Eurovision in Liverpool is now less than a month away. In the lead-up to the start of rehearsals, we will get to know a bit more about this year’s artists, their discography, and their Eurovision journey so far. Next up, we will preview Estonia’s Eurovision 2023 representative Alika.
Alika’s Eurovision Journey So Far…
Alika was one of twenty artists selected to compete in Estonia’s national final Eesti Laul. She qualified in first place from the second semi-final, and then in the final placed first with the jury and televote to make the three-person superfinal. In the 100% televote superfinal, Alika placed first over Ollie and Bedwetters to win Eesti Laul and earn Estonia’s ticket to Eurovision 2023.
Her winning song “Bridges” was written by herself along with Wouter Hardy and Nina Sampermans.
Alika made several stops in the Eurovision pre-party season, including at Polish Eurovision Party, Pre-Party ES, Eurovision in Concert, and London Eurovision Party. While in Amsterdam, Tim had the chance to catch up with Alika and chat about her Eurovision journey so far:
What Do We Think of “Bridges”?
The team at That Eurovision Site have been completing their reviews of this year’s songs. Shiloh and Ben gave their thoughts on “Bridges”, which you can check out here:
Who Is Alika?
Alika Milova originally hails from Narva, Estonia. She got her start by participating in a number of talent shows including The Baltic Voice and New Wave Junior.
She came to prominence in 2021 when she won Eesti otsib superstaari (the Estonian version of the Idol franchise. After landing a record deal with Universal Music Estonia, her first three singles “Õnnenumber”, “Bon Appetit” and “C’est La Vie” have all charted in the Estonian Radio Charts.
Perfoming runs deep in Alika’s family as well. Her elder sister Valeria is a professional dancer and has appeared on the Irish and Turkish versions of Dancing with the Stars!
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 2022, they elected to send STEFAN through Eesti Laul to the contest with “Hope”. He successfully qualified for the final and finshed in 13th place with 141 points.
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 do you think of “Bridges”? Do you think Alika could give Estonia their second win? Let us know in the comments or on social media. Be sure to follow ‘THAT Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: That Eurovision Site / Alika
Photo Source: Silver Mikiver
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