.

 

“His music has influenced both Wiiralt and our own personal lives to a great extent. It is sad that ‘Salalik’, our Eesti Laul entry, also speaks of death coming to a village.”

 

Should Wiiralt decide to completely withdraw from the contest, one of two reserve entries will be selected to take their place.

Eesti Laul 2023 will consist of two semi-finals and one final, which will be presented by Tõnis Niinemets and Gret Kuld. The dates of the competition are as follows:

  • First semi-final – 12 January – Viimsi Artium
  • Second semi-final – 14 January – Viimsi Artium
  • Grand Final – 11 February  – Tondiraba Ice Hall

A total of 20 songs will compete in Eesti Laul 2023. These songs are:

  • Sissi – “Lighthouse”
  • Wiiralt – “Salalik” (Secretive)
  • Carlos Ukareda – “Whiskey Won’t Forget”
  • Alika – “Bridges”
  • JANEK – “House of Glass”
  • Ellip – “Pretty Girl”
  • Kaw – “Valik” (Choice)
  • Andreas – “Why Do You Love Me”
  • Meelik- “Tuju” (Mood)
  • Elysa – “Bad Philosophy”
  • m els – “So Good At What You Do”
  • Robin Juhkental – “Kurbuse matused” (Funeral of sorrow)
  • Neon Letters & Maiko – “Tokimeki” (Palpitation)
  • Bedwetters – “Monsters”
  • Anett x Fredi – “You Need to Move On”
  • OLLIE – “Venom”
  • Linalakk & Bonzo – “Aeg” (Time)
  • MERLYN – “Unicorn Vibes”
  • MIA – “Üks samm korraga” (One step at a time)
  • Inger – “Awaiting You”

Stefan represented Estonia at Eurovision 2022 with the song “Hope”. He finished 13th in the final with 141 points.

Source: Eurovoix

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest news regarding Eurovision 2023!

Eurovision 2023: Voting changes announced for the upcoming contest!

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Today started with a bit of surprise news, with the EBU suddenly announcing a change to the voting system for the upcoming 67th Eurovision Song Contest which will take place in May in Liverpool. This is the first change in the voting method since 13 years and in 2009, when 50/50 voting by the public and the judging panels was introduced.

According to the EBU announcement, the three big changes to the Eurovision 2023 voting system are as follows:

  • Viewer votes will decide countries qualifying from Semi-Finals 
  • Viewers in non-participating countries will be able to vote online
  • Jury votes will be combined with votes from the global audience to decide final result

This means that next year, the countries that qualify from the Semi-Finals will be decided solely based on the votes cast by the viewers, rather than a combination of a jury and public vote as has been the case since 2009.

The professional music industry juries will remain for the Grand Final, but complete control of who gets there from the Semi-Finals has been handed over to the viewing public.

And, for the first time ever, viewers from non-participating countries will be able to vote for their favourite songs too. Those watching in the rest of the world will be able to vote via a secure online platform using a credit card from their country, and their votes, once added together, will be converted into points that will have the same weight as one participating country in both of the Semi-Finals and the Grand Final.

Regarding the changes to the voting method, the Contest’s Executive Producer, Martin Österdahl, said:

Throughout its 67-year history the Eurovision Song Contest has constantly evolved to remain relevant and exciting. These changes acknowledge the immense popularity of the show by giving more power to the audience of the world’s largest live music event.

In 2023 only Eurovision Song Contest viewers will decide which countries make it to the Grand Final and, reflecting the global impact of the event, everyone watching the show, wherever they live in the world, can cast their votes for their favourite songs.

By also involving juries of music professionals in deciding the final result, all the songs in the Grand Final can be assessed on the broadest possible criteria. We can also maintain the tradition of travelling around Europe and Australia to collect points and ensure a thrilling voting sequence with the winner only revealed at the very end of the show.

It is worth mentioning that the introduction of the Rest of World vote means that the correlation of the 50/50 voting for the final changes, which leans more towards the public. The general public will have slightly more impact on the final result – approximately 50.6%. In the coming months, the EBU is expected to publish in detail the countries that will have the right to vote in the Rest of the World category.

These changes are happening in order to keep the event relevant and exciting. Additionally, following the unprecedented nature of the voting irregularities seen at the 2022 Contest a working group of EBU Members was established to look at ways to protect the integrity of the event. Their recommendations are being implemented after approval by the Reference Group, the Contest’s governing board and the Executive Board of the EBU.

Source: Eurovision.tv

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all developments regarding the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.