The first semi-final of Eesti Laul 2023, the selection process for the next Estonian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, has just finished. In today’s first semi-final, ten songs competed for the first five tickets leading to the grand final!
The show was hosted at Viimsi Artium in Viimsi by Grete Kuld and Tõnis Niinemets.
The Participants:
In today’s first Semi-Final, ten songs competed for the first five tickets to the grand final of Eesti Laul 2023. These artists are the following:
- JANEK – “House of Glass”
- Ellip – “Pretty Girl”
- Kaw – “Valik”
- MERLYN – “Unicorn Vibes”
- MIA – “Üks samm korraga”
- Neon Letters & Maiko – “Tokimeki”
- OLLIE – “Venom”
- Andreas – “Why Do You Love Me”
- Bedwetters – “Monsters”
- Anett x Fredi – “You Need to Move On”
The Performances:
1. Janek – “House of Glass”
Janek opened Eesti Laul 2023 with a powerful ballad. The show starts with the artist in a television box. He then stands on a platform. At the end, there are three-dimensional broken glass effects.
2. Ellip – “Pretty Girl”
Following Janek is Ellip. She is accompanied by four dancers. She is dressed in black. Ellip filled the stage with her personality.
3. Kaw – “Valik”
Kaw are the first group of the evening. They sing in Estonian. Lots of shot changes and lighting. They’re having vocal issues until up to the third chorus.
4. MERLYN – “Unicorn Vibes”
Next up is Merlyn which is accompanied by two dancers. Although her vocals are on point, stage-wise she is “wooden”.
5. MIA – “Üks samm korraga”
Mia competes with the biggest female power ballad of the Semi-Final. She sings in Estonian while wearing a silver jumpsuit. She is accompanied by a pianist and a dancing couple.
6. Neon Letters & Maiko – “Tokimeki”
Neon Letters & Maiko perform in a lighted box. Japanese subtitles accompany a big part of the performance. They are dressed in black and white.
7. OLLIE – “Venom”
The first rock song of the night. The performance is very professional. Pink lighting predominates, and Ollie’s vocals are very good.
8. Andreas – “Why Do You Love Me”
After Ollie’s bombastic performance, Andreas sings an ethereal ballad accompanied by a female dancer. Low lighting prevails.
9. Bedwetters – “Monsters”
The second rock song of the semi-final. The Bedwetters have an eccentric performance reminiscent of Winny Puhh. A freak-show.
10. Anett x Fredi – “You Need to Move On”
Anett x Fredi will close the semi-final, an atmospheric and well-staged performance that will get appreciated.
The results:
The five artists who qualified for the final of Eesti Laul 2023 were determined after two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, four qualifiers were determined by a 50% jury and 50% televoting system. In the second round of voting, a new vote was held and one more qualifier was chosen solely by the televoting.
Before announcing the results, the presenters announced the jury’s top four favourites in random order with them being Anett x Fredi, Andreas, ELLIP and OLLIE!
In the first round, the following four songs qualified:
Among the six remaining songs, this is the last song to qualify to the final:
- JANEK – “House of Glass”
Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news regarding the Estonian participation in Eurovision 2023.
