ERR has just revealed the names of the 10 acts and song titles that will compete as part of the third quarter-final of this year’s Eesti Laul for the chance to represent Estonia at Eurovision 2022, which is due to air on December 4. The show will be hosted by Ott Lepland (2012) and Laura Põldvere (2005, with Suntribe and 2017, with Koit Toome), who have both represented Estonia at Eurovision.
The competing acts and songs are:
| Artist | Entry | Songwriters |
| Stefan | “Hope” | Stefan Airapetjan, Karl-Ander Reismann |
| Elina Nechayeva | “Remedy” | Sven Lõhmus |
| DeLULU | “Music Saved My Soul” | Taavi Paomets, Mairo Marjamaa, Inga Tislar |
| Goodreason | “Three Days Ago” | Hele-Mai Mängel |
| Lauri Pihlap | “Take Me Home” | Lauri Pihlap |
| Levvis | “Let’s Talk About That” | Aleksei Baruzdin |
| Merilin Mälk | “Little Girl” | Karl-Ander Reismann |
| Alabama Watchdog | “Move On” | Ken Einberg, Taaniel Pogga, Sven Seinpere |
| Shira | “Under Water” | Marika Rodionova, Kristi Raias, Johannes Laas |
| Anna Sahlene | “Champion” | Anna Sahlene, Nicklas Eklund, Dagmar Oja, Kaire Vilgats |
Who might you recognise
As usual, we have some familiar faces in this week’s Quarter-Final, some have previously participated at Eurovision, and some attempting to represent Estonia once again.
Stefan
One of the artists trying their luck to represent Estonia at Eurovision once again is Stefan. He first debuted in Eesti Laul where he participated with the song “Without You” and placed third. He returned once again in 2020 with the song “By My Side” which once again made the final.
Elina Nechayeva
Another familiar face is Elina Nechayeva, who won Eesti Laul in 2018 and went on to represent Estonia at Lisbon with her entry “La Forza”. She managed to bring Estonia back to the Grand Final, where she managed to place 5th overall.
Alabama Watchdog
Alabama Watchdog made their debut in this year’s Eesti Laul with the song “Alabama Watchdog”. However, they failed to advance past the semi-final.
Anna Sahlene
Another notable returnee amongst the line-up is Sahlene, who represented Estonia in 2002 with the song “Runaway”. Her participation in 2002, saw Estonia place 3rd overall in the competition.
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. Quarterfinals 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!
Who has qualified so far?
The first and second quarter-finals of Eesti Laul 2022 has already taken place here are the artists and songs that have qualified so far:
| Artist | Entry |
| Jaagup Tuisk | “Kui vaid” |
| Boamadu | “Mitte Kauaks” |
| Evelin Samuel | “Waterfall” |
| Maian | “Meeletu” |
| Stig Rästa | “Interstellar” |
| Kaia-Liisa Kesler | “Vaikus” |
| Helen | “Vaata minu poole” |
| Jyrise | “Plaksuta” |
| Andrei Zevakin ft. Grete Paia | “Mis nüüd saab” |
| Frants Tikerpuu and Triin Niitoja | “Laululind” |
Estonia’s Eurovision Journey
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.
Who’s songs are you excited to hear at Eesti Laul this week? Who would you like to see represent Estonia in Turin next year? 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
