National final season well and truly began tonight, as the first quarter final of Estonia’s Eesti Laul selection took place.
After a significant overhaul to the contest format, we were introduced tonight to their new addition of quarter finals. Instead of being performed live, the ten songs were shown in their music video format. The qualifiers were chosen by both public televote and a professional jury – the first three qualifiers by the public, and the fourth and fifth by music industry experts.
Our five semi-finalists now have a couple of months to prepare for the live shows, which will take place on the 3rd and 5th February 2022.
The show was hosted by Estonian Eurovision winner Tanel Padar and representative Eda-Ines Etti.
Eesti Laul Quarter Final 1: Results
| Artist | Song | Result |
| Traffic | Kaua veel (For A Long Time) | Out |
| Jaagup Tuisk | Kui vaid (If Only) | Qualified (Jury Vote) |
| Kéa | Everytime | Out |
| Fiona and Me | Feel Like This | Out |
| Peter Pōder | Koos lõpuni (Together To The End) | Out |
| Stig Rästa | Interstellar | Qualified (Public Vote) |
| Maian | Meeletu (Mad) | Qualified (Jury Vote) |
| Little Mess | Hea päev (Good Day) | Out |
| Boamadu | Mitte kauaks (Not For Long) | Qualified (Public Vote) |
| Evelin Samuel | Waterfall | Qualified (Public Vote) |
The jurors for this evening’s quarter final were Sissi, Synne Valtri, Egert Milder, Maiken, Olav Osloin, Bert Järvet, Vaido Pannel and Andres Puusepp.
What else do we know about Eesti Laul this year?
Eesti Laul has undergone significant format changes this year. No longer just two semi-finals and a grand final, ERR has expanded the format, with 40 songs in competition instead of last year’s 24. Quarter finals will take place in November and December 2021, where five songs from each of the four semi-finals will be selected to move forward to the semi-finals in February 2022. The quarter finals will not involve live performances from the artists – instead, music videos will be shown. The grand final will take place on 12th February 2022.
Previously, ERR revealed statistics about the songs which had been submitted to take part in the competition. 84 songs were submitted in Estonian, though English, French, Spanish and Italian were also represented amongst the submissions. There was also a song in an imaginary language amongst the selection!
Estonia at Eurovision
Estonia has appeared at almost every Eurovision since their debut in 1994. They have won the contest once with Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL in 2001, singing Everybody. Other notable Estonian entrants include 3rd placer Sahlene with Runaway in 2002 and Ines with Once In A Lifetime in 2000, who placed 4th. More recently, their highest-placing entries have been Urban Symphony with Randajad in 2009 and Ott Lepland with Kuula in 2012, both of whom finished in 6th place. In 2021, they elected to resend 2020 representative Uku Suviste through Eesti Laul to the contest with The Lucky One. He failed to qualify for the final.
Estonia has used Eesti Laul to decide their competing entry every year since 2009. Before then, they used another national final format, Eurolaul, dating back to their first attempt at participation in 1993, where they failed to make it through the pre-qualifying round.
What did you think of the first quater final of Eesti Laul? Do you agree with the results? Let us know in the comments below! Don’t forget to follow ‘THAT Eurovision Site’ over at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
News source: ERR
Photo source: ERR/Aurelia Minev
