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.

Estonia: Eesti Laul 2023 presenters revealed!

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Tõnis Niinemets and Grete Kuld will host Eesti Laul 2023.

Grete Kuld and Tõnis Niinemets are no strangers to the Estonian national selection.  They met for the first time on the stage of Eesti Laul in 2021.  Two years later, they are once again taking part in this event, this time as the presenters of Estonia’s biggest music competition.

According to Tõnis Niinemets, when they were asked to host the competition they accepted without giving it a second thought since presenting Eesti Laul is a kind of privilege.

Eesti Laul is one of the most exciting projects and, to be honest, the biggest celebration of Estonian music. The atmosphere created in the hall during these live performances is indescribable. It is a privilege to be a part and participate in the process.

Although the hosts cannot reveal any details of the selection, Grete Kuld shared that she is getting ready to take her role as presenter.  Moreover, she seems very excited about what we will see in the competition:

There will be a strong competition because the songs are really really good – you can hear that the songs have been worked on and there are both old and new artists and it’s exciting for me. From pop princesses to rockers. Can’t wait for the live shows!

In December 02, the presenters on ETV will reveal the songs during the program “Eesti Laul 2023.  Start”.  The recordings for this special show already took place.

The semi-finals of Eesti Laul will take place on January 12 and 14 at Saku Grand Hall with the Grand Final on February 11. Five artists will advance from each semi-final which are decided by the public and jury votes. The ten remaining artists will fight for the ticket to represent Estonia in Liverpool.

The participants of Eesti Laul 2023:

  • Alika  – “Bridges”
  • Andreas  – “Why Do You Love Me”
  • Carlos Ukareda  – “ Whiskey Won’t Forget ”
  • Ellip  – “Pretty Girl”
  • Elysa  – “Bad Philosophy”
  • Janek  – “House of Glass”
  • Kaw  – “Valik”
  • Meelik  – “Tuju”
  • Sissi  –  “Lighthouse”’
  • Wiiralt & Ultima Thule  – “ Salalik ”
  • 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 ermäch” (One step at a time)
  • Inger  –  “Awaiting You”

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun formore news about Estonia’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

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Estonia: This is the final line-up of Eesti Laul 2023!

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Earlier today, during the TV show “Ringvaade”, the names of the last ten artists, their song titles and the composers of their songs competing the Second Semi-Final of Eesti Laul 2023 were revealed.

The final composition of the semi-finals is now revealed, as the remaining contestants were announced today, after the announcement of the first ten contestants yesterday at the TV show “Ringvaade”.

The 20 artists competing in Eesti Laul 2023:

In the list below, you can see the first ten artists, that were announced yesterday, and their songs for Eesti Laul 2023:

  • Alika – “Bridges”
  • Andreas – “Why Do You Love Me”
  • Carlos Ukareda – “Whiskey Won’t Forget“
  • Ellip – “Pretty Girl”
  • Elysa – “Bad Philosophy”
  • Janek – “House of Glass”
  • Kaw – “Valik”
  • Meelik – “Tuju”
  • Sissi – “Lighthouse”’
  • Wiiralt & Ultima Thule – “Salalik“

Today, once again through the TV show “Ringvaade”, the names of the 10 remaining artists were revealed, alongside their songs titles and the composers of each song:

  • 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”

Robin previously represented Estonia as part of Malcolm Lincoln in 2010. There are also artists that have taken part in previous versions of Eesti Laul, namely: Anett & Freddy and Inger.

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:

https://youtu.be/GdTpQmMem8U

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

Source: Etv.ee

Estonia: These are the first 10 artists competing in Eesti Laul 2023!

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During the TV show “Ringvaade”, the first ten names, their song titles and the composers of their songs competing the First Semi-Final of Eesti Laul 2023 were revealed earlier this afternoon.

Estonia’s public broadcaster, ERR, chose the 20 best songs among the 217 songs submitted, to compete in the national final, in order to claim the country’s representation in Eurovision 2023.

The final composition of the semi-finals will be revealed by Wednesday evening, when the remaining contestants will be announced in “Ringvaade”.

The first 10 artists competing in Eesti Laul:

In the list below, you can see the first ten artists and their songs for Eesti Laul 2023:

  • Alika – “Bridges”
  • Andreas – “Why Do You Love Me”
  • Carlos Ukareda – “Whiskey Won’t Forget“
  • Ellip – “Pretty Girl”
  • Elysa – “Bad Philosophy”
  • Janek – “House of Glass”
  • Kaw – “Valik”
  • Meelik – “Tuju”
  • Sissi – “Lighthouse”’
  • Wiiralt & Ultima Thule – “Salalik“

There are also artists that have previously taken part in Eesti Laul, such as Sissi, Wiiralt and Elysa!

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.

The schedule of Eesti Laul 2023

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:

https://youtu.be/GdTpQmMem8U

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

Source: Etv.ee

Estonia: Eesti Laul 2023 artists to be announced in the next days | Who is the first confirmed singer?

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After the announcement of the artists for Albania’s and Spain’s national finals, now is Estonia’s turn to reveal the artists that are going to compete in Eesti Laul 2023. ERR, Estonia’s public broadcaster, announced some time ago that they received 217 songs to take part in Eesti Laul 2023, from which only 20 will advance and compete in the two semi-finals.

The names of the artists that will be chosen, will be announced tomorrow and the day after, in November 1 and 2, through the TV show “Ringvaade”, while the 20 songs will be released about a month later, in December 2.

However, there is one singer that is already confirmed to participate in this year’s Eesti Laul, in the first semi-final to be exact. Some hours ago, the producer of Eesti Laul, appeared in “Ringvaade”  to announce to Sissi, that she is one of the 20 artists that are going to compete in this year’s national final.

Sissi is no stranger to the fans of the contest as she has competed in Eesti Laul twice, in 2019 and in 2021. She qualified for the final both times, getting fourth place in 2019 and second place in the Superfinal in 2021, so fans expect a lot from her and her song.

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!

Estonia: 217 songs submitted for Eesti Laul

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Today the Estonian broadcaster gave more details about their national selection.  A total of 217 songs were submitted for Eesti Laul.  The competing acts for the semi-finals will be announced at the beginning of November.  Further, we will listen to the songs for the first time in December!

Eesti Laul 2023

The list of wishful candidates for Eesti Laul is very diverse.  According to chief producer Tomi Rauhula there are 92 songs in Estonian and 125 in other languages.  There will be brand new artists who are starting in the music industry as well as artists familiar in Estonia and even some with former Eurovision experience.

“An exceptionally exciting competition is coming …  The choice is fierce and the jury will be difficult.”Tomi Rauhula

The next step in the competition will be deciding which songs will make it to the Semi-Finals.  A panel of jurors will take this difficult decision.  The jury of 16 members includes people well-versed in the music landscape and trends, from singers to radio hosts.  We will get to know the name of the jurors together with the name of the competing acts the same day.  However, the jury votes will vote anonymously.

These are the dates announced for Eesti Laul 2023:

November 1 and 2, 2022: The names of the 20 semi-finalists are announced during “Ringvaate”

December 2, 2022: The songs will be revealed during a special ETV program

January 12, 2023: Eesti Laul Semifinal 1

January 14, 2023: Eesti Laul Semifinal 2

February 11, 2023: Eesti Laul Final

Stefan represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Turin.  His song Hope finished in 13th place

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

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Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun to know more news and updates on Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest!